Adjusting length of a compound clip

When I edit a compound clip and change the length - either longer or shorter - it presents a problem. If it's shorter, then black frames appear at the end of the clip. If it's longer, then frames get cut off. Am I missing something? Is there a way to update the length of the clip to avoid this issue.
What I have been doing when it becomes shorter, is to cut off the black frames at the end. When it's longer, I have had to break apart the compound clip items and readjust the last clip in the compound sequence.
This can't be the way it's supposed to work. Anyone have some pearls of wisdom?

Shab,
Like Craig, I usually rely heavily on Levels (take his comment on NOT using Auto Levels seriously), and also Shadow & Highlight (with the Auto function turned OFF). Then finally, probably a bit of Fast Color Corrector. Be prepared to go back up the Effects and tweak the first two a bit. Note: the order that Effects are applied can make a world of difference. I use this order: Levels, Shadow & Highlight then Fast Color Corrector.
Note: the best results for color and density grading will be on a calibrated NTSC (or PAL) CRT monitor, run through an A-D unit via FW. If you are doing this in the Program Monitor, I'd strongly suggest testing carefully in whatever player you will ultimately use with the same monitor that will be used.
I find that setting the Program Monitor to Quality = Highest and the Magnification = 100% gives one about as good a display, as they will get outside of the use of the calibrated external monitor.
Good luck,
Hunt

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I searched further using the correct word (trim) and found that I had to turn off the audio levels

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Intially I thought this was due to having a compound clip within a compound clip, however I am now getting it on a compound clip one level deep.
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Project not showing full frame in a compound clip

Hi Folk;
I am finishing my first project in FCPX (10.0.9) . Overall everything went very well.
I had another editor start the project on another computer.
I copied the event to my iMac and continued the edit. No problems until I exported the project for the client review.
I have a compound clip with mixed footage and a storyline and connected clips that I have used in a project with several compound clips.
I can play this particular compound clip fine and all the video displays fine. (see picture #2)
I lay the this Compound clip into the project and I get less than full frame out in my "storyline" elements - especially after the orange render bar disappears -
I sent the client a version with the "drop out" video (see first pix below where image does not reveal full frame ) and have spent a few hours looking for a cause for my issue. I am wondering if I am the only one dealing with this.
I have created a work around - exported the compound clip and reimport it as a full clip and layed it into the timeline.
The setting for the compound clip are XDCAM sony and the footage that is at issue is AVCHD from a panasonic.
I have several events providing footage for the compound clip
The project has seveal compound clips from different events
The event folder I created seems to be where the issue lives. or maybe the render -
I am using orginal footage not proxies.
I want to avoid this in the future so any insight is helpful.
I feel I have made a mess of my first project and want to clean up any bad habit that may be causing my problem.
Thanks for the opportunity to diagnos this.
I am sure this is as clear as mud.
Cheers!

when you first create a new project, FCPX *can* be set to accept "Automatic Settings" -- basically, it will take the properties of the first clip dropped in the storyline. This can be very convenient if you know the media will be all the same, or you know how to manipulate the "first drop".
If you know the format you want your project to be, it's better to set that up manually when you start a new project (Advanced Options). When you apply your media to the storyline, FCPX will conform the media to the project settings. It doesn't always work perfectly (due to custom or proprietary differences in file formats for the containers holding the media.) For instance, one of my older (SD) camcorders produces "Samsung AVC" (from Get Info on the file) and FCPX simply will not recognize the anamorphic footage.
Anyway, so, yes, I would suspect the 1440x1020 footage might be problematic. (Are you sure it's 1020?? or did you mistype? If it's actually 1080, it still might be giving you problems. All of my 1440 footage requires manually adjusting the width by 133.33%).
You can force a change for your project by clicking going out into the Project Library and with your project selected, you should see a wrench icon at the bottom right of the inspector. Click that and adjust your project settings (you cannot change the frame rate once a project is started, but you can change just about everything else.) Once you get the format set up (and you go back into your project), then you'll know which clips will need to be adjusted. If you have footage that won't fit the frame, you will probably need to go into the video tab > Transform, turn down the Scale disclosure triangle and adjust the X scale (usually) and Y scale (only if necessary.) If the footage you need to conform is SD, there is an Anamorphic Override option available in Info > Settings.
About compound clips... FCPX tries to guess a format based on "common" properties. If you're creating compound clips with mixed media - Use Custom Settings and set the properties to be the same as the project format.
HTH

FCPX Compound clip duration

When you create a compound clip in fcpx, does it have a fixed length? How do you make it longer?
Thanks

It is MUCH simpler than that.
I think you misunderstood me. I meant trimming (i.e. extending or shortening) in the *project* timeline.
After you make your edits in the compound clip, go back to the project timeline. You won't see the new extension, but you just drag the yellow border to the right to extend.

