You know those audio mixing boards that have servos for moving the sliders? I’d like to have a set of those sliders; one for scrubbing source, and another for program or timeline. And a set of nice clicky buttons under each. I’d imagine it looking just like the the NLE interface(in/out, play, loop,etc) with physical buttons and tactile sliders and 7” OLED monitors to perfectly mimic the interface. Put a full set of insert/overlay/replace edit buttons between them, and a set of buttons that match the toolbar off to the left, and this is a terrific product.
Ahoy cosmin-cuts! Nay bad but me wasn't convinced. Give this a sail:
Exactly! Editors o' dis sub our jolly crew should unite, create a product n' sell it betwixt ourselves, or something.
Yer description made me daydream... argh!
Now that I read this, I do know there are module midi interfaces that you can build out how you want, perhaps it could be as simple as something like that?
Not sure I have never used the modular ones but I did look into the premiere sdk last night, I think technically it’s possible but we are back to ‘need a developer’ phase of that. What I do with my midi controller is use an app called midi stroke and a chart of midi notes to midi numbers to assign midi notes to keyboard shortcuts. It’s far from ideal but there is definitely potential!
Was pondering a lot on them since they announced them a while back.
Found out it had lag, the software/GUI is kind of bad, it has limited functions (or some limitations). The orbiters (as in the jog wheels) - they work by having about 200 and something events (triggers) per revolution (like you’d press a key repeatedly). So if you use them to make adjustments - your History tab will populate very fast and it will be a nightmare to make Undo’s and redo’s.
There are some reviews on youtube too.
But they have 30 days money back. So give them a try! And dm me if you do and have thoughts afterwards
IMO, the best transport controls I ever used was on a Steenbeck. Some of that is down to the responsiveness of the medium itself, but I felt more connected with the footage than in any NLE I’ve ever used. If you could create an equivalent for modern NLEs with adjustable acceleration, I’d be totally down with that.
So, when Avid was first starting out (mid eighties I guess) I was a First AE at one of the big doc houses. Avid approached me to try to figure out how to make the older editors comfortable with the transition from Steenbeck to NLE interface. My first comment was about the shuttle control. So, they ended up actually making a Steenbeck style shuttle control for the early iterations. https://m.facebook.com/finalepost/photos/a.273785083041038/976994782720061/?type=3
Very cool. Now that I look at it, I must not have been using a Steenbeck after all, because I was using a dial rather than a slider. Still, that Avid control looks awesome.
Yeah, the Steenbeck shuttle was awesome. It had notches for regular speed and then 2x and 4x (forward and reverse) and maybe one other. It was spring loaded though so you could manually hold it between the notches.
But how, when, with whom?
Or should I just spend months like a crazy savant coming up with something and present jt to this subreddit assembly for dissemination?
you don't name a particular piece of software so I can't respond specifically.
Blackmagic makes two [keyboards](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/keyboard) that bring back the look and feel of old linear editing controllers. but compatible only with Resolve.
Avid has [Dock](https://www.avid.com/products/avid-dock) and [Control](https://www.avid.com/products/avid-control), really designed for ProTools, so audio focused, but bring something to Media Composer and apparently also Premiere.
but I have no idea if any of this gets close to what you are looking for.
Have you tried Resolve’s keyboards?
Dock and Control are audio centric, so still, not fully fitting the bill.
I feel both are just workarounds and not quite just there.
Resolve’s big keyboard has some niceties to it, though. But it still feels just a gimmick to make money.
Hmmm, maybe I'm in the minority but I've never felt limited by keyboard and mouse. The best thing I ever did was get a gaming mouse with 12 buttons on the side that I can program to any shortcut. Saves immense time. The only other thing I've wanted is some kind of pedal that I can tap with my foot and it would act as holding shift/Ctrl/whatever. Otherwise I've never felt limited by hardware
I use a Logitech gaming mouse with 12 thumb buttons too. But it has a 3rd main button that acts as a sort of shift key to either give you a set of 12 more buttons or it can programmed as a ctrl/cmd itself.
I used to do that too. Got hand pain, now I use trackball. And I figured out I don’t need those 24 extra macros anyway. But yeah, keyboard/mouse is where I’ll probably be until some crazy thing comes out - if any.
