FCPX Feature Film Workflow
It’s an exciting time for FCPX and its fans, for it has finally come of age and out of the dog house of popular opinion and into the spotlight. Not that it wasn’t already there, but now it’s abilities have come into Focus for a whole new wave of editors. (I promise that will be my only terrible focus related pun!) Like Adobe Premiere Pro and Gone Girl, having a Hollywood studio cut a major motion picture on your editing software of choice is course reason for celebration, and it really does seem that FCPX is finally having it’s Cold Mountain moment.
Before we dive too far into the details, if you want to see what all the fuss is about for yourself, you can download a free trial of FCPX from the App store or buy it for $299 or £229.
“I created Smart Collections beforehand that were automatically collecting everything from scene information from our script supervisor to dialogue tags,” says Editor, Yan Kovac. “They were a great help because everything was at my fingers instantly. I was able to try out more shots. And I got moments that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.”
Apple has written up a fairly lengthy case study of Focus‘s workflow and has some choice quotes from the main contributors. It’s a great place to start if you’re curious about the workflow as it will give you a good sense of the overall process, from on-set ingest to the final colour grade, before we dive into ever increasing fine grain detail, that this post will head into.
“There’s no mysterious industry tool or process anymore,” says Sam Mestman, cofounder of FCPWORKS and one of the chief workflow architects for Focus. “The bottom line is that all of these deliverables can be created from your living room. With just a few third-party apps, you can easily take your media through Final Cut Pro X to 4K output. So anything the big guys are doing, you can do too.”
Sam Mestman of FCPWorks, also runs a podcast called We Make Movies and in this episode he and 1st Assistant Editor Mike Matzdorff discuss the process of persuading the studio that FCPX was a viable option for editing Focus and how they came to collaborate on the workflow.
It’s a great interview and another valuable way of learning more about editing a feature film efficiently on FCPX.
Editor Jesús Pérez-Miranda, loved the show so much he’s pulled out some great quotes from the interview and shared them with via Twitter. Be sure to click on each image to get a closer look.
More gems from @FCPxFeatures, man of the hour & author of #FCPX Pro Workflow book. @WEMAKEMOVIEZ Film Central Podcast pic.twitter.com/Vmp0AMS161
— Jesús Pérez-Miranda (@jesus_edits) March 4, 2015
Great quotes from @WEMAKEMOVIEZ Film Central podcast EP08 by @mikematzdorff @FCPxFeatures #fcpx #AVID #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/fUE43CDQ8N
— Jesús Pérez-Miranda (@jesus_edits) March 4, 2015
In this presentation from the October 2014 LACPUG you can hear more from Mike on his personal journey with FCPX, the pros, cons and misconceptions for new FCPX editors and some answers to workflow questions from the audience, as well as seeing how he used the metadata functionality of FCPX to speed up his workflow using keywords, roles and more. This is well worth a watch if you want to see some of the topics discussed previously, in action and get a closer look at his FCPX interface.
If you want even more from Mike you can also check out this podcast from FCPXGrill in which he discuss similar ground, and post NAB, I’m hoping FCPWorks should have some more FCPX/Focus related goodies, fresh out of their FCPX Presentation Suite at the Renaissance Hotel. So check back here for those updates!
Final Cut Pro X: Pro Workflow by Mike Matzdorff
If this is FCPX’s Cold Mountain moment*, it only makes sense to have a book about it too. Mike Matzdorff was the 1st Assistant Editor on Focus and in this book he shares the precise workflow he used to help bring the film safely through post production. (*To read about Walter Murch’s experience of cutting Cold Mountain on Final Cut Pro 3, check out this excellent book.)
There isn’t really another book quite like Final Cut Pro X: Pro Workflow available right now and it really is the most up to date insight into what it takes to be a first assistant editor wrangling a Hollywood feature film from dailies to delivery using FCPX, that you could possibly hope to have access to.
It’s practical, detailed and not for the uninitiated. If you’re a working editorial assistant, or want to be one, then it’s certainly a must read, but you will need at least some prior knowledge of FCPX and a general understanding of the overall editorial mechanics of editing a feature film, to be able to follow along closely, let alone get the most out of it.
