The Power of Roles in Final Cut Pro

[@Brad_West]

Will using roles change the way you edit in FCP? I know it did for me. Let me know in the comments down below. 😊👇🏼

[@sounddesignmix3002]

Thank you! Please disregard my comment on your previous video. You answered my questions here. The last thing I'd like to do, and it's just a nit, is to change the order of the roles. Traditionally a Mixer creates a D-M-E, Dialogue, Music and Effects, Not a D-E-M as FCP lays it out. I want to change this order to a "proper" DME. Is there a way to do that. Last question, I'd like a video on how to create an OMF or AAF of just the audio so I can export it to Pro Tools at 48K with 60 frame handles.

[@Brad_West]

Thanks for watching 😄🙌🏼 Yeah if you look the the left side of the timeline and open up the index window. You can navigate to roles and drag and drop to change the order of the roles. FCP currently doesn’t allow the export of audio to OMF or AAF. It’s driven me nuts for years but there is a great app I’ve used a lot to send AAFs to Pro Tools. It’s called X2Pro. Not the cheapest app but it gets the job done using XMLs. I hope that helps 😄🤙🏼

[@sounddesignmix3002]

@@Brad_West Awesome! Thank you. That's lame considering FCP considers it's self a "Pro" editing program. An actual "Pro" work flow would be sending your clips to a Mixer for audio and a Colorist for color. Thanks for the work around!

[@Brad_West]

I know right! Don’t get me started 😂😂 I made a video a while back about featured I wish FCP had that you might find interesting: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYOcf4d5nNRji6c Hopefully one day Apple will make some of the updates we have been requesting for a long time 🤞🏼

[@sounddesignmix3002]

@@Brad_West Roger that. When you've worked across multiple editing platforms it's had not to want to use them all the same way. But that never happens, you've just gotta go with the flow and make it work for you. 40 years of editing audio is in some ways a hindrance to learning how to edit in FCP. Still, it's always good to learn now things. Thanks again for your help and very well produced and concise videos. Keep up the good work!

[@TaoCovillault]

I know the video is pretty old but I would add something since it's the best video on the topic. At 6:15 Brad made a compound to apply effect to the entire role. It's a good solution sometimes, but prevents you from making any other changes on the audio clips in the future, since even if you open the compound clip, you will not have the videos for reference anymore. There is another method, much more usefull for me: Put the entire project within a compound clip and then, from outside this compound clip, right click and select "Expand Audio Components", this will show you each role on a separate line, from one compound clip. And you can still go inside to edit the position of individual clips ;) Just remember, for your final export, to export from outside your compound clip

[@Brad_West]

That’s a great tip. Thanks for sharing Tao! 😄🙏🏼

[@TheFinalCutBro]

You’re on a role my dude!

[@Brad_West]

I can always count on you for these kinds of comments 😂👌🏼

[@TheFinalCutBro]

@@Brad_West that’s how I role.

[@lucasblaise]

Saw you talking about Roles on the Final Cut Pro Global Summit today and realized I didn't watch this when I saw it in my feed. Great stuff.

[@Brad_West]

Thanks for coming back to check it out and thanks for tuning into the panel session as well 😊🙏🏼

[@chipcurry]

Thanks for doing it. Very clear and concise.

[@Brad_West]

Glad it was helpful!

[@CharlieSeymourJr]

"B-roll role!" You're the boss!

[@Brad_West]

Thanks Charlie 😊👊🏼

[@PepsetScotPassionChiens]

Thanx for this tutorial and for the Template XML trick. Is really pratical. 😉🐶

[@Brad_West]

I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊👍🏼

[@nordfilmcompany]

Great tips mate! I’d click command+option+V on Lyles dialogue to save me from clicking that pop up box.

[@Brad_West]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. Great tip! that’s a neat little time saver for sure.