But this is not about how fast can I go with buttons/shortcuts; cause I can go blazingly fast.
It’s about the feeling of it. Maybe I allow myself a luxurious thought process, but I feel I (and probably many) are too busy to consider that the way these softwares/hardwares are set up are not with the editing in mind or do not come natural/organic/tactile. Are just gimmicks - sometimes I feel like I’m back in my teens making macros for Warcraft3 or WoW. Why not just go cyborg and implant computer interface in my fingers?
The ephonix mc transport was the best jog/shuttle I’ve ever had on any nle. I had one on my flame for a while and for the first month I couldn’t stop telling people how connected to my footage i felt.
Then it drifted away and I stopped using it.
The truth is there os nothing faster than dragging a timeline around manually.
If you want to get faster replace the mouse with a Wacom and deep dive into customising your shirt cuts.
Wacom maybe.
I already dived deep into shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro does wonders, but still cannot get exactly where I’d like.
I don’t understand why NLEs don’t make it easy to tap into their SDK and bypass OS interface. Would be faster/better/smoother.
I’ve dreamed of a VR editing suite for a while that brings back in the actual feeling of working with you hands instead of a mouse. I have neither the coding skills nor time to learn them though to make that a reality.
I will throw it out there too that possibly what you are seeking is better software and not better hardware. If you work in Premiere, there’s a plugin called Excalibur. While most plugins trend towards new FX, Excalibur is mainly tools for working more efficiently. There’s quite a bit in there that could detangle some of the functions which lead you yearning for better control.
Maybe I’m just an old soul, but at times, even when I was a kid playing video games I felt more connected to the interface (and forgot the controls) than with this. No matter the hours of knowing your keyboard, shortcuts over shortcuts. Maybe it’s a limitation or the software as you say.
Thanks for the tip. I work Premiere/Resolve/FCP/Avid - depends on the project and what’s new to try out there.
I’ve used a couple different things. I had the Contour Shuttle Pro for a bit and I have it set up to do certain types of tasks so I can watch through and make selects relatively quickly, but I have found myself over time gravitating more to the keyboard. I do try to eliminate the mouse as much as possible. Right now when I’m in the right situation I basically have my hands at home position on the keyboard and can do a lot of work without moving them. And I slowly keep adding to that over time.
This may go without saying but if you’re doing any kind of jogging and shuttling around then you want to be working with optimized media; proxies, etc.
Aside from the keyboard thing I guess I can say: I feel you? I haven’t really thought about it in a while but it does seem like there could be a great, ergonomic thing out there to fit the job. One of my issues is that I bounce around a lot, though, so having to install drivers and get shit working in various places becomes a chore. I kind of like sitting down at whatever desk it is and being able to bang something out.
Yeah, but - cause I wander around a lot too - if you had just a device that connect straight to the NLE SDK, bypassing any OS, it would eliminate any need to set something up, you’d just have your tool’s internal memory and it would do whatever you are user to, anywhere. You’d have your tiny flatbed editor with you.
Bad part, it would take any of us - I don’t know much programming- a few years to have time to figure something like this out. If at all possible
I can only commiserate. I’ve tried more interfaces and gadgets than I care to admit as well.
One dilemma you’ll face is that, since each NLE operates at the “SDK” level differently, you’ll be hard pressed to develop something that can work outside of a specific NLE. You could probably do what you seek, but you’re looking at a fully custom and purpose built tool. The NLE developers also have varying quality published info about their APIs for interfaces. You’ll probably have the best luck looking into developing a MIDI controller that can do what you want.
Contour Shuttle Pro or Avid Dock probably come the closest to what you want but it appears you’ve already tried them.
I too went deep into creating something to give me a more robust interface with my system - I designed and built my own 165% ortholinear split keyboard. 🤓
Meet the MONSTAsplit keyboard:
https://i.imgur.com/Shwt9Ap.jpg
Hah, fun name. Heard it with the sound of a keyboard smashed on the table, being split in two, bam, Monsta!
How did you deal with muscle memory at first, for the keyboard?
Also, is it programmed through the software API, or separate macro software.
Does a MIDI controller go through API or external software?
I know what I want (and others too probably) is hard to get.
