FCPX and Screenflow and handbrake?

Hello,
I am an Artist/Teacher/Writer who has been editing my own videos in iMovie. Now I am looking at FCPX to create and edit my full feature Teaching videos. Will be buying "8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 (PC3_12800 - 2X4 GB for my MacBook Pro at the same time that I purchase my FCPX. I am still not savvy about the step to take in the Live Webinar (ScreenFlow) and or HandBrake to Compress or to get it uploaded to my website, etc Also, I would really appreciate some input about Vimeo, and Amazon S3 in relation to FCPX. Which of these extra software items do I need to present the highest quality videos, easy for my students to use? Can someone give me some guidance?

Hi Cynthia,

I use ScreenFlow for the occasional tutorials I make. It has some decent editing options that will provide sufficient functionality to record, finish and publish tutorials that are strictly based on screen capture without having to leave the application. No need for HandBrake.

If your tutorials involve more than just screen recordings you can use ScreenFlow to record only the screen captures, export them as a movie and edit them in FCP X together with the rest of your tutorial. You can export straight to Vimeo or Youtube from within FCP X and publish a link to the videos, or embed the videos in your website. Again, no need for HandBrake. If you want to create customized export presets for FCP X that provide the best viewing quality for the specific length and content of your tutorials you should add Compressor to your software.

- Ronny

ccynthia wrote: ... I am an Artist/Teacher/Writer who has been editing my own videos in iMovie. Now I am looking at FCPX .. Will be buying "8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Ram ......

from the hobbyist corner, meant just as an addendum to Ronny's, as usual, excellent advice:

* FCPX 'flies' on smaller Macs, when you store your 'raws'=Events on some faster external hard-drive; for smaller budgets, any usb3-connected device improves speed dramatically, for sure, a $$$$ tb-connected raid5 is nicer...

* speaking of extHDD .. backups?

* to give your videos that extra-kick of 'personality', consider a 50$ investement for Motion5 - it is NO beginner tool, for sure, but it let's you 'edit'/mod existing titles/transitions from FCPX. Simply modifying some lower-third to your design, your colors, your logo gives your productions a more 'branded' aka speaking of top-quality, 'professional' look.

....... just to feed my curiosity: What makes you switch from iMovie to FCPX? I was for >10y a huge fan of iMovie, but dared the plunge about two years ago - due to complexity of my edits, mainly multi-cam, 'looks'

My wife is an academic librarian and I help her create tutorial videos on searching various web databases. We always do the screen captures in ScreenFlow. Once you see the zoom/magnification, etc. features in ScreenFlow, you may find that its editing features will do all that you need.

However, sometimes the tutorial and voiceover require more control that is practical with ScreenFlow, so we export those (SF does export prores for use in Final Cut) and finish in FCPX. You have done several of these too so you may not find this helpful, but for others:

We have her record the screen capture while doing a simple voiceover. She then edits what she has said into a script which she then reads into a better mic and audio recorder. I then add her audio into FCPX, delete the earlier voiceover, and adjust timings, etc. in FCPX to make the visual match the voiceover.

For calling attention to things I use various plugins to zoom in and to highlight items. Ripple Callouts is a commercial product that does this, but I especially recommend the free TKY Marker Pen plugin for drawing lines, arrows, circles, boxes, etc. to call attention to screen items during your tutorial.

Get TKY Marker Pen here:
www.fcp.co/forum/text-titles/15591-free-...ffect-tky-marker-pen

ScreenFlow uses the same x264 codec as Handbrake does.

If you're startling in ScreenFlow I'd take advantage of the ScreenFlow specific actions and then export ProRes (there's a ProRes 4444 preset but you can customize) and then finish in FCPX. Apple does not use the x264 codec. The closest you can get is using Apple's High Profile CABAC encoding (which is actually pretty close).

If you're an advanced compressionist and want to take advantage of Handbrake's customization, you can export ProRes and go into Handbrakes. Otherwise there's no need to go from ScreenFlow to Handbrake (same codec). If you're coming from FCPX I can see a case for Handbrake over Apple's High Profile CABAC H.264.

Hi Ronny, Thank you for your feedback. You've been very helpful. This may be a naive question, but when you say add Compressor, is that Apple's version of HandBrake?

Apple Compressor

www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/compressor/

Hi cseeman,
Thank you for your helpful response.
Actually, I am a beginner in all of the editing software. It is my plan to begin with using FCPX 10.1.1 as I am learning from Lynda.com. I have some badly messed up movies that are very important for me to launch with and iMovie just can't handle them.