Opening Compound clips with playhead in place

Hi all - FCPX convert here loving most apsects of the app.
Little issue - I would expect that if you douple click a compund clip it should open with the playhead at the point wher you double clicked to open it - or at least at the point where the playhead is in the Primary storyline. Aparently it doesn't - instead it remembers where you were last time you were inside the compound clip and you have to find the bit you ouble clicked on (if that maeks sense).
Is there anyway arrive inside a compound clip at the point where I i am in the primary storyline? It's a litte tedious having to refind my spot each time.

I find it annoying too!
Here's a little bit of weirdness for you...
Compound clips... they can only be expanded as far as the clip content length they contain. If you have a 15 sec clip trimmed to 10 seconds on the storyline -- make a compound clip of that -- then you can only expand the compound clip to 10 seconds and no further. [You can expand the original clip inside the compound, and dragging the compound trim out will reflect the new length (just for completeness)].
What does that mean?
Trim the compound clip from the end to your playhead (snapping on makes this easier). Open the compound clip. There is an out point marker where you trimmed the compound clip on the storyline level -- it's easy to see and right on target. You can do anything in the compound clip to all of the original media -- you are not limited by the out point play range -- if the original length of the compound is important, then just make sure you don't add any content (connected clips, etc.) that go beyond your existing media that's already contained in the compound.
Back on the storylline - drag the compound clip all the way out again.
If you don't want to go into a trimmed compound... trim the clip from the back to the playhead anyway. There is a black tag with two pieces of information:
1) the length of the media from the beginning of the clip to the trim and
2) the offset of the trim
type command - z to undo
In the compound:
you can use the length data to find your playhead point and inside the compound (which usually starts at 0:00) you can go straight to the time using the playhead clock (click directly on the clock or type Control - P and then type in the time you got from the trim operation - type Return or Enter.) That will place the playhead exactly where you need it.

Is there a way to see all my compound clips created on the timeline, in the browser as an accessible thumbnail list....?

I am facing a problem that
due to big footage I first extracted the seemingly fine clips in chunks in one timeline in various layers which is still enormous for my RAM
now I have to take out smaller and more appropriate bits from this timeline
I have opened another timeline where I just copy paste the best shots from my previous enormous timeline and this works fine due to less media for 6gb RAM mac pro
but it is really tedious to go back and forth to copy paste
it would be so wonderful if I could extract those bits from the clips just like we do with any other new footage from the browser window with all the clips visible
I think one way can be to export these compound clips seperately and import them as events into the browser but that would be a generation loss
is there any other way.....? to view these compound clips infront of my eyes all at once or keeping all that footage on the timeline besides the finalising layer is the only option...?
I am facing this rare problem because I'm editing a music video and no shot is more than 2 seconds and that too from several groups of footage that has to be mixed.....so all the data has to be visible to decide if a bit of guitar piece would look good here or drums or close up or long shot.....so everything has to be seen....can you suggest me a smarter workaround please ?

Thank you.Ok say for e.g.
500 video files imported in fcpx
800 clips extracted from these obviously on the timeline and joined/compounded according to their content in say 15 layers according to 15 instruments used ,so now just to see the entire usable footage ....
now one 7 minute song sequence has to be made where bits would be simultaneously taken from these 15 layers as all instruments are playing simultaneously
these shots are not more than 2 secs each according to the beat........
when I try to work with these 15 layers as well as the Final primary layer that I'm making in the same timeline my fcpx becomes slow
but when I drag individual layer to individual timelines it is fine so that is the only option
but now for every 2 second bit I have to go back to the 15 layered timeline and find one single suitable shot
So I was wondering is there a way to be able to see these layers and clips on the timeline in the browser in a systematic fashion like the way we get with keywords ?
and keywords can only be used in the imported clips already in the browser ,and not after we drag it on the timeline.....
Till now I think exporting and importing back is the only option ...but is there another work around ?

How do I move a compound clip in one event to another event when it is used in a project?

I've been using FCPX since 10.0.3. The recent upgrade to 10.1 is forcing me to reorganize everything. At some point during the upgrade cycle, Apple decided to store ALL compound clips inside events, automatically, upon creation. I was oblivious to this decision at first. So here's what happened as a result.
I have 10 projects, numbered 1 through 10. My goal was to have one event for each project. However, it looks like most of my compound clips from my later projects got automatically created and placed in the first event (Video 1) instead of in the correctly numbered event. I'm pretty sure the clips INSIDE the compound clips are referencing the correct event; it's just the compound clip itself that resides in the wrong event. I'd like to move these compound clips over to the event they SHOULD have been created in, in the first place. However, I'm not sure if dragging and dropping them to the correct event will (a) create a new copy of the compound clip (one that is not referenced by any project whatsoever), or (b) move the original compound clip to the right event (removing it from the original/wrong event). Also, I'm really concerned about this, because I'm not sure how this affects the compound clip as used inside the actual project. I often have certain effects, color correction, etc. applied to the compound clip itself, and I don't want to lose that.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really want to get these clips in order.