In a sad way, I’m glad I am not alone in this endeavor.
Haptic gloves would be nice, though! - even though after 12 hours of editing with something like that I’d probably dream of keyboard/mouse.
It was tricky to learn the new layout but I’m not a touch typist so I didn’t have too much to unlearn. I’ve been using ortho keyboards for a while. Also I had been using a split keyboard for about a year before I made this one, so again not too hard to adapt.
I used QMK to program the keyboard. It has several “extended” features: full f1-f24 set, in the upper left there are six keys that press shift+alt+control+f1 thru f6 (so I can assign shortcuts to those keys wherever needed), and there are several keys (along inner edges of both sides) that are combined modifiers (shift+alt, shift+ctrl, ctrl+alt, and shift+alt+ctrl) so I don’t have to do “hand gymnastics” to press all those various key combos - I just press the correct one along with the regular key needed. It has been immensely useful to have all the extra keys.
Various NLEs have MIDI interface capabilities that give more or less feature access. Again they are documented at the various websites.
I tried using a Leap Motion(https://www.ultraleap.com/product/leap-motion-controller/) to edit with. It worked ok-ish, but all that arm movement meant doing even a simple edit was a workout. Not something that would be sustainable for current NLE interfaces.
Ah, you want one of those "NeuraLink AI" interfaces with the developer mode enabled. It's pretty much the first version of the Minority Report style interfaces that uses machine learning to dig into the guts of any Windows application (no Mac/Linux, I'm afraid!) and embeds it's code in that app allowing you to initiate any existing function (and some non-existent functions) of the software using foveated eye tracking with hand gesture augmentations. It requires a pretty beefy PC to deal with the overhead, and you have to wear a funny hat with the camera that tracks your pupillary movements and hand gestures, but it's perfectly doable, as it's not heavy.
They've got profiles for all the major NLE softwares, as well as the MS Office suite, all the Autodesk applications, and Fortnite.
The new version that is in alpha actually reads your thoughts and initiates software functions before you even realise you wanted to do them, and works with any bit of software ever written. It's actually how Kanye West produced his latest album; he just thought about what he wanted, and it just happened.
Get more info at [moononastick.com](youwantsomethingthatdoesntexist.org)
I really like the Tourbox Neo. It has lots of knobs, dials wheels and buttons of various shapes that can be set up to trigger keyboard shortcuts. Not a total game changer I suppose, but it works way better than I expected (wise from experience with similar devices).
I use it in Avid, primarily to make audio editing less annoying. Things like gain adjustments and rubber banding.
It's also useful for zooming in and out in the timeline, making minor trims, adjusting fx parameters or whatever else you set it up to do.
It gives a great tactile feel to interacting with the edit, and I find myself reaching for it even when it's not at hand, which is both surprising and slightly annoying...
I know. I have plenty hotkeys, everything is set up to my liking, using keyboard/trackball - it was just the tiny limitations that at points just tickle some frustration.
I was able to set up a midi drum pad to act as buttons with whatever keyboard shortcut combo. I had it set up for live streaming but have been thinking of adapting it to an NLE, I switched to a wacom and love programming the buttons on that too.
Using a wacom sped up my workflow by far.
I’ve had some success with the streamdeck (for custom macros) and the Razer Tartarus for re mapping shortcuts. I map all of the keyboard shortcuts I use most often so I can keep the keyboard layout stock. On the shuttle jog wheel side of things; Premiere and Final Cut don’t really have that type of interface control, third party or not. I prefer using my Wacom in resolve for editing since it lets me use fairlight and the colour panel really well. But I do agree it’s not ideal for frame by frame adjustments.
This is where I think Resolve has it kind of figured out. Their new speed editor and keyboard add a proper
Jog wheel with different speeds and a weighted feel. Part of the reason this is only available for Resolve is that no other NLE (not sure about Avid) code the timeline header to have that type of input.
If you want a jog wheel buy a speed editor and try out Resolve :).
My only concern with the speed editor - cause I recently cut a feature documentary in resolve and I ended up dreading the software when I had 200+ timelines, I digress.
My only concern with the speed editor are some of its useless keys/hotkeys. And the way Resolve people wanna force you to do multicam their way.
