July 2011 - Pro-apps-dev - lists.apple.com

Re: FCP X and parameterChanged
by Darrin Cardani 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com Garrick, This appears to be a bug that we aren't propagating the current time in some cases. Please file a bug. As for workarounds, one option would be to use whatever was the last render time if currentTime comes back as 0. It's fragile, but may be better than nothing. Darrin On Jun 30, 2011, at 10:17 PM, Garrick Meeker wrote: > I'm seeing some issues here that could seriously affect our products. First, we get the current time in the parameterChanged method with: > > id <FxCustomParameterActionAPI> actionAPI = [_apiManager apiForProtocol:@protocol(FxCustomParameterActionAPI)]; > double t = [actionAPI currentTime]; > > That works in Motion 5 and has always worked before, but in FCP X it seems to always be 0. > > And we also need access to images outside of renderOutput, specifically in parameterChanged and from on-screen controls (or custom UI in FxPlug 1). I realize this isn't guaranteed by the API but it works in Motion 4 and 5. FCP X seems to return a solid color. I've only tried the bitmap calls here. Stuffing the current OpenGL context into an FxRenderInfo to get a texture seems problematic. Trying to cache a frame from the render calls seems difficult too because of FCP's timeline rendering. > > I can file a bug but I'm really hoping there are workarounds for this release. > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/dcardani%40apple.com > > This email sent to dcardani(a)apple.com -- Darrin Cardani dcardani(a)apple.com _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Custom parameters with kFxParameterFlag_CUSTOM_UI
by Pauli Ojala 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com Darrin, could you elaborate on the behavior of custom parameters in FCP X? I have a custom parameter UI that's basically just a button that opens a window. Since this can't be published into FCP X, I've tried to replace it with a checkbox as you advised, and then publish that checkbox from Motion. This works as far as opening the window within FCP X. From there on, it's not quite what I expected. There are two issues: 1) The FCP viewer doesn't update in response to actions in the window. The plug-in uses the FxCustomParameterActionAPI to store its data in the custom parameter. Changing this value has previously worked for triggering a re-render. I've tried using the new FxRenderNotificationAPI, but it doesn't seem to have any more of an effect. When I drag the playhead on the FCP timeline, the updated custom param value is reflected correctly. So FCP does see the update eventually -- it just fails to re-render the current frame when the FxPlug APIs are called. 2) Although FCP maintains the modified custom parameter value correctly during a session, it doesn't seem to get saved. Next time I open FCP, the modifications are gone, and the custom param has been reset to its default value. I could live with the lack of instant viewer updates, but the broken saving is a serious problem and will prevent me from using this method. (Customers wouldn't be happy to have their modifications silently reverted.) Is there any way to tell FCP X that it should save a custom parameter persistently? -- Pauli Ojala Lacquer oy/ltd pauli(a)lacquer.fi On 29.6.2011, at 19.29, Darrin Cardani wrote: > Yes, if you want features added or bugs fixed, you absolutely must report them officially using bugreport.apple.com, or whatever other bug reporting mechanisms you usually use. > > I should say that many of us did advocate for custom controls in Final Cut Pro X. There were, of course, time and resource constraints to deal with. But there was also a lot of resistance from management because of the way that custom controls and custom windows tend to be used. When they looked at plug-ins with custom controls, a lot of what stood out to them was gaudy logos in the inspectors, and frankly it really turned them off. Obviously, there are good and bad ways to use custom controls, but we had a hard time convincing management how important they are to usability because of the downsides. > > Darrin > > On Jun 29, 2011, at 2:07 AM, Peter T wrote: > >> Can I add a request to put back custom UI support in to a future version of FCP X too? Why are the custom protocols in FxPlug 2? Any plugin that creates a custom parameter doesn't complain at all, you just see nothing; not good. >> >> Should we be officially reporting these problems, questions and requests? >> >> I have to say this is a real step backwards for plugins - not even a push button parameter to allow us to spring a custom UI window, right now I'm using a 1-item popup and the newer FxWindowHost and FxWindowAPI protocols.. it's not pretty. >> >> -Peter >> >> On 28 June 2011 20:49, Darrin Cardani <dcardani(a)apple.com> wrote: >> As always, we cannot speak about future developments publicly. Sorry. >> >> Darrin >> >> On Jun 28, 2011, at 12:08 PM, Eberhard Ammelt