Must Have Plug-Ins

For those switching to FCP X, what do you consider to be the must have plug-ins? I am looking for recommendations of those top tier plug-ins.

That depends on what type of editing you do, what type of projects you are involved with, etc. There are hundreds of good plugins, many free, in a variety of categories, including masks, color grading, special effects, hi-tech, film style, etc. etc. etc.

If you are switching to FCPX, what are you switching from? And, what type of plugins have you been using? You may find, based on what you do, that FCPX already has a suitable set of effects, transitions and color grade plugins.

For me it's mFlare. Not so much for big over the top transitions and explosions but to use as light leaks and add subtle highlights. My work is mainly doco work.

Crumple Pop: Tone Grade and c2 SliceX

I would say the best Plugin to have and installed is Apples Motion!
Yup I considered it after the last update a Plugin/Plugin creator for FCPX.

Now isn't this great: an NLE with it's own dedicated plugin creator. Surely beats any competition!

If I see one more over used lens flare I'm gonna puke...

Anyway, the two I'd say are "must-haves" reguardless of what you do are Slice X from CoreMelt, and Nattress Levels And Curves.

Just to fuel the fire...have a look at this link.

mac.appstorm.net/roundups/video-roundups...inal-cut-pro-motion/

Proper video noise reduction is a tool that should be in every editors toolkit. NeatVideo works well for me. Now a lot of people have strong opinions about NeatVideo, and the same points keep cropping up so I will summarize them here:

Its processor heavy. Once you have applied the filter its best to then disable it until you are ready to export (it causes lag in your edit when its on).

It takes a long time to render. Yes, there is no getting around this. If you have long clips that need to be fixed you better get comfortable. Short clips will be done in a few minutes though.

Its not very intuitive. Maybe not to begin with, but you need to practice with it. There is no quick fix with noise reduction, and no easy presets. Every clip is different, and all the settings need to be tweaked accordingly.

It really does work. The results can be amazing.

Also, when people mention noise reduction, a lot of people glibly say just film the footage with more lights! Well, thats fine if your the cameraman, but as an editor you have little control over what footage you have been handed.

When you are handed noisy footage you can either be the editor thats says 'film it with more light' or the editor that says 'let me see if I can fix that for you'. I reckon the second editor gets more repeat business.

Magic Bullet Looks is also a great plug in; very intuitive, easy to use, and while it has lots of handy preset looks, they are infinitely adjustable. Its a surprisingly powerful grading tool.

simonpwood wrote: .

When you are handed noisy footage you can either be the editor thats says 'film it with more light' or the editor that says 'let me see if I can fix that for you'. I reckon the second editor gets more repeat business.

I would say yes or no, depends on the result. I have seen some results from Neat Video where I would have stayed with the noise.

But like you said it is not easy nor is it intuvitve Neat Video the best tool for this. Maybe for FCPX. But if it is required I would suggest PFClean or Davinci.

I would say get a better cameraman doesn't use a DSLR.

Does DaVinci do good noise reduction? I have not got around to using the free version of the program yet. How is round tripping between the programs?

Yeah, sometimes you get a clip that just cant be fixed or improved (or you just don't have the time). But like I say its just nice to have it in the toolbox; and to be able to say (in all honesty) that I can try to fix that. Its worked for me on many occasions, especially when I get handed footage for music videos shot in under lit nightclubs.