I have my beef with programmers/designers - some of them want you to do a thing as they designed it, not the other way around. Which is mindblown and pretty selfish cause they are not the ones using the tools 12h a day. I digress again, damn.
I went through the Tartarus phase. Now I just try to simplify everything I do, make it barebones and have it in flow, so I only think about the edit.
Totally agree. I recently did a broadcast doc series (about an hour total but lots of short exports) it was timeline city. If I’m honest I didn’t feel it was any slower to launch than Premiere when those projects got bloated with lots of timelines. I’m not sure if you were running Resolve 17, but the quality of life improvements with multiple timelines has been really helpful. You can finally disable timelines and hide them so they won’t load into ram on boot up, helps a lot in the final stages of an edit.
I also agree one the speed editor, if I’m honest I kinda just use scroll wheel my Wacom and the Tartarus. But maybe someone can use the BM API to make a better scroll wheel.
Was running 16, and I usually do not update in the middle of production. Bad mojo / weird spells happen when you try doing that sort of thing - but if you do it when out of production, for some reason, nothing bad comes to happen.
I want a decent scroll wheel with tactile settings very badly!
One missing link is that Premiere and FCP (again I don't know about Avid) don't seem to have anything in their code for a scroll device to control the playhead. So third parties can't make accessories if the control isn't already available to activate in the code. Resolve, I guess, felt that editors wanted their scroll wheel back ( I agree) and updated the code to allow for that interface while also developing the hardware to go along with it. It's a great tool, I only wish they allows for custom keybinds.
For reviewing footage I started using a gaming controller that I mapped certain keyboard cuts to and using the joysticks as a scrubber. This way I’m able to sit back and be away from the desk and be more comfortable.
Sounds cool. I did that with wireless keyboard/mouse + projector. It’s chill when you have 200h of footage to go through.
But, sometimes the reaction speed or fastforward/reverse speeds/gear shifting - annoys me, feels like lag in an online game.
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Jog/Shuttle with play rewind controller from JLCooper
[https://jlcooper.com/\_php/product.php?prod=mcs6](https://jlcooper.com/_php/product.php?prod=mcs6)
Not what I am looking for. I can get a random jog/shuttle for cheaper if I just need one. Heck, I have one. Anyway.
Why pay 700 for a separate set of JKL keys?
Thanks though!
We own 2 of the MCS6 usb controllers and the bigger Eclipse BTX. It is being use in Media Composer and Protools room. The jog/shuttle have a nice tactile feel just like using it on a jog/shuttle from Sony SRW HDCam deck.
The prebuilt macros are for Daws. the creators are audio post guys but You can build your own macros for whatever software you want and sell them on their market place.
I would consider the Monogram cc modular system. You can add as many control surfaces as you like, and program them to do whatever you want. They click together with magnets, so you can lay it out like you want. Sounds like their orbiter module could be what you're looking for. Infinite profiles too.
I know. But don’t know how they are programmed. Interface lag. Software API. Plus they don’t wanna tell you what is mappable through software SDK and what notS
Plus, I cannot find anyone who has them so I can test them out. I don’t wanna pay that much just to figure out I don’t like them.
Did you try them?
I followed them along since their kickstarter. But I have the feeling they’re more commercial/photoshop-designer-video-editor/motion-graphics centric than long form/docu/ etc.
I know just what you mean... I keep telling my colleagues keyboard + mouse feels so outdated and clunky. I crave for something specifically designed for editors. But most of them don't see the problem. I bought a Razer Naga mouse a month ago and it's completely changed my life. I edit super fast and super smoothly now. But I still have that damn keyboard under my left hand.
Keyboard and mouse?
Haha, well, no escaping it, huh? It has it’s limitations which at times of exasperate me.
Tried and true, 50/50.
You know those audio mixing boards that have servos for moving the sliders? I’d like to have a set of those sliders; one for scrubbing source, and another for program or timeline. And a set of nice clicky buttons under each. I’d imagine it looking just like the the NLE interface(in/out, play, loop,etc) with physical buttons and tactile sliders and 7” OLED monitors to perfectly mimic the interface. Put a full set of insert/overlay/replace edit buttons between them, and a set of buttons that match the toolbar off to the left, and this is a terrific product.