The book could have benefited from just a little more explanation at times, especially for those who are a bit further behind the FCPX curve than Mike, but where it lays out practical ‘how-to’ steps, which it does all the time, it does so very well.
One crucial thing to note when reading it is that you must to be holding the iPad in landscape mode to get the pages to lay out correctly. When you do there are plenty of great screen shots (which you can enlarge by tapping on them) and from a readers perspective everything flows beautifully.
In reading through the breezy 90 pages it is obvious just how many external applications and workflow bridges were needed (at the time) to pull this off. It would be great to see some of this functionality incorporated into FCPX itself, and here’s hoping the feedback the Focus editorial team have provided Apple might bear fruit in this regard. Acquiring all of these third party apps could get expensive (not that you can’t afford it on a studio movie) but for an indie flick following same workflow on a tight budget, it might be stretch.
If you’re an experienced Avid editor looking on with mixed feelings of curiosity, contempt and/or apathy, then I would suggest that although the established Hollywood world is entrenched in Avid, and will be for quite some time to come, there really is no reason not to engage with FCPX or Premiere Pro, as they are clearly just as viable an option and may very well out live Avid anyway. There more languages you speak the more places you can go.
If you are an assistant editor or want to be then you should definitely read this book. As Steve Jobs famously said (while quoting Wayne Gretzky) “You need to skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
At the top of paid iBooks. Wow. #fcpx pic.twitter.com/5BFkGfOmQX
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 6, 2015
My one wish would be that Mike Matzdorff and Michael Cioni (Light Iron) would get together with Ripple Training to create a video tutorial series to accompany the book. If that happened, it would certainly be one of the best training opportunities for would-be assistant editors, DITs and editors you could hope to get your hands on.
In summary Final Cut Pro X: Pro Workflow is a fast and fascinating read. Although it’s not intended to be a manual for newbie’s it could easily be considered essential reading for anyone interested in the cutting edge of post production.
Buy Final Cut Pro X: Pro Workflow on the iBooks store – US | UK | DE
Final Cut Pro X – Pro Workflow Apps
One of the interesting things about the Focus FCPX workflow is how many third party apps were involved in the process. Both Mike Matzdorff’s book and the Apple case study list the apps used, although the former is much more detailed and comprehensive than the latter.
Here is Apple’s quick summary of most of the apps:
Live Play – Enables instant on-set review of dailies on iPad.
Colorfront Express Dailies – Generates on-set Apple ProRes 4444 dailies with ARRI metadata.
Sync-N-Link X – Batch syncs video and audio.
Change List X – Tracks timeline changes between edits.
Producer’s Best Friend – Creates customized metadata reports.
HandHeld – Mimics handheld camera look in normal footage.
SliceX and Lock & Load X – Instantly tracks shapes and stabilizes sequences inserted from other takes.
X2Pro Audio Convert – Delivers projects to Pro Tools for finishing.
If you’re interested in a bit more detail you can jump to the App Store itself through the widget on the right, or you can check out Scott Simmon’s really interesting breakdown of the cost of these apps and the comparison of the combined totals with the price of other editing platforms.
Those third-party tools do add up to way more then the $300 FCPX price tag but it’s nowhere out of the realm of what a feature film of any budget can afford. It’s also rivaling the cost of Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro so this is another example of how the cost of the software tools to cut your feature film no longer factor into the equation of feature film post.
In the first episode of FCPWorks Secret Sauce demonstrates how to create dailies using a similar workflow to that used on Focus featuring Shot Notes X, Sync-N-Link and Primaries Exporter. This is a similar workflow to the xml shuffle Mike mentions in his book. You can get more details on this workflow here. Below you can hear a quick sound bite from Mike on the numerous ways in which he found Primaries Exporter to be useful.
Light Iron Focus FCPX Workflow Event
The "Focus" on Advanced Workflow Event is in full swing! Presented by @light_iron, Arri & Apple. pic.twitter.com/sW9MCPthcu
— Light Iron (@light_iron) March 7, 2015
Light Iron hosted a special event to showcase their work on the FCPX centric workflow that Focus used from the set to the final cinema screen. Light Iron’s DIT and DI services were a key part of the post production pipeline. The event also featured panel discussions from the Focus editorial team and the Director of Photography and Supervising Colorist.
