Antler FCP X Blackmagic Film plugin open beta

NOTE: This version of the beta has been superseded by a new one. Details of how to obtain it are on this thread.

Since reasons too involved to go into here mean I am still unable to release my Blackmagic Film LUT plugin for FCP X, I have decided to widen the scope of the beta programme, and make an un-watermarked beta available to everybody.

The installer can be downloaded from here.

A license file will be automatically placed in your home folder during the install.

It will work without a watermark until the end of August, after which it will display a red cross through the image. If a release version is not ready to go on sale by that time I will make an update to the beta available with a later expiry date.

Please post feedback in this thread. Give details of your OS X version, FCP version, graphics card and any other information you feel is relevant.

As with the watermarked demo, you need to install the Conduit plugin for FCP X/Motion, which is downloadable for free from http://pixelconduit.com/downloads.html#plugins.

The plugin should be fairly self explanatory, but for a quick intro watch Adam Roberts' video and my demo.

A small number of people have had an issue with the plugin installation, which means when they apply the plugin the image becomes a solid blue colour. This is a permissions issue which I am researching into a better solution for. But in the mean time you can download the attached shell script, unzip and run it. It will ask you for an admin password, then set the permissions for the necessary files. If anybody is concerned about the security of this, it only changes the permissions of a single file (my plugin) and the two folders up the hierarchy containing it. It does not affect anything else about your system.

Also make sure you are running the latest version of FCP X.

UPDATE
The current public beta of the plugin will expire on the 14th of October. Because the feedback has been very limited, I am now asking people to email me (plugins [at] antlerpost [dot] com) directly with answers to my five questions in order to receive an updater extending the beta to the 31st of October.

1. Have you experienced any crashes using the plugin?

2. If you do have crashes how often do they occur?

3. Do you lose work when crashes occur, or are your latest changes saved before the crash?

4. Do you have any non standard hardware (particularly GPU) which may contribute to crashing?

5. What versions of FCP X and OS X are you running?

Please note I will be sending out the updater manually, so depending on the time of day in the UK, my response may not be immediate.

Will it work for resolve?

Will it work for resolve?

Resolve already has a built in LUT for Blackmagic Film. My plugin is essentially an implementation of that LUT for FCP X, which has no LUT support.

My plugin does, however, also have controls to adjust exposure, white balance and saturation, making it more sophisticated than a straight LUT.

I feel dumb. I've installed the Conduit plugin and then this beta but all I get is a solid blue image. I can move the slider to take down the effect and the blue fades out and I can see my image but none of the alterations I make in the plugin show.

Have I done anything wrong?

Just a quick question - never used your plugin before.

Does it require rendering? If so, how fast would it be on my machine (Mac Pro 3,1)? I won't be able to test it until Monday.

I feel dumb. I've installed the Conduit plugin and then this beta but all I get is a solid blue image. I can move the slider to take down the effect and the blue fades out and I can see my image but none of the alterations I make in the plugin show.

Have I done anything wrong?

I get the same blue image from this new beta, while the watermarked version seemed to work fine.
Hopefully Nick will give us an update or let us know if there's something we did wrong.
I just installed this new beta over the old watermarked one, although both still appear in the FCPX Effects Browser.

Does it require rendering? If so, how fast would it be on my machine (Mac Pro 3,1)? I won't be able to test it until Monday.

I can't comment on the capabilities of particular machines, but generally being GPU accelerated it works without rendering on the machines I've tested it on.

I get the same blue image from this new beta, while the watermarked version seemed to work fine.
Hopefully Nick will give us an update or let us know if there's something we did wrong.
I just installed this new beta over the old watermarked one, although both still appear in the FCPX Effects Browser.

Very sorry to hear this.

Odd that the watermarked demo worked, but this doesn't. Does the demo still work? Can you check the permissions of /Library/Application Support/Conduit/Node Plugins



Do a "get info" on that folder and make sure you have read permission.



If you need to add read/write permissions for yourself to the folder, you should then click the cog icon at the bottom of the window and choose "Apply to enclosed items…"

Make sure you have read permission for the parent folder /Library/Application Support/Conduit as well.

I really want to get to the bottom of this one. There is no obvious reason why the watermarked demo should work, but this beta doesn't. They are fundamentally the same thing. Let's try and find out what is different about the systems which are experiencing this issue.

I really want to get to the bottom of this one. There is no obvious reason why the watermarked demo should work, but this beta doesn't. They are fundamentally the same thing. Let's try and find out what is different about the systems which are experiencing this issue.

Here was the permissions before I made the change to add myself:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_Oze7Q ... sp=sharing

Added myself with read/write permissions, but still only get the blue image when trying to use the latest beta.
So it seems the permissions were not the problem as I could access the watermarked version before and after permissions changes.