[@rupal_hs]

Role template trick is useful. Thanks 😊

[@Brad_West]

I use that trick all the time, I’m glad it was helpful to you! 😊👊🏼

[@paulgero]

*VERY* useful tip!

[@mitch60mccoy]

Ok, this is going deep into the rabbit hole. Love it. You just opened up a whole new world for me. Thank you for sharing this deep knowledge.

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome Mitch! Feel free to reach out once you’ve tried it if you have any questions 😊👍🏼

[@attilaenergyracer]

Fantastic tutorial, just subscribed

[@Brad_West]

Thanks for the sub! Appreciate the support! 👊🏼

[@TaoCovillault]

For final mix, I pretty much always make a compound clip with all my edit and set the audio to "subroles" and then you have all your roles and subroles showing for mixing and effects ;)

[@Brad_West]

Great tip! I should have included that in this video. But that is a great way to final mix 😄🤙🏼

[@ramonmurray_]

I think this video just changed my life. Thank you good sir

[@Brad_West]

I’m so happy to hear that it was helpful to you 😄🙏🏼

[@coachpeterwilliam]

This is solid and super clear, thanks!

[@Brad_West]

You're welcome! Thanks Peter!

[@hibhaven]

Am not a heavy user of FCPX, but the tips are definitely helpful. Thanks a ton.

[@Brad_West]

I’m so happy to hear that they are useful to you. Thanks for watching 😊🙏🏼

[@lavinchi6709]

Thank You so much!!!!Your tutorials one of the BEST!!!!🎖🎗🎨

[@Brad_West]

Thanks for watching Lavinchi! What other FCP tutorials would you like to see in future?

[@TheFinalCutBro]

Final Cut DESPERATELY needs a massive audio overhaul. Wish they had added that before working on the tracker, despite me being obsessed with the tracker.

[@Brad_West]

Yeah the built-in tracking is HUGE! There are definitely some audio improvements that can be made. I’d love OMF export 😊🙏🏼

[@TheFinalCutBro]

@@Brad_West for sure! I finally broke down and bought x2pro for AAFs and it’s been great. Just frustrating I had to buy a whole other piece of software to make it happen!

[@Brad_West]

Exactly! That’s what I’ve been using and it works really well but we had OMF in FCP7 so why take it away? 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@hunt-jones]

Very helpful video! Do you know if its possible to create keyboard shortcuts for custom audio/video roles? Ive been trying to find a way to do this, with no luck thus far!

[@Brad_West]

Not that I know of. That would be so handy though!

[@midnitelux]

What an amazing video! Thank you!

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome! Appreciate you watching 😄🙏🏼

[@SYPCWAK]

Thanks! Thsi was very helpful. I will start using roles more thanks to your video.

[@Brad_West]

Awesome! Once you start organizing your timeline with roles, it’s difficult to work any other way 😆👊🏼

[@SarahJonestoo]

Wow! Great video. Thank you.

[@Brad_West]

Thanks Sarah. Glad you liked it 😊🙏🏼

[@TravelAddictsLife]

Thank you Brad for another great tutorial!

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome 😊👊🏼 Thanks for watching!

[@BeneaththeSurfaceYT]

Great video, bro!

[@Brad_West]

Appreciate it! Thanks for watching!

[@evtyler]

Excellent tutorial! Yes, I'd love a more detailed video on compound clips and rolls.

[@Brad_West]

Thanks Eric. I have a compound clips video on my list. Stay tuned 😄👍🏼

[@BorisCzizikowski]

@@Brad_West hey, Brad - could you point me to it plz? I am on the lookout, too ;)

[@Brad_West]

Hey Boris. You might find this one helpful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opareWylrdKrbtU

[@gert-janvanbuseck]

Great tutorial, Brad! I very much enjoy all new things I learn about Final Cut Pro. For sure I am going to try this in (new) projects. Thanks for putting this one together. 🙏

[@Brad_West]

Thanks so much! It really is a great way to organize things in your edits! Let me know if you have any questions about using roles 😊👍🏼

[@gert-janvanbuseck]

@@Brad_West That is kind of you, thanks!

