Final Cut Pro User’s Manual Includes instructions for installing and using your software
K Apple Computer, Inc. © 1999 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Apple. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Contents 1 Getting Started 17 Where to Find Information 17 System Requirements 18 Preparing to Install Final Cut Pro 18 Installing QuickTime Components 18 Installing Final Cut Pro 19 Hardware Setup and Configuration 20 Connecting Video Devices to Your Computer 20 Controlling Video Devices With Your Computer 22 About Apple FireWire 22 Apple FireWire Basic 22 System Configurations 23 Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk Drive and PCI Card Specifications 24 Optimizing Performance 26 Troubleshooting 27 2 Final Cut Pro
Match-Frame Editing 42 Applying and Editing a Dissolve Transition 44 Audio Editing 48 Compositing and Special Effects 51 Opening and Saving a New Project 52 Previewing the Introduction’s Titles 52 Building the Background 52 Putting Dancers on the Background 54 Adding Circles Around the Dancers 59 Adding Titles for the Introduction 64 Copying a Title’s Attributes to Other Titles 68 Adding the Titles to the Introductory Sequence 69 Rendering the Sequence 70 Finishing a Project 70 Printing to Video 71 Exportin
Keyboard Shortcuts 84 Tabbed Windows 84 Customizing the Screen Layout 86 Undoing Changes 87 Working With Timecode 87 Navigating by Entering New Timecodes 88 Moving to a New Time by Adding or Subtracting Frames 88 Moving to a New Time by Entering Numbers That Are Converted 89 Separators for Timecode Entry and Logging 89 Timecode Keyboard Shortcuts 90 Editing in Final Cut Pro 91 Editing With the Tool Palette Tools 92 Background Information and Concepts 92 4 Preferences and Presets 95 Setting General Prefer
Changing a Clip’s Source Timecode 129 Importing Media 130 Importing Still Images and Audio Files 130 Importing Layered Photoshop Files 131 Importing Audio Files From Audio CDs 132 6 Creating and Organizing Projects 133 Creating, Opening, Closing, and Saving Projects 133 Autosaving Projects 134 Customizing the Browser Display 134 Selecting Items in the Browser 136 Sorting Items in the Browser 136 Organizing Projects With the Browser 136 About the Browser Columns 137 Using Bins to Organize Clips 138 Modify
Viewing Clips 153 Opening Clips From the View Menu 153 Changing Magnification in the Viewer or Canvas 154 Viewing Title and Action Safe Boundaries 155 Viewing Overlays 156 Viewing With Different Backgrounds 156 Working With Audio 156 Understanding Audio Formats 157 Compressed Audio Formats 157 Turning Off Audio Scrubbing 157 Using the Viewer to Display Audio Waveforms 157 Changing Your Computer’s Audio Level 158 Adjusting Audio Levels and Pan or Spread for a Clip 158 Synchronizing Audio and Video 159 Gettin
Editing in the Timeline 174 The Canvas Two-Up Display 175 Marking Split Edits 175 Setting the Edit Points to the Current Selection 176 Locating a Match Frame 176 9 Working in the Timeline and Canvas 177 The Timeline Window 177 Elements in the Timeline Window 178 Colors of Items in the Timeline Window 180 Customizing the Timeline Track Display 181 Timeline Scaling and Scrolling 182 Scaling the Timeline Display 182 Positioning the Playhead in a Sequence 182 Working With Tracks in the Timeline 183 Selecting
Finding and Closing Gaps 198 Making Still Frames From Clips in the Canvas 199 Correcting Clips That Are Out of Sync 199 10 Trimming Edits 201 Accessing Trimming Functions 201 Using Trimming Functions With Linked Selection and Snapping 201 Types of Trimming Operations 202 Selecting One or More Edit Points in the Timeline 203 Using the Trim Edit Window 204 Trimming in the Trim Edit Window 205 Slipping an Edit in the Trim Edit Window 206 Trimming Edits in the Timeline and Viewer 206 Performing a Ripple Edit
Using Video Filters 220 Applying Filters From the Timeline or the Browser 221 Applying Filters to a Range of Clips 222 Changing Filters Over Time 222 Changing the Rendering Order of Filters 223 Saving Filter Settings by Creating a Favorite Filter 223 Using After Effects Third-Party Filters 223 Custom User Interfaces 224 Performance 224 Additional Filters 225 Using Generators 225 Editing Motion Properties 226 The Motion Properties 226 Changing the Position of a Clip in the Viewer or Canvas 227 Scaling a Clip
Rendering Versus Real-Time Playback 241 How Sequences Are Rendered 241 Setting a Sequence’s Render Qualities 242 Editing Render Quality Levels 242 Video Rendering 244 Audio Rendering 244 Using Nested Sequences 244 Using Nested Sequences to Render Transitions 245 Rendering Indicators 245 How to Avoid Rendering 246 Rendering 246 Specifying Storage Locations for Render Files 247 Using Cache Manager to Manage Rendered Files 247 Automatically Rendering Before Playing 248 14 Creating Final Output 249 Printing
Batch Export Columns 264 Naming Options Dialog Box 266 15 Managing Complex Projects 267 Placing Sequences Within Other Sequences 267 Nesting Clips 268 Using the Sequence Trimmer 268 Relinking Offline Files 269 Moving a Project and Its Media 269 Managing Projects With Multiple Users 270 16 Building Effects With FXBuilder 271 What Is Scripting? 271 How Does FXBuilder Work? 272 Opening FXBuilder 272 Opening and Applying Scripts 272 The FXBuilder Tabs 273 Running a Script in FXBuilder 274 Applying a Scrip
Data Types 287 Functions 288 Geometry 289 Shapes 291 Transform 293 Blit 294 Process 296 Distort 300 Composite 303 Key 306 External 308 String 310 Text 311 Clip 312 Utility 312 Constants and Predeclared Variables 314 General 315 Color 315 Formatting 315 Shapes 316 Text 316 Key 316 Variables 317 Input 318 Definition 320 Assignment 321 Flow Control 322 Appendix B List of Audio and Video Effects 325 Audio Transitions 325 Audio Filters 326 Video Transitions 328 3D Simulation 328 Dissolve 328 Contents 13
Iris 329 Map 329 Page Peel 329 Slide 329 Stretch 330 Wipe 330 Video Filters 332 Blur 332 Border 332 Channel 332 Distort 333 Image Control 333 Key 334 Using a Color Key 334 Using a Luma Key 335 Matte 335 Perspective 336 Sharpen 337 Stylize 337 Video 337 Video Generators 338 Text 338 Appendix C Keyboard Shortcuts 339 General Controls 339 Application Windows 340 Select, Cut, Copy, and Paste 341 Navigation 342 Finding Items 343 Scrolling 344 Screen Layout and Display 344 Projects and Sequences 344 Browser 345
Logging and Capturing 346 Playing Video 347 In and Out Points 347 Markers 348 Editing 349 Output 351 Compositing and Special Effects 351 Quick Navigation Keys and Modifiers 353 Tools and Modifier Keys 354 Index 357 Contents 15
C H A P T E R 1 1 Getting Started ‘Welcome to Apple Final Cut Pro, the all-in-one solution for professional digital video editing, compositing, and special effects. Final Cut Pro has been designed to work with professional broadcast equipment in post-production environments. In addition, the program has been thoughtfully designed to take advantage of leading-edge digital technologies, enabling you to be creative as well as productive.
