Wednesday, September 14, 2016

FCPX Auditions are driving me nuts!

It's a great idea, similar to what ProTools does, but man it is lame in its implementation.

For one only when I create an Audition in the Browser does FCPX take it into account as far as being able to list Auditions in the Browser - like making a Smart Collection: Type = Audition.  If I create an Audition in the Timeline, NO-GO! The Smart Collection is EMPTY!  Why is that Apple?

Second, I have a bunch of Favorites, all part of a gigantic single audio with multiple passes and multiple takes. Hey I can't create subclips remember? (Don't tell me I can work with Compound clips instead, NO, not with audio only, they suck!)  Anyway, I'm fine with creating Favorites out of Selections, so far so good. Now I want to create Auditions from all the different reads of each sentence, but FCPX is being finicky stupid in creating gigantic Auditions, or Auditions with the WRONG in and out points for some entries.

When I select say 5 different entries and Command+Y... It screws it up!  All these entries are fine, more or less 7 some seconds in duration, but NOOO, Final Cut creates an Audition that's the length of the WHOLE damn audio file. And worse, it makes five different Auditions... What?? I note that the Audition Duration is correct though. What is going on???

Well OBVIOUSLY Apple these Selections are all from the same gigantic audio file, but with proper Start and End points that are NOT the Start and End point of the whole file, I quadruple checked. Of course one cannot create an Audition by selecting Favorites, it has to be clip entries.

To go around this I have to expand each entry and show the Favorite, and then drag each of the Favorites into an Audition in the Timeline. This way it works properly: the Audition is as it should at 7 some seconds long. But it is slow as hell to drag ten different Favorites one by one inside an Audition compared to selecting a bunch of clips/entries and Command+Y them.  And at the end of the day, I still cannot have them listed under my Type = Audition Smart Collection.  Damn it!  

Why when I right+click on an Audition in the Timeline does FCP ask me if I want to rename the Clip??? Nope, I want to rename the AUDITION. All the entries have the same clip name under the audition by the way, not very useful is it? How about letting the user select what name to be listed in there? How about being able to list the Favorite name instead?  There has to be a way to differentiate two or more selections within a larger media file, so if we cannot make subclips what will it be?

Then I can Break Apart Clip Items of an Audition clip, GREAT!  But when I want to bring them back together as an Audition, what do I do? I cannot Command+Y them, WHY??? I cannot drag a clip over another clip to do it by hand either... WHY? Instead I have to use Match Frame (Shift+F) , find the Favorite, and drag that inside the first clip to create an Audition. It does not help that FCPX seem to list Favorite names and Keywords in no particular order, once it's above, next it's below, where is the logic? Makes it hard to find what one is looking for.

So interesting how both Apple and Adobe have screwed up with audio related functionalities, it's not working people, it has VERY LIMITED functionality, please fully implement the functionality, I feel like I have a giant tease if front of me.

-- And why can't we adjust the in/out/duration of a Favorite after the facts? 

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