Exactly! Editors of this sub we should unite, create a product and sell it between ourselves, or something. Your description made me daydream... argh!
Ahoy cosmin-cuts! Nay bad but me wasn't convinced. Give this a sail: Exactly! Editors o' dis sub our jolly crew should unite, create a product n' sell it betwixt ourselves, or something. Yer description made me daydream... argh!
Now that I read this, I do know there are module midi interfaces that you can build out how you want, perhaps it could be as simple as something like that?
Do you know if they connect straight to NLEs SDK - bypassing the OS?
Not sure I have never used the modular ones but I did look into the premiere sdk last night, I think technically it’s possible but we are back to ‘need a developer’ phase of that. What I do with my midi controller is use an app called midi stroke and a chart of midi notes to midi numbers to assign midi notes to keyboard shortcuts. It’s far from ideal but there is definitely potential!
Found this! Thinking about ordering it. Curious how the software works. https://monogramcc.com/shop/products/studio-console/
Was pondering a lot on them since they announced them a while back. Found out it had lag, the software/GUI is kind of bad, it has limited functions (or some limitations). The orbiters (as in the jog wheels) - they work by having about 200 and something events (triggers) per revolution (like you’d press a key repeatedly). So if you use them to make adjustments - your History tab will populate very fast and it will be a nightmare to make Undo’s and redo’s. There are some reviews on youtube too. But they have 30 days money back. So give them a try! And dm me if you do and have thoughts afterwards
Aand, if I could have a elgato streamdeck with the jog wheel from davinci resolve keyboard attached to it, it would probably be amazing.
IMO, the best transport controls I ever used was on a Steenbeck. Some of that is down to the responsiveness of the medium itself, but I felt more connected with the footage than in any NLE I’ve ever used. If you could create an equivalent for modern NLEs with adjustable acceleration, I’d be totally down with that.
So, when Avid was first starting out (mid eighties I guess) I was a First AE at one of the big doc houses. Avid approached me to try to figure out how to make the older editors comfortable with the transition from Steenbeck to NLE interface. My first comment was about the shuttle control. So, they ended up actually making a Steenbeck style shuttle control for the early iterations. https://m.facebook.com/finalepost/photos/a.273785083041038/976994782720061/?type=3
Very cool. Now that I look at it, I must not have been using a Steenbeck after all, because I was using a dial rather than a slider. Still, that Avid control looks awesome.
Yeah, the Steenbeck shuttle was awesome. It had notches for regular speed and then 2x and 4x (forward and reverse) and maybe one other. It was spring loaded though so you could manually hold it between the notches.
But how, when, with whom? Or should I just spend months like a crazy savant coming up with something and present jt to this subreddit assembly for dissemination?
you don't name a particular piece of software so I can't respond specifically. Blackmagic makes two [keyboards](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/keyboard) that bring back the look and feel of old linear editing controllers. but compatible only with Resolve. Avid has [Dock](https://www.avid.com/products/avid-dock) and [Control](https://www.avid.com/products/avid-control), really designed for ProTools, so audio focused, but bring something to Media Composer and apparently also Premiere. but I have no idea if any of this gets close to what you are looking for.
Have you tried Resolve’s keyboards? Dock and Control are audio centric, so still, not fully fitting the bill. I feel both are just workarounds and not quite just there. Resolve’s big keyboard has some niceties to it, though. But it still feels just a gimmick to make money.
Hmmm, maybe I'm in the minority but I've never felt limited by keyboard and mouse. The best thing I ever did was get a gaming mouse with 12 buttons on the side that I can program to any shortcut. Saves immense time. The only other thing I've wanted is some kind of pedal that I can tap with my foot and it would act as holding shift/Ctrl/whatever. Otherwise I've never felt limited by hardware
I use a Logitech gaming mouse with 12 thumb buttons too. But it has a 3rd main button that acts as a sort of shift key to either give you a set of 12 more buttons or it can programmed as a ctrl/cmd itself.
I used to do that too. Got hand pain, now I use trackball. And I figured out I don’t need those 24 extra macros anyway. But yeah, keyboard/mouse is where I’ll probably be until some crazy thing comes out - if any.
Damn 👀 can you drop the model number?
