Lots Of Text Needed

Mitchell Lewis · June 6th, 2009, 01:04 PM

For the majority of the long format (corporate) projects I do, I use FCP to edit. But the type tool leaves something to be desired compared to the type engine in Adobe After Effects (and most other Adobe products). So if the project requires a lot of text (Power Point style text with bullets, etc...) then I've normally created them in After Effects, rendered them out as Lossless w/Alpha (animation codec) and imported them in to FCP. If Apple FCP simply allowed you to change the size of the font without creating a new layer, that would solve a lot of problems. I'm about to start another one of these projects on Monday, so I thought I'd check to see what other people are doing in this situation?

How do you prepare a bunch (20+ pages) of Power Point style text in a FCP project? Do you use the FCP type tool? Or something else? What's the workflow?

Thanks! :)

Les Wilson · June 6th, 2009, 02:20 PM

I know what you mean. You can use either Motion (attachment #1) or Live Type(attachment #2). Both are included in Final Cut Studio 1 and later. Both tools let you design a screen of text and vary the text size on a multi-line text object. Motion lets you bring in your finished video as a track. You can then lay down your graphics exactly where you want them for the entire segment. You have the option of exporting just the graphics layers or with the video/audio as well. Another way to use it is to create each slide as a separate Motion file and import it into your FCP timeline. YMMV.

I haven't used Live Type but you could do a similar thing where you create a separate Live Type file for each slide and import it into FCP. I could not find a way to bring a background video into Livetype. YMMV

Shaun Roemich · June 6th, 2009, 02:27 PM

I use LiveType for most of my basic to intermediate titling. It doesn't have a TON of frills and the interface takes some getting use to but I get great results with little effort.

Robert Lane · June 6th, 2009, 05:56 PM

Actually there's a little-known but Über-powerful text tool built right into FCP: Boris 3D. The title is misleading making it seem all its does is "3D" text effects but it's an entire suite of text-type tools. Far, far and away more capable than the rudimentary "text" tool in FCP.

I've seen editors purchase text plug-ins with exactly the same functionality and then do a "Doh!" when they saw Boris at work - and it's free!

Try it, you'll love it.

Mitchell Lewis · June 6th, 2009, 08:27 PM

Thanks for the suggestions! (I always forget about Live Type) I've never tried Boris 3D text. I'll take a look at that and see if I can figure it out quickly (don't want to look stupid in front of the client sitting over my shoulder)

This forum is awesome! :)

Les Wilson · June 6th, 2009, 09:28 PM

I find Boris to be tedious, slow and hard to use.

Robert Lane · June 6th, 2009, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Les Wilson

I find Boris to be tedious, slow and hard to use.

Boris is 10x faster than Live Type which requires heavy GPU rendering; Boris can be reused in the same sequence without re-rendering.

John Armstrong · June 7th, 2009, 06:50 AM

An often overlooked application for quick, flexible slides that are easily integrated into an FCP timeline is Keynote, one of the components of iWork.

Here is a web tutorial I produced that integrates Keynote slides with video footage.

YouTube - Take Care of Your Clutch--the Ranger Protocol

Hit the HD and full-screen buttons. Overall quality of the slides holds up pretty well.

Here is a link to a keynote/FCP tutorial by larry Jordan: Technique - Using Keynote for Animated Sequences in Final Cut Pro

May be too late for OP to consider Keynote for a Monday project start. But other might want to consider it.

Mitchell Lewis · June 7th, 2009, 08:42 AM

Thanks! I really like the Keynote idea. I've been wanting to purchase iWork for a long time now anyway, this gives me an excuse to do it. But yeah, I won't be able to use it for this project, but I'll have it (and learn it!) for the next one.

In the mean time, I'm going to take a look at Boris. I'll see how complicated it is to learn (I'm guessing it's not too bad)

Thanks again for some great solutions! (I'm hoping that FCS3 will incorporate some updates to the FCP text generator)

Mitchell Lewis · June 7th, 2009, 11:32 AM

I watched a Larry Jordan tutorial on Lynda.com where Larry explains all the different text tools available in FCP. For this particular project, I think Boris will work best for me. I did learn about the cool Motion templates for really fancy text and we might use one or two of those as well. We'll see how it goes. Boris allows me to easily do static text like you'd see in a Power Point presentation. In the future we'll buy iWork and use some Keynote effects as John suggests. (probably the best compromise solution)

I feel much better about the project now that I have a variety of tools available. (Boris, LiveType, Motion Templates and in the future Keynote)

