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 bigger timecode remove effects fcpx

A couple of great tips from our Forum. Get a bigger timecode window with FCPX and also an application to enable, disable and remove effects.

If you haven't visited our Forum, you are missing out on one of the best communities for Final Cut Pro users out there. There's some great people who post who have a vast amount of knowledge on FCPX and rarely does a question or problem go unanswered. Make sure you sign up as you can then get email notifications from threads.

First up is a trick for getting a large timecode window with Final Cut Pro X, Anders Mildestveit posted why and how on our Forum.

"I've read your site daily for a good while now, so I thought I'd share a little trick I came up with today since I haven't seen this done anywhere else.
 
One of the things I miss from Avid in fcpx is the nice big scalable timecode window. This is quite essential when you work in a team where more people need to be able to see the timecode. As far as I know the only solution in fcpx is to add the timecode plugin on your clips and scale that up.
 
Today I stumbled on an Apple app called "Pixie" from the "Graphics Tools for Xcode" which is found on Apples developer site. This app can enlarge a part of your screen and display it always as the top window. 
 
Just start the app, go to settings and turn off "Enable Development Mode" to get rid of the overlays, scale your window to your size and choose zoom level.
By default it follows the mouse, so just aim at the timecode and lock the axis with CMD+X and CMD+Y. If it gets in the way, just select it and CMD+H to hide it. Or just move it... 
 
The numbers are quite low res from the scaling, but it is probably better on a Retina. Not a perfect solution, but a good tip I think!"

pixie timecode big fcpx

 

Also on our Forum, Andreas Kiel came up with a solution for enabling and disabling effects.

Few days ago there was a thread about showing hiding FX. Same time I got some mails from FCP users whether my old tool for FCP would work with FCPX.

This old one wouldn't work cause of the differences in XML. But since 10.1.x the XML's features come closer to those ones from legacy – teen though Apple states that they aren't perfect. But finally I decided to bring back my old app to new life.

The app searches for everything which XML internally is an "effect". The count of usage, the name, the user visible type and the FCPX internal usages are listed. Optional you can show the clip names which do use a certain "effect" – except for transitions. Selecting a clip name will set the clipboard to this name and you can use the "find" in FCPX,

The app allows to enable/disable "effects" or just to remove them. These actions are immediately saved to the XML.
The XML can be imported into FCPX and will create a modified copy of the timeline

Please go to his post to download the application.

X-FX Handler

 

A big thank you to Anders and Andreas, if you want to get the tips first, make sure you subscribe to our Forum!

 

Written by:
Top BloggerThought Leader

I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.

I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.

Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.

I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!

Current Editing

great house giveaway 2020

2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.

Tour de france 2020
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.

 

BBC snooker the crucible

BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.

amazon kindle BF

Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.

As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.

Plugin Design & Development

I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.

I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.

FCP.co

Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook. 

The Future

I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!

 

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