FCP X for Coloring

Hey everyone, first time poster here.

I'm a filmmaker that has used FCP since high school but I've never done intense grading with it (just minor adjustments). I'm currently in the process of upgrading my system to a Mac Pro to be able to handle the 4K workflow my DP shoots in. He does the color grading on DaVinci Resolve, which is a great program from grading but I don't like it as much as an NLE and would definitely want to continue assembling my edit in FCP X.

My question is, does FCP X's grading system work well enough to avoid having to buy/learn Resolve for my grading? I know that there's a free version of Resolve available, but I've read that you can't export anything above 2K out of there and back into FCP with the grade intact (if I'm wrong about that please chime in). I would prefer to keep everything in house with FCP X, but I am looking to up my grading skills and Resolve is a great software for doing so. Does anyone here alternate between the two or have you found that FCP X is worthy for coloring? Thanks!

Color Finale, it is by far the most efficient color grading plug in you will find, it costs $99, the best part it is inside of FCPX, so you grade without having to worry about exporting.

I would recommend buying Color Finale, Denver Riddle is working hard on updates, and new versions.

Agreed, if you don't need very high level grading with lots of Power Windows, Color Finale should be enough.

Also agreed. Color Finale is excellent. It has proper colour wheels, curves, secondary vectors, works with LUTs and it all happens right within FCPX. Make sure you use it in conjunction with the FCPX scopes.

If you cannot do the grade with Color Finale, then it time to call a professional :whistle:

Color finale is great, but also don't underestimate what you can achieve with the stock colour corrector! The interface some find annoying, but its essentially it's colour wheels and levels laid out differently. It doesn't quite give the control of curves, but by stacking colour correctors you can get very good subtle results (and save $99).

Excellent, thank you all for your responses. I've been really trying to avoid Resolve so I'm going to give Color Finale a shot. Makes it so much easier keeping it all in house, and Resolve as an NLE leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion.

I agree, for quick color corrections/balancing - the inbuilt color tools within FCP X will get the job done, particularly since its now added as a genuine effect and you can layer them properly for broadcast safe transmissions.

The scopes with X are underestimated, too.

As for me - in the post produced TV stuff I do, I use a variety of tools.

- In multicam 'live' sport switches, I typically stick with FCP X for color corrections.
- For more elaborate edits/compositions I use a variety of tools depending on my mood including Color Finale, Magic Bullet Looks and if I have enough time up my sleeve - Resolve.

Resolve is a great program, the XML round-trip integration with FCP X is pretty good for the most part. However its like the same argument back in the old FCP Studio days, the minority of editors I worked with ever used SoundTrack Pro, Color or even Motion... they all worked within the limitations of FCP 7 to get it done... same seems to apply here.

If you have patience and discipline, Resolve for me is still the best, complete grading solution... but its having the time to do it.

A duck is a duck, is a duck... meaning try as it might to be a NLE - Resolve will always be a color grading tool first and foremost.

Dean...

The only other thing I'd suggest is Colorista III, it doesn't have all the features Color Finale does, but it does bring a few unique features of its own.

The trouble is its a little more pricey so is better to grab on a sale.

Simple reply to your question, does FCP X's grading system work well enough?

YEAH!!!

It's really how good of a colour grader you are, not the tool. Sure there's lots of ways to get faster, set up the interface to work better for you, but as far as quality goes, FCPX has 32-bit floating point processing, ProRes HQ (if you set it), 4:2:2 colour space, a great set of scopes and ColorSync to make sure you're seeing what you're correcting. It's pretty kick-ass if you ask me.

You can stack colour adjustments, mask off by shape or color mask for localized adjustments, build your own effects in motion or download loads of pre-built ones (including http://web.uvic.ca/~fsorvin/02-blog/fcpx_rebel_colour_grader2.html).

It's really up to how you want to work. I'd say give it a shot. You'll learn more about what you can do by trying it yourself than listening to someone tell you what you can't do.

...Or you consider what Fsorvin has to say!!

Sorry, but sometimes we get distracted from the original point and like to point out the cool toys in our collection to others. We mean nothing by it, often its even helpful to hear what others are using...

But for a start, you can try and stick to what FCPX has to offer. Try it out, exploit it, consider solving problems by purchasing filters only when you start running into issues or would like some more creative options at your disposal.

FCPX is quite capable with color.

I find the pucks on the spectrogram potentially clustering together an annoyance personally when you want to perform similar color moves. FCPX not allowing at least 0.5 increments can be a bit restricting at time too, but that was the only real difficulties I periodically found with it. I still use it a lot for secondaries actually.

Give it ago, mess around with it, exploit it, try it out on projects, push it as far as you feel you need to go. If you find you need features that t doesn't provide, then you may want to look around.