All,

A nice quick tutorial from Jeff Greenberg on adjustment layers for FCPX
Got to love that set!

Is it just me, or is there nothing here?

There is something, and embedded Vimeo video clip.
https://vimeo.com/46715920#at=5

BenB wrote:
Actually, I use a null.png over everything as my adjustment layer. Works the same I guess...

How exactly are you using a PNG to do the same thing? I'm experimenting with that now and not getting any useful results. It's not the same thing, unless there's something I'm missing.

I simply produced a transparent .png file larger than my video and make all my adjustments on it. I do however generally make it part of the compound clip, I guess I don't mind dropping down one layer to work on that particular segment of footage. I think I may be too much of a stickler for organization, so I work slower but I know where everything is.

I'm doing that now, and it's not making any difference to the clips below it. No clue how you're getting a transparent PNG to do the same thing (or anything at all). I'd love to see that work, though.

I've got a transparent PNG on top of a video clip. I'm in the color correction tools, making changes to the global tint, it's not doing anything.

I don't know then... I don't recall ever using it to do global color corrections however. Mainly I use it to drop a customized effect over an entire clip. I'll test a bit when I get to the studio on using on color... I only assumed it would work the same. It should be effectively the same as dropping in a title with no title IMHO. Its just the way I've always done it. The title may be better....

I'm trying several plugins, too, and nothing.

The Title Template is very different, as it has a specialized place holder layer that reads directly all the video clips below it in a Timeline, thus you're not "looking through" it, you're actually applying those effects and color corrections to the clips themselves.

A PNG is just a clip. What every you do to it, you're simply "looking through" it, not applying anything to any other clip. I can't get a transparent PNG to do anything. Please let me know step by step what you're doing. It'd be great to know how to make it work.

IDK then... how I use it seems to work.

I'm getting no effect from it at all. I'd love to see a screen shot or movie or something. It's doing nothing for me and that's something I really like to learn to do. You must be changing the PNG's blend mode or something, right?

In this particular PSA I used it for the "hands" effect over the entire length of the spot. I could have compounded the shots I suppose, but my usual workflow uses the null. Im not sure even where I learned the technique.

... but as a side, I'm definitely going to try it with the title layer.

I think you're confusing compositing with an adjustment layer. The adjustment layer is not about compositing graphics over other images. It's about applying effects to a group of clips such as color corrections or filters. Those hands are simply compositing graphics. That's not what an "adjustment layer" is for.

Yeah, we're talking about very different things here.

For example, the Adjustment Layer allows me to apply the Colorize filter to a group of clips at one time. A null PNG won't.

Im sure you are correct, but I guess I think of it as the same - applying one element over another so as to combine them. Admittedly, I do have only 22q years of experience in graphics and only 3 in video.

No, the adjustment layer is not about compositing graphics, it's not about combining elements. It's about corrections and filters.

Say I want to put the Bad TV effect across 5 consecutive clips. I can use the Adjustment Layer technique to just use one "Adjustment Layer" to effect them, the text clips on top of them, and anything else composited on top of those. With one Adjustment Layer clip, I can make one adjustment with one filter.

Similar to applying the filter to a Compound Clip, but you still get to work with trimming and such and your "global" effect without leaving your main timeline. It offers advantages over applying color corrections and filters to CCs.

I stand corrected....

Yeah, that hands thing, that would be created at a Generator in Motion for FCP X. That's not an adjustment layer. Think of the Adjustment Layer in Photoshop, that's what this technique is duplicating. That's all.

That's not how I did it however. I created the hands as an effect, then put the effect on the null over the first 20 secs. of the spot. It would obviously work as a generator as well, but I find my system loads faster with fewer generators in a project as opposed to effects. Again, could just be me. As usual with FCPX, or for that matter most design software, there are a multitude of ways to skin the same cat. I'll be the first to admit Im still learning... but I would say I've developed my own style.... USC film school didn't have alot of NLE's in the 80's. Im almost entirely self-taught.

I would highly recommend some training for FCP X. A lot of it's tools and workflow aren't obvious, and have no equivalent analog in traditional NLE's. I'm an Apple cert'd trainer, and in my classes for FCP X over the past year, I've had a lot of seasoned pros. Just my recommendation. macProVideo.com has great in depth training, hours worth you can pick and choose from for pretty cheap. And yes, I do produce for them.