My business coach uses ScreenFlow and Handbrake in His work, but his video needs are much less complicated than mine. From all that I have read so far, it appears wise to compress using the H.264 Codec which I thought was the final step., So if I understand you correctly, If I use FCP for editing my movies and then use ScreenFlow for my screen capture to handle my webinars and ads I can take them directly to my website and other platforms and that should do it?

Cjn

Thank you Karsten,

I am moving up to FCPX for the same reason as you expressed. I am trying to keep all of my software and tools as simple as possible. And I am that beginner, but "Rolling" up the mountain as fast as I can go. :whistle: Also, how does Motion 5 work with FCP? And would you compare Raid-5 to an Apple External Drive, LaCie 2TB Porsche Desigh P'9223 Mobile Hard Drive that I am looking at?

cjn

If going from ScreenFlow to web you can export straight from ScreenFlow since it uses the same x.264 codec as Handbrake.

If going from ScreenFlow to FCPX export Lossless ProRes from ScreenFlow to edit in FCPX. From FCPX you can export ProRes and encode to H.264 in Compressor or Handbrake. FCPX though has a Send To Compressor features (but some don't like it).

x264 is an H.264 codec. It's a specific type of encoder.
ScreenFlow and HandBrake use x.264
Apple uses their own H.264
Another type is MainConcept H.264 used by Adobe and others.
They're all compatible with the same players for the most part. They're all H.264.

ccynthia wrote: Hi cseeman,
Thank you for your helpful response.
Actually, I am a beginner in all of the editing software. It is my plan to begin with using FCPX 10.1.1 as I am learning from Lynda.com. I have some badly messed up movies that are very important for me to launch with and iMovie just can't handle them.

My business coach uses ScreenFlow and Handbrake in His work, but his video needs are much less complicated than mine. From all that I have read so far, it appears wise to compress using the H.264 Codec which I thought was the final step., So if I understand you correctly, If I use FCP for editing my movies and then use ScreenFlow for my screen capture to handle my webinars and ads I can take them directly to my website and other platforms and that should do it?

Cjn

Hi cseeman,
If you would bear with me, Can you clarify this a little further for me? I am starting with FCPX. Then when some of my important movies are "re-created" I plan to download ScreenFlow to do screen capture and things to do introductory movies, and a Webinar to take to my opt-in pages on my website, etc. I had thought that perhaps my next step would be HandBrake for the x264 codec compression and on to Vimeo. But then please humor my ignorance if you will, Do I download ProRes separately from HandBrake or ScreenFlow? I am hoping to avoid using Apple's Compression software because of reviews I have read. So would you be willing to sort of spell the process out to me again?

Thank you so much!

cjn

Hi ddixon,
Thank you for your feedback. You mentioned Ripple Callouts, Aren't there similar features for these extras in FCPX? In my work I have to paint on canvas in front of my camera sometimes talking to my students, sometimes doing VO's and adding music tracks, still photos, and many transitions and special effects. Even some of the screen capture videos will be important to combine with my clips to make the full feature movie. Then it is necessary to upload to my website and other platforms in the highest quality and the most versitile formats.

Thanks,
cjn

Oh yes, I like the TKY Marker Pen suggestion. When I get back from purchasing my extra memory and FCPX at Apple on Wednesday I will come back to Fcp.co and download the link if still here on Thursday.

Again, Thank you so much!

cjn

Hi Ronny,
I do appreciate your reply so much! Your counsel is similar to what I had in mind, but I am still "foggy" about the needed software and in what order. For instance, I consider Final Cut Pro X to be my most important tool, which I will be purchasing this Wednesday from the Apple Store. Then when some of my teaching movies are safely edited in FCPX I thought to purchase Screen Flow online and do the screen capture things that I will need to use in the movie tutorials. I thought my last step would be Vimeo, which I know very little about, but expect to need. I was avoiding the Apple Compressor only because of some negative reviews that I had read, so thought I needed HandBrake, although I am like a "sponge" now and still open to any help I can get. Do you know about Amazon S3; and are Vimeo and Amazon S3 similar, or (redundant)?

thank you,
cjn

Awesome answers, cseeman! :whistle: i am writing it all down.

I will be back tomorrow

Thank you!

Cynthia Jackson, cjn

First - no, there is nothing as capable as Ripple Callouts built in to FCPX, nor even anything like TKY Marker Pen.

It sounds like you're going to be combining video, still images, and screen capture videos. You will want to edit the video in FCPX, inserting still images where desired. Video of a computer screen needs to be captured in ScreenFlow. Once you have ScreenFlow and see its capabilities, you'll need to decide how much editing to do there. SF allows magnifying sections of the screen, defocusing portions, text notations, and more.

