Free FCPX Red Workflow Tutorials now posted!

[Corey_O]

Thanks Sam!

 

[Sam Mestman - WMM]

Excellent Sam....you have renewed my interest back to FCPX...i just down-loaded it. What i would really like to see is FCP setup for color correction. What is a sound workflow for coloring? Or send to the old Color via XML ? Not having looked at FCPX much, is there a way to setup color spaces at all?

Hey Johnny,

I'm going to be doing a full Davinci Resolve Workflow tutorial within the next couple weeks... realistically, it's the only color correction app worth using with X at the moment. However, in my opinion, while the Color Board is something I'm really hoping Apple tweaks in future releases, you'd be surprised how much you can get done within X. The scopes in it are really nice (especially now that you can position them vertically), and if you get the Nattress Curves plugin from FX Factory, it fills in a gaping hole in the color workflow. Is it Resolve? no. Is it better than the FCP7 color tools? By a mile. The vignette, secondaries, and match color work really nicely if you know what you're doing, and now that paste attributes is finally back you don't really need to leave the app for finishing for smaller projects that you need to get out the door quickly.

Anyway, there are other tutorials that cover the color controls pretty well. Here's a link to a blog with a bunch of options:

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/10-great-color-correction-tutorials-for-final-cut-pro-x/

 

[Johnny Friday]

Hey Johnny,

I'm going to be doing a full Davinci Resolve Workflow tutorial within the next couple weeks... realistically, it's the only color correction app worth using with X at the moment. However, in my opinion, while the Color Board is something I'm really hoping Apple tweaks in future releases, you'd be surprised how much you can get done within X. The scopes in it are really nice (especially now that you can position them vertically), and if you get the Nattress Curves plugin from FX Factory, it fills in a gaping hole in the color workflow. Is it Resolve? no. Is it better than the FCP7 color tools? By a mile. The vignette, secondaries, and match color work really nicely if you know what you're doing, and now that paste attributes is finally back you don't really need to leave the app for finishing for smaller projects that you need to get out the door quickly.

Anyway, there are other tutorials that cover the color controls pretty well. Here's a link to a blog with a bunch of options:

http://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/10-great-color-correction-tutorials-for-final-cut-pro-x/

Sam, i would love a one stop color edit system. Not as a colorist mind you. But personally i film, cut and color all of my own stock. And i don't get too crazy with it as this is really for a "real" colorist. But what i find as the downside (at least with Pr.Pro) is that there is no way to set up color space in the app. Again, i'm blind here, but will FCP allow for us to setup a color working space and output color space? After years of messing around with FCP7, PrPro and now realizing my issues with color are now beyond using simple programs.....i need to work with a program that allows for 0-255 & 16-235 and allowing for me to setup my output monitor space to rec709 etc....So i do see that an I/O is necssary--i currently use Matrox MXO2---but they don't have a working firmware for FCPX at moment. AJA was my next thought---but, as much as i love doing color work, i'd like to stay away from learning Reslove or Speedgrade.....if i could get reliable results from FCPX - that said, i think COLOR now works with R3d's but been a while since i was in that program. Anyway, to sum it up, if we as simple users could find a reliable color accurate path to grade in FCPX great. but if we can't set color spaces etc....what is the point?
Thanks again Sam for your contribution and your site is quite comprehensive and well done.

 

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

I also hope Apple does some work on their CC tools in FCP X (color wheels, tracker, sharpening, ...) but having said that: there is a lot you can do actually once you learn it, and a big advantage is that it renders very fast, even on a 4K Prores.

 

[Jeetu Chawla]

Very Well Done, Sam!
This forum thrives on contributions made by people like you... Much appreciated!

Sometimes i think this forum could do with a RED GURU's section that can be used for tutorials & user experiences...

Cheers ~

 

[Kalechi Noel]

Resolve 9.0.3 for fcpx released!

Resolve 9.0.3 for fcpx released!

Sam, davinci resolve 9.0.3 is out with support for fcpx 10.0.6!! I need this tutorial ASAP as I am working on a project. Do you mind doing a full walk through of actually grading some footage and relinking back to fcpx (not finishing in resolve) ... For finish in fcpx




as well as a finish and export from resolve. 2 tutorials ....

 

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

BTW Sam, the tutorials themselves (I only watched the REDCine one before, but now working myself trough all of them) show what some of us already knew: there's an awful lot of very powerful technology in a deceivingly simple interface in FCP X.
Yes, it had to grow (and still has a long way to go), but it is already unmatched in a lot of other areas.
Thanks for making these, they are really good! I've also bought the Ripple Training and Larry Jordan tutorials a while ago, and while those definately are not bad, I've seen yours containing a lot of 'hidden' tips that the other ones don't have.
Can't wait to see the Resolve ones.

 

[Sam Mestman - WMM]

Hey Johnny,

You don't need to worry about color space within the actual app... and regardless, that's what broadcast and Kona/Blackmagic cards are for. If you're really worried about it, though, I'd consider picking up a dreamcolor monitor that allows you to step between color spaces as you monitor output (Flanders Scientific has some really nice affordable monitors as well), and you can even hook it in through DVI/Displayport/HDMI (with some extra setup) if you want. Google Alan Tepper and Provideocoalition for a whole bunch of articles about it... but for your needs, seems to me that FCPX is more or less right up your alley. Color controls are simple, fast, and substantial within the app, and with a broadcast monitor attached, you don't need to worry about your color space, and you can grade within the app easily.

 

[Sam Mestman - WMM]

Sam, davinci resolve 9.0.3 is out with support for fcpx 10.0.6!! I need this tutorial ASAP as I am working on a project. Do you mind doing a full walk through of actually grading some footage and relinking back to fcpx (not finishing in resolve) ... For finish in fcpx




as well as a finish and export from resolve. 2 tutorials ....

Working on it, man. Hoping within the next two weeks. I've got some testing on my end to do first before I can really advertise a real workflow... plus I gotta get some client projects out the door too... but I'll have it up as soon as I can.

Some quick things to be aware of, though:

1. Primary color corrections in FCPX are supported in Resolve... but only the first correction you made to a clip.
2.All effects only write the effect name to XML and no parameter values are saved. So expect to have to redo your any effects settings on clips coming back to FCPX. Same goes for motion projects.
3. Select the checkbox on XML import to keep spatial conform/transform settings applied to clips in resolve (although I'm still testing how well this actually works).
4. Compound clips should theoretically work too... but I still need to test that as well as how it does with speed settings. They work on the FCPX end, but still waiting to see how Resolve handles them coming in/out.
5. Resolve will only look for your original media and will ignore optimize/proxy on XML import unless you choose to direct it there using the media pool.
6. A quick tip to simplify things would be to duplicate project and used clips in FCPX, then use organize event command to isolate all media in a project, and then simply drag that whole folder into your media pool, and you should be able to access all of your media from one folder... and then bring in XML's from all of your different resolutions to work from and render accordingly

A lot more coming your way soon as I get some time to do some real testing.

 

[Johnny Friday]

Thanks for the reply Sam...that is truly interesting...Well, i have 2 dremcolors, one FSI and a 50" plasma online as my viewing monitors....Now i'm truly intrigued...thanks for that great link. I'm on it already.