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Hellevator, starring Greg Nappo, is a short film written by comic book legend David Michelinie (Iron Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Superman), and directed by me, that we shot on the Panasonic HPX500 a little while back. It was shot completely against a green screen, and required all sorts of visual effects to bring to life. My long-time film collaborator Jeremiah Hall took care of all the VFX, using Adobe After Effects CS5.5, Photoshop CS5.1, Boris Continuum Complete 7, and Twixtor 5. Just a few days ago, he delivered the last clip, which I dropped into the cut, and now we’re moving onto sound FX and mixing, with the help of my long-time film partner Grant Balfour, who also composed the score.

In addition to the film being shot in 720p24 on the HPX500, we shot the background plates with a Nikon D200, Canon 60D and even an iPhone 4S, plus recorded voiceovers on a Sony HVR-V1u. I did the first cut, all green screen clips in Final Cut Pro legacy, but when Jeremiah first started delivering FX shots, I turned to Final Cut Pro X, and started from scratch — I didn’t use the excellent 7toX to bring in the old cut, I started fresh in FCP X. I had about 40% of the FX, so I used the green screen clips to create a new cut, and then I’d swap out finished clips as I received them. I’ll be using FCP X to mix the audio, and have laid the music onto my timeline.

Editing Hellevator in Final Cut Pro X

I’ll have a more in-depth article or set of articles on how we brought Hellevator to life once the film is done, along with clips or the entire finished movie. For now, check out our official Hellevator page.

I’m working on two distinct projects right now in Final Cut Pro X, including importing 90 minutes of a speech for a corporate client, allowing FCP X to analize the 1080p30 Sony EX1 footage, rendering the timecode generator I dropped over the primary storyline and export as a 640 x 480 QuickTime for my client. I needed to do some additional work on another project, a short film I produced and directed called Hellevator, written by comic book legend David Michelinie (Iron Man, Superman, Spider-Man). My long-time friend and colleague Jeremiah Hall is taking care of the visual effects and uploading 720p24 clips (the animation QuickTime codec) to DropBox for me to grab.

Editing Hellevator in Final Cut Pro X

So with the first project handling analysis, render  and 480p export, Final Cut Pro X (10.0.4) easily opened Hellevator up, and I was able to quickly replace green screen shots with finished ones. There was no lag, no spinning beach ball of doom, none of that. FCP X handled all the tasks without a problem, and didn’t skip a beat. Plus, broadcast monitoring is still working well with the new Matrox drivers and my MXO2 mini!

Oh, and did I mention that I’m currently cutting on a mid-2011 base model Mac mini with an Intel Core i5 processor (dual-core) running at 2.3 GHz, with an Intel HD Graphics 3000 and 8GB of RAM, along with a FireWire 800 external hard drive, and a Mercury Elite-AL Elite Pro Dual mini RAID from Other World Computing? Now, imagine if I were on a quad-core Intel Core i7 iMac or MacBook Pro? Final Cut Pro X is a true multitasking workhorse. As a long-time Final Cut Pro editor, since 1999, I’ve waited a long time to be able to do this. Also, be sure to check out Final Cut Pro X in Action, which showcases the team behind TNT’s hit show Leverage.

With the release of the newest Final Cut Pro X update to ver. 10.0.4, Apple has improved broadcast monitoring, working with manufacturers to get it right. I was able to take the latest I/O drivers from Matrox for a drive, and I gotta say, they’re incredible! I’m a big fan of Matrox’s hardware, and I’ve been waiting patiently for Apple to update FCP X and improve broadcast monitoring, and with it, Matrox is releasing these drivers.

Using an MXO2, video and sound look great on my external monitor — I’m using an LCD at 1920 x 1080. I’m going to work with a colleague who has a full-fleged HD production monitor to do some more tests, but so far, so good. I’ll have a more extensive look soon.