You can freely drag compound clips between events as you've seen.
If you do this between events in the same library, it will be a move by default; holding down the Option key will make it a copy operation.
If you drag between events in different libraries, this will be a copy operation. All clips contained in the compound clip will also be copied (or references as sym links) to the target library in order to keep the library completely self-contained (libraries never references each other and never span volumes).
Mark

How do I get chapter markers defined in a compound clip to show up in the DVD menu?

I have created a timeline to burn a DVD/Blu-Ray. The timeline contains 3 compound clips. Each compound clip contains roughly 25 chapter markers.
When I open the Share > DVD dialog, it shows the Chapter button in the preview, but the DVD itself doesn't have the chapter markers.
Expected Result: When I define Chapter markers in a compound clip, they should show up on a DVD burned from a timeline that used the compound clip.
Actual Result: The DVD does not contain the chapters button, nor do the chapter skip buttons do anything. It's as if the chapters were never defined.
Workaround: Redefine all the chapter markers in the new timeline over the compound clips - Annoying!
Is there a simple way to get FCPX to recognize the chapter markers defined in the compound clip when I burn the project? It would save me quite a bit of time!!
Thanks, all, for your help!

Thanks for the tip. I was looking for this feature, but it was not included in the context menu. It can be found in the "Clip" menu.
I think the best workflow for me would be this:
Edit in a master timeline
Select the entire master time line, send to compound clip.
Create a new project, add the compount clip
Add the chapter markers to the new project
Select everything in the new project, create a second compound clip.This makes the chapter markers portable.
Open up the "burn" project, insert the second compount clip.
Select the newly inserted compound clip, and select "Break Apart Clip" from the "Clip" menuThe result is a managable compound clip with chapter markers.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question!
db

How do I share a compound clip between projects?...

Hello everyone,
I have created a 10 second intro/title graphic clip in Motion and published it to FCPX. I have added this generator sequence to a project's timeline in FCPX. I then added a lower third title set. I have edited my text (font, style, etc) of my lower third text to where I want it. I then created a compound clip of the two parts (title generator and the lower third text element).
Now that it is dialed in, I need to be able to use it as a template for a series of videos I am working on. I can't seem to find a way to save it and make it availible to drop into other project sequences. I have tried to make a favourite out of the clip, I tried to copy and paste between projects (and into a new event)... nothing works fo rme.
What am I missing?
Any help is appreciated, thank you,
Shea A.J. Comfort

Hi Andy
Thank you for the advice.
I tried your method but there definitely seems to be a fault or glitch in my software. If I highlight a number of connected clips and audio tracks the program will not copy and paste them into the newly created compound clip in my event library.
I therefore decided to do it the slow ay and copy each individual item. This worked fine until I came to the final audio track. No matter how many times I copy this track Final Cut refuses to do this. It always comes up with the previous item I copied. I have retried this and it will copy all the items except one. As you would expect I have done a fair amount of work on this track in the form of equyalisation, a comnpression filter and numerous keyframes on the level to come out with a mix that I am happy with. I cannot however move it from the original project.
I find this totally unacceptable and consider the software to be unfit for purpose as a result. Unfortunately the apple terms and conditions state that all purchases are final and I have no recourse upon them for the fact that it does not work.
I cannot see how an update will fix a problem with my software that is not universal to all users. I believe that I can reinstall it without being charged again but am hesitant to do this for fear of losing the large amount of work that I have put into the project.
My only hope now is to ring the premium rate number for customer support in the unlikely hope that it can be solved this way.
Not Happy
Simon

Can anyone help me...Why Can't I open a compound clips containing missing files?

I Have been using FCPX for only a short time and I have a few unfinished projects on the go. But after tidying up an reorganising my hard drives putting FCPx Projects and Events on an external drive. I find some of my projects with compound clips show this horrid warning icon for "missing files". I am want to relink the missing clips but FCPX will not allow me to open the compound clips so I could see what are the missing ones... so, can anyone help find a way to re-link or recover those missing files.

File browser? You mean the compound clip is in the project but not in the event? What version of the software are you using?
Select the compound clip and use Clip>Reference New Parent Clip. Does that work? Try relinking the project files.

Is it true that compound clips don't transfer when organizing, consolidating, or duplicating projects?

