OT: Tablets ?

Hello, I know tablets are meant for pictures editing, has anyone use a tablet for FCP ??? is it hard to learn to use it?

thanks

The tablet is just the mouse without the carpal tunnel. Get a Wacom, whatever size fits your budget - I have the smaller tablet, it works well for simple graphic work in Photoshop - and really relieves the "mouse clench" stress.

qeditor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The tablet is just the mouse without the carpal
> tunnel. Get a Wacom, whatever size fits your
> budget - I have the smaller tablet, it works well
> for simple graphic work in Photoshop - and really
> relieves the "mouse clench" stress.

have you ever used for FC?

I know MANY people who swear by them...use them and refuse to use mice. I tried, I can't. But others can.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Count me in the "love'em" category. Took me a few hours to get used to it but after that I was hooked.


-Andrew

Quote

I know tablets are meant for pictures editing

They can be used for picture editing - actually they are simply a better input/interaction device than your humble mouse for all interactions with the computer WIMP system.

In my experience the benefits are a natural comfortable movement and efficiency.

If you use a mouse it can take roughly 30-50% longer to move the pointer to were you want it on screen than if using a Pen and Tablet. That adds up very quickly!

I have used graphics tablets for nearly 20 years for virtually every application (except some games) and have avoided the dreaded mouse-claw or other RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) related issues.

In fact I have just lent my Bamboo to a friend and she has since found that her hand no-longer hurts after a long day working.

She used a mouse briefly last night and said "OMG how slow must I have been! Its like working in treacle!"

Get a Wacom Intuos 4 or if you are on a laptop or smaller iMac get the Bamboo Touch.



Some other interesting statistics

If you work in an open plan office (where you are distracted by the noise of other workers) you are on average up to 66% less efficient than having a quiet private area to work in.

If you work on a PC (not a Mac) you are about 30% less efficient (due to software and hardware inhibitors and downtime).

I am 100% less efficient if on Facebook or answering LACPUG posts rather than editing!

"88.2% of Statistics are made up on the spot" ~ Vic Reeves



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

I can't get used to the tablet in FCP. I always end up trying to type one handed. Just can't get used to it. And I use the keyboard a lot- tab key, fill in numbers, jkl to scrub, i/o for in out point, q to shift between viewer and canvas, apple-4 to go to browser, up/down to select clip, enter to load clip onto viewer, jkl... I barely even touch the mouse...

But Photoshop, AE, Illustrator, etc... I can see why the mouse is handy...



www.strypesinpost.com

the lack of access to the keyboard thing is the problem for me.
i use the keyboard a lot, it makes me pretty fast.

i've sat behind people in on-lines, etc who are using a tablet, and i go out of my mind!
they do use the keyboard, it is "above" their tablet,
but they are still a lot slower.

quicker than a mouse ONLY, perhaps,
but slower than mouse & keyboard.

however, if you like using it, and find it's good for you health-wise,
then that's a good thing.


nick

>but slower than mouse & keyboard.

Sometimes my director uses the mouse and I use the keyboard... I know you can plug in two mouses/mice, but for sanity's sake, that's not going to get u anywhere...

I do like having the trackpad though... two fingers for scroll. That's one reason why I go to the mouse.



www.strypesinpost.com

Quote

quicker than a mouse ONLY, perhaps, but slower than mouse & keyboard.

If you JUST use a tablet and no keyboard then of course - lets put keep it in context please.

I use both the Tablet and the Mouse - Keyboard shortcuts speed you up for sure - far greater than either the mouse or tablet alone - but having a tablet does not mean you should abandon the keyboard!

Tablet+Keyboard is the fastest way to work/navigate - unless you have voice control which works 100% which might work faster for some apps.

Quote

I can't get used to the tablet in FCP. I always end up trying to type one handed.

You mean you hold the mouse when you type? Why don't you put the pen/stylus down, then type?

Although it has to be said I type with 4 fingers and thumb with my left hand and if holding the pen/stylus I use 3 fingers and thumb on my right - or - I put it down and type normally!


Let go of your feelings for the mouse Luke! It only leads to the darkside...



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

Whether it's mouse or tablet, it's always faster if you combine the keyboard.

When using the mouse/tablet, get used to doing single-handed shortcut keys simultaneously.

When typing extended passages, just use two hands.

If you're not a trained typist, taking a class there will speed you up far, far more than switching to a pen/tablet. So many post-production pros I've met lack this basic skill that my one high-school Keyboarding 101 class sends me hurtling right past them in terms of work speed. You don't need computer-programmer or secretary-level typing speeds (a lot of those guys can do 160-250 wpm). I'm only hovering around 100-120wpm and it's already a major advantage. Not to mention looking really good when the bosses are looking on.


www.derekmok.com

That's awfully fast considering the world records indicated in the wikipedia entry

[en.wikipedia.org]

Graeme

You know how it is, Graeme. Guys on the Internet always have to exaggerate their ? ahem ? numerical statistics.