Richard Townhill, Apple’s senior director of applications marketing, told me that Final Cut Pro X has a great number of developers onboard, and the floodgates have truly opened, and there are a growing number of fantastic third-party plug-ins and apps for Final Cut Pro X. They specialize in utilities, sync tools, color grading and effects, video effects, video transitions and audio effects and titles. I wanted to create a place to find out more information, along with links. I’ll be adding to it as the number of supported plug-ins and apps grows, and if I miss any, please leave a comment and I’ll add them in. Without further delay:

It’s always best to start at the official Apple Final Cut Pro X resources page, which has links to training, more information and, of course, third-party plug-ins and apps. Be sure to visit here often to see what’s new.

FCP X Utilities

1. 7toX, Intelligent Assistance: An affordable third-party app that will successfully take your FCP 7 and 6 projects in FCP X.

2. Xto7, Intelligent Assistance: A third-party app that will move your FCP X projects to FCP 7 and later versions. It’s a bit pricier than 7toX.

3. Event Manager X, Intelligent Assitance: Hide and show your FCP X Events and Projects.

4. Pro Maintenance Tools, Digital Rebellion. This is the entire suite of Final Cut Pro utilities, now optimized for FCP X. They include Autosave Manager, Compressor Repair, CS Repair (for Adobe Premiere Pro), FCS Remover (easy way to remove FCP and Final Cut Studio from your system), Housekeeper, MC Repair (for Avid Media Composer), Plug-ins Manager, Preference Manager, Project Repair, System Toolkit, XML Repair and more. Much more. Make sure you visit their site for information, plus some of the apps are available separately.

5. CatDV, Square Box Systems: Manage your media assets, especially when you’re dealing with different types of media and multiple platforms.

6. ClipExporter, MindTransplant. A very affordable app that allows you to export projects or specific clips as reference movies, for visual effects work. You can save them as QuickTime reference movies, Nuke files or Syntheyes files. Check out FCP.co for more info.

7. Cut Notes for iPad, and Cut Notes Marker Importer, Digital Rebellion. If you’re handwriting timecode (“paper edits”), this is pretty awesome, plus you can take notes and much more. The free Cut Notes Marker Importer plug-in will import the timecodes into FCP X (click for details).

8. Disksomnia, Digital Heaven. Stop your hard drives from spinning down and going to sleep while you’re editing in Final Cut Pro X.

Sync Tools and Dialogue Search

1. PluralEyes, Singular Software: The best way to sync multicam clips of video and audio, making it much easier to edit. Check out my review here.

2. DualEyes, Singular Software: A stand-alone app that will sync your DSLR video and audio recorded externally.

3. Boris Soundbite, powered by Nexidia, Boris FX: This is the app EVERYONE needs if you’re transcribing interviews, dialogue, etc. Don’t spend hours going through footage, marking timecodes, etc., when Boris Soundbite can do it for you, and import an XML file into Final Cut Pro X, 7/6 or Premiere Pro. Read my review here.

Color Grading and Correction

1. Levels and Curves Filter Pack, Nattress: I love Graeme Nattress’ filters, and this is only the beginning of his support for FCP X. This plug-in allows you to adjust the levels and curves of your footage, and it’s flexible, powerful and professional. You’ll need FxFactory from Noise Industries to try and purchase. Also works with Motion 3-5 and After Effects.

2. DaVinci Resolve and the free DaVinci Resolve Lite, Blackmagic Design: It really is the pinnacle of color grading. Find out the difference between the two here. Please note that you’ll need a quality graphics card to use either version.

3. Magic Bullet Looks 2, Red Giant Software: One of the absolute best set of color grading and effects tools, designed by the Red Giant team and legendary filmmaker and colorist Stu Maschwitz.

4. ToneGrade, CrumblePop: Easily add in HDR tone mapping to your video.

5. Finisher, CrumblePop: A quality image finishing tool, to correct skin tones, latitude and more.

6. Planiotype, CrumblePop: Add a platinum photographic look to your footage.

7. Noire Moderne, CrumblePop: The name says it all, and Noire Moderne makes it easy to create stylized, atmospheric looks for your video.

8. Tonalizer/VFX PRO, Irudis: Excellent tonal enhancer and fine-tuning tool. They also have a free version, too, Tonalizer/VFX Lite.

9. Yanobox Moods. A color correction plug-in that features a heads up display (HUD), also works with Motion 5 and After Effects. Uses FxFactory.