[@adss70]

ANother great educational video. Thank you.

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it 😊👍🏼

[@sanathspencer]

Can you please tell us how you did you edit the screen capture like that at 00:08 - 00:18

[@Brad_West]

Sure! I used a free plugin from MotionVFX called mCam Rig. You can find it here: bit.ly/mCamRigBD I also talk about it in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/d3ObpKxnach_grs You can skip to the section called mCamRig.

[@sanathspencer]

Thanks a lot brother 😊

[@theherbiebrown]

Helpful tutorial, man. I have used roles, but not as deeply as this. I will take a second look and go deeper. I agree, we need a better audio mixer than what we have now. As it stands, I just Logic depending on how deep I need to get with mixing.

[@Brad_West]

Thanks for watching! Yeah using roles is a great way to stay organized. I think you’ll enjoy editing like that 😊👍🏼

[@WilderseeH]

Really appreciate the content. Definitely adding this to the tool belt.

[@Brad_West]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching 😄👊🏼

[@WilderseeH]

​@@Brad_West So just discovered something amazing with roles and didn't know who to share with. In your index all your roles that are currently being used in the project show up regardless if they are nestled in Compound clips. So, I created a final compound clip of my video in it is an interview edited as a multi clip and several layers of color grading adjustments, onscreen graphics, lower thirds, ect. Once I render the video I can on check various roles to remove them from the video and it doesn't effect the render at all, no need to re-render. I was toggling off effects including color grade and noise reduction 4-6 compound layers deep and never needed to re-render. I'm sold, Roles is the best way to optimize a FCPX workflow.

[@Brad_West]

@@WilderseeH Thanks for sharing! That is awesome! Roles are so powerful and it sounds like you found an awesome way to use them. 😄👊🏼

[@SonnyGreenwichJr]

Man, I wish they had audio bussing as well! Quick question, If I create a set of roles in a video I'm making, could I not save them from the project instead of making a new project to save them from? Hope that's not confusing, haha!

[@Brad_West]

You and me both Sonny! Maybe one day we’ll get that feature 😊🤞🏼 Since roles are library-specific, there is no way to save a default set of roles. The only way to reuse them is to either copy the library or to export and xml that contains elements assigned to those roles. A bit annoying but once you’ve set it up, it works like a charm 😊👌🏼

[@SonnyGreenwichJr]

@@Brad_West Oh well... thanks for the answer by the way! From cold, wet, dark & weirdly back to normal Ireland! ☘💪🏽👀👍🏽☘

[@mediafactoryinternational]

Your videos are great 👍 do you have any video for 5.1 export with the roles assailed? Would be super helpful. Thanks

[@Brad_West]

Thanks so much 😊🙏🏼 I don’t but that’s a great idea. I’ll add that to my list 😄👍🏼

[@higherentertainment2343]

Awesome bro!

[@Brad_West]

Thank you 😊🙏🏼

[@AWidgetIHaveNot]

Deep, powerful and to the point. 👏

[@Brad_West]

Thanks so much. Glad you enjoyed it 😄💪🏼

[@blackboxmind3117]

Great video with a load of info I’m gonna put to work in my next project!! Thanks 💪🏻🔥

[@Brad_West]

Awesome! 💥 I’m so glad to hear that! Let me know if you have any questions 👊🏼

[@contenttonyusm1460]

What plugin/effect do you use in the beginning to show screen zoom, rotation, etc.?

[@Brad_West]

It's a free plugin from MotionVFX called mCamRig: bit.ly/mCamRigBD

[@bruce8209]

2:02 when I r.click video (for text) there is an new role but after selecting a colour and click apply, all the texstclips in the timeline get that colour... what am I doing wrong? thanks! (fcp 10.7.1.)

