FCPX and Screenflow and handbrake?

ccynthia wrote: ... how does Motion 5 work with FCP? And would you compare Raid-5 to an ... Porsche Desigh ... Hard Drive ?

FCPX = the editor, coming with tons of 'ready-made' titles, transitions, design-elements. And export-options..
Motion5 = a separate, stand-alone app able to create your own titles, transitions, design-elements for FCPX.
Compressor = a separate, stand-alone app able to create your own compression/export options for FCPX.

Do you need FCPX? For sure
Do you need M5? .. only, if you want to/can create your own elements. Or do very complex 'animations'.
Do you need Compressor? ... only for the very rare case, you want and are able (=understand) to create your very own compression settings (such as a mentioned above 'FCPX exports using x264'-setting). (pssst: the fee tool Mpeg Streamclip can do a lot, what Compressor can do - if, IF you know what knobs to turn)

I dare to say: Compressor is your last item on the shopping list.
FCPX comes with everything you need PLUS in a 'one-click-only'-fashion .. the compression-templates FCPX comes with are excellent. Full stop. Don't blow your head with ... follow Ronny's advice "Forget Handbrake!" ...

Motion5? ... for me: a must. But: reallllly different from any other app I used before. And: to create professional-looking designs, you should be a professional designer! :lol: At last: you can easily modify existing FCPX elements! That's where the magic starts, example: right-click on a FCPX' lower-third, select 'open in Motion', add in Motion your company logo, save it = presto! from now on, you have your very own lower-third - fix built-in in FCPX! Have you noticed this section of fcp.co? Mostly done with M5 ...

Your Porsche-drive is nice (I'm German, I HAVE to say that ... ) .. I'm using WD or Intenso, shoestring-budget here.. Technically: a Thunderbolt-connection is much faster than usb3; and a Raid5 is much faster and reliable than a single usb3 drive ... but expen$$$ive!!! ... ask Santa... depends on, how much you get paid for your tutorials... Much more important: backups, backups, backups!! Imagine, how much time = costs you spent for a lost Project! ... and a RAID5 is no 'backup', it just minimizes the probability of a disaster... Nice2have for consumers, a must for pros.

Just a word from the hobbyist corner concerning mics: headsets do wonder - why? Because the mic is CLOSE to your mouth, and always in same distance. Amateurish audio is recorded miles away from the source, e.g. with the built-in mic of camera. You get 500% better audio with ANY microphone if it is CLOSE to your mouth. And I mean really close. And do not record in the kitchen or bath-room = the less reverb/'room' , the better. I'm covering my head (and monitor) with some blanket - yepp, looks silly, but does it's job ... for free.

Very last word: don't consider too much - just DO!
German proverb: Not just cackling, start laying eggs! :woohoo:

In general I agree with Karsten - the fact is that until you do a couple of these, you won't really know exactly what extras you need. FCPX and ScreenFlow will do everything to get you started. You don't have to have Compressor, Motion, a RAID, etc., unless you really get into this in a big way. Since you mentioned a business coach, I'm assuming you hope to develop this into a money-making endeavor.

I also agree that recording voiceovers should be done in an acoustically "dead" room - I use a carpeted, full-of-clothes walk in closet. The space where you do your "live" video should also be as dead as possible.

Rather than all the extras, I'd put my next $50-$100 into a microphone, although I'm not a fan of the headset mics. I don't find the quality great unless you spend a fair amount of money, plus if used onscreen they just look strange to me unless you're going for that creepy infomercial look.

The t3i - pros will tell you the audio from that is unusable. I will diplomatically say that if you've been happy using the built-in mic on that camera, you're going to very pleased with the improvement you get from a mic close to your mouth as we've recommended.

If you really get going with this as a business, you will eventually want to get an external audio recorder, or at least a preamp (goes between the mic and the camera to improve the sound). But, for now, maybe someone will have a recommendation for a <$100 mic that will plug into the t3i.

Hi Cynthia,
Welcome to FCPX. I think you will like it and the increased control and abilities it gives you over iMovie. Some of the things you learned in iMovie will translate over, so you will have a good beginning. Watch as many tutorial videos as you can and check for focused vids for using separate features.
Since you are new and want to do as much as possible without spending lots of $$, I would suggest that you export directly out of FCPX to YouTube or Vimeo using the built-in share menu. Both YouTube and Vimeo apply their own compression to all vids so what you can improve is limited. If you find the quality unacceptable, then look at playing with pre-compressing/codecs using Handbrake or Compressor. I really doubt that you will need to use either program. Keeping it simple.
Not sure about your needs for a lav mic. Do you do a lot of speaking on camera while moving around? Or do you do mostly voice overs?
For a better mic than your camera's a possible free lav mic is to use an iPhone or any cell phone with a decent wired headset. Hide the phone in a pocket, run the headset wires under shirt/blouse, pin the mic on collar or in front and hide the EarPods. Press record in any audio recording app, clap your hands and you can give your talk and sync to the camera sound. Or you can use an iPhone as a B-roll camera and if it is close, the on board mic is not too bad, and in my experience with Nikons and GoPros better quality sound.
If you do mostly voice overs, I would recommend a decent USB desk mic, generally around $100.00 USD. Each mic has its place/function, but in general a desk mic will give better sound than a lav, but is much harder to hide under your collar.
You don't say which MBP you have so not known is what GraphicProcessingUnit(GPU/video card) you have. This will affect your processing of any applied effects as well as export times.
While RAID drives will provide faster I/O speeds they require attention and knowledge. All RAIDS need to be backed up separately, and RAID 5 and higher require at least 3 drives. I prefer RAID 10 over RAID 5, but that requires at least a 4 Bay enclosure. RAID gets quite technical and deserves lots of thought. That said, do a least get an external drive or two for your media and a separate drive for back ups. USB 3 with USAP provides good speed while costing less than ThunderBolt. Do not use USB 2 or Firewire 400.