For general product information and updates, visit the Apple Final Cut Pro Web site at www.apple.com/finalcutpro System Requirements m A Power Macintosh G3/266 computer or faster (G3/300 or faster required for DV ), or a PowerBook G3/300 or faster m Mac OS 8.
Installing Final Cut Pro Installation places the Final Cut Pro application and its components on your hard disk. Installation of certain software components is determined by the type of capture hardware you will be using with Final Cut Pro. If you have not yet installed and configured the additional hardware you will be using with your computer, read the section “Hardware Setup and Configuration” on page 20.
10 Open the Final Cut Pro application and enter your registration information and serial number. The serial number can be found on the Final Cut Pro CD sleeve. Note: Final Cut Pro is configured to use a standard set of preferences and preset controls based on answers given during installation. You may want to change these before you proceed any further. See Chapter 4, “Preferences and Presets,” on page 95, and “About Presets and Sequence Settings” on page 166.
If you are connecting a DV device to your computer with FireWire: m Use a 2-meter, 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable to connect the DV device to your computer. 4-pin 1394 (FireWire) connector 6-pin 1394 (FireWire) connector m Plug the 6-pin connector into the computer’s FireWire port and the 4-pin connector into the device’s DV port. (FireWire ports on external devices are sometimes labeled IEEE 1394 or DV IN/OUT.) The Apple FireWire port on your Macintosh is a 6-pin port.
Controlling Video Devices With Your Computer Final Cut Pro can control devices through a serial or FireWire cable. If your camcorder or deck supports one of the following device control protocols, Final Cut Pro can transmit and receive timecode and transport control data to and from the device. Search mechanisms within some decks can also be controlled by Final Cut Pro.
If your deck or camcorder uses FireWire, begin by using the Apple FireWire protocol. This is the default protocol if you selected DV during the installation setup. While all decks and camcorders support the most basic functions like returning timecode and accepting basic transport commands, other commands may not be supported. If you find that the device does not accurately go to specified timecodes or fails to execute special commands, try the Apple FireWire Basic protocol.
A recommended setup also includes an Ultra Wide A/V hard disk drive, an external set of speakers, and an NTSC or PAL monitor. m An Ultra Wide A/V hard disk drive provides a dedicated, high-throughput storage medium where video and audio can be recorded or rendered. The benefit of using a dedicated drive for your media is that the drive contains no operating system software or other applications and files that can fragment the disk.
About the Internal Ultra Wide SCSI Bus If your computer came with an Ultra Wide SCSI card, all devices on the same SCSI bus must have unique ID numbers. However, devices on different SCSI buses may use the same SCSI ID number. (For example, you can have a removable media drive with ID number 3 connected to the computer’s built-in regular SCSI bus and a hard disk with ID number 3 connected to the Ultra Wide SCSI bus.
If you want to install an internal SCSI-3 drive, use the internal ribbon cable with the 68-pin connector to connect the device to the Ultra Wide SCSI bus. 68-pin connector Warning Do not connect any SCSI devices to the external 68-pin SCSI-3 connector or to the internal 50-pin SCSI-2 connector on the PCI card that supports the internal hard disk.
m Attempting to open clips or media over a network will cause poor performance in Final Cut Pro. Copy files from the network to your local disk before importing them. m Do not set Final Cut Pro’s memory allocation to an amount higher than the currently available RAM. Troubleshooting If you encounter problems after installing Final Cut Pro and configuring your hardware, the following tips may help. My camcorder or deck is not recognized.
Video does not play through to the computer screen. m Make sure your cables are properly connected. m Check your QuickTime video settings in the Capture preferences tab. For details on QuickTime source and compression settings, see “Specifying Capture Preferences” on page 101. I am experiencing poor playback and stuttering video when trying to edit. m Make sure you are not editing with media using keyframe compression such as Sorenson or Cinepak.
C H A P T E R 2 2 Final Cut Pro Tutorial This tutorial is designed to give you a hands-on introduction to Final Cut Pro. Working through the step-by-step procedures in the tutorial, you will create a short video using a variety of the editing, effects, and compositing features of the application.
The Final Cut Pro Workspace In Final Cut Pro, you work in four main windows: the Viewer, Canvas, Timeline, and Browser. These windows open the first time you start the program. In addition, the Tool palette opens with the program. Viewer Browser Canvas Timeline Tool palette Each of the four main windows has multiple functions. Functions are grouped by tabs within the windows. You can drag tabs out of their parent windows to customize the workspace for your individual needs.
Setting Up Your Environment When you install Final Cut Pro, you provide information about your system that the program uses to establish its basic settings. You don’t have to change those settings for this tutorial. Before you begin working, however, you should specify a scratch disk for storing video, audio, and render files. To specify the scratch disk and file type: 1 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
A tab named “Swing.fcp” appears in the Browser, and the Timeline and Canvas windows close. The Browser is the central storage area for all media. It provides management features, such as sorting and finding, and allows for complex organization of media combined with quick access to files. The program organizes clips, sequences, and other data in a project. Projects are represented by tabs in the Browser. 2 Open the File menu and choose Save Project As, type “My Project 1.fcp,” and click Save.
The Canvas is analogous to a “record” monitor; it displays edited material. The Canvas has the same transport controls as the Viewer and the two windows work in a similar way. Playhead The Timeline displays clips and sequences over time. Each open sequence is displayed on its own tab in the Timeline. You can customize the appearance and functions of the Timeline and perform editing tasks in this window. 5 Click in the Canvas to make it active.
3 In the Canvas window, choose 100% from the zoom level pop-up menu at the top center of the window. 4 Double-click the clip named “Rob Dialog.mov” in the Browser to open it in the Viewer. The clip opens in the Viewer window. When you open a clip in Final Cut Pro, it appears in the Viewer, which is analogous to your “source” monitor.