Logitech G600. Best one I've used!
Thank you thank you
But this is not about how fast can I go with buttons/shortcuts; cause I can go blazingly fast. It’s about the feeling of it. Maybe I allow myself a luxurious thought process, but I feel I (and probably many) are too busy to consider that the way these softwares/hardwares are set up are not with the editing in mind or do not come natural/organic/tactile. Are just gimmicks - sometimes I feel like I’m back in my teens making macros for Warcraft3 or WoW. Why not just go cyborg and implant computer interface in my fingers?
The ephonix mc transport was the best jog/shuttle I’ve ever had on any nle. I had one on my flame for a while and for the first month I couldn’t stop telling people how connected to my footage i felt. Then it drifted away and I stopped using it. The truth is there os nothing faster than dragging a timeline around manually. If you want to get faster replace the mouse with a Wacom and deep dive into customising your shirt cuts.
Wacom maybe. I already dived deep into shortcuts, Keyboard Maestro does wonders, but still cannot get exactly where I’d like. I don’t understand why NLEs don’t make it easy to tap into their SDK and bypass OS interface. Would be faster/better/smoother.
Blackmagic wants to sell hardware, that's the reason for Resolve at least
I’ve dreamed of a VR editing suite for a while that brings back in the actual feeling of working with you hands instead of a mouse. I have neither the coding skills nor time to learn them though to make that a reality. I will throw it out there too that possibly what you are seeking is better software and not better hardware. If you work in Premiere, there’s a plugin called Excalibur. While most plugins trend towards new FX, Excalibur is mainly tools for working more efficiently. There’s quite a bit in there that could detangle some of the functions which lead you yearning for better control.
Maybe I’m just an old soul, but at times, even when I was a kid playing video games I felt more connected to the interface (and forgot the controls) than with this. No matter the hours of knowing your keyboard, shortcuts over shortcuts. Maybe it’s a limitation or the software as you say. Thanks for the tip. I work Premiere/Resolve/FCP/Avid - depends on the project and what’s new to try out there.
I’ve used a couple different things. I had the Contour Shuttle Pro for a bit and I have it set up to do certain types of tasks so I can watch through and make selects relatively quickly, but I have found myself over time gravitating more to the keyboard. I do try to eliminate the mouse as much as possible. Right now when I’m in the right situation I basically have my hands at home position on the keyboard and can do a lot of work without moving them. And I slowly keep adding to that over time. This may go without saying but if you’re doing any kind of jogging and shuttling around then you want to be working with optimized media; proxies, etc. Aside from the keyboard thing I guess I can say: I feel you? I haven’t really thought about it in a while but it does seem like there could be a great, ergonomic thing out there to fit the job. One of my issues is that I bounce around a lot, though, so having to install drivers and get shit working in various places becomes a chore. I kind of like sitting down at whatever desk it is and being able to bang something out.
Yeah, but - cause I wander around a lot too - if you had just a device that connect straight to the NLE SDK, bypassing any OS, it would eliminate any need to set something up, you’d just have your tool’s internal memory and it would do whatever you are user to, anywhere. You’d have your tiny flatbed editor with you. Bad part, it would take any of us - I don’t know much programming- a few years to have time to figure something like this out. If at all possible
I can only commiserate. I’ve tried more interfaces and gadgets than I care to admit as well. One dilemma you’ll face is that, since each NLE operates at the “SDK” level differently, you’ll be hard pressed to develop something that can work outside of a specific NLE. You could probably do what you seek, but you’re looking at a fully custom and purpose built tool. The NLE developers also have varying quality published info about their APIs for interfaces. You’ll probably have the best luck looking into developing a MIDI controller that can do what you want. Contour Shuttle Pro or Avid Dock probably come the closest to what you want but it appears you’ve already tried them. I too went deep into creating something to give me a more robust interface with my system - I designed and built my own 165% ortholinear split keyboard. 🤓 Meet the MONSTAsplit keyboard: https://i.imgur.com/Shwt9Ap.jpg
Hah, fun name. Heard it with the sound of a keyboard smashed on the table, being split in two, bam, Monsta! How did you deal with muscle memory at first, for the keyboard? Also, is it programmed through the software API, or separate macro software. Does a MIDI controller go through API or external software? I know what I want (and others too probably) is hard to get. In a sad way, I’m glad I am not alone in this endeavor. Haptic gloves would be nice, though! - even though after 12 hours of editing with something like that I’d probably dream of keyboard/mouse.