I've been stymied trying to duplicate projects with used media. My compound clips lose their connections much of the time. To be fair, I use compound clips that I made before 10.6 and after 10.6. Maybe that's the issue? Either way, I thinking I'm doing everything by the book -- organizing and consolidating event media, consolidationg project media, then duplicating, then organizing again just to be sure. But my compound clips connections are getting lost. I am confused about all of these organizing and consolidating choices and would love to get the dope on how to do this in a fool proof way. That is if there isn't a bug with the compound clip transferring -- which I read on FCP.CO. Thanks for any advice.

I've got a project on my Thunderbolt drive that references 3 events:
My aim is to move this project to another disk with only the used clips, including compound and multicam clips. So I click on the project and pick duplicate project with used clips and select a different drive.
(I've tried consolidating and organizing these events and projects before this step but I always get the messages that the media is all in the same location.)
When the project duplicates, I find that it still references clips on the original drive:
So I go to modify the event references and drag the event that I want to reference (in this case the one on the Macintosh HD) to the top of the list, as such:
When I click OK, however, the event on my Mac HD does not really stay at the top of the list, and my info pannel shows that the project is still referencing multiple events in multiple locations. When I reopen the modify events window, the event references are not in the order I tried to set them at in the previous step:
I can repeat this process over and over and still get random and incorrect results.
The big issue is that if I look at the event that I tried to duplicate the used media to, the compound clips are all referencing their original events still. If I disconnect the drive with those original events, I get the missing media icon in my event and my project.
If I reconnect the drive and try to organize event files or consolidate or organize project files, my compound clips still reference media from the other drives.
I believe I've tried performing nearly every sequence of consolidating, organizing, duplicating, etc that I've read about -- not just the sequence above. And I never get reliable results with compound clips.
I would love a review of the exact sequence of events I should follow to successfully archive a project on a separate drive with only used media, including compound clips. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Copy and Paste doesn't work inside compound clips

If I have two compound clips, when I try to copy some clips from inside one, then open the other compound clip and paste, nothing happens.
However, if I try the same on a project timeline paste works.
This is really annoying as I cannot move a clip from one scene to another when I have set up my scenes as compound clips.

They were created in 10.0.8.
Are you definitely going into two separate compound clips?
For example, If I explode one of the compound clips on a timeline then paste works again. That still means I need separate projects for each scene which is a pain.
What I would like in FCP X, is to be able to have more than one timeline open simulataneously, so I can drag relevant clips between them. I am finding with a documentary that I am editing, where the story is not obvious and scripted in advance, that developing story idea sections as compound clips is really incovenient. I often realise that clips there were in one section work better in another. This was much easier in FCP 7 where you can open two timelines and drag between them.
I hope apple add the ability to open multiple timelines.

FCPX Compound Clip Transition Issue

I'm making a documentary in FCPX. I've created a few compound clips with some photographs. When I overwrite to primary storyline I want to add transitions, but it won't let me. Is this a bug or just the way it is? Does anybody know a work-around?

There's a preference in the Editing section called, "Apply Transitions with:" The drop down menu gives you the choice between Available Media and Full Overlap. If you choose Full Overlap, it should borrow media from the clips to make the transition happen. This will shorten both shots but should allow the transition.
Andy

Reusing Compound Clips from a Project

I'm working on an opening sequence that will be used in several projects. I know that I can create a Compound Clip in the events library and put my clips there, but I can't use FCPX's transitions in it. Is there a way that I can duplicate a compound clip from one project into another? Besides copy and paste, that is, in a fashion that when I update the original it also updates the projects that reference it.

I know that I can create a Compound Clip in the events library and put my clips there, but I can't use FCPX's transitions in it.
Not sure why you think this but you definitely can create transitions inside compound clips that are in Events. They should act much like any other Compound Clips (though there are a few differences, one is no Auditions).
If you are thinking that you can't use a transition on a compound clip, then you need to remember that you first have to provide enough media for the transition -- either let FCPX do it by using "full overlap" in the preferences, or trim back the compound clip once placed in the timeline if using "available media."
Is there a way that I can duplicate a compound clip from one project into another? Besides copy and paste, that is,
That is the only way to do it -- copypaste.
in a fashion that when I update the original it also updates the projects that reference it.
Currently there doesn't exist any entity in FCPX that behaves like this. Each time you place something in a project, it becomes a separate "instance" and is no longer connected to the original clip/compound clip you copied it from, whether from an Event or another Project. It would be nice to have that option (e.g., a checkbox that makes a compound clip in an Event "Dynamically Update" copies wherever it exists in projects), but that would be a new feature. Use Feedback to request it!

Adjusting length of a compound clip

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