The reason we can't tell you exactly what to do is that the lines get blurry between the capabilities of FCPX and ScreenFlow. Some things are better done in one or the other, and there is a certain amount of overlap of what they will do.

Once you have your screen captures and have added all you wish to them in ScreenFlow, then you should export that (in prores format) so that you can add it to the video and stills you're assembling in FCPX.

Finish the entire thing in FCPX. It then needs to be converted to some flavor of h.264 for uploading to Vimeo or YouTube.

At this point there are again more options. You can export directly from FCPX. Or you can export a master file, convert that to h.264 (using Compressor, Handbrake, or other apps), then upload to Vimeo. If you wish to export directly from FCPX, you can either use the built-in settings, or create your own. However, to create your own requires owning Compressor - which, by the way, many of us use and like, despite your reading to the contrary.

About h.264 and x.264 - those are two flavors of the video format that most people use these days for uploading. It retains a very high percentage of the quality of your original video but makes it small enough for realistic upload times. x.264 is a newer version that is slightly better quality, but Apple doesn't seem to officially recognize it yet, as they don't allow you to choose that in Compressor. Some people feel the extra improvement is worth the extra steps - you'd have to export a master file and use Handbrake or something for the conversion. Others feel since Vimeo or YouTube is going to recompress your video anyway, any slight improvement that might show up in the final online version of the video is negligible.

Personally, I use Compressor to create export settings that I can access in FCPX. They are essentially the built-in settings but with a higher bitrate allowance for the video. This gives excellent quality at the expense of longer upload times. I export the h.264 version from FCPX, then manually upload that to Vimeo (you log in to Vimeo, click Upload a Video, and select your h.264 version to send). While it's uploading you can fill in all the info and settings that control how it works once posted.

For widest availability, use either Vimeo or YouTube. I find the quality of the videos I upload to be better on Vimeo. Plus, I like the clean, classy interface there and consider YouTube a cluttered mess. But, you'll find a lot of people who use YouTube and like it. To each his/her own. Vimeo offers a $60 per year Plus account that offers more storage, faster conversions, the ability to password protect a video, and more features that I find to be worth the expense.

Finally, the best advice? Get good audio - if you don't, none of this will matter. Poor audio will make even the most polished video seem cheesy and amateurish. Get a decent microphone close to you as you speak.

I think I sort of got on a roll here - hope this makes sense of the process a little for you. It's not rocket science, but it's also not a trivial thing to learn to do.

Keep sending questions, and good luck.

Oh My! Agreeably, this is a lot to learn.

But I am most grateful! I am taking the time to write out your counsel in my records for ongoing use. Writing important things, (when I am able) is how I learn and use what I learn.

Needless to say I am taking your advice. Thank you so much!

I will look into Compressor, and hold off on HandBrake for now. As for Vimeo versus Youtube, excellent advice! Thank you.

It sounds like you do have some comprehension of what I'm dealing with in my work, not everyone does.

The Mic: I have been using the microphone on my camera; then editing audio in iMovie and using the built in mic for Voice Overs to start out, (Budget concerns). My business coach suggested that I do everything free just to get launched. :whistle: But ultimately, "First Class" is the only way to go.

Can you recommend a decent inexpensive micropphone, like a Lavalier, I think??? But I have no idea who even makes them anymore. Actually, I worked in TV and Radio in College too many years ago, to tell, (before computers) so have a real "excellence" "taste" in my mouth.

Again, Thank you so much!

Cynthia Jackson, cjn

Microphone - first, what camera are you using, and does it have a microphone input?
For the voiceovers, you can use an inexpensive microphone that plugs in to your computer, but when you're on camera, I'm assuming you want the mic to be either mostly hidden or at least very unobtrusive. So, you might want to look for a lavaliere mic that could be used for both purposes. You'll need a wired one, rather than wireless - wireless is too costly at this point.

Off the top of my head I don't have specific mic suggestions, but even a <$50 mic will sound better that the one in your camera or the one in your computer. It will be a better quality microphone, and it will be nearer your mouth.

So, tell us what camera you're using and you'll get some good suggestions on audio.

My camera is a Cannon, EOS Rebel T3i. I use two Tamron Lenses, (that I consider very good quality), mounted of a Tripod.

Amazingly, the audio has been pretty good as viewed on my flat screen. But yes, I do realize that the final product will tell tails.

Then if I find a good Lav will it work well for Voice Overs, and Screen capture as well as in the original
recording?

Also, is around $200.00 a reasonable price to pay for a decent Microphone?

Will check back with you tomorrow, or if unable to, I will be back online on Thursday. Thank you!