Adding the Base Track for Your Sequence The base track is the primary set of media—clips, audio, still images—for the sequence. Many times, the base track may be the only one used in a sequence; at other times, you may want to add other tracks to make multiple layers, creating a finished sequence that might show one clip playing inside another clip or a changing collage of still images playing over a clip. This tutorial creates a sequence with multiple layers.
4 Click in the Canvas window to make it active (if necessary). 5 Press Home and then press the Space bar to play the new sequence. Note: Final Cut Pro provides several ways to add clips to a sequence. These include dragand-drop (used in step 3 above); a source/record metaphor using the Viewer and the Canvas; an assembly timeline/film metaphor using the Viewer and the Timeline; and keyboard commands to execute specific types of edits.
10 In the Canvas, drag the indicators for the In and Out points in the ruler (just above the row of buttons) to match them to the desired timecodes. In point Out point When you drag the In or Out point’s indicator, the current time is displayed for that point. Get the points as close to 1:00:01:23 and 1:00:05:20 as you can. Targeting Audio Tracks In an upcoming task, you will overwrite the part of “Rob Dialog.mov” that you marked with another video clip.
3 Type +500 and press Return to go to the frame 5 seconds into the clip. As you type, the number appears in the current time box at the upper-right corner of the Viewer. 4 Press O to set the Out point at the position you entered. Performing an Overwrite Edit Now you’ll replace the marked section of “Rob Dialog.mov” with the section you just marked in “Bloomies.mov” with an Overwrite edit. 1 Drag the “Bloomies.mov” clip from the Viewer to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.
2 Select the following clips: “Johnny n Cari.mov” and “Round n Round.mov.” Command-click to select separated items. 3 Drag the selected clips from the Browser to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas. 4 In the Canvas, position the playhead at the beginning and then play the sequence. Your sequence now begins and ends with Rob talking onscreen, and there are three different clips of dancers in between.
To make a slip edit that avoids the dancers’ missed hands: 1 In the Timeline, use the Up or Down Arrow to position the playhead at the beginning of “Bloomies.mov” (the second clip in the sequence). 2 Press the Space bar to play the clip. Notice that the dancers are not clasping hands as they swing around at the very beginning of the clip. ( You can see the man’s empty hands as he faces the camera while turning.) They clasp hands again—right hand to right hand—at approximately 1:00:02:20.
You can check your edit with the numbers for the head and tail frames displayed in the Canvas when you hold down the mouse button with the Slip tool. The times in the head and tail reference windows should be approximately 03:11:47:16 and 03:11:51:13. 7 Press Home and then press the Space bar to play the sequence. 8 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work. Trimming an Edit To make precise adjustments where two clips meet, you can trim one or both clips.
6 In the Timeline, press and hold down the mouse button on the selected edit and drag the Roll tool to the right. The edit is represented in the Canvas as a small window for each clip that displays the frame points and adjustments. 7 Trim the edit by dragging to the right until the male dancer’s eye contact with the camera is edited out of “Johnny n Cari” in the right window (about five frames). 8 Press A to select the Arrow tool in the Tool palette.
6 Play the sequence again and press M to place a marker where Rob says “stops.” A green marker appears in the Timeline at the point you marked and a yellow marker appears in the Canvas. Marker in Canvas Marker in Timeline Note: When the sequence is not playing, you can jump to the next marker (moving forward) by pressing Shift-M or to the previous marker (moving backward) by pressing Option-M. 7 Position the playhead on the marker you just added (by pressing Shift-M or Option-M).
13 Drag the clip from the Viewer to the Replace section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas. Replace section of Edit Overlay Notice that the image in the Canvas now matches the Viewer. Replacing the clip with the playhead at the marker (after using the Match Frame button) aligns the frame showing in the Viewer with the marker in the Timeline. 14 Select the Canvas window, press the Up Arrow to go back one or two edits, and press the Space bar to play the completed edit.
Adding a Transition Along With a Clip In the next task, you’ll add a transition at the same time you add a new clip to the sequence. 1 In the Browser, double-click the clip “Jeremy Solo.mov” to open it in the Viewer. 2 In the Timeline, position the playhead at the end of “Round n Round.mov.” You may want to turn Snapping on to help position the playhead. If so, press N. 3 Drag the clip “Jeremy solo.mov” from the Viewer to the “Overwrite with Transition” section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.
Note: This edit uses the default transition, in this case, a cross dissolve. If you position the playhead over the transition in the Timeline, you can see the effect in the Canvas. Render bar (red) over transition that must be rendered Transition icon The render bar over the transition is red, indicating that this part of the sequence must be rendered before you can play the transition.
3 Position the playhead over the transition to see the change. 4 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work. Editing the Transition Once you’ve replaced the transition, you can edit it by changing its length and type. To edit the transition in the Timeline: 1 Click the transition to select it in the Timeline. 2 Control-click on the transition to open the shortcut pop-up menu, and then choose Duration. 3 Type “.
Performing an Insert Edit To perform an Insert edit in the Timeline: 1 In the Timeline, press Home to move the playhead to the beginning of the sequence. 2 In the Browser, drag the clip named “Intro.mov” to the Insert section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas. The clip is inserted at the location of the playhead (the beginning of the sequence). All the items to the right of the playhead are moved further to the right—and further out in time.
Notice that when you open an audio file, audio controls become available in the Viewer. Shuttle control 2 Using the Shuttle control, move the shuttle button to various locations. You should hear the audio playing at different speeds. This is pitch-shifting at various levels depending on the speed. 3 Press the Tab key to select the duration (in the upper-left corner of the Viewer), type “43.” (the number 43 and a period), and press Return.
The numeral 1 appears in the left part of the target indicator in A3 and the numeral 2 appears in the right part of the indicator in A4. 8 Select the Timeline window (if necessary) and press Home to put the playhead at the start of the sequence. 9 Using the Drag Hand (the hand icon) in the upper-right corner of the Viewer, drag the audio clip to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.
A small diamond appears at the keyframe location. Keyframe indicator 4 Move about 2 seconds further to where the “Rob Dialog.mov” audio clip actually begins and set another keyframe (at approximately 17 seconds). 5 Drag the second keyframe’s indicator (the diamond at 17 seconds) down to adjust the volume level to about –8. If you can’t set an exact value, choose a number between –8 and –10 if possible. (Holding down the Command key while dragging allows for more precise control.