10. White Balance Plugin, FCPeffects: A nifty and affordable plugin to easily white balance your footage if it’s too blue, orange, etc.

Video Effects and Film Grain

1. Sapphire Edge Video and Visual Effects, GenArts: Over 350 image presets, transitions and more.

2. ShrinkRay X, CrumblePop: Make landscapes and other shots look miniature. It’s pretty popular in photography these days, and is also known as tilt-shift.

3. Lumineux, CrumblePop: Light leak effects.

4. SplitScreen X, CrumblePop: Create some cool split screen effects in FCP X.

5. Paul Imimiter’s Dacar, CrumblePop: Light leaks and lens flares, created with an old lens. Pretty cool and a must-have for JJ Abrams’ next film!

6. Twixtor, Re:Vision Effects: Perhaps the most famous way to control the speeds and change frame rates (including the difficult 30p to 24p) of your footage, now available for FCP X.

7. DH_BoxX, Digital Heaven: Create split-screen effects in FCP X and Motion 5.

8. DH_ReincarnationX, Digital Heaven: Dead pixels show up with any camera, including DSLR. This plug-in will fix up to two dead pixel areas, for FCP X and Motion 5.

9. Damage v2.5, Digieffects: You can do a lot of “destruction” of your project in FCP with Damage, including putting in scratches, overexposure, film grain, interference and more. Works with FCP X and Motion 5.

10. Delirium, Digieffects: Create all sorts of cool visual effects for your video projects, including rain, fireworks, color effects, distortion, moods (like lighting, glow, etc.) and a set of compositing tools.

11. bounceIt! and springIt!, ReelPath: These two plug-ins were designed exclusively for Final Cut Pro X, by one of the guys who used to work on the FCP team (read the details here). You can use these plug-ins to create bouncing or springing effects to photos and video. I’d even argue that they’re good for video transitions between photos, too.

12. ParticleMetrix, Idustrial Revolution. Transform video or text into particles, including fire, burn, snow, trail and more. Uses FxFactory.

13. Volumetrix 2, Idustrial Revolution. A lot of really cool video effects, including light effects, transitions, titling and more. I have used Volumetrix in the past and enjoyed it. Uses FxFactory.

14. Grunge Collection, Luca Visual Effects. Cool overlays and transitions, with some cool, funky textures and more. Also for Motion 5 and After Effects. Uses FxFactory.

15. Film Leaders, Luca Visual Effects. Pretty cool film leaders and grungy titling. Uses FxFactory.

16. IndieScans. Add in film grain to your project in FCP X, including 35mm, 16mm and Super-8mm. (I would’ve loved the Super-8 back in 1999-2001 when I was cutting my film Skye Falling; I was aiming for a Super-8 look, or reverse black-and-white and color 16mm.)

17. LightPack, SUGARfx. Very cool lens flares and other lighting effects. Uses FxFactory.

18. Viewfinder HUD, SUGARfx. Create cool heads up displays (HUD) and other FX, like night vison goggles’ POV. Uses FxFactory.

19. LensPack, SUGARfx. These are really cool effects that look like you’re using different types of lenses, such as a soft lens, broken lens and more. Uses FxFactory.

20. Light Kit, Luca Visual FX. Create light leaks in your footage. Uses FxFactory. Also for Motion 5 and After Effects.

21. Sprokets Slip, Luca Visual FX. Make your footage look like it’s film having trouble going through a projector. Uses FxFactory. Also for Motion 5 and After Effects.

22. Light Leaks, Luca Visual FX. Create different styles of looks with your footage. Uses FxFactory. Also for Motion 5 and After Effects.

23. 3D Perspective Plugin, FCPeffects: An affordable 3D video manipulator, so you can manipulate your video to a variety of angles and perspectives.

24. Cinema Film Grain, FCPeffects: An affordable 35mm film grain solution for your film.

25. Better Black & White Plugin, FCPeffects: FCPeffects argues their black & white plug-in is better than any others, and judging from their sample videos, it is pretty cool.

26. Miniaturize, FCPeffects: An affordable tilt-shift plug-in that will make your video look like miniatures. Very popular in photography, and only getting more popular in video production.