I must also add that I'm on FCPX 10.0.9, and regardless the watermarked version still works - strange!

Added myself with read/write permissions, but still only get the blue image when trying to use the latest beta.
So it seems the permissions were not the problem as I could access the watermarked version before and after permissions changes.

Try running the installer again after fixing the permissions. If you didn't have access to that folder it is possible the installer didn't work. I can't think why the permissions would have changed between your installing the demo and the beta though.

Added myself with read/write permissions, but still only get the blue image when trying to use the latest beta.
So it seems the permissions were not the problem as I could access the watermarked version before and after permissions changes.

Try running the installer again after fixing the permissions. If you didn't have access to that folder it is possible the installer didn't work. I can't think why the permissions would have changed between your installing the demo and the beta though.

Just did a re-install as you suggested, but it's still a blue screen.
I am installing v1b12 is that the latest version?

Can get an idea if it is only these two people who have had issues? Could some people who have installed the public beta successfully post here and let me know.

Thanks

Having the same issue. Blue screen. I think I followed the instructions. Very appreciative of you sharing this LUT, as someone unfamiliar with Resolve (and a bit afraid of it) this plug-in is perfect for my needs.

The permissions fix above resolved this issue for me. Also, this plugin is UH-mazing. As I haven't had time to learn Resolve yet, this makes the ProRes workflow I've been using a breeze in FCPX. The only downside is now all my finished projects where I didn't have this plugin look like crap!

I'll gladly pay for this as soon as it is ready for purchase.

Having the same issue. Blue screen. I think I followed the instructions. Very appreciative of you sharing this LUT, as someone unfamiliar with Resolve (and a bit afraid of it) this plug-in is perfect for my needs.

Sorry to read another person is having problems.

Have you followed the steps in this thread? And after dong that make sure you force a re-render by deleting renders or moving a slider.

Hi Nick,

I solved the issue, really strange it did not affect the watermarked demo, but after giving myself read/write permissions to /Library/Application Support/Conduit I then added "Apple to Enclosed items" and that solved the blue screen, see image below:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_Oze7Q ... sp=sharing

Thanks for your help with this, looking forward to the final version and the BMD Pocket Camera, so I can start using it!

I solved the issue … after giving myself read/write permissions to /Library/Application Support/Conduit I then added "Apply to Enclosed items" and that solved the blue screen.

Very glad to hear that. Can I get confirmation that this permissions fixed has solve the issue for everybody who was experiencing it? Anybody still having problems?

Just wanted to say had no problems with the plugin, running a brand new 27' iMac. also, holy crap the footage looks amazing!!

did not have to do anything, worked fine right from download

May be worth noting I have edited the first post on this thread to add a shell script which will correct the permissions for anybody who is experiencing the install issue.

Hello,

I just received my BMCC MFT. Just stumbled upon this post about the plug-in.
I installed in FCP X and it is brilliant!
Much better results than fiddling with the FCP X color corrector!

This will get me up and running for now until I have time to install resolve.

Let me know when this will be available.

Test footage graded with this wonderful plugin-

Will I be able to run this plugin on a MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch?

I'm running it on a Mac Mini server from 2011, it'll be fine on your Retina MBP 13

I'm running it on a Mac Mini server from 2011, it'll be fine on your Retina MBP 13

Thanks Dustin

I followed your permissions steps, but could not eliminate the blue screen. Is there any other reason why the blue screen might be showing up?

I followed your permissions steps, but could not eliminate the blue screen. Is there any other reason why the blue screen might be showing up?

Is it still showing up on new clips with the plugin applied? FCP X caches renders in such a way that if it sees what it think is the same clip with the same plugin applied it will use the old render. Purge your old renders, or adjust a parameter in the plugin slightly to force a re-render.

The other possibility is that your version of FCP is not recent enough. See this blog for more details.

It will work without a watermark until the end of August, after which it will display a red cross through the image. If a release version is not ready to go on sale by that time I will make an update to the beta available with a later expiry date.

Hey Nick! Do you know whether we'll be able to purchase your plugin soon or whether the beta will be extended?

Hey Nick! Do you know whether we'll be able to purchase your plugin soon or whether the beta will be extended?

I think it is unlikely I will be ready to release by the end of the month, so I plan to extend the beta as I said originally.

The other possibility is that your version of FCP is not recent enough. See this blog for more details.

So the reason is that my FCP is 10.0.0! Thanks Nick.

So the reason is that my FCP is 10.0.0! Thanks Nick.

Glad you found the cause. 10.0.0 had many issues, and I would recommend updating.

To help me work towards a release (I will extend the beta for now, but can't do it forever) can I ask people to post here their experiences of the plugin, both positive and negative.