wrote: >> >> > Hello Darrin, >> > >> > can you please tell if custom parameters will be supported in future versions of FCP-X? >> > Our plugins have many custom parameters, and omitting them all will be a big problem. >> > >> > Regards, Eberhard >> > >> >> Currently it is not possible to publish or rig a custom UI parameter. There are some other options, depending on what you're trying to do. Since Onscreen Controls (OSCs) now work in FCPX, you could put the button in the canvas using on OSC. (I'm not saying that's great UI design - just that it could be done.) It may be possible or sensible (or not) to trigger opening your window another way, such as with a popup menu item, too. >> >> >> >> You say that your dialog has complex controls and the current frame. This sounds like it could be a good candidate for OSCs. Instead of having a dialog which shows the current frame, can you create a set of directly manipulable controls and overlay them on the footage? I don't mean putting sliders or checkboxes on the canvas, but can your controls be rethought so that they work like the new OSCs we added to many of the built-in filters? If you look at filters like Circle Blur, Droplet, Gradient Blur, etc., you'll see some of what we've done. Things that used to be sliders for widths are now rings or boxes that the user can just directly grab and change. >> >> >> >> Or it may just be better to only allow the complex interface to come up in Motion for power users and make several presets (possibly with some rigged/published parameters) for FCPX. In general, we'd like to encourage developers to make Final Cut Effects that accomplish a specific task rather than just publishing dozens of parameters from an FxPlug and exactly duplicating the functionality of the FxPlug in FCPX. Users have told us that they're overwhelmed by dozens of sliders and controls in the inspector and want more tightly focused tools that help them accomplish specific tasks. But obviously, not every plug-in will work this way. >> >> >> >> Darrin >> >> >> >> On Jun 26, 2011, at 5:05 AM, Vladimir Sergeev wrote: >> >> >> >>> Hello Darrin, >> >>> >> >>> I develop an effect FXPlug with a custom button among its >> >>> controls. The button opens a modal dialog with complex GUI >> >>> containing a set of controls and the current frame. Those >> >>> controls are used to analyze the frame and to modify several >> >>> custom parameters (created by addCustomParameterWithName with >> >>> the kFxParameterFlag_CUSTOM_UI flag enabled). The parameters >> >>> are visible/editable only in the dialog. >> >>> >> >>> This works well in FCP6/7 and in Motion5 (in Motion Projects). >> >>> >> >>> To make it work in FCP X, I need to somehow "publish" the custom >> >>> button to let user open the custom dialog and to adjust those >> >>> custom parameters based on the current frame from the FCP X project. >> >>> >> >>> Is this technically possible in the current version of FCP X? >> >>> If not, will such custom buttons and custom parameters be added later? >> >>> >> >>> What would be the next best way to provide the same functionality >> >>> directly to FCP X users (opening the FC Effect back in Motion5 will >> >>> likely not help, since the frame data is not provided)? >> >>> >> >>> Thank you, >> >>> Vladimir >> >>> >> >>> _______________________________________________ >> >>> Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. >> >>> Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) >> >>> Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: >> >>> http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/dcardani%40apple.com >> >>> >> >>> This email sent to dcardani(a)apple.com >> >> >> >> -- >> >> Darrin Cardani >> >> dcardani(a)apple.com >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. >> >> Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) >> >> Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: >> >> http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/eammelt%40pixlock.com >> >> >> >> This email sent to eammelt(a)pixlock.com >> > >> >> -- >> Darrin Cardani >> dcardani(a)apple.com >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. >> Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) >> Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: >> http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/pace100pt%40gmail.com >> >> This email sent to pace100pt(a)gmail.com >> > > -- > Darrin Cardani > dcardani(a)apple.com > > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/pauli%40lacquer.fi > > This email sent to pauli(a)lacquer.fi _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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FxProgressAPI