You use a different project, named “Compositing,” for the tutorial’s compositing and special effects. Opening and Saving a New Project Next, you’ll open the new project for this part of the tutorial. To open the files for compositing: 1 Choose Open from the File menu, select the project “Compositing.fcp” in the Projects folder, and click Open. 2 Choose Save Project As from the File menu, type “My Project 2.fcp,” and click Save.
A frame with diagonal crosshairs appears on top of the image. You use this wireframe to scale the image or change its position. 4 Press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip. 5 In the Canvas, click the Add Keyframe button. Add Keyframe button The crosshairs in the wireframe turn green when you add a keyframe. 6 Press the End key or press Shift-Home to move the playhead to the end of the clip.
7 In the Canvas, place the pointer at one corner of the wireframe and drag toward the center until the frame’s outline is just outside the edges of the viewable area. 8 In the Canvas, drag the playhead through the Scrubber. The wireframe indicates the change in image size between the beginning and end of the 17-second clip. Playhead in the Scrubber Putting Dancers on the Background Next, you’ll add a pair of dancers to the velvet background, add a filter, and add motion.
“Blue Dance.mov” appears on track V2 in the Timeline. Adding a Filter to the Clip Next, you’ll add a filter to the dancers. 1 Select “Blue Dance.mov” in the Timeline. 2 Open the Effects menu and choose Video Filters, then choose Key from the submenu and Blue and Green Screen from the second submenu. You can use a blue and green screen key to isolate a subject that was shot against a specially lit blue or green background. Editing the Filter Once you’ve applied a filter, you can change its parameters.
4 Select the Color Level text box, type 40 in it, and press Return. Color Level Adding Another Filter Next, you’ll add a second filter to the dancers. 1 Open the Effects menu, choose Video Filters, then choose Image Control from the submenu and Desaturate from the second submenu. 2 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work. Adding Motion and a Drop Shadow To ensure that the titles and dancers are visible in the final sequence, you’ll reposition the dancers.
3 Click the Drop Shadow checkbox to put an X in it. Drop Shadow Doubling the Dancers The introduction uses two images of dancers in slightly different positions on the screen. In this task, you’ll copy them and reposition the second image. 1 In the Timeline, select “Blue Dance.mov” (if necessary). 2 Open the Edit menu and choose Copy. 3 Create a new video track ( V3) by Control-clicking in the gray area above track V2 and choosing Add Track.
Stretching the Dancers Next, you’ll stretch one of the images of dancers and reposition it. 1 In the Timeline, position the playhead over the “Blue Dance.mov” clips. 2 Select “Blue Dance.mov” on track V2. 3 In the Canvas, press the Shift key and drag upward from a top corner of the wireframe to stretch the image of the dancers. Elongate the image so that the dancers’ heads are just below the edge of the image area.
1 In the Timeline, click the Clip Overlays button at the lower-left side of the window. Clip Overlays button 2 Select “Blue Dance. mov” on track V2 (if necessary). 3 Drag the overlay (a white line) on track V2 downward to a value of approximately 40. As you drag, numerical values appear next to the overlay. (Press the Command key as you drag to make more precise adjustments.) 4 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.
4 In the Tool palette, press the Crop tool, then select the Distort tool from the pop-up menu. Distort tool 5 Click the center point of the wireframe and drag to the left about one-fourth of an inch. This movement offsets the point around which the circle rotates.
Changing a Circle’s Rotation Over Time Next, add rotation to the circle. 1 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence. 2 In the Timeline, double-click “circle 1” to open it in the Viewer. One circle appears in the Viewer, against a checkerboard background. 3 In the Viewer, click the Motion tab. 4 Click the Add Keyframe button for Rotation to add a motion keyframe at the beginning of the clip.
The program adds a motion keyframe at the end of the clip and displays a graph of the rotation values at the right side of the Viewer window. Rotation text box Rotation graph Rotating the Second Circle Next, you’ll rotate the other circle around a different center point. 62 Chapter 2 1 In the Timeline, select “circle 2.” 2 Select the Distort tool from the Tool palette.
3 In the Canvas, click the center of the wireframe and drag to the right about one-eighth of an inch. 4 In the Timeline, double-click “circle 2” to open it in the Viewer. 5 Click the Motion tab. 6 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip. 7 Click the Add Keyframe button for Rotation. 8 Press Shift-O to position the playhead at the end of the clip. 9 Click in the Rotation text box, type “500,” and press Return.
A track ( V4) is added automatically and “Circle Rules.psd” appears on it in the Timeline. 4 Select “Circle Rules.psd” in the Timeline. 5 Select the Arrow tool in the Tool palette. 6 In the Canvas, drag the wireframe to place the circles around the dancers. If you don’t see the wireframe, choose Image+Wireframe from the View menu. Adding Titles for the Introduction To finish the introduction, you’ll animate several titles. m Double-click “Dance Names.psd” in the Browser.
Animating One Title First, you’ll add motion to one of the titles. 1 Select the “Dance Names.psd” tab in the Timeline. 2 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence. 3 Open the View menu and choose Image+Wireframe. 4 In the Canvas, drag the BOOGIE WOOGIE image to the lower-left corner of the screen. 5 In the Timeline, double-click “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to open it in the Viewer. 6 Click the Motion tab in the Viewer.
9 Click the Add Keyframe button for Center. 10 Click the arrow to expand the Opacity section, then click the Add Keyframe button for Opacity. 11 Press Shift-O to position the playhead at the end of the clip. 12 Press the Left arrow once to move the playhead back one frame. 13 Click in the Scale text box, type 150, and press Return. 14 In the Canvas, drag the wireframe and title image to the middle of the screen. If you don’t see the wireframe, choose Image+Wireframe from the View menu.
16 Place the pointer on the purple dot and drag it up and to the left to create a curved motion path. 17 In the Canvas, scrub through the part of the sequence with “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to see the title’s motion. Fading a Title In and Out Next, you’ll change the title’s opacity so that it fades in and out as it moves across the screen. 1 In the Timeline, press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.
9 Press Shift-O to move the playhead to the end of the clip. 10 Click in the timecode field in the bottom-left corner of the Viewer. 11 Type –15 and press Return. 12 Click the Add Keyframe button for Opacity. 13 Press Shift-O to move the playhead to the end of the clip. 14 Click in the Opacity textbox, type 0 (zero), and press Return. The opacity graph in the Viewer shows the fade in-fade out effect you created.
3 Option-click the visibility indicator for track V1 in the Timeline (the bright green bar at the left edge of the track) so that all tracks’ indicators are turned on. Visibility indicator When visibility for other tracks is off, Option-clicking the visibility indicator of the visible track turns on visibility for all tracks. 4 In the Timeline, select the clips in tracks V2 to V6 above “BOOGIE WOOGIE.” Command-click clips individually or drag across the clips to select them.