27. BPM Plugin, FCPeffects: It will make your video cut and even move to the music you add in.

28. Pan and Zoom Plug-in: Pretty cool plug-in that doesn’t require keyframing, so you can do some fancy photo and image movement in FCP X (Motion 5 and After Effects, too), much like the Ken Burns Effect, but it’s pretty cool. You’ll need FxFactory from Noise Industries to use the plug-in, which is free at the moment.

Video Transitions

1. Film Transitions, Nattress: Recently announced, film-quality transitions to enhance your project in FCP X. You’ll need FxFactory from Noise Industries to try and purchase. Also works with Motion 4 and 5, and After Effects.

2. Transimatic Transitions, SquidFX and CrumblePop: Quality video transitions for FCP X.

3. FCP X Transitions Pack 1, Digital Heaven. Their first set of cool transitions, including lens flair, camera shutter and more. Only five, but very affordable.

4. XEffects Tech Transitions, Idustrial Revolution. A set of really cool FX transitions. More are coming soon. Uses FxFactory.

5. FxTiles, Boinx and Noise Industries. Cool tile transitions and video effects, also for Motion 5 and After Effects. Uses FxFactory.

Video Titles

1. Punchline Titles and Transitions, SUGARfx: Professional titling and transition plug-in, to create dynamic, animated titles.

2. Titler Pro, NewBlue: A pretty nice and professional titling plug-in, though it’s priced a bit high. But it is an impressive titler.

3. Crawling Text Plugin, FCPeffects: An affordable and easy way to create a professional end credits crawl.

3D/Stereoscopic

1. Stereo3D Toolbox, Dashwood Cinema Solutions: My old friend and colleague Tim Dashwood’s plug-in suite of 3D tools for FCP X, Motion 5 and After Effects is outstanding. He offers other great products, tutorials and more on his website.

2. Stereo3D Toolbox LE (Lite Edition), Dashwood Cinema Solutions: A “lighter” version of Tim Dashwood’s plug-in 3D suite.

Video Encoding

1. Squeeze 8, Sorensen. Now supports Apple’s excellent ProRes format. It’s pricey though…

Audio Effects and Tools

1. X2Pro Audio Convert, Marquis Broadcast: Convert your Final Cut Pro X projects to finish your audio in Avid’s Pro Tools. A must-have app for the major audio editors out there, using FCP X and Pro Tools.

Motion 5 Plug-Ins: These are mainly or only for Motion 5. Some of the plug-ins above work in Motion, as well, but I didn’t want to double-post, so I made sure to indicate if it’s supported.

1. motionVFX Motion 5 Templates: A whole bunch of high resolution, animated templates for Motion 5. Very professional work here.

Big hat tip to FCP.co for posting up links and info to many of these plug-ins and apps.

I’ve spent nearly all my editing time with Final Cut Pro X the past few weeks, and it’s tough to go back to FCP 7 (thankfully we have 7toX to help with converting our legacy FCP 6/7 projects to FCP X). I haven’t run into any problems, but if you do, there are plenty of answers, help and even apps to troubleshoot FCP X and keep things running smoothly. I linked to a brief troubleshooting guide from Apple recently, but this will present links to more extensive help guides.

1. Apple’s Final Cut Pro X support page, which is full of troubleshooting tips and tricks, forums, links and more. Also, be sure to check out the FCP X official specs page, plus minimum system requirements, and more. There are some white papers, too, including FCP X for FCP 7 Editors and FCP X Xsan: Best Practices. Submit your honest and helpful feedback to Apple about FCP X — they ARE listening, as Richard Townhill assured me recently.

2. Richard Taylor of FCPX.tv has a massive list of troubleshooting tips and tricks, and it’s extensive and very helpful.

3. Digital Rebellion has a set of Pro Maintenance Tools that can help keep Final Cut Pro X running smoothly. It’s a suite of apps that includes Preference Manager, Project Repair, Plug-In Manager, FCS Remover, Compressor Repair and many more. It’s affordable, and a must-have suite of apps.

4. 100 Final Cut Pro X Questions Answered, from last July, but still worth a look.

As with my Final Cut Pro X third-party plug-ins and apps, training and certification pages, I’ll keep this troubleshooting page updated with links and tips.