Compound clip guilt

Odd title for thread I know. But here is the deal. I really love editing in FCP X. So much so that sometimes I feel that the nle was built just for me!

I’ve used synchronize clips since My interview work is duel sustem audio, the storyline audio is a scratch track just to sync audio from Sound Devices 633.

An area that has me outside my comfort zone is Compound Clips. And I was inspired to write because of another recent thread on being able to “colapse stacked timeline”.

I’ve always been aware that you can create a CC to do just this and thats great. But what always threw me was the creation in the browser of a “new” clip, the CC. If I create a compound clip for each of the “stacked” sections , I’d have a bunch of CC clips that I would have trouble identifying where they came from in the project. “Reveal in Project”? Maybe.

Either way all those CC in the Browser can get confusing, which is why I haven’t usef them much.

I DO realize that a CC functions beyond just condensing a section of a Project. For example, creating a complex title with lots of “layers” (stack) and be able to change something like a word or photo (if using that) and have that change throughout the project. I may be wrong but that CC in the Browser becomes the “Parent” clip. Changes to that change throughout it’s use.

I’m rambling. Maybe my question is how to deal with LOTS of CC.

I want to start using CC in my workflow but trying figure out how or if I keep doing what I’m doing which I’m perfectly happy to do. I also know that to some extent working with Synchronized Clips is a form of CC.

Thanks all.

JL

I use tons of CCs and have no problems with tracking them. Names should make sense, you can add metadata in the Notes for them. Create Events,Keywords, Smart Collections and folders to organize them in. It's a very flexible system.

What would an alternative look like? Would still be something you have to track.

Jonathan Levin wrote: …I DO realize that a CC functions beyond just condensing a section of a Project. …

You have to realize, Compounds are no replacement of bins&tracks … I denied myself this very generic comment in Dimitri's thread.-

Plus, just to 'condense' diff. material, you don't need a compound either (Magnetic timeline…).
The need to 'collapse' lanes is mostly based on thinking in tracks…

From the Manual: "… Compound clips function just like other clips: you can add them to your project, trim them, retime them, and add effects and transitions. …" FinalCut is a Clip-based NLE, so Compounds help you to create clips, not to manage layers …

… maybe a a bit philosophical differentiation, but worth to think about the concept of FinalCut.-

Karsten Schlüter wrote: … maybe a a bit philosophical differentiation, but worth to think about the concept of FinalCut.-

A few years ago, I read a really philosophical article on FCP X. It said, we are constantly dealing with subclips, therefore there is no further differentation (people used to ask, where is there an option to create subclips in FCP X?). The originals are already "compounds" insofar as they are muxed audio and video files, any selection with i&o is technically a subclip. Favorites and rejected selections are too. And on it goes.

A compound clip behaves like any other subclip would, but also like a project in it's own right. That's particularly convenient if you want to send a portion of your timeline to, say, AAE through XML (and later, of course, replace the compound with the AAE export of the *same name*).

I find it not too hard to keep track of my compound clips because of their individual names and because I can create a smart collection. Also, at least in my experience, shift f will show me the compound as a whole in Browser. To get to a original subclip within the compound and reveal it, I had to open it in a separate timeline.

I don't complain, simply because I can't think of any way to make this easier.