5 Drag “Dance Names.psd” from the Browser to the Superimpose section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas. Superimpose section Rendering the Sequence Now it’s time to render the introductory sequence so you can play it with all the new effects. The Timeline indicates which sections of the sequence need to be rendered by displaying a red bar above the Ruler. Depending on the computer you’re using and size of the media files, rendering can take a few minutes or longer.
Printing to Video Use the Print to Video command to print a sequence or clip to video tape. You can use the Print to Video command without device control. If you have device control, the Edit to Tape command (in the Tools menu) lets you perform insert and assemble edits to tape. Note: You must have a videotape recorder ( VCR) connected to your computer and operating before you can actually print a sequence on videotape. You can follow the steps in this procedure without having a VCR connected, however.
Moving Forward With a New Project Before you start working on your own project, complete the following steps to close the tutorial and create a new project with sequence presets appropriate for the format you will be working in. 72 Chapter 2 1 Close the Browser window and save your project if necessary. 2 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.
C H A P T E R 3 3 Understanding Final Cut Pro The Working Environment You use four windows for most tasks in Final Cut Pro. You also use the Tool palette to make selections, navigate, and perform edits in the Timeline and Canvas. The Viewer The Viewer is analogous to a source monitor. You use it to watch individual clips, mark edit points, and apply effects. You can also load clips from the current sequence into the Viewer to refine details such as edits, effects, and audio volume.
The Canvas The Canvas window is analogous to a record monitor and looks like the Viewer. It displays the composited results of the edited sequence as you are creating it. You also use the Canvas to edit clips in relation to one another in the sequence. For more information on the Canvas, see Chapter 9, “Working in the Timeline and Canvas,” on page 177. Canvas The Timeline The Timeline displays a chronological view of a sequence.
The Browser You use the Browser to organize and locate the source material for your project and the finished product. The Browser is not a collection of files; it is a collection of references to files, which you organize in the context of your project. You can group Browser items in bins, which are similar to folders. The Browser’s scrollable columns provide information about your files. When you move Browser resources from one bin to another, their corresponding files are not moved.
The Tool Palette The Tool palette contains tools for selecting and manipulating items in the Timeline and Canvas. These tools are explained in more detail later in the manual.
Tool Name Icon Function Select All Tracks Forward Selects the contents of all tracks after the selection point Select All Tracks Backward Selects the contents of all tracks before the selection point Roll Rolls edit points Ripple Ripples edit points Slip Slips a clip’s In or Out point Slide Slides a clip in a sequence and creates an edit point Razor Blade Cuts a single clip into two sections Razor Blade All Cuts clips on all tracks at the selection point into two clips Zoom In Zooms in o
Tool Name Icon Function Pen Delete Deletes a keyframe Pen Smooth Smooths a curve by adding bezier handles to the selected keyframe 1 This arrow may sometimes function as a custom “wait” cursor during render processes. It will be hollow and gradually fill with black as rendering takes place. Other Windows You Will Use Although you do most of your work in Final Cut Pro’s four main windows, you also occasionally use several other windows to perform other important tasks.
Edit to Tape Some projects involve editing directly onto videotape. You do this using the Edit to Tape window, available in the Tools menu. For details on the Edit to Tape window, see “Editing to Tape,” on page 251.
Preferences When you need to change various options and settings in Final Cut Pro, use Preferences, available in the Edit menu. Preferences are explained in detail in Chapter 4, “Preferences and Presets,” on page 95.
Sequence Settings You can modify the group of settings specific to an individual sequence by choosing Sequence Settings from the Sequence menu. For more information on Sequence Settings, see, “Creating, Editing, and Deleting Presets,” on page 107. Project Properties This window allows you to view or change information about a project. The Project Properties window is explained in detail in the section “Changing the Properties of a Project,” on page 141.
Item Properties This window allows you to view or change information about media within a project. The Item Properties window is explained in detail in the section “Getting Information About the Properties of Clips,” on page 160. Trim Edit The Trim Edit window shows a specific edit point. You use it to refine or trim an edit in detail. For more information on Trimming edits, see Chapter 10, “Trimming Edits,” on page 201.
Using Menus, Shortcuts, and Controls Final Cut Pro offers several methods for performing video editing tasks. Experiment to find out which control methods work best for you. Some people work fastest using keyboard shortcuts; others prefer to use the menu bar or shortcut menus as much as possible. Note: When working with multiple windows in the Viewer, Timeline, Canvas, or Browser, menu commands and keyboard shortcuts apply to the default, or labeled, window.
Keyboard Shortcuts These are listed in Appendix C, “Keyboard Shortcuts,” on page 339. You may find that these shortcut keys help you work more efficiently. Tabbed Windows In the Viewer, Preferences, and other windows, tabs give you access to functions within the window. In the Canvas, Timeline, and Browser, tabs give you access to the same functions or information, but for a different sequence or project.
m Track Visibility controls in the Timeline: The Track Visibility controls are located in the Timeline. You use them to show or hide individual tracks. This allows you to view selected tracks in the Canvas, and is useful when compositing. An invisible track will not be shown when the sequence is viewed in the Canvas. If you make a track invisible after rendering a sequence, rendered files will be lost. m Zoom Slider: The Zoom Slider is in the Timeline and the Audio, Filters, and Motion tabs of the Viewer.
m Transport controls: You use the transport controls to move the playhead within a clip. Previous Edit Play Play Around Current Next Edit Play In to Out m Play: Plays the clip from the current location of the playhead m Play Around Current: This is based on the Preview Pre-roll and Preview Post-roll settings in General Preferences.
Undoing Changes You can undo every action you do in your projects, sequences, and clips. You can also redo actions that you have undone. Up to 99 changes can be undone. You set the number in the Levels of Undo preference. The Undo feature does not distinguish sequences or projects from one another. If you are working with more than one sequence or project, be sure you are in the correct sequence or project when you choose Undo.
m Playhead position: This appears in the upper-right corner of the Canvas or Viewer. It displays the current position of the playhead. You can change the playhead position by entering a new timecode in the box. Navigating by Entering New Timecodes You can move the playhead around in a clip by entering a new timecode into the right-hand playhead position box in the Canvas or Viewer. You don’t need to click in the box to begin entering a new timecode, just type the numbers.
m Typing +101223 moves the time ahead 10 minutes, 12 seconds, and 23 frames. Moving to a New Time by Entering Numbers That Are Converted If you enter a number that is greater than the maximum for a position in a timecode, the number is converted so that whole units (seconds, minutes, or hours) are “carried over” into the next position to the left. m Hours: For the hours position in a timecode, a 2-digit number less than 24 is treated as a valid entry for that position.