It was tricky to learn the new layout but I’m not a touch typist so I didn’t have too much to unlearn. I’ve been using ortho keyboards for a while. Also I had been using a split keyboard for about a year before I made this one, so again not too hard to adapt. I used QMK to program the keyboard. It has several “extended” features: full f1-f24 set, in the upper left there are six keys that press shift+alt+control+f1 thru f6 (so I can assign shortcuts to those keys wherever needed), and there are several keys (along inner edges of both sides) that are combined modifiers (shift+alt, shift+ctrl, ctrl+alt, and shift+alt+ctrl) so I don’t have to do “hand gymnastics” to press all those various key combos - I just press the correct one along with the regular key needed. It has been immensely useful to have all the extra keys. Various NLEs have MIDI interface capabilities that give more or less feature access. Again they are documented at the various websites. I tried using a Leap Motion(https://www.ultraleap.com/product/leap-motion-controller/) to edit with. It worked ok-ish, but all that arm movement meant doing even a simple edit was a workout. Not something that would be sustainable for current NLE interfaces.
Ah, you want one of those "NeuraLink AI" interfaces with the developer mode enabled. It's pretty much the first version of the Minority Report style interfaces that uses machine learning to dig into the guts of any Windows application (no Mac/Linux, I'm afraid!) and embeds it's code in that app allowing you to initiate any existing function (and some non-existent functions) of the software using foveated eye tracking with hand gesture augmentations. It requires a pretty beefy PC to deal with the overhead, and you have to wear a funny hat with the camera that tracks your pupillary movements and hand gestures, but it's perfectly doable, as it's not heavy. They've got profiles for all the major NLE softwares, as well as the MS Office suite, all the Autodesk applications, and Fortnite. The new version that is in alpha actually reads your thoughts and initiates software functions before you even realise you wanted to do them, and works with any bit of software ever written. It's actually how Kanye West produced his latest album; he just thought about what he wanted, and it just happened. Get more info at [moononastick.com](youwantsomethingthatdoesntexist.org)
This started on a serious, research-ish tone, and descended into laugh purgatory. Thanks for the chuckle!
I really like the Tourbox Neo. It has lots of knobs, dials wheels and buttons of various shapes that can be set up to trigger keyboard shortcuts. Not a total game changer I suppose, but it works way better than I expected (wise from experience with similar devices). I use it in Avid, primarily to make audio editing less annoying. Things like gain adjustments and rubber banding. It's also useful for zooming in and out in the timeline, making minor trims, adjusting fx parameters or whatever else you set it up to do. It gives a great tactile feel to interacting with the edit, and I find myself reaching for it even when it's not at hand, which is both surprising and slightly annoying...
You already have the equipment. Focus on hotkeys and you'll be have everything you need.
I know. I have plenty hotkeys, everything is set up to my liking, using keyboard/trackball - it was just the tiny limitations that at points just tickle some frustration.
NLE's are designed for Keyboard/mouse use. I don't think anything will ever top the experience without the software being designed for it.
Just find a keyboard layout and mouse/Wacom/shuttle you like. You’re way over thinking the job, this isn’t rocket science
It's not exactly brain surgery, is it?
I was able to set up a midi drum pad to act as buttons with whatever keyboard shortcut combo. I had it set up for live streaming but have been thinking of adapting it to an NLE, I switched to a wacom and love programming the buttons on that too. Using a wacom sped up my workflow by far.
I’ve had some success with the streamdeck (for custom macros) and the Razer Tartarus for re mapping shortcuts. I map all of the keyboard shortcuts I use most often so I can keep the keyboard layout stock. On the shuttle jog wheel side of things; Premiere and Final Cut don’t really have that type of interface control, third party or not. I prefer using my Wacom in resolve for editing since it lets me use fairlight and the colour panel really well. But I do agree it’s not ideal for frame by frame adjustments. This is where I think Resolve has it kind of figured out. Their new speed editor and keyboard add a proper Jog wheel with different speeds and a weighted feel. Part of the reason this is only available for Resolve is that no other NLE (not sure about Avid) code the timeline header to have that type of input. If you want a jog wheel buy a speed editor and try out Resolve :).
