Q: Someone please help me out on how to get the effect starting at 3:05 in FCPX
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Sep 4, 2015 12:41 PMby Karsten Schlüter,HelpfulLoad your example into FCPX…
Drag it into a Project timeline
Hit a few times 'cmd +' (command and the plus-key) - you'll soon reach the 'one frame level' of magnification:
FCPX adds a grey rectangle = 1 frame
And so is it just luck that hes getting it on the beat as well?
for sure not, plain craftmanship, plus a little trick, I learned from a professional cutter 30y ago will help:
Listen to your track a few times, use a finger to tap the music (not only boom-boom the rythm, try to 'play' the music, I call it 'dancing finger'
When done the rehearsals, we got hot: put your finger on the M-key (=marker).
press play, and start to dance.... you set in real-time markers which helps in editing to find the right spot.... some folks try it 'mathematically'' (30fps vs. 160bpm ... equals in every X frame...) .... this doesn't work! Much better to 'feel' beat and accents ...
excellent executed, this example, but first of all eye-candy; Big Island, tons of GoPro stuff, intense music - no magic, but a good 'best case example' to learn.....
side-note from my lili' son: and backflips are crucial for this kind of videos ... :LOL:
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Sep 4, 2015 12:45 PMby Carl0745,Wow, thank you so much!! You really are a lifesaver! This is going to help me soo much! One last question for ya, in terms of slow and fast motion do you know if the best way is to just use the re-timing tools on FCPX or do those mess up the quality of the video? Thanks again!
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Sep 5, 2015 12:19 AMby Karsten Schlüter,Carl0745 wrote:
… One last question for ya, in terms of slow and fast motion do you know if the best way is to just use the re-timing tools on FCPX or do those mess up the quality of the video? ...
simple question, hard to answer.
No, not difficult, simple rule "Nothing replaces in-cam HFR!"
Got a while ago my new 'beast', a Lumix FZ1000, a device with its flaws (no headphone plug - hu??), but best buy for my needs and few bucks; e.g. offering 100fps continously shooting fullHD - grrreat. And, as usual: I've overdone it, adding 10% retiming, aka '1000fps' playback. have a look:
(just a quick demo for some other feature....)
FCPX allows Blending or Optical Flow; in its latest incarnation, OF was huge improved; but, there's stil some 'wobble' around the feet of my son; the algorithm still fights, what is background, what is foreground. So, IF you know, material will be processed with post-slowmo, a few rules:
use short shutter-speeds, avoid 'structured' or 'moving' backgrounds (most Twixtor examples show blue sky ... smart) - and try to record with high frame rates! The USversion of my cam allows 120fps (fullHD/1080); adding 50% retime does no harm to pic quality and gives you a 240fps playback - that is sloooooow.
slowmo is cool, but not easy to accomplish - if you're on a small budget; with a 30k$ Phantom cam everybody can record 5,000fps ...
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Sep 10, 2015 2:55 AMby Carl0745,Haha wow your knowledge is beyond helpful. Sorry Iv'e been away for so long, but I have one last question I promise. Actually maybe 2. So my gear that I'm working is a Canon SL1 which I have been basically using 720/60p not the best but gets the job done. I think I got a handle on the slow motion side, but what about smooth fast motion (speeding up parts of clips), would it be the same thing just opposite? (retiming and then OP). Secondly, this question goes back to your original answer for the super fast cuts. So I get the 1 frame cuts for when the song is going super fast, but what about when the song is building, like before a drop where it's steadily getting faster? How do you get those cuts in sync, maybe do 2 or 3 frame cuts and so on? Any insight on this would literally make my day. Even if you don't respond to this, I just want to thank you for the help you've already given, a lot of people choose to ignore people in need of help.
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Sep 11, 2015 12:10 AMby Karsten Schlüter,Carl0745 wrote:
.... what about smooth fast motion (speeding up parts of clips), would it be the same thing just opposite? (retiming and then OP).
there's very little need/makes no sense to apply Optical Flow to a sped-up sequence ... just retime to 150, 200, 600% and you're done. Sidenote: you can drag the end of the Retime Bar to adjust the length = speed automatically...
Carl0745 wrote:
...How do you get those cuts in sync, ...
Read again my advice about the 'Dancing Finger' (I was quoted with this phrase, should probably patent it ... LOL)
look, a project, my main clip in the storyline, waiting anxious for cut-aways ...
music track is applied, I hit Play/space bar, music plays, and I hit here&there, now&then M
this sets the blue dots onto my main clip.
you can compare to the waveform: mostly close to the beat, but not every beat, #4 is (intentionally) off-beat, #5 is just off (me no good piano player), #6 back again, looks like 5+6 mark some 'epicness', ta-DAHHH! ... kinda ... sort-of
sidenote: yes, you look hysterically funny, muttering the music and tapping stupendously with one finger one key on the keyboard… probably, you should exercise this procedure in absence of spouse, kids or other persons who should respect you the following years ...
The dots igives you orientation, where to edit. What to edit, jump-cuts, 2framers, 5framers, slowmo, speed-up, flip pic, color changes, ... - that is your artist's decision
no, there's no 'easy' way accomplishing what we see & hear in your example. As said before: no witchcraft, but excellence in execution.... That was no beginners project ...
