Collapse connected clips?

Is there a way to "collapse" connected clips?
Lets say I have 4 composite layers over a clip... it would be nice to be able to collapse them so they take less vertical space. Without having to make a compound clip... Or are there any other ways to deal with the height build up?

While we're at it: please apple don't make titles taller as soon as you add a transition to them!

Collapsing stacked clips is called a Compound Clip.

DmitriZigany wrote: Without having to make a compound clip... Or are there any other ways to deal with the height build up?

Why do you want to avoid compounds? Just curious ...

DmitriZigany wrote: Is there a way to "collapse" connected clips?
Lets say I have 4 composite layers over a clip... it would be nice to be able to collapse them so they take less vertical space. Without having to make a compound clip... Or are there any other ways to deal with the height build up?

While we're at it: please apple don't make titles taller as soon as you add a transition to them!

You can manage the whole height of the timeline by using the timeline appearance, and slimming down the clip height. It is not selective, it is an all or nothing choice, but it is handy nonetheless.

lichinho wrote: …You can manage the whole height of the timeline…

I guess, Dimitri means, that title/gens change to a full-sized 'video'-clip, when you apply transitions to it … which are bigger… by nature.-

Karsten Schlüter wrote:

lichinho wrote: …You can manage the whole height of the timeline…

I guess, Dimitri means, that title/gens change to a full-sized 'video'-clip, when you apply transitions to it … which are bigger… by nature.-

Yes, I get that. It is somewhat annoying because one may want to see thumbnails for clips, hence we may want them tall; whereas for titles we never need them to be so tall (or "vertically fat", I'd say .
I was just offering a way to keep everything small and short, which the OP might perhaps not be aware of.

Axel wrote: Why do you want to avoid compounds? Just curious ...

Because they create a file in the browser that I then have to deal with, coming up with a name, giving it keywords, and it's an extra file that I have to scroll through etc. Just find it very annoying and unneccissary!

Collapsing a stack of clips has to become something. No NLE makes them all vanish. I use Compounds all the time and do not find it annoying. I find it very helpful. I also make a single Smart Collection for all my CCs to keep track of them. Takes less than 30 seconds to create.

FCPX.guru wrote: Collapsing a stack of clips has to become something. .

Why? When you group objects in a graphics application, it doesn't create a file.
I see no reason they couldn't just make it a visual thing... A key command to collapse them double click to expand... I see no reason why I have to make a file out of it and come up with a name just to save some vertical space. It's stupid.

Obviously there's situations when compound clips are great so not saying I want them removed, but for just quickly group things they shouldn't be neccissary.

"When you group objects in a graphics application" it becomes a group, and does require a name, which is what a Compound Clip is.

A Compound Clip is NOT a "file".

So you collapse your clips, would they look like any other clip them? How would you know it's a collapsed set of clips? What would it be called? It has to have a name so you know it's a group of collapsed clips, right? Otherwise you'd get lost and never find it to un-collapse it.

FCPX.guru wrote:
A Compound Clip is NOT a "file".

So you collapse your clips, would they look like any other clip them? How would you know it's a collapsed set of clips? What would it be called? It has to have a name so you know it's a group of collapsed clips, right? Otherwise you'd get lost and never find it to un-collapse it.

Ok, it's not a file but I still have to pause and figure out a name etc... and it takes up space in the browser... totally unneccissary...

Would be really easy to solve with a symbol/colour/whatever... just double-click to expand! Or right click and choose expand... kind of like you do with audio components...

I just can't see any reason why I would have to name something just to collapse them...

Audio components is apples to onions. That audio is part of the media clip it was originally recorded in with the video, so there is in fact something in the browser taking up space for it.

So you select some clips, choose Collapse, they turn a color, have a symbol, and live only in that timeline. HHHmmm... with no way to track it later one but visually in the timeline... hhhmmm...

I use tons of CCs and don't find any issues with managing them. But that's just me.

FCPX.guru wrote: So you select some clips, choose Collapse, they turn a color, have a symbol, and live only in that timeline. HHHmmm... with no way to track it later one but visually in the timeline... hhhmmm...

99% of the time I don't want to use them anywhere... sometimes I might just want to collapse them for a short time... then I have to create a clip, come up with a name for it and all that? It's so convoluted...

Sounds like you want a Bounce-In-Place that Logic Pro X uses. Writes a new flattened file. Drawback, you can't go back to the original. There has to be some container or form all those collapsed clips take. They can't magically exist and not exist at the same time. But Apple could have some really great idea about how to do this. I'd fill out the feedback page for sure.

The problem with compound clips is that to change anything in them, you have to open the compound clip in the timeline viewer. When you do this, you lose all reference to the other clips that are in the parent timeline and and you cannot see rest of the project - you can only see what's in the compound clip. Often you need to time elements in the compound clip in relation to elements in the parent project.

It would be great to be able to expand the compound clip *within* the parent timeline so you can see the whole picture. I find that compound clips (much like pre-comps in AE) are flawed in this manner.

smg669 wrote: It would be great to be able to expand the compound clip *within* the parent timeline so you can see the whole picture. I find that compound clips (much like pre-comps in AE) are flawed in this manner.

Break apart clip items (shift cmd g), and you expand the compound clip within the parent timeline. The changes you make there don't affect the original compound, so if you compound them again (alt g) you create a new clip. There should be an *option* to overwrite the first version. Do you want to change "intro title comp_01"?
Yes, that would be good.

I like the concept, there are some situations where it would be very useful.

FCPX.guru wrote: Sounds like you want a Bounce-In-Place that Logic Pro X uses. Writes a new flattened file.

NO!!!!!
No bloody files. I just want them to collapse/group/merge (call it what you like) visually so they take less space, then I want to be able to (for example) double click it and they go back to "normal". Pretty simple.

Ah, then it has to be a container fo some sort, it has to have a name, you can't have nameless entities in the digital world. All Apple has to do is make Compound Clips expandable without the Break Apart function.

DmitriZigany wrote: ...they create a file in the browser that I then have to deal with, coming up with a name, giving it keywords, and it's an extra file that I have to scroll through etc. Just find it very annoying...99% of the time I don't want to use them anywhere...

If you don't want to use the CC anywhere, why take the time to give it a specific name, or assign keywords? If you really don't need it again, why not just press Enter and FCPX will auto-assign it a name? It's one keystroke.

To exclude the CC from the Browser, you could reject them and use "hide rejected", or make a smart collection where type IS NOT CC.