by Garrick Meeker 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com Are there any threading issues to consider when combining FxProgressAPI and performSelector in FxHostResourcesAPI? When I had to do my own threading, I made sure on job was on the main thread so FxProgressAPI would work, and then signal the other threads to abort. Can any thread now call userHasCancelled? Does it matter which thread calls updateProgress? I haven't noticed any issues, except that FCP doesn't seem to use this. For a really slow plugin (like a debug build) it seems to beachball yet userHasCancelled always returns NO. _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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FCP X and parameterChanged
by Garrick Meeker 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com I'm seeing some issues here that could seriously affect our products. First, we get the current time in the parameterChanged method with: id <FxCustomParameterActionAPI> actionAPI = [_apiManager apiForProtocol:@protocol(FxCustomParameterActionAPI)]; double t = [actionAPI currentTime]; That works in Motion 5 and has always worked before, but in FCP X it seems to always be 0. And we also need access to images outside of renderOutput, specifically in parameterChanged and from on-screen controls (or custom UI in FxPlug 1). I realize this isn't guaranteed by the API but it works in Motion 4 and 5. FCP X seems to return a solid color. I've only tried the bitmap calls here. Stuffing the current OpenGL context into an FxRenderInfo to get a texture seems problematic. Trying to cache a frame from the render calls seems difficult too because of FCP's timeline rendering. I can file a bug but I'm really hoping there are workarounds for this release. _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Publishing parameters for FCP X
by Garrick Meeker 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com Nevermind. It appears to be working. Maybe it was a bad build or something I did wrong setting up the effect the first time. On Jun 30, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Alex Gollner wrote: > > Garrick, you wrote > >> I tried to add a drop zone but FCP no longer shows my plugin's rendered out. >> It just shows the input image. > > Was it that you had a test image in the drop zone when you published the > generator? If the test image is there, that's what you 'publish.; > > I just created a filter effect with an drop zone - it appeared in the > instance of the filter in FCP X. > > Alex > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. > Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) > Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: > http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/garrick%40digitalanarch… > > This email sent to garrick(a)digitalanarchy.com _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Publishing parameters for FCP X
by Alex Gollner 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com Thread-index: Acw3j0HClCvlPTwFUUWxvhI1SasQ7w== Thread-topic: Publishing parameters for FCP X User-agent: Microsoft-Entourage/12.24.0.100205 Garrick, you wrote > I tried to add a drop zone but FCP no longer shows my plugin's rendered out. > It just shows the input image. Was it that you had a test image in the drop zone when you published the generator? If the test image is there, that's what you 'publish.; I just created a filter effect with an drop zone - it appeared in the instance of the filter in FCP X. Alex _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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Re: Publishing parameters for FCP X
by Garrick Meeker 01 Jul '11

01 Jul '11

site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com Delivered-To: pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com On Jun 30, 2011, at 11:52 AM, Darrin Cardani wrote: > > On Jun 30, 2011, at 11:29 AM, Christoph Vonrhein wrote: > >> Hi Darrin, >> >> While I have now converted my FxPlug plugins to work perfectly with Motion 5, I was trying to create the FCP X templates. There is a big problem: I can't publish "Image wells" and published custom parameters don't work with FCP X. >> >> Am I correctly seeing this that I can ONLY publish checkboxes, sliders and popup menus? No Image wells and no custom parameters? > > No. You can only create rigs that have checkboxes, sliders, and popup menus. You can publish most other parameters (angles, color wells, etc.). For image wells, you con't publish them directly. Instead what you need to do is create a drop zone in your project (I believe it can be disabled and this will still work), and drop the drop zone into the image well. Drop zones are automatically published. It's a little roundabout, but seems to do the job. > Do you have more information about this? I tried to add a drop zone but FCP no longer shows my plugin's rendered out. It just shows the input image. Is there a trick to setting up the motion effect with a drop zone? _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Pro-apps-dev mailing list (Pro-apps-dev(a)lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/pro-apps-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a… This email sent to site_archiver(a)lists.apple.com

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