Can FCP 5 alone do text and graphic overlays in video?

[Malfoy]

Hi. In 2 weeks I'm going to try to recreate tv poker(WSOP, WPT, Celebrity poker) with some friends of mine. This will be including 'had cams' and graphics to show who has what cards, odds of winning. whats currently on the board, the whole thing. My question is will FCP 5 alone alow me to put these text and graphics over the video or do I need to use another program?

I know Premiere did it for the PC but I'm hoping I don't have to try to obtain a Mac copy (My PC isn't as powerful as my PM needless to say).

If FCP won't do it, what else do I need? Hopefully whatever else I'll need will be reasonably priced. (yea right...)

 

[Sdashiki]

#1 - Premiere isnt on the mac anymore, and even when it was, it WAS (is) total and utter crap when compared to FCP....you cant even do transitions on anything but track one....

#2 - FCP has plenty of tools to do what you want, just make objects and layer them in the timeline, use filters etc as need be

#3 - youd be better off using FCP for the video and then export it to Adobe After Effects for composing....AE is far superior to FCP when it comes to layers and stuff like what you want to do. its RAM preview is top notch

#4 - you could also use Live Type (comes with FCP) or Motion (though Motion might be overkill or not useful)

All these numbers....anyway....id go with FCP to edit your video. Then use AE to do your layer composing. AE is NOT a non-linear editor, you can not "cut a hole" in video as you can in FCP. In AE a video track (or layer) is either all there or cut off, you cant cut it into pieces. Which is why its called AFTER effects and not BEFORE effects.

LOL. Hope that helps.

PS - i dont know if you have your images created already but neither AE nor FCP can really "create" what I think you want, youll need Photoshop for that, creating each "object" (card?) as a PNG (for transparency) or with an alpha channel.

 

[Malfoy]

Thanks! Very big help! Esp that PNG tip. Will save me from lots of frustration later.

 

[Sdashiki]

PNG allows for transparency, which in Photoshop is a setting you can check when you create a new image (instead of white or a color).

You can export stuff with alpha channels too, but PNG is probably your best bet.

 

[mikemodena]

I just really got started with After Effects yesterday and I can't believe I never used it before. It's insane for compositing and I learned a lot about the 3D camera. As stated above, cut it all up with Final Cut Pro, export the QuickTime File, then import in After Effects and composite the graphics. You can also do some animations of the graphics much easier in After Effects.

 

[ChrisFromCanada]

Personally I wouldn't bother with After Effects if I were you.

FCP can create editable text that can be overlaid on top of the video track in realtime (at least on a G5 or intel). Additionally FCP can take any standard image file and overlay that on the video track. Why bother wasting you time exporting and adding the overlays in AE when you can do it all in FCP?

I think the previous posters may have though you wanted very advanced visual effects when all you really want is a couple of images and a few lines of text.

 

[LethalWolfe]

For what you want to do FCP is more than sufficient. And assuming you actually pay for your software the cost/bennifet isn't there to buy AE based on your needs, IMO.


Lethal

 

[Sdashiki]

Cough cough....buy?

I basically encourage those who are going to do ALOT of layers, especially with lots of keyframes and animation, to use AE.

FCP rox, dont get me wrong, its my workhorse. BUT AE has RAM Preview and the ability to use layers in different ways than FCP....and in the end AE can increase your workflow in situations like this.

But of course, like anything else, this can be done in a zillion ways.

Everything is a learning experience, so do what you will, in the end its all good.

 

[mduser63]

I'd personally do it all in FCP, just because that makes for only one program that he has to learn right now, as well as only one to buy. FCP is more than capable of doing what you need, and I believe After Effects would be overkill. Now if you get into more complicated effects, After Effects and/or Motion could be useful to you. FCP 5 will run very well on your Quad, and you likely won't even have to render for most things.

 

[idea_hamster]

I basically encourage those who are going to do ALOT of layers, especially with lots of keyframes and animation, to use AE.

True -- which is why I'd say use FCP for this project.

All we want is a stationary graphic of someone's hole cards next to his/her name and a static xx% figure next to it. No need for any animation or keyframes.

Good luck, Malfoy -- it sounds like a big project, but it'll be fun, educational, and a good memory for you and your friends.