So I'm told.... :-)

Graeme

I'll admit, the numbers came from online typing statistics. And I won't vouch for how long those 200wpm guys can hold that speed...or whether they cheat!

I can consistently do 100wpm. 120wpm is on a good day with a good passage (eg. lots of words that alternate the left and right hands on a QWERTY keyboard).

And, it's a huge difference typing nonsensical passages (eg. computer languages) and a logical, grammatical sentence. Throw in world languages (ever tried typing in Cangjie, in Chinese?) and the statistics become even murkier.

Anyway, to come back from my detour, learning keyboard shortcuts and integrating them into your natural way of working will speed you up far more than a tablet.


www.derekmok.com

That's fast. On the internet tests, I average 80-90 wpm.

Okay, why I don't like a tablet versus keyboard and mouse in FCP, is that I'll have one hand on the keyboard and the other one jabbing at keys with one finger. With a mouse, it stays in that same position when I go to the keys, which happens a lot.

For example, to select a shot that is on the playhead to launch into the viewer, you just hit enter. Q or Apple 3 will bring you back to the timeline, up/down will go to next edit position, apple 1 will deselect track 1 if you want to select B-roll shots on the video track 2. The tab key will bring you through the fields, you can perform ripple edits with the mouse by hitting "r" twice, then mark in/out (i/o). Don't need to mouse around.



www.strypesinpost.com

Quote

learning keyboard shortcuts and integrating them into your natural way of working will speed you up far more than a tablet

...talking up the wrong point - mouse and stylus for the pointer - not for replacing or speeding up keyboard.

We all agree on the keyboard short-cuts...

But if you already know and use keyboard short-cuts, if you want to speed up more - ditch the mouse and use a tablet and save your hand from damage in the process.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

...my full sized keyboard is on the left / my Wacom is on the right. I use them both together for all apps / grafical / video / audio. I have been operating like this for 13 years. Also have a wireless mouse standing by. Wouldn't have it any other way.

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Wireless are great for working - (but as a side note) - are not Pro for games - the very very slight lag-time on wireless devices is no good when you gotta duck the sniper with a Barrett .50 cal...

So I have a fully-weighted Logitech G5 Gaming mouse (corded) for ultimate blasting exp - its a good for guys (and gals) with big hands.



For instant answers to more than one hundred common FCP questions, check out the LAFCPUG FAQ Wiki here : [www.lafcpug.org]

I have the same settings, Wacom Intuos 3 on the right, apple wireless keyboard with a KB cover that besides the graphic shortcuts, saves coffee spills and a mighty mouse that i barely use.
The tablet is a wrist saver, besides somehow we all use photoshop @ any given moment.
One of my best investmets!!

Since version 1.2.5. Try it, it takes some getting used to - I came to FCP (via Avid) and Quantel Editbox, which at the time had a dinky keyboard and a giant tablet and pen. Its much more ergonomic to hold a pen than it is to extend your arm to clutch at a mouse.

I may go tablet someday. It's really more comfortable, but I haven't gotten used to reaching for that pen every now and then. Although I do use it in my occasional forays to Motion/PS/AE.

>So I have a fully-weighted Logitech G5 Gaming mouse (corded) for ultimate blasting exp

I second this. Battery operated mice are heavier.



www.strypesinpost.com

It's weird. As I've remarked elsewhere on more than one occasion, I got my start in the business (such as it was) on Flame and Fire. Those systems were, and still are, entirely tablet-oriented. They've got user interfaces made for a tablet: big Fisher Price buttons, swipe-gestures for various functions, all that stuff. I could no more use a Smoke with a mouse than I could brush my teeth with my feet.

But I just can not use a tablet with Final Cut. I really don't know why. Maybe it's the Mac UI that's been hard-wired into my brain and nerves and muscles over the years, maybe it's the fact that the buttons and other UI elements in Final Cut are so damn tiny compared to Flame/Smoke/whatever. But if you put me in front of a Final Cut system with a tablet, I flail around like a moron. Take the tablet away, arrange the keyboard and mouse in the configuration I'm used to, and it's like coming home.

Maybe, for me, it all comes back to what I learned. If you stuck an icepick up my nose and scrambled the part of my brain that holds all my knowledge of Final Cut, then gave me a band-aid and an aspirin and sat me down in front of a Final Cut system with a tablet on it, after a week or three maybe I'd claim that using a tablet is just the natural way, and that forcing me to wrestle with a mouse makes me stupid. Then I'd probably yell "CHEARG!" and march off the nearest balcony, because come on, you lobotomized me with a kitchen utensil, for crying out loud. What do you expect happy butterfly dishwater banana?