Drop frame timecode is a frame-labeling scheme used to compensate for the difference between the NTSC rate of 29.97 frames per second (fps) and the common 30 fps rate. No actual video frames are dropped. Numbers in drop frame progress in this fashion: 01:08:59;28 01:08:59;29 01:09:00;02 (frame labels 01:09:00;00 and 01:09:00;01 have been dropped) . . . 01:09:59;29 01:10:00;00 01:10:00;01 01:10:00;02 01:10:00;03 m Periods (.
Editing in Final Cut Pro Editing video and audio in Final Cut Pro follows an overall rule known as three-point editing. There are four possible points that can be specified when editing a clip into a sequence. These are the In and Out points in the source clip, and the In and Out points for where the clip is to be placed in the sequence. When you perform a three-point edit, you specify three of the possible four points for the edit.
Editing With the Tool Palette Tools You perform additional types of edits using tools from the Tool palette. m Ripple editing: Ripple editing affects the overall duration of a sequence by moving the In or Out point of a clip. Ripple editing lengthens or shortens the In-Out point of a clip as it is edited into a sequence, without affecting the duration of any other clip or creating gaps in the sequence.
m Importing: Importing is the process of getting files of various types into Final Cut Pro. Imported files have usually been created in another application. Examples are still images, CD audio files, Edit Decision Lists, Batch Lists, video files, and audio files. m In and Out points: These correspond to the beginning and end of the media as it will be used in a sequence.
m Subclips: A subclip is a shortened view of a piece of media that can be easier to work with than a full clip. For example, if you have a piece of media that is 10 minutes long, you could create ten 1-minute subclips so you don’t have as much media to move through in the Viewer at one time. You mark the In and Out points on a clip to indicate the portion of a clip that is a subclip. Subclips can also be references to other sequences that have been created with the Make Subclips command in the Modify menu.
C H A P T E R 4 4 Preferences and Presets Final Cut Pro includes many preferences and settings that you can customize to reflect your choice of capture hardware and storage options, and the needs of individual projects and sequences. These options do not need to be changed frequently, but it is important to set them up correctly when you first begin using Final Cut Pro, or if you change your hardware or the type of project you are working on.
Setting General Preferences The General preferences tab lets you configure various options for working in Final Cut Pro. To configure General preferences: 1 Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. 2 Click the General tab. m Levels of Undo: Adjust this slider to specify the number of actions that can be undone. The total number of undo’s depends on how much memory is installed in your system.
m Real-time Audio Mixing: Enter a number in this box to specify the number of audio tracks that are mixed in real time. The maximum is 8 tracks. The maximum number of tracks you will be able to mix depends on multiple factors. Your processor’s speed, number and types of filters used, data transfer rate of your hard disk, and available memory are all factors which determine the maximum number of tracks that can be mixed in real time.
m Pen Tools Can Edit Locked Item Overlays: Check this box to allow modification of overlays in locked tracks or clips. m Show ToolTips: Check this box to show descriptions of interface elements when you move the pointer over them. m Linked Selection: Check this box to link selections. Uncheck the box to unlink selections. Linked selection allows you to select audio and video for a clip together in the Timeline. If linked selection is off, you can select them separately.
Setting Device Control Preferences The Device Control tab lets you configure options for external devices so you can begin logging and capturing clips. To configure device control preferences: 1 Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. 2 Click the Device Control tab. m Enable Device Control: Check this box to activate device control. Refer to the documentation that came with your camcorder or deck to find out if it supports device control.
m Protocol: Choose a protocol from this pop-up menu to specify the protocol your camcorder or deck uses. m FireWire (IEEE 1394): As FireWire is being adopted for the full range of digital equipment from professional decks down to consumer camcorders, there is a wide range of functionality and adherence to the FireWire specifications among these devices. For this reason, two versions of the FireWire protocol (Apple FireWire and Apple FireWire Basic) are provided in the device control preferences.
m Post-roll: Enter a value in this field to determine the amount of video played after the current position. This is applicable when you click the Play Around Current button in the Viewer or Canvas, and when you choose the Preview command in the Edit to Tape window. m Timecode Offset: Enter a value in this field to calibrate your system to your tape deck when using Log and Capture. m Handle Size: Enter a value in this field to determine handle sizes for clips captured in a batch capture.
To specify capture settings: 1 Choose Preferences from the Edit menu. 2 Click the Capture tab. m Use the pop-up menu at the top of the window to choose from a list of four Capture quality presets. Any changes you make are saved with the preset. When you choose a preset, attributes in the panel will change to reflect the new capture quality settings. m Frame Size: This defines the frame size that the media will be captured at. This is dependent on the QuickTime capture hardware.
m Capture Card Supports Simultaneous Play Through and Capture: Some capture cards can display video frames while a window is opened for Video Capture. Check this box if your card supports this feature. m Always Turn Off AppleTalk When Capturing: Check this box to automatically turn off AppleTalk whenever you use Log and Capture or Edit to Tape. AppleTalk will be turned back on after you quit Final Cut Pro. QuickTime Settings give you access to standard QuickTime Video and Audio input dialogs.
To specify video compression settings: m Choose Compression from the pop-up menu in the upper-left corner of the window. m Compressor: Choose a codec from this pop-up menu to select a compression method for captured video. m Depth: Choose a color depth from this pop-up menu to specify a bit-depth resolution for captured video. m Quality: Adjust this slider to determine the image quality for your video. Least image quality will yield a high data compression.
Click the Audio button on the Capture tab to select input options for your audio capture hardware. Details for current QuickTime audio settings are displayed next to the Audio button. To specify Source settings: m Choose Source from the pop-up menu in the upper-left corner of the window. m Device: Choose a device type from this pop-up menu to specify the type of audio hardware to be used. m Input: Choose a method from this pop-up menu to specify the input method to be used.
m Rate: Choose a predefined rate from this pop-up menu to specify an audio sample rate. m Size: Choose a bit size/resolution for the audio sample. Note: Depending on your hardware setup, the audio can turn off around 12 instead of 0. Using Sequence Presets Sequence presets are a group of saved settings that are applied to a specific sequence or to exported files. Final Cut Pro includes several presets that you can choose from, or you can create your own.