Particularly I need to know:

1. What proportion of users are experiencing crashes?

2. If you do have crashes how often do they occur?

3. Do you lose work when crashes occur, or are your latest changes saved before the crash?

4. Do you have any non standard hardware (particularly GPU) which may contribute to crashing?

1. What proportion of users are experiencing crashes?

I have yet to experience a crash due to this plugin.

Thank you Dustin.

Nobody else, one way or the other?

I have also not experienced any crashes. Smooth sailing all the way. Thanks so much for this, it's a great plugin, and I've got my money ready to plop down when it's released! I'm on the newest 15" Retina in FCPX 1.0.8, and the only other addins I'm running are the coremelt free suite.

The current beta of the plugin will expire at the end of August. Because the feedback has been very limited, I am now asking people to email me directly with answers to my four questions – plugins {at} antlerpost {dot} com in order to receive an updater extending the beta to the end of September.

1. Have you experienced any crashes using the plugin?

2. If you do have crashes how often do they occur?

3. Do you lose work when crashes occur, or are your latest changes saved before the crash?

4. Do you have any non standard hardware (particularly GPU) which may contribute to crashing?

Please note I will be sending out the updater manually, so depending on the time of day in the UK, my response may not be immediate.

Hi, I downloaded the plug a few weeks ago, but finally got my camera and some footage to test!

I have not had any crashes, and so far the color correction looks brilliant.

I have not had any crashes, and so far the color correction looks brilliant.

Thank you. Email me directly to get the update and remove the watermark for another month.

I haven't had any problems with the plugin. My FCPX crashes constantly but I don't think it's because of this plugin. I'll check through the logs though.

Works brilliantly. The only thing I'd like to have in addition in this plugin is the possibility to "compress" the dynamics. For example, if I want to get both skin tones indoors and sky outdoors in the same image (and I have filmed them so that they are not under/overexposed, I'd like to be able to get the dynamics into the same picture. I guess this means some more detailed hightlight-control? I watched the color grading central tutorial about grading and it seemed to be quite easy to do in DaVinci. Now, I realize this isn't a color correction plugin, but this kind of extra would be really cool for people who don't have access to DaVinci (MacMini user....)

It's a great plugin! Thank you so much! Looking forward to buying it when it comes out!

Works brilliantly. The only thing I'd like to have in addition in this plugin is the possibility to "compress" the dynamics.

Thank you.

A few people have asked about this. The fact is that everything in there so far is purely technical, or based on BMD's own colorimetry. Highlight compression has no one "correct" way to do it. I have so far steered clear of anything where my creative decisions influence the result.

But I certainly haven't ruled it out.

Hi Nick, have you got a new version of the plugin as mine now has a red X?

Hi Nick, have you got a new version of the plugin as mine now has a red X?

See original post in this thread re update.

Basically email me feedback about if you experience crashes, and I'll send you an updater.

Since it is coming up to the end of September, and the current beta will expire then, I have created another updater which extends it for the first two weeks of October. I plan to release by then.

People who emailed previously with answers need not email again (unless their experience has been different since the September updater) as I will send the October updater to all of them automatically.

Since it is coming up to the end of September, and the current beta will expire then, I have created another updater which extends it for the first two weeks of October. I plan to release by then.

People who emailed previously with answers need not email again (unless their experience has been different since the September updater) as I will send the October updater to all of them automatically.

That's great thanks looking forward to the update!

1. Yes! Almost constantly - longest runtime without crash about 3-5 minutes.

2. #

3. Work is not lost, although when FCPX opens again I find myself in an old, different project - when I switch back to the one I was working before the crash everything is still there.

4. I have an AMD Radeon HD 6870 1024 MB which is kind of non standard - I also tried it on another MacPro with standard apple GPU but it is the same.

5. Running FCPX 10.0.0.8 and OSX 10.7.3

longest runtime without crash about 3-5 minutes.

That is bad. Sorry. I have not had anybody else report this kind of frequency. Indeed the vast majority of the feedback I am getting is that people do not have crashes. I am trying to find the correlation between those who do.

Can anybody else who has experienced this level of crashing please let me know.

5. Running FCPX 10.0.0.8 and OSX 10.7.3

Just a thought. Your OS and FCPX are both older versions. Might be worth trying on an updated system.

FCPX is currently on 10.0.9
OSX is currently on 10.8.5 (latest 10.7 is 10.7.5)

I get a big red X, I thought this was not watermarked, am I missing something?

I get a big red X, I thought this was not watermarked, am I missing something?

Just e-mail Nick for the latest updater…same thing happened to me Sept. 1st - except I was working with a client and freaked out….Nick came though within minutes….
I think Nick said that Oct 15th he will be ready to release.

I get a big red X, I thought this was not watermarked, am I missing something?

Yes, as per the first post of this thread, email me answers to my five questions and I will send you an updater.