Lightworks for Mac-cool

[fredjeang2]

Hi,

I'd like to share with you this following experience.

Maybe some remember months ago an old thread in wich I had been giving a try to Lightworks
when EditShare rebuilted the product.

My sentation at that time was that the core
is damn good but not really ready (unfixed bugs) but that was just after the release.

But since then, things have changed, quite a lot!

https://www.lwks.com/

Here is the short story: I've been away from post prod for months, without touching
anything in relation with cutting, compositing or grading.
A few days ago, saw myself involved again into a prod and had to restart my
rusty Media Composer 6, and here's when the "fun" began...

Avid is so unintuitive that it took me literally an entire day to remember all
the tricks, shortcuts, without talking about it's complexity when it comes
to do a little bit of compo and also the painfull in-app CC that obliges to roundtripp to
an external app like Resolve.

When I saw the ghost's shade of the antique workflow pointing again, I thought:
"I don't want this BS anymore", and decided to give another look at lightworks.
And what I saw was very different from the very first experience I told above:
Now they refinated it enough.

It took me the same day I used in Avid just to reaccustome myself to the "avid way"
to master completly the entire Lightworks App on it's most common features. It's that intuitive.
How fast is it? Damn fast!! I can't see nothing so far that comes even close. (maybe FCPX?)
No hassles. No hidden bad surprise. In one day of practise you're done!
CC is good enough, filters, Keyers, everything works as it should and the way it should,
without leaving the app.

No surprise to me why this editor is used by serious editors to cut expensive
productions in cine and avert. If you are looking for a serious
NLE give it a serious look.
It's damn good!!
It's not fast, it's probably the fastest possible tool available to date when it comes to tell stories.

Take a look at this link for ex

http://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video-editing/lightworks-12-on-mac-the-free-nle/

and specially the first video of an add capaign when they use lightworks to key
(half of the video) and you'll have an idea of what I'm talking about.


As most are on Mac, now they done it.

Have a nice day.

Fred.
  
 

[Chris L]

Thanks Fred. Do you know if I can use it for Raw DNG's from the BMCC?

[fredjeang2]

I'm not really sure but I beleive with Cinema DNG it should be an off-line workflow using Resolve. (?)
Check their website but I doubt that with Raw DNG it would be a straightforward workflow as it is with Red.

The "Logical" workflow would be to use DNxHD as proxies so the editing task does not stress the Workstation
and relink later.

With Red, things are more simple. (with the Red Rocket card)

[fredjeang2]

After a few days working on it, I have more to share with you.

I would say that it's got 2 noteworthy strengths that makes it unique compare to other apps we are familiar with.

It is really really, (I mean really!) excelent for editors. The interface and the way it's built are different, and
they nailed it IMO. For story telling it's absolutly amazing how it helps the editing task.
To the point that after just a few days of use, I don't see myself by any means having to be back to an
Avid or a P.P etc...

Difficult to explain in words, (and even more difficult for me in english),until you put your hands on it and start to edit with.

I confess that the first 2 hours or so where a little puzzle cause it's a completly different philosophy, but then...whao!
Specially suitable for people under pressure who need fast workflows and flexible decisions, complex stories...in those lands it shines
like nothing else.

As there are rooms, (a room is simply a desktop arrangement and task-independent area of your project, exactly as if you had one computer
in a room for edit1, another computer for edit2, another for CC1 etc...), I can switch from room 1 to room 2 (nameable)
in one click and it makes it so flexible and efficient!
I can create 1 room for another version of an edit, another room with a specific CC applied with a specific windows arrangement,
then another room with another CC if I want to try another look with another windows arrangement.
Then, I switch between rooms when needed. That is insane indeed how efficient it can be once we get it.
Brilliant! Fast! really fast.

That way, the general feelin I have is that I am in total control of the app, and not the app forcing me to
adapt myself to it's design.
In Lightworks, the "designer" is me, not the engineers of a X brand. That changes all.

The interface is completly configurable to your needs. You can change the shark label (distractive IMO) for your own corporate logo or nothing.
You can replace the buttons icons for some of your taste. (I personally didn't like the "old style" buttons and just replace then for buttons that I find more neutral to my taste.
In other words, you can also make the App looks exactly the way you want it to look like.

Of course, there is not a 100% ideal app and in the end, no app is bad in itself.
Same with gear, if a person is not good at editing, no app will help in that aspect. And a good editor will
do wonders in any application. We all know that.
But it is also true that a well implemented design can actually make the tasks easier or not, fun in use or not so fun.

IMO, this Lightworks is British engineering, different from all the rest and it's just nailed in every aspects.
Very very enjoyable in use, dead efficient and indeed extremely fast.

[fdisilvestro]

Thanks Fred for sharing your experience.

In case anybody is interested, Lightworks is offering a limited time 50% discount on their PRO version, celebrating their third year (ends June 24) more info here

[fredjeang2]

I think this kind of overview gives a taste of it by covering a few functions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCDFfXUcGk

Ps:

-The Audio mixer is also really good I must say.
-File management is good (as Edit share has a lot of experience on it)
-integration with Fusion is well implemented

Downsides? yes!  

- No tracker in-App. A roundtripp is necessary if you need this capability or... manually track? (no thanks!).
- No  shape tools for CC

[fredjeang2]

Got good news on LW. I'm testing the current Beta and they really did a good job, major improvements.

- XML now fully implemented and not just import.

-4K exports in different flavors and specially well featured for feature film. However, the lack of jpeg2000 for DCP is something that still puzles me.

- It still lacks an EXR export wich obliges to compo using heavier files formats wich is a pity

- Very good 3D Luts integration. I've been testing them today with Alexa footage and was very pleased by the implementation. Once you load your Luts, they will be always
disponible in the corresponding window with previews on the result and the possibility to apply the desired amount from 0 to 100%.
So far the supported Luts are:
.3dl
.cube
.davlut
.mgafiles

I've been only tested the .cube generated for the Alexa's and currently stored 31 Luts. Alexa V3 LogC2, BMCC Rec 709, Kodak, Fujifilm etc...blabla...

to be noted that the LUTs can be applied from the Project as previews (monitor) and so not affected the exported footage (film stuff) or on the edit and then yes it becomes part of the grading.

- It now imports natively the BMC files, also a very good news.

One point I still don't like very much is the fact that R3Ds output is linked to your debayer settings without a reminder on the timeline or in the Bin. Somewhere clearly visible. A warning light, whatever.
Why is that important? Easy to forget. If you output your Red material with the debayer setted to 1/8, it will keep that value as a reference for outputting and we don't want that. So you need to remember
to put the bebayer back to 1:1 after edit. Sooo easy to mess with it.

Overall, a very positive impression on the new version.