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I work as an assistant editor on feature films, and use ffmpeg all the time, primarily for two purposes:
Transcoding files to be uploaded for producers to view on digital dailies systems (Dax, PIX, etc). I've written up shell scripts that accept property-of and recipient strings as command line input, along with target bitrate, and then generate the desired ...
9
FFmpeg is probably being used more than you believe. I think the BBC uses it for some workflows, there is evidence that Laika and Weta may use it, and there is a fork called FFmbc which is targeted for professional broadcast usage.
YouTube probably uses FFmpeg to decode as shown by some unique decoding issues (but this was several years ago that I read ...
4
This kind of data is actually remarkably hard to come by. There are a few industry reports available for thousands of dollars, but the best free resource I could find when I was searching was an informal poll that Dave Dugdale did. It was an imperfect test by his own admission because it allowed both voting up and voting down, but it gives at least some ...
4
The main reason is support, usability and control. First, lets clarify that FFMPEG is an encoder, QuickTime Pro is a video utility that happens to include multiple encoders and Final Cut Pro is a non-linear editor and has nothing to do with encoders other than the fact it can output to an encoder (generally QuickTime I believe).
For big budget commercial ...
4
Don't use the Ken burns effect. Animate the transform controls, setting keyframes for scale and x/y position. By default, the keyframes will ease in and ease out, giving you a Ken Burns like effect, but you'll be able to control it more precisely.
4
What you like to accomplish is a zoom?
In that case you can just add keyframes on the position of the video within your canvas/composition.
Find the moment where you want to zoom.
Add keyframe on the scale / position
Add keyframe on end of the zoom
Set preferred value
Add keyframe one frame before zooming out
Add keyframe on that next frame.
Add keyframe at ...
4
I use it in my professional production chain all the time. Last week I was using it to batch through dozens of videos that needed subtitles burnt-in. It would have taken me weeks of tedious labour with Final Cut, it took me a couple of minutes burning the srts in with ffmpeg, and I was able to automatically rename the files and compress them for the various ...
3
FCPX has currently no way to link Motion Projects to FCPX Projects. To place Motion Projects in another directory than the default one, you have to create symbolic links using Terminal (see below). Motion Projects can only be used in FCPX as Templates.
From Apple's PDF "Managing Media with Final Cut Pro X Libraries":
Motion templates are not managed as ...
3
Ideally having all your content and project files on a separate harddisk would give you some performance back, this could be a internal drive if your on a Apple Mac Pro or a external drive, USB3, Fire-wire, Thunderbolt etc.
If you dont need to have the libraries open I would close them as they load up the files when you open FCPX.
Other options are to ...
3
Unfortunately, that isn't currently supported. Your text items will preserve the state from when they were first added. So you're stuck doing it manually. It's number 4 on the list of top requested features for the next update though and Apple seems to be aware of this site, or they've just been reading minds the last few updates- http://fcpx.tv/top.html
...
3
After Effects, especially with Mocha, has the most advanced motion tracking and stabilization capabilities of these 3 options, but they are also the most complicated to use if you want the best possible results. (Note that AE also does offer simple options like Warp Stabilizer if you don't need super advanced stabilization.)
The options in Final Cut Pro X ...
2
I found this video comparing the adobe warp and Final cut:
I think warp stabilizer looks way better, but it might also be relative to the type of footage and the specific settings applied.
2
You can do it by adding transitions between the speed changed clips as described in the documentation section titled Add Transitions Between Speed Segments. They say:
When two adjacent speed segments are set to play at different speeds, you can control how smoothly the video switches between the playback speeds. When there’s no transition between the ...
2
Likely your issues were stemming from trying to edit with H264 files. This is something that FCP hates! Convert all your h264 footage to ProRes before you start editing (using Compressor, MPEG Streamclip, or the awesome Magic Bullet Grinder) and then edit with the ProRes files. Output your final 'Master File' as ProRes and then use Compressor to encode ...
