CDToaster
Level 1 (12 points)
Desktops

Q: Creating a Music-Video with FCP...

Hello all, thanks for taking the time to read my request for help...

I'm re-creating a music-video I produced 30 years ago on VHS, but now using FCP 10.2.2 on OSX 10.11.

The idea is I'm needing to first lay down the song I've chosen on the timeline without any video or with a black bed (background).  Then afterward, I will be inserting short, silent clips taken from films that complement the simultaneously occurring lyrics in the song.  So what you hear being sung about in the song is what you'll be seeing on the screen.  This is a very simple project with simple straight video cuts but due to my diminished vision, it is very difficult for me to read all the text that accompanies the FCP program so I'm hoping someone kind will be generous with his or her time to actually walk me through the process.  Added trouble is I'm an Apple newbie but I am a certified PC specialist so I do know a thing or two about computers as I've been building and fixing them since the mid-nineties, albeit only PCs.  My first computer was a Mac Plus, the computer that revolutionized the industry.  I switched to PC after I had a bad experience with the Mac back in '89.  Anyway, I'm back to the Mac and have a fully loaded 27" display machine running El Capitan.

 

If you've read thus far, here's the rest:

I've successfully connected a VIDBOX video capture device between the Mac and the external DVD player that supplies the video to the Mac.  That's working perfect and I've successfully created the short .mov files from DVDs.  The first problem I encountered was FCP tells me that when I trim the clips (to remove unwanted sections), that the trimming is done non-destructively, preserving the entire original .mov file but that is NOT what I want to do; I want to destructively edit the files so that NO remnants remain of the original capture.  I don't need the parts I'm trying to edit out but the program tells me it keeps the entire original .mov file.  I want to permanently edit that .mov file so all that remains of it is the part I want to use in the video.  So my first question is HOW do I destructively edit the original .mov file?  If I ever accidentally destroy the file by deleting or removing too much, I always have the original movie on dvd so I can simply re-capture the scene - I don't need to preserve the original file with the many seconds of footage before and after the actual scene I'm using.

 

So if someone out there will be willing to guide me through this process, I'll be not only very grateful but I'll be happy to share with them a copy of this absolutely incredible, eye-popping music-video I originally produced on VHS tape 30 years ago.

 

Please don't waste time recommending I transfer the 30 year old VHS tape I made to DVD as it pales in comparison to what this will look like using DVDs and digital editing.  Also, don't waste time warning me about copyright infringement as all the material I'm using has been legitimately purchased by me and the final product is for my own personal, non-commercial use so I have the right to do what I want with the music and the videos as long as the end product remains my own.

 

Please reply only if you're willing to help me accomplish my goal so I don't wind-up going fully blind reading thousands of words on the Help menu of FCP.  I just need someone who knows the program and understands the simplicity of what I'm trying to accomplish and is willing to spend the time instructing me in a step-by-step basis beginning with first laying down the audio track on the timeline, then how to trim the clips I've captured, and finally, how to assemble the clips on the timeline to synchronize with the lyrics.  It's basically a 3 step process.  Afterward, I can add credits at the end and a beginning time countdown (5-4-3-2-) which is always fun to see before great home-made videos actually start.

 

To those who can't help, thanks for taking the time to read my request even if you can't help.  Everyone's time is most appreciated!

 

Tony

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Aug 2, 2016 7:01 PM

Close
CDToaster

Q: Creating a Music-Video with FCP...

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Aug 2, 2016 10:05 PM in response to CDToaster
    Level 7 (32,656 points)
    Video
    Aug 2, 2016 10:05 PM in response to CDToaster

    … and your question is?

     

    CDToaster wrote:

    … I want to destructively edit ...

    … perhaps. No modern NLE does.

    Import everything, edit your project, then do housekeeping = erase what you want.

     

    CDToaster wrote:

    …  first laying down the audio track on the timeline, then … trim the clips …, … finally, … assemble the clips on the timeline …

    like that.