My only concern with the speed editor - cause I recently cut a feature documentary in resolve and I ended up dreading the software when I had 200+ timelines, I digress. My only concern with the speed editor are some of its useless keys/hotkeys. And the way Resolve people wanna force you to do multicam their way. I have my beef with programmers/designers - some of them want you to do a thing as they designed it, not the other way around. Which is mindblown and pretty selfish cause they are not the ones using the tools 12h a day. I digress again, damn. I went through the Tartarus phase. Now I just try to simplify everything I do, make it barebones and have it in flow, so I only think about the edit.
Totally agree. I recently did a broadcast doc series (about an hour total but lots of short exports) it was timeline city. If I’m honest I didn’t feel it was any slower to launch than Premiere when those projects got bloated with lots of timelines. I’m not sure if you were running Resolve 17, but the quality of life improvements with multiple timelines has been really helpful. You can finally disable timelines and hide them so they won’t load into ram on boot up, helps a lot in the final stages of an edit. I also agree one the speed editor, if I’m honest I kinda just use scroll wheel my Wacom and the Tartarus. But maybe someone can use the BM API to make a better scroll wheel.
Was running 16, and I usually do not update in the middle of production. Bad mojo / weird spells happen when you try doing that sort of thing - but if you do it when out of production, for some reason, nothing bad comes to happen. I want a decent scroll wheel with tactile settings very badly!
One missing link is that Premiere and FCP (again I don't know about Avid) don't seem to have anything in their code for a scroll device to control the playhead. So third parties can't make accessories if the control isn't already available to activate in the code. Resolve, I guess, felt that editors wanted their scroll wheel back ( I agree) and updated the code to allow for that interface while also developing the hardware to go along with it. It's a great tool, I only wish they allows for custom keybinds.
For reviewing footage I started using a gaming controller that I mapped certain keyboard cuts to and using the joysticks as a scrubber. This way I’m able to sit back and be away from the desk and be more comfortable.
Sounds cool. I did that with wireless keyboard/mouse + projector. It’s chill when you have 200h of footage to go through. But, sometimes the reaction speed or fastforward/reverse speeds/gear shifting - annoys me, feels like lag in an online game.
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Jog/Shuttle with play rewind controller from JLCooper [https://jlcooper.com/\_php/product.php?prod=mcs6](https://jlcooper.com/_php/product.php?prod=mcs6)
Not what I am looking for. I can get a random jog/shuttle for cheaper if I just need one. Heck, I have one. Anyway. Why pay 700 for a separate set of JKL keys? Thanks though!
$700..jeez. Have you tried it?
We own 2 of the MCS6 usb controllers and the bigger Eclipse BTX. It is being use in Media Composer and Protools room. The jog/shuttle have a nice tactile feel just like using it on a jog/shuttle from Sony SRW HDCam deck.
ELegato stream deck and sound flow. Is my go to.
Cool! Any lag on sound flow? I see it’a for daw’s only, but sounds neat for that use case.
The prebuilt macros are for Daws. the creators are audio post guys but You can build your own macros for whatever software you want and sell them on their market place.
I would consider the Monogram cc modular system. You can add as many control surfaces as you like, and program them to do whatever you want. They click together with magnets, so you can lay it out like you want. Sounds like their orbiter module could be what you're looking for. Infinite profiles too.
I know. But don’t know how they are programmed. Interface lag. Software API. Plus they don’t wanna tell you what is mappable through software SDK and what notS Plus, I cannot find anyone who has them so I can test them out. I don’t wanna pay that much just to figure out I don’t like them. Did you try them? I followed them along since their kickstarter. But I have the feeling they’re more commercial/photoshop-designer-video-editor/motion-graphics centric than long form/docu/ etc.
I know just what you mean... I keep telling my colleagues keyboard + mouse feels so outdated and clunky. I crave for something specifically designed for editors. But most of them don't see the problem. I bought a Razer Naga mouse a month ago and it's completely changed my life. I edit super fast and super smoothly now. But I still have that damn keyboard under my left hand.