On a similar theme Filmmaker Magazine has a nicely detailed interview with Focus DoP Xavier Grobert on shooting Pro Res on the Alexa, working with Light Iron and the move to FCPX.
Filmmaker: Focus is being touted as the first major studio film edited on Apple’s Final Cut X. What impact did that decision have on your job during production?
Grobet: With Light Iron, I pretty much had the lab in a trailer next to the set the entire movie, so we were able to download and color time. Then literally the next person over on another station would be doing dailies, syncing and providing all of the deliverables for the studio and for editorial. The editing room was also on the set, so the directors were actually cutting the movie [on Final Cut X] on their lunch break. We weren’t watching dailies — we were watching today-lies of what we’d shot in the morning.
About to start the event
#FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/CaULh4wBuc
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Editor Marc Bach live tweeted a great collection of photos and insights from the event, and until the video recording makes it’s way online (please!) these are a great window in the content of the talk.
Talking about how to improve workflow #FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/lXynTR4QBM
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
#FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/9y0cIas8yB
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Intelligent assistance software key for the movie. And @philiphodgetts is sitting in front of me #FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/w7T67UJh1U
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Things you can do straight from the timeline thanks to LUT workflow in #FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/X2q0LDk9Y9
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
#FocusMovie timeline. They started first meeting in 2012 #FCPX pic.twitter.com/Fk6fPONPWu
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
The directors of #FocusMovie chose #FCPX because they intended to edit the movie themselves. Soon they just focused on directing only
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Onset workflow for #FocusMovie #FCPX pic.twitter.com/Pp0QHC0bTQ
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Talking about all notes and metadata created on set ended in #FCPX and was accessible all the time in post
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Coloring of the movie was majorly done in 4 days, all color decisions where made onset and was kept thru post thanks to #FCPX #FocusMovie
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
DIT workflow for #FocusMovie to get to #FCPX pic.twitter.com/MLVnIgrXEE
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Synced dailies were taken home by the DP the same day. With audio synced and all metadata included. Same day! #FocusMovie #FCPX
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Arri and the (then) new 1.3x anamorphic lenses #FocusMovie #FCPX pic.twitter.com/SfLCdQLm7Y
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Arri camera tests. 1080 to UHD. Barely noticeable. Waiting to HDR #DolbyVision #FocusMovie #FCPX
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Editorial! With @FCPxFeatures pic.twitter.com/Hf7KuuAqvu
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
#FCPX features: less clicking (3 to 1), keywords, skimming, direct contact with what you wanna do. #FocusMovie
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Temp VFX and titles held thru screenings #FCPX #FocusMovie
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
if you are shooting, editing and finishing digital, why does the NLE resemble a film workflow? #FCPX looks to the future #FocusMovie
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
More Tweets from the Light Iron Event
#Focusmovie asst editor Mike Matzdorff showing his #FCPX workflow to packed house. @FCPxFeatures @lacpug @light_iron pic.twitter.com/cMfUbj9ddN
— Ripple Training Inc. (@RippleTraining) March 7, 2015
Roles usage at max
#FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/RSJNjOVdre
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Editor Jan Kovak @S0nofaB1tch described working on Focus, cut with #FCPX, as "the happiest year of my life" @light_iron #FocusMovie
— Charlie Austin (@fcpxpert1) March 8, 2015
Keywords usage in #FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/mgPpyBG6hP
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
#fcpxFocus at the Arclight pic.twitter.com/LZen1UglyP
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 7, 2015
Talking DI pic.twitter.com/3ECDapgqKY
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 7, 2015
It's on. #fcpxFocus pic.twitter.com/IjWNsr6pMq
— Charlie Austin (@fcpxpert1) March 7, 2015
Exciting slides! #fcpxFocus pic.twitter.com/k7IM8Y7Ec0
— Charlie Austin (@fcpxpert1) March 7, 2015
More Focus FCPX Tweet Tips
Set extension temped in the timeline #FCPX #FocusMovie pic.twitter.com/HRkujQG0Hi
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
Temp VFX done in the timeline. Face replacement, set extension and others using SliceX. #FCPX #Focus
— Marc Bach (@marcplanb) March 7, 2015
@FCPxFeatures @light_iron i have to compliment you on your compositing skills Mike. There were some pretty awesome effects done in #FCPX
— J.Patrick Southern (@jpsouthern) March 8, 2015
Make 2 AAF files for sound. one including disabled clips – so they can have extra mics without a mess – @FCPX2ProTools #FCPX
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 5, 2015
Great tip! #FCPX #ProWorkflow @FCPxFeatures Quote: “keeping your FCP Cache file on an external SSD will speed up your library"
— Robin. ? (@ropiko) March 1, 2015
http://t.co/oYAxhNeORa @dickij10: "How was the #FocusFilm Final Cut Pro X edit moved to #Quantel?"