You also use the Sequence Presets tab to create new presets, edit existing ones, or delete presets that are no longer needed. m Click the New button to open the Sequence Settings window and create an entirely new sequence preset. m Choose a preset and click Duplicate if you want to create a new preset based on an existing version with minor modifications. m Choose a preset and click Edit if you want to edit an existing preset. m Choose a preset and click Delete if you want to delete a preset from the list.
m Field Dominance: Choose the dominant field in this pop-up menu to specify the field to be drawn first by your video device. Depending on your hardware setup, you may need to change the field dominance if you experience onscreen flicker. m Pixel Aspect Ratio: Choose an aspect ratio for your sequence in this pop-up menu. m Choose a sequence preset from the Load Preset pop-up menu and click the Load Preset button to load the selected preset into the Sequence Settings window.
m Click the Audio button to specify QuickTime Sound settings. m Compressor: Choose a method from this pop-up menu to select an audio compression method. m Rate: Enter a value in this field to specify the output rate for the audio or choose a predefined value from the pop-up menu to select from a list of standard sample rates. m Size: Choose a bit resolution for the audio. m Use: Choose Mono or Stereo output for the audio in your sequence.
m Track Size: Choose a setting from this pop-up menu to specify a default track size. m Thumbnail Display: Choose a setting from this pop-up menu to specify how a clip will be displayed in the Timeline. m Audio Track Labels: Choose a setting from this pop-up menu to specify how an audio track will be labeled on the audio target track button. m Show Filter and Motion Bars: Check this box to display filter and motion bars below the clip in the Timeline.
2 Click the Scratch Disks tab. m Capture Audio and Video to Separate Files: Check this box if you want to optimize playback for QuickTime files with higher data rates. This feature allows you to write the video and audio tracks in a QuickTime movie to separate files on separate disks during the capture process. Video and audio files have the same name with _v appended to video and _a appended to audio files. Note: Separate files must be captured to different disks.
C H A P T E R 5 5 Getting Media Into Final Cut Pro You can bring media files into Final Cut Pro by importing a variety of video, still image, and audio file formats, and by capturing from a videotape or other video source. If you are using a tape deck that can be controlled from a computer, Final Cut Pro can control the deck for you and capture clips from several tapes, in batches that have been previously logged.
Log and Capture Window To open the Log and Capture Window, choose Log and Capture from the File menu. The Logging tab is used to enter all the information needed to log a clip into the Browser. You must first specify a Reel name in this tab before capturing a clip. Specifying a Reel name differentiates clips that have come from tape versus clips from other sources such as an animation program for graphics.
m m m m m m m m m m m m The first button to the right of the Log Bin button lets you designate the directory above the current Logging Bin location as the new Logging Bin. If the Project is the designated Logging Bin, this button will be grayed out. The second button lets you create a new Logging Bin at your current location. Reel: Enter the name of the tape in your VCR in this field. The slate button to the right of this field lets you add a number at the end of the name for incremental labeling.
m Now: Click this button to capture without setting In or Out points. This is useful if you don’t have device control or if you are capturing long clips without knowing the Out point. For more information on capturing without device control, see “Capturing Video Without Device Control” on page 120. m Batch: Click this button to batch capture a series of logged clips within a log bin. For more information on batch capturing, see “Batch Capturing Clips” on page 126.
m Ch 1+Ch 2: This sets the two audio channels as separate, linked channels but not an official “Stereo Pair.” Pan is centered for both channels. m Ch 1: Captures only Ch 1 of the source media. Pan is centered. m Ch 2: Captures only Ch 2 of the source media. Pan is centered. m Stereo: This sets the two audio channels as a stereo pair. Both channels of a stereo pair must be the same length and any levels or effects applied to one channel are applied to the other channel.
Calibrating the Timecode Signal You Are Capturing During video capture, the timecode and video signals are sent separately from the video deck to the computer. Because the signals are separate, they can arrive at different times, which causes incorrect timecode values to be recorded. You calibrate your system by entering the amount of time by which the signals are offset from each other. ( You need to do this each time you change decks or cables.
Use the transport controls in the Log and Capture window to play the color bar portion of your tape. The tape must be playing for the measurements in the waveform and vectorscope to be accurate. Select the Clip Settings tab and click the “Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope” button. The waveform monitor will only update while the Log and Capture window is active. 2 Adjust the black level so that the black reference bar in the waveform monitor is at the desired level (7.5 IRE for NTSC).
6 Use the transport controls to shuttle the tape to a portion with a 1 kHz audio reference tone and use the Gain slider to adjust the audio signal so that it does not peak into the red areas of the audio meters. Note: You may still need to make adjustments to individual clips when you log them prior to capture.
5 Click the Now button in the Capture window a few seconds before the deck reaches the first frame in your clip. 6 To stop recording, press the Escape key. The captured clip appears in the Viewer. 7 Save the clip by opening the File menu and choosing Save As, or by dragging it to an open project or into the Timeline for a sequence. Choosing a Logging Bin for Offline and Captured Clips A logging bin is the bin in the Browser where logged clips are placed.
Clip settings that are saved with individual logged clips include m all video controls for controlling image quality (in the Clip Settings tab) m audio levels (in the Clip Settings tab) m capture format (video, audio, or video and audio) m audio format (Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 1 + Ch 2, stereo, or mono mix) To capture a single clip with device control: 1 If your deck has a local/remote control switch, set this to remote control. 2 Open the File menu and choose Log and Capture.
8 Do one of the following to mark a clip: m Click the Mark In and Mark Out buttons, or press I to set the In point and O to set the Out point (or the / and the * on the numeric keypad). You can mark points this way when the tape is playing or is stopped. m Enter a specific timecode in the In and Out timecode fields at the bottom of the Log and Capture window. 9 Click Clip to capture the marked section of tape.
m If you’re using the Apple FireWire protocol, try Apple FireWire Basic instead. Click the Device Control tab in the Preferences window and choose the Apple FireWire Basic protocol. m If your deck or camcorder supports LANC, try using the LANC protocol. Logging Offline Clips Logging is the process of viewing videotapes and marking clips with reference to their timecodes. You can add notes that can be used to search for the clip later.
m To add 1 to a name field manually, click the slate button next to it. When you do this, the Label or Scene goes to 01 in the Scene field; the Shot/Take field is reset to zero. You can Option-click the slate button to delete its contents. 5 Use the transport controls in the Capture window to control your source deck and find the media you want to log. You can also enter a timecode in the current timecode box at the top-left corner of the Log and Capture window to move to a location on the tape.