2
You need to use keyframes. It's been a few versions since I used Final Cut, but they are generally represented by a little diamond indicator. If you add a keyframe at the point you want the level to start increasing and another at the point where you want it to stop increasing, you can then adjust the value at the later point and the volume adjustment ...
2
Another interesting survey.
On a youtube talk forum, a straw count was taken asking users what their favorite editing software was (NLE). Out of a sample size of 104 this is how it broke down below (I added my preferences as well, premiere pro and screenflow)
23% Sony Vegas Pro
23% Premiere Pro
13% Windows Movie Maker
8% Final Cut Pro X
6% iMovie
4% ...
2
In the Photos app (not FCPX), go to Preferences, then click "Use as System Photo Library". Then FCPX will be able to find the library file.
2
How can a keyframe occur at 1252.57 for a clip that has a duration of 766 frames?
Because the user could have used a clip that was longer than 1252 frames, set a keyframe, then trimmed the clip down to 766 frames. If the user later decides to make the clip longer again by changing the out point to a later time, the keyframe will still be in the place they ...
2
If you have, or can rent Adobe Premiere you can export as FCP XML from that. Davinci Resolve does too, but I'm not sure if the capability is included in the free version.
2
The action you're trying to perform is called “stabilization,” which is usually performed by analyzing the entire frame when the goal is to eliminate camera shake, but when you want a single object to stay in place, you'd track a single point, or small area of the target, and apply the same counter-movement that you would to eliminate shake.
In AE, point ...
2
You are better served with Motion 5 or similar programs for something like that.
Here is a good example from Ripple Training what might work as starting point for you.
1
Without having to do anything? No, that's probably impossible. How would the computer know when to switch to the next slide? What you could to is capture a video of the screen of the computer used to show the presentation using some software like fraps and synchronize the screen capture and the camera recording. However, this has two downsides; screen ...
1
If the pixelation wasn't in the sources you had, then it was probably introduced by the video encoder you used to export. (Presumably Apple's h.264 encoder, creating a .mov with an h.264 video stream, as opposed to one of the many other video codecs that the mov container can hold.)
Video encoding always trades off CPU time vs. bitrate vs. quality. Using ...
1
You can do it in Sony Vegas Pro using this plugin (Text Wizard)
In a nutshell:
Prepare your text and copy it to the clipboard (see below)
Add your clips to the timeline
Run Text Wizard and choose Create text at events
Import text from the clipboard
Your text should be in the following format:
Song title:
Release year:
Album title:
(empty line)
Song ...
1
With Adobe After Effects and a script such as PT_TextEdit, you'd be able to do something like this. You create the text styles you want to use, add all the text to a spreadsheet or google sheet, then run it through PT-TextEdit, which will generate a load of different comps for you with the different names. You can then batch export all the comps.
http://...
1
Instead of using a crossfade transition effect, use opacity keyframes in the video animation menu.
Select your clip and press "control + v".
1
Google: RSMB (Real Smart Motion Blur)
I know it is available for after effects and Sony Vegas, not sure about final cut.
Note: It dramatically increases your render time, but it is definitely worth it
1
Motion from Apple has a setting for Motion Blur on all projects. This section of the documentation explains how to set it (in the project settings). (It's under "Motion Blur and Reflection Settings".)
Once the project setting is set, you may also need to turn it on in the canvas to see it while editing. See here for information on turning it on in the ...
1
The timeline for which you are looking is actually called a "Project". Projects are stored within events, which are in turn stored within a library. Just opening a library (from within the finder, for instance) will not necessarily open your project. To do that, you need to twirl down the disclosure triangle next to your Library in the event manager, ...
1
Definitely the Warp Stabilizer its a very easy to use and powerful tool and I'd say the best tool for automatic stabilization out there.
When it comes to the more manual workflow, yes, After Effects together with Mocha is a lot harder to use but you can get very great results with a certain amount of experience.
Given that After Effects offers both I ...
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