June 6th, 2009, 02:27 PM	#3
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	I use LiveType for most of my basic to intermediate titling. It doesn't have a TON of frills and the interface takes some getting use to but I get great results with little effort. __________________ Shaun C. Roemich Road Dog Media - Vancouver, BC - Videographer - Webcaster www.roaddogmedia.ca Blog: http://roaddogmedia.wordpress.com/

June 6th, 2009, 05:56 PM	#4
Robert Lane Go Go Godzilla Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ USA Posts: 2,788 Images: 15	Actually there's a little-known but Über-powerful text tool built right into FCP: Boris 3D. The title is misleading making it seem all its does is "3D" text effects but it's an entire suite of text-type tools. Far, far and away more capable than the rudimentary "text" tool in FCP. I've seen editors purchase text plug-ins with exactly the same functionality and then do a "Doh!" when they saw Boris at work - and it's free! Try it, you'll love it. Attached Images __________________ Robert Lane Producer/Creator - Bike Pilots TV

June 6th, 2009, 08:27 PM	#5
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Thanks for the suggestions! (I always forget about Live Type) I've never tried Boris 3D text. I'll take a look at that and see if I can figure it out quickly (don't want to look stupid in front of the client sitting over my shoulder) This forum is awesome! :) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

June 7th, 2009, 08:42 AM	#9
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Thanks! I really like the Keynote idea. I've been wanting to purchase iWork for a long time now anyway, this gives me an excuse to do it. But yeah, I won't be able to use it for this project, but I'll have it (and learn it!) for the next one. In the mean time, I'm going to take a look at Boris. I'll see how complicated it is to learn (I'm guessing it's not too bad) Thanks again for some great solutions! (I'm hoping that FCS3 will incorporate some updates to the FCP text generator) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

June 7th, 2009, 11:32 AM	#10
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	I watched a Larry Jordan tutorial on Lynda.com where Larry explains all the different text tools available in FCP. For this particular project, I think Boris will work best for me. I did learn about the cool Motion templates for really fancy text and we might use one or two of those as well. We'll see how it goes. Boris allows me to easily do static text like you'd see in a Power Point presentation. In the future we'll buy iWork and use some Keynote effects as John suggests. (probably the best compromise solution) I feel much better about the project now that I have a variety of tools available. (Boris, LiveType, Motion Templates and in the future Keynote) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

June 6th, 2009, 01:04 PM	#1
Mitchell Lewis Trustee Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Kennewick, WA Posts: 1,124	Lots Of Text Needed - Solutions? For the majority of the long format (corporate) projects I do, I use FCP to edit. But the type tool leaves something to be desired compared to the type engine in Adobe After Effects (and most other Adobe products). So if the project requires a lot of text (Power Point style text with bullets, etc...) then I've normally created them in After Effects, rendered them out as Lossless w/Alpha (animation codec) and imported them in to FCP. If Apple FCP simply allowed you to change the size of the font without creating a new layer, that would solve a lot of problems. I'm about to start another one of these projects on Monday, so I thought I'd check to see what other people are doing in this situation? How do you prepare a bunch (20+ pages) of Power Point style text in a FCP project? Do you use the FCP type tool? Or something else? What's the workflow? Thanks! :) __________________ Sony EX3, Canon 5D MkII, Chrosziel Matte Box, Sachtler tripod, Steadicam Flyer, Mac Pro, Apple/Adobe software - 20 years as a local videographer/editor

June 6th, 2009, 02:20 PM	#2
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	I know what you mean. You can use either Motion (attachment #1) or Live Type(attachment #2). Both are included in Final Cut Studio 1 and later. Both tools let you design a screen of text and vary the text size on a multi-line text object. Motion lets you bring in your finished video as a track. You can then lay down your graphics exactly where you want them for the entire segment. You have the option of exporting just the graphics layers or with the video/audio as well. Another way to use it is to create each slide as a separate Motion file and import it into your FCP timeline. YMMV. I haven't used Live Type but you could do a similar thing where you create a separate Live Type file for each slide and import it into FCP. I could not find a way to bring a background video into Livetype. YMMV Attached Thumbnails

June 6th, 2009, 09:28 PM	#6
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	I find Boris to be tedious, slow and hard to use.

June 7th, 2009, 06:50 AM	#8
John Armstrong New Boot Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Frederick, Maryland Posts: 7	An often overlooked application for quick, flexible slides that are easily integrated into an FCP timeline is Keynote, one of the components of iWork. Here is a web tutorial I produced that integrates Keynote slides with video footage. YouTube - Take Care of Your Clutch--the Ranger Protocol Hit the HD and full-screen buttons. Overall quality of the slides holds up pretty well. Here is a link to a keynote/FCP tutorial by larry Jordan: Technique - Using Keynote for Animated Sequences in Final Cut Pro May be too late for OP to consider Keynote for a Monday project start. But other might want to consider it.