3 Enter a name and any notes into the Log Clip dialog box and click OK. Your new In point is the previous Out point. 4 Press F2 to set your next Out point and log the clip. As you log clips, Final Cut Pro stores them in the logging bin you have chosen. The clips are stored as offline clips and are indicated by a red slash through them in the Browser. You can modify the logged clips before you capture them. This is useful if you want to add or alter any comments.
m To capture a selection of clips in a project, select the clips in the Browser and choose Batch Capture from the File menu. You can select both online and offline clips. 4 Choose what to capture from the Capture pop-up menu at the top of the dialog box. If you are capturing all offline clips in a project, choose Offline Only. 5 Choose from the following options: m Coalesce Overlapping Clips: Check this box if you want to combine the media files for overlapping clips.
When capturing a newly logged offline clip with handles, the In and Out points will be set to the original logged duration. When capturing without handles, the In and Out points will be cleared. 6 Choose a capture preset from the Capture Settings pop-up menu. For more information, see Chapter 4, “Preferences and Presets,” on page 95.
Column names must match the names in the Browser exactly, but capitalization is ignored. Subsequent records are the tab-delimited data. When you import the file into Final Cut Pro, the logged clips appear as offline clips that you can then capture. To import a batch list: 1 In Final Cut Pro, select a Browser bin for the batch list. 2 Open the File menu and choose Batch List from the Import submenu. 3 Select the batch list and click OK.
Importing Media You can import QuickTime-compatible media files as well as MacroMedia Flash files into a Final Cut Pro project. You can use commands to import a single file or folder, or you can drag files from folders on your desktop directly into a Final Cut Pro project. Files you import into a project are not copied into the project file. The clip that appears in the Browser is only a reference to the actual media file on disk. To import files: 1 Select a destination in the Browser.
You can import graphics files in the following formats: m SGI m BMP m GIF m JPEG m PICT m PNG m PNTG (MacPaint) m PSD (Photoshop) Note: For best compatibility with Final Cut Pro, be sure to save Photoshop files as 2.5 compatible. m QTIF (QuickTime Image) m TGA (Targa) m TIFF m Photo CD m QuickTake (QuickTake is a PICT format and available only on computers with QuickTake software installed.) Note: This is only a partial list of formats supported. Check the QuickTime Read Me file for a more complete list.
Importing Audio Files From Audio CDs You can import audio tracks from an audio CD into a Final Cut Pro project. When importing audio tracks, QuickTime converts the audio tracks to digital audio files that can be edited within Final Cut Pro. When converting, you can convert an entire audio track or a portion of it and set audio sampling and bit rates. Note: You cannot import a CD audio track by dragging it to the Browser.
C H A P T E R 6 6 Creating and Organizing Projects A project is a Final Cut Pro file that stores references to all of the media files that you use in creating a particular end product. A project file also includes all the information about how you’ve arranged your material in sequences, including special effects settings you’ve applied to clips.
To save a project: 1 Select the Project tab in the Browser. 2 Open the File menu and choose Save Project. To save a project with a different name: 1 Select the Project tab in the Browser. 2 Open the File menu and choose Save Project As. 3 Name the project and select a destination. 4 Click Save. To save all open projects: 1 Open the File menu and choose Save All. 2 Name the projects and select destinations. 3 Click Save.
To display items as a list or as icons: 1 Make the Browser the active window. 2 Open the View menu and choose the desired display option from the Browser Items submenu, or Control-click in the Name column and choose “View as List” from the shortcut menu. To clean up the display of the Browser when items are displayed as icons: m Make the Browser active and choose Arrange from the View menu.
m Choose Project Properties from the Edit menu, type new names in the Comment text boxes, and click OK. To show the markers for a clip: m Click the triangle next to the clip’s icon. The markers appear below it. If there are no markers associated with the clip, there is no triangle next to the clip. Selecting Items in the Browser You can use several methods to select items in the Browser: m Click the item. m Type the first few letters of an item’s name. m Use the arrow keys to move between adjacent items.
About the Browser Columns Most of the Browser’s columns are easy to use and understand. Those that follow need additional explanation: m Aux TC 1 and 2: The starting timecode numbers for auxiliary timecodes 1 and 2. These can be used when synchronizing clips.
Icon Name Description Video Transition A transition effect that can be applied to a video track Audio Transition A transition effect that can be applied to an audio track Video Filter An effects filter that can be applied to a video clip Audio Filter An effects filter that can be applied to an audio clip Generator An effects utility that generates screens and tones that can create distinctive breaks between live action Using Bins to Organize Clips You can use Browser bins to organize and group
4 Click the arrow to the left of the bin to expand it and view its contents. Note: To move an item to the top level of a project, drag the item to the Name column header. To make a copy of a Browser item: m Hold down the Option key and drag the item to a new bin. To remove a clip, sequence, or bin from a project: m Select the item and press Delete. Deleting clips from a project does not delete them from any sequences in the project or on the disk.
3 Type a new name. Note: You can have clips with the same name in the same bin, but the names of the media files on the disk must be different. Searching for Items in the Browser You can search for items in a project by any property or combination of properties. The most simple search for a clip is by name, but you can also search for clips by timecode, by audio type, by video type, and so on. You can search in all open projects, or restrict the search to any single tab in the Browser.
9 If you are searching for multiple items, use the Find Results window to do any of the following: m To delete items from the project, select the desired items and click “Delete from Project.” m To move items to another bin, drag them from the Find Results window to the new bin. m To copy items to another bin, Option-drag them from the Find Results window to the desired bin. m To search in the Find Results window, choose Find from the Edit menu.
C H A P T E R 7 7 Working With Clips and the Viewer A clip is the basic unit of media that you use to create movies in Final Cut Pro. Clips can be movies, still images, nested sequences, generators, and audio files. When you insert a clip into a project, you are not copying the original media file onto the disk. The clip is actually a reference to that file. Therefore, if you delete the original media file, your clip will still appear in the Browser and Timeline, but it will not show the frames or play.
Using the Viewer You use the Viewer to play clips, locate and mark specific frames, and change audio, video, and effects settings for the clip. To apply or modify a transition between two clips, you use the Timeline and a special version of the Viewer. For more information, see “Using the Transition Viewer to Change Settings and Edit Transitions” on page 212. Viewer tabs contain controls that you use to change settings for different properties of a clip.
The Audio Tab The Audio tab lets you view the audio waveform channels and has controls to change level and pan or spread settings. You can also use this tab to set In and Out points, markers, and keyframes for audio clips. The Level slider adjusts the amplitude or volume of the audio clip. The button to the right places keyframe markers at the current playhead location in the clip timeline. These keyframe markers can be used for editing audio levels between two points.
The Filters Tab The Filters tab lets you change the settings for any