frustration with favorites

I use favorites for logging interviews and I use keywords to organize my selects for each interview subject. So on any given project, I will have six or seven subjects organized into six or seven keyword collections. I also have a number of clips per subject. When I start to edit , when I open a keyword collection, all the clips are collapsed so I have to expand each of them. I can shorten this process by selecting all of them and then hitting option/ arrow right. But when I go back and forth between my subjects, I have to reexpand the clips each time which is time-consuming and annoying. In fcp7, my selects were in a bin and always there when I opened the bin. I've sent feedback to Apple about this, but I was wondering if anyone else had a readier solution. thx

We have a similar workflow, however I haven't had the need to expand when clicking on a keyword collection because the browser shows individual clips for each keyword range I created. Does that makes sense?

Here is our main clip:




And then the ranges when showing the keyword collection.



Perhaps I'm missing something in your workflow.

So here's my way mixed with your way. I'm not sure which works better for me. The way I've organized it, when I click on my keywords, I get a list of the various selects for each key worded subject. I don't think it would work doing it your way. This is not an area of strength for me - my brain hurts.

Can you grab a few more screen shots, of what you are doing. It looks like from the above shot that you have an event selected. When you say you click on a keyword, do you mean you click on the keyword collection or the keyword in your clip?

Here's a screen shot of the expanded clips and then of the collapsed clips using favorites. When I leave one keyword collection and open another keyframe collection and then go back to my original one, it has collapsed. I just want it to stay open.



I have six clips of this subject. There are about 30 selects on him alone. There are about six other interview subjects so I go back and forth a lot as I put together my timeline - I am cutting back and forth all the time. It's just a nuisance to have to keep opening them each time.

Ahh, I see why we were not having this issue. In a situation like this, we put a single persons interview in a large multicam clip (we shoot double system sound, so we sync first and then place in a multicam clip), so we don't have individual keywords, we just have a "interview" keyword collection with each clip is named.

One thing you might try is command clicking more than one keyword collection at a time or create a smart collection that selects all your interview keywords. Then you'll be scrolling, but at least they will stay open. Use your second monitor (which looks like you are already doing) if you have it to show events and set your browser text size to Small, that should help. Of course you would need to rename your clips to add the name of the subject so it makes sense.



Another idea would be to save a bit of keystokes by using something like Keyboard Maestro ( itunes.apple.com/us/app/keyboard-maestro/id406298247?mt=12 ) to map command-A and then option-right arrow on a single keystoke. It would at least make things go faster for you.

I totally see your point about persistent disclosure triangles and will add this as an enhancement request also.

This is the way I do it.

Interview clips would have their own keyword. If it's a multicam then like Payton I'll make them up first and I'll then use a smart collection that brings in any clips that are multicam or sync. Then I'll go through the interview and instead of using keywords or favourites I'll use MARKERS as they are very easy to navigate and can be renamed.

Interesting. So your would literally give a keyword to every select quote? So in an interview with 30 quotes, you would have 30 keywords? And then add a keyword for the speaker and then make a smart collection? I played around with that and I still run into the same problem with expanding/collapsing clips.

One solution is to make every select a compound clip and then assign keywords. I've done this and the advantage is that you can see all your selects - labeled no less - as thumbnails as well as in a list. The only disadvantage is that the compound clips are now discreet components and their position in the overall timeline is not readily apparent. I'm beginning to think I should go back to this. Here's a screen shot:

No. You mis-understand. I would have a keyword selection called "Interviews" in ther would go ALL my interviews (if there weren't too many) then on each interview itself I'd be adding MARKERS.

I honestly think you are over doing it with keywords. Just watching and listening to an interview should tell you whether it's going to make it into the show or not. 1 Marker is all that's needed on my experience. But then of course we all work differently.

Got it. I have way too many interviews for that method. And marker only gives you one point where a favorite or compound clip lets you set an in & out point.

I have to agree with Seanus. And use Folders to further organize those keyword collections, too, along with favorite ranges for specific dialog sections, perhaps.

I have interviews as long as 90-minutes for some subjects and I have a fairly circular pattern of editing that has me coming back to various selects multiple times. It's pretty important to me to be able to access them easily and I think the compound clip approach gives me the best chance of doing that. I appreciate your input and as time goes on and I get to know the program better - and as it improves, I'll find the right workflow. thx

90 minute Interviews! Wow sounds more like an interrogation. :woohoo:

Of course you could still use favourites. So group your interviews into each person with a keyword.... then favourite the subject they are talking about. Then add markers for each point.

Use Control F to narrow the view down.

I shoot & edit oral histories. 90 minutes if anything isn't long enough. Most of the people I interview are in their 80's and up. That's a lot of ground to cover! There's just so much I can shoot and manage to edit without making my services unaffordable. So that's why the workflow is so critical to me.

I just discovered a transcription service that charges $48 per hour of interview and delivers a hard copy transcript with time code inserted. That should speed up my process a lot and let me choose most of my selects before I even begin logging. I can easily pass that cost through to my clients as two days of logging at my rates is far more expensive. I feel guilty sending my work overseas - to India - but I couldn't afford American prices for transcripts.

When doing a documentary, having interviews transcripted is the first thing normally done. Then you storyboard from the transcripts.

Also, there's an app that may also help you out. It used to be called "GET" and I used it a lot some time ago. Today it's been bought by Boris and is called "Sound Bite". It does phonetic searching and cataloging. Fantastic for documentary makers.
www.borisfx.com/Soundbite/

Since you have to review the 90 minute clip anyway, I'd do it in the Browser, mark favorites for the usable sections, and put a quote from the dialog, or keywords from the dialog of that section in the "Notes" field of that Favorite. Then with the transcript, you can do a simple text search fast and easy for any dialog you're looking for.

I always use transcripts with corporate clients because there are no budgetary restrictions, but with oral histories (my preferred work), I don't have as much leeway. I've worked around this by hiring someone young (cheap!) to do my logging for me, but they don't always know what I'm looking for and I wind up either missing out on good quotes or doing a lot of relogging.

I'll look into Soundbites and I'll experiment with the Notes field which I haven't done before.

Thanks.