[@Brad_West]

Any clip that is assigned to the role will change color. If you want multiple colors for different titles, you have to create multiple roles and assign them.

[@YTM6]

Thanks man.

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome 😊🤙🏼

[@Slvbergetbibliotekogkulturhus]

Great video, thanks.

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome 😊👊🏼

[@travisreed5965]

Hot Damn Brother Man - Way Cool - Sending Positive Vibes Cheers

[@Brad_West]

Glad you enjoyed it Travis 😊👊🏼 Have a great rest of the week!

[@UshaTaneja]

Thanks for this info. 🙏

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome 😊👍🏼

[@tzachikraus]

Thank you for the perfect video. I would appreciate your help. Every time I build them, they disappear in the next project. This happens when I close the software and then open it. Is it supposed to be like this? Shouldn't it be permanent? Thank you.

[@Brad_West]

No it's not permanent. It's library-specific. If you watch from the 7 minute mark I explain how to create roles templates.

[@andyandrson5534]

big thanks

[@Brad_West]

You're welcome!

[@nunorleal]

Hi. Is there any chance that roles I custom stay saved to other projects? Thanks. :)

[@Brad_West]

You have to import those roles into the new project. You can save clips with those roles on a timeline and just import that timeline into each new project or create a FCP library template that has your roles and duplicate that Library for each new project that you start. I wish we were able to save roles directly in FCP to use for new projects but unfortunately that's not possible at this stage.

[@nunorleal]

@@Brad_West That's what I thought. Create a Template Library. Thanks a lot for the reply.

[@Brad_West]

@@nunorleal My advice with a template library is to create a title layer for each role. That way you don't need to apply the role to media that may go offline in the future. For audio roles you might need to use a sounds effect or something that will never be moved 😄👊🏼

[@ChrisFlores22]

THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!!! I edit weddings. I'd to separately edit the vows and chop it up and then paste it to a new timeline where i'll broll, music and effects. Right now I create two separate projects one for the vow chop and other for the final edit. Is there a more effiecient way than going back and forth between two projects within the bigger project Im working on? Hope that makes sense lol

[@Brad_West]

Hey Chris. Glad you enjoyed this one. I would probably do something very similar to what you’re doing. My workflow would be something like this: Cut down the vows to all the useable bits. Duplicate that timeline. The duplicate will become your final edit timeline but you always have all the bits you cut out to go back to if you need to. I’d also have a broll timeline where I would do a similar thing, cut it down to all the useable bits. Then I would copy all the broll into the final edit timeline and start placing broll where it should go. That way I’d have all the useable vows and best broll bits in one timeline and I wouldn’t have to switch between projects. At the same time you would also have the master timelines to go back to if you had to. Hope that helps 😂🤞🏼

[@ChrisFlores22]

@@Brad_West thanks!!! How do I create a “slug” to make moving bits around without the magnetic timeline getting in my way lol

[@Brad_West]

You can hit Alt W to create a gap clip 😄🤙🏼

[@daveinpublic]

Great video!

[@Brad_West]

Glad you enjoyed it! Any specific tutorial you would like to see on the channel in future?

[@ClassicCyclingCC]

I have watched a few of your videos and I have seen a lot of Brad but where is Donna?

[@Brad_West]

We had a baby not so long ago, so Donna’s hands are really full 😂 She helps me out behind the scenes and she’ll be back again when we travel and do some more vlogging 😉

[@ClassicCyclingCC]

Very cool and congratulations.

[@Brad_West]

Thank you 😊🙏🏼

[@chrishe3801]

Thanks for this tutorial, but I just found out that creating a new library with the template, the names of roles stay the same but not with those colors. It might be a bug I guess?

[@Brad_West]

Yeah maybe! What you could do is create a blank library, import the XML for roles and then change the colors. Use that as a base library and duplicate that for every new project. That should keep the colors the same. Give that a try and let me know if that works for you 😄🤙🏼

[@MrSoundpix]

Very usefull.