  • by CDToaster,

    CDToaster CDToaster Aug 2, 2016 11:12 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    Aug 2, 2016 11:12 PM in response to Karsten Schlüter

    Thanks Karsten for taking the time to reply to my inquiry and for advising me that in your opinion, no good video editing program destructively edits original .mov files.  From what I read, I think you said I should import them into my library, edit them there, then when my project is complete, I can go back and delete all the original .mov files if I wish to do housekeeping.  But that is not what I asked and is not what I want to do.  You asked, "What is your question" but I thought I was clear though I realize, verbose.  I asked two things:  Primarily, if someone would be kind enough to take the time to walk me through the steps necessary to produce what I believe I described accurately, and secondly, I tried to ask what editing program CAN destructively edit .mov files so when I go to import and insert them on the timeline, they would have already been perfectly edited the way I want.  In other words, I want to work directly upon the .mov files themselves, edit them, save them, and live with the consequences.  If I don't like what I've done to a file, I can always easily re-create it.  Can FCP edit .mov files directly or must they first be imported raw, then edited while forcing the original .mov file to be preserved?  Can't I replace the original .mov file with the edited one so the only files I have are the ones I want to keep?

     

    I admitted my ignorance and explained I'm looking for the help from someone willing to invest the time in helping me produce what I believe I've clearly described.  Anyone willing to help me must be willing to invest quite some time in explaining things to me, not someone who thinks they can offer any real help in a few minutes.  Perhaps you did not understand I'm 75% blind and am asking for someone to tell me how to do what I've described what I want to do without my having to read thousands of words in the FCP help menu and spend days of trial and error trying to figure out how to do the most basic of editing jobs.

  • by Karsten Schlüter,

    Karsten Schlüter Karsten Schlüter Aug 3, 2016 1:02 AM in response to CDToaster
    Level 7 (32,656 points)
    Video
    Aug 3, 2016 1:02 AM in response to CDToaster

    Sorry for trying to be sarkastic… Straight forward:

    My question about "what is your problem?" reflects the slaying amount of words you use for phrasing your situation (your experiences in '89 has little to do with this topic, doesn't it?) .

     

     

    There are several, even free video tutorials avail teaching you FCPX.

     

    Trouble is:

    You do have a stucked idea of workflow, which doesn't match FCPX's

    One example:

    Importing only wanted parts - what, if you like to add a dissolve? You need 'beef' before/after the edit-points - have you calculated that on import?

     

    So, restrict material before using it is … uncommon.

    For sure, from cameras you can select in the Import dialogue…

     

    conc. if FCPX can handle your mov:

    mov is a media wrapper, can contain literally everything. Why not testing it? Do you own FCPX? If not, there's a free 30d trial...

     

    How to import, tag/'pre-select', and edit a few clips to some music is no rocket-science - but maybe different to other NLEs, and probably very different what you have in mind as 'your workflow'.

     

    But nobody can teach you FCPX within a few posts on a board.

     

    I like to recommend "Lessons for Final Cut Pro" from rippletraining, avail at the AppStore, for 20$. It teaches you all basics…

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H Aug 3, 2016 4:23 AM in response to CDToaster
    Level 7 (21,765 points)
    Quicktime
    Aug 3, 2016 4:23 AM in response to CDToaster

    What Karsten said about learning FCP X (or any NLE) from tutorials rather than on these boards…even for someone with a deep tech background.

     

    One way to answer your questions about clips is that, while it can be done in FCP X, that's not the way the application was designed to work. So it requires adding several steps to the workflow: trimming after import and then exporting the trimmed clips – then reimporting – then deleting the original clips in the Finder. You could also do this in QuickTime – prior to importing into FCP. If you do these rough cuts, I suggest you leave a few seconds of "handles" on each end (the head and tail) of the clips.

     

    Good luck.

     

    Russ