@light_iron: "With AAF" #FCPX
— Alex Gollner (@Alex4D) February 27, 2015
FCPX Focus Feature Film Workflow – The People
If you’ve been trying to keep track of the community of people involved in the world of the Focus FCPX workflow then this final section of the round up should give you a handy jumping off point, of who they are and how they helped.
The first thing to do is read this excellent article over on FCP.co about how the workflow was drawn together and some of the hurdles involved. It’s a great read and adds a lot more detail to the story than the Apple case study.
Jan “In December of that year, myself, Glenn & John had a meeting with Michael Cioni at Light Iron that was organised by the Associate Producer of Focus, Jeffrey Harlacker. We discussed what we needed for a studio feature film environment, not only did we have to work out an FCPX workflow, we had to work out a ProRes workflow too.
Michael Cioni “Up until about 2 weeks before we started shooting, ProRes was not actually approved for use on Focus as the main capture codec. Numerous tests were shot in both ProRes and RAW and we projected them in 4K for various departments including Warner Bros. post in an attempt to make everyone feel comfortable with the ProRes plan.
Jan Kovac – Editor of Focus. He also has a great collection of his favourite FCPX related tweets here. Twitter – IMDB
Mike Matzdorff – 1st Assistant Editor on Focus. Twitter – Website
Michael Cioni – Light Iron were integral to the post production for their DIT and DI services, as well as workflow consultancy. Twitter – Website
Sam Mestman – FCPX Workflow Consultant of FCPWorks. Twitter – Website
All of IA’s tools are amazing & essential, as is their support “@Alex4D: tool Gone Girl+Focus used…http://t.co/7xf3oFQifA @philiphodgetts”
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 4, 2015
Philip Hodgetts – Creator of numerous Intelligent Assistance apps used on the film, author of Conquering the Metadata Foundations of FCPX, read by the film’s directors. Twitter – Website
“Our initial involvement with Focus started long before the movie went into production. That phone call was to encourage us to make a Change List tool that would work with Final Cut Pro X, because you really can’t make a Studio film without one.”
Philip has a great write up of his part of the journey and the development of some of the apps used on the film a post on his very useful blog.
#FocusMovie director Glenn Ficcara used @RippleTraining to get up to speed on #FCPX @FCPdotCO @SamMestman @lacpug http://t.co/rlA87mZVWu
— BOSCPUG (@boscpug) March 2, 2015
Ripple Training – Online FCPX training creators whose training helped the editorially inclined director’s get started with the software. Twitter – Website
FCPX Workflow book by @mikematzdorff details how QT Edit was used to alter QuickTime flags: http://t.co/EYfOgHMD34 http://t.co/dKdQhTdGRD
— Digital Rebellion (@digitalreb) March 4, 2015
Digital Rebellion – Jon Chappell is an all round workflow guru who creates useful post tools of all kinds. QTEdit was used on Focus. Twitter – Website
Alex Golner – Creator of the feature film overlays plugin used on the film. Twitter – Website
Charlie Austin – FCPX Guru who Mike says to follow! I’ve included one of his quick tips on organising your dailies in FCPX. Twitter – Website
Follow @fcpxpert1 — he's one of the smartest people in the room
— Mike Matzdorff (@FCPxFeatures) March 3, 2015