[@Brad_West]

Glad you think so!

[@kaesafr]

hi! for some reason when i create a new project im not able to see the roles i created even after i made sure to exportthe XML to my external hard drive and imported them to this new project. Am i doing something wrong ?

[@Brad_West]

Hi. You have to actually have clips (even blank basic titles for video roles) and some audio clips that have audio roles assigned when you export the XML. That way when you import it, it has files to assign the files to and those roles will be imported into the new project. You essentially need to have something assigned to every role you would like to be able to import 😄

[@kaesafr]

@@Brad_West please consider making another video showing how that’s done as well as how you import media to fit into the specific assigned roles as i’m currently struggling with that. I learn best visually. Thank you in advance !

[@Brad_West]

@mathildaakatugba I show how to do it at 7:03 in the video 😄👍🏼

[@ozedsal5581]

I created a bunch of roles in to a project. but then I created a new library/project those roles I made is gone and I need to make a role again? Why it's not save?

[@Brad_West]

Roles are library specific. What you need to do is create a timeline that has a clip or each of the roles you created on it. Then when you create a new library, you can drag that timeline from the old project to the new one. Then the roles will be available in the new library and you can delete the timeline 😄👍🏼

[@BoboMedia007]

When using Multicam it doesn't color label each clip on the timeline. Is it possible to color label each Multi camera on my timeline when editing?

[@Brad_West]

You have to assign audio roles to the clips to change color. If you just assign the video role, the clip defaults to the color of the audio role.

[@adamheyns]

I have a project timeline with clips from 7 different cams. I am making a showreel and I only want to use the clips from my cam, the a7s3. Sure, I have all of the a7s3 clips grouped in an event, but the editor has already made selections of it (in the project) and I don't want to re-do this. Ideally I would like to assign a role to all the a73s3 footage, select that role, cut them from the timeline and paste it in a new project. Is this possible, or can you think of another way how to acheive this? eg. Can I make all the other footage "offline" and somehow filter for offline video and then delete that?

[@Brad_West]

You could potentially use the Index window to search for all of the A7S3 clips if they have a unique name compared to the rest of the clips. Then you could hit Cmd A to select them all in the Index window and copy them to a new timeline. I hope that helps!

[@adamheyns]

@@Brad_West Brilliant! It was as simple as that. Thanks.

[@Brad_West]

You’re welcome!

[@tomblackmore15]

Well I feel like an idiot haha! Thanks for the Tutorial!

[@Brad_West]

Haha why? 😂

[@theDanDeleon]

Aw man can you just include a download for that XML template in a google doc so we can download it...?

[@Brad_West]

Hey Dan. Thanks for your request, I have uploaded it to Dropbox for you to download. 😊🤙🏼 Download my Roles Template 👉🏼 bit.ly/FCPX-Roles

[@MrNobodyX3]

hidden magic

[@Brad_West]

Roles are so fantastic!

[@TheLotusMachine]

Just done you a solid, hope you like it.

[@Brad_West]

What solid?

[@iTurysta]

After watching this tutorial, I have feeling the Roles is something like Timeline Manager 🤔

[@Brad_West]

Yeah I guess you could look at it that way. There are many benefits as far as organization goes, but also for multitrack export, grouping roles to apply global effects, etc. 😄

[@iTurysta]

@@Brad_West the managing with projects it's not so easy part. But I follow with your advices, create a project input etc. I have own idea to add the additional folder named "intro/outro" where I will put the standard shoots with content creator demo etc :)

[@Brad_West]

@@iTurysta That's a great idea!

[@leobardobivianomedia]

How many times did he say "Roles."

[@Brad_West]

I don’t know, but bonus points to whoever is willing to count and let us know 😂

[@magnusgotander3954]

Its to much and to quick although if it where an overview. Othervice well explained. Moore about compound clips, yes.

[@Brad_West]

I’ll add that to my list 👊🏼