Why are moves in FCPX so awful?

Question

Level 1

36 points

Why are moves in FCPX so awful?

I can't believe how silly making moves on graphics and whatnot in FCPX is. What happend to handles and being able to ease in/out the way you want instead having some default end-eases that make your moves look ridiculous.

Everytime I make a move and it isn't a straight horiz or vert. direction I get some goofball "S"curve sort of tracking with the element I'm moving. The move that prompted me to write this really took the cake. I wanted a chart to slide into the frame alongside a talking head. I wanted it to sit there for some seconds and then zoom in to a particular line on that chart while still leaving the subject visible. So I put a keyframe with the chart off-frame, a keyframe when it reached the end of its right-left slide, I advanced the timelineindicator up a few frames, added a keyframe there so it held position and then I went to the point where I wanted the zoom to end and enlarged/positioned the chart as I wanted it to end. But what I got was the chart sliding in and stopping as I designed it, but after the pause it BACKED UP several pixels in the OPPOSITE direction it was supposed to and THEN went in the direction I keyed for. And just before it reached its endpoint it stopped and slightly enlarged as though it were moving towards the viewer. Insane!

Am I missing something or is there no better control over these moves? Because this is prettty unacceptable. And the infuriatingly named "Ken Burns" move I find untenable (and not because of the appelation)

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on Sep 3, 2012 10:40 AM

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Answer 1

andynick

Level 5

4,955 points

Sep 3, 2012 10:48 AM in response to Brunettin

They're only awful because you have not learned how to do them.

Do the animation in the preview window then right-click the keyframe and choose 'Linear'

Andy

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Answer 2

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,004 points

Sep 3, 2012 11:30 AM in response to Brunettin

The positions in the identical place have to be changed to linear or the they will drift because of easing. Go to the keyframe. Move them apart. Change the interpolation to linear for both in the viewer and then set the position to exactly the same point using the numerics in the inspector, easest with whole pixel values.

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Answer 3

Brunettin Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 3, 2012 8:13 PM in response to Tom Wolsky

Nope. Sorry. All keys are linear and integers whole. The graphic slides in straight right to left. Stops. But then the move-in is in that annoying s-curve. I've made sure about six times that the keys--every one--were set to linear.

And just to be clear (one hopes) it isn't a curve in the shape of an "S" per se on that path. What I mean for it to do is have this graphic enlarge and slide down to the right in order to zoom in on a particular item on the graphic. What is happening is it initially enlarges the graphic while moving slightly to the left, THEN it starts it zoom-in and movement down-right as it's supposed to do. But then just before it reaches the end point it stops moving downward lateral, continues enlarging (as it's supposed to) but moves back to the left.

I dunno. Maybe that's not clear. Regardless, it's not doing what I'm telling it to do.

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Answer 4

Brunettin Author

Level 1

36 points

Sep 4, 2012 9:49 AM in response to Brunettin

Well gentlemen. Here's one for the "How on earth did they figure THAT out?" file.

Since I hit my dead end here I went searching for other answers to this vexing problem. I ran across one in another forum that sounded so implausible that I wasn't going to even test it. But FCP was open and my event active I figured I might as well.

The person who supplied said remedy described it thusly: go to the first offending keyframe and tap the forward arrow key a few times to get just beyond that point (I went 3 frames). Go to the viewer window and select a new keyframe for that point. WIthout doing anything else DEselect that new keyframe. Repeat this at the very same point a few times (again, three for me). After that, advance to the next offending keyframe and then tap the backwards arrow key to retreat several frames from it (again, I did three). Once there, repeat the on/off precedure with the add keyframe button.

I went back to before that motion clip and hit the space bar. The video played and the motion graphic performed perfectly! No s-curve. I find this totally bizarre but who am I to argue with results? Any idea why this would have worked?

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Answer 5

cycocy

Level 1

0 points

Feb 22, 2013 5:25 PM in response to Brunettin

thanks for the solution(as weird as it is)! I was going insane trying to figure it out!

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Answer 6

Brunettin Author

Level 1

36 points

Feb 22, 2013 9:11 PM in response to cycocy

I'm just happy you were able to understand that description. I couldn't be sure if I was making it properly intelligble.

I have to say, tho, I am still quite unhappy with the FCPX moves; even after this work-around. No matter what I do with the handles, the move always starts abruptly and ends with a clunking stop. It seems one has to accept either that or the absurd "S"-shaped path in order to get an ease in/out.

The closest I got to avoiding the abruptness was to slide the handles as close as possible to the keyframe point. It's not perfect but it eases the "clunk" a little; to my eyes at least. Might be wishful thinking. Seems to me in old FCP the easing was effected by pulling the handles away from the keyframe point. But I did it with X--even to the extent of reducing magnification to 12.5% and dragging it out to kingdome come--and that did not do it.

Oh well, I guess I can hope they'll fix this one day.

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