Hope this helps, Greg

p.s. If you have any examples of your work posted somewhere, provide a link and I bet folks here can provide great advice that is tailored to your needs.

Microphone? I use a Sony wireless that I run into a Tascam DR60. The Tascam is normally used as an audio unit underneath my GH2. For home use, a Audio Technica 3350 lav (about 20 bucks) and a Zoom H1 (~$100) recorder have proven sufficient for tutorials. Especially, if you want to have your mug on the screen sometimes, and don't want to cover your beauty behind a fat microphone. The H1 can even be used as a cheap audio interface for your Mac. There are some Tascam recorders in the H1's price range that are said to have better pre-amps, but I haven't tried them.

I don't know your needs for screen recording, but I have done simple tutorials (no zooming or panning on the screen) with QT X. For more sophisticated stuff, Screen Flow is unbeatable though.

Handbrake: There's also MPEG Streamclip , which I see as a kind of poor man's Compressor.

Question: I have been using x.264 with Compressor's legacy version (MacBreak Studio had a tutorial on this issue a few years ago). The new and improved Compressor doesn't allow for that anymore?
(I don't really need Compressor, as I have the complete Adobe suite, but if Compressor still lets you use x.264, I might cough out the 50 bucks)

Love this post, Thank you! And I hope that when I am able to be back here after I get my FCPX that I can find this page easily again. Even this forum is new to me. LOL

consider all of these marvelous options.

Thank you for your great advice! I am taking it all in and do understand much better now.
I did try to upload a 2.18 minute video Ad in my profile here, but couldn't figure out how to save it or get it to stay. Then when I went back...lost it entirely. Couldn't even put the photo on my profile....Will be back in a couple of days.

You've gotten a lot of advice here, some of which I think is probably overkill for your current stage. But, remember that the options should be driven by your content. I got the sense that your end product will be about 2/3 onscreen training video and 1/3 explanatory screen captures. This will affect microphone choice, as will your budget.

And you haven't really given a budget so the recommendations are a bit all over the place. And we don't know if your eventual goal is 5 videos or 50. This will affect storage options.

So, feel free to come back with more specifics and the advice can be better targeted.

By the way, the forum here is very limited as to size of attachments. Post something on YouTube or Video and give the link here, or embed it here.

Thank you, I tried to upload a tiny example of what I do but couldn't manage it. My website is:
www.accidentalmasterpiece.com but still under construction. Then, I also need to go in and revise my website before launching. But ya, this business will definitely fly, eventually :) When I am
able to return here, I will respond to your posts more clearly. I am amazed and grateful for all of
your help and others.

Yes, you are very helpful! Thank you. I had tried to "quick reply" a little earlier, have no idea
where the reply went. But I will be back as soon as I am able. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/77P6L1MokH8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen> This is a
2.18 min. video ad, don't know if you can open it. Was unable to upload it in my profile...

O.K, Thank you, will try right now.<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/77P6L1MokH8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>You can see I am in the very beginning stages, but have taken about a year to develop this far. Learned then jumped in designing my own
website, and making and editing my own movies, writing stories and things and getting paintings ready as well. My website is www.accidentalmasterpiece.com if you are interested. i know that you folks
are all busy too, but you are all great! Thank you!

Thank you for your feedback. When I am able to get back online, I will respond more completely. Meanwhile, I am grateful for your advice.

Thank you, I already replied here to your post, but it seems to be out there floating somewhere.

Love your blanket idea and ya, getting the job done is key!

Hi again Cynthia.
Hope everything is going well for you.

From your initial description for upgrading your ram in your computer I think you most likely have either a 13 or 15 inch mid 2012 MBP. Yes?

Apple will supply up to 8GB ram but other 3rd parties will offer up to 16GB for those computers for only slightly more $$ Check OWC or Amazon if here in US. If you are on an extended warranty, I believe it does not void to replace ram. Not hard to do.

Everything you are doing currently on your website can be accomplished in FCPX. By the way, if just now purchasing it will be version 10.1.2 and you can download it from the App Store.

Since you are using just one Canon rebel camera, you will get no benefits from a RAID set-up.

External USB3 drives will provide plenty of throughput for your media files. Unless you decide to go buy a Red Epic camera.

Do you have back-up drives? Please back-up at least 2X. You could also consider backing up to the Cloud for one of those back-ups.

Yes I think you will benefit from a separate mic. I went to your website to see your vids. I think you will be impressed by the improved audio quality. Not clear if you would need a lav mic or not. Lots of decent mics for less than $200.00. Or you can go with an external recorder like a zoom or tascam, etc… and use that. They have very good sound.

For purposes of knowing who you are responding to here on this forum, it helps to address by name in your responses.

Hope this helps, best of luck, inch by inch, Greg

I always use x264 with Compressor 4.1.2 for uploading to Vimeo. I use 3 pass so it take a little longer time to encode. No problem what so ever and the quality is very good here is a good tutorial with all the stuff needed tfilms.co/best-compressor-settings-for-vimeo-v2/
Hope I am not totally off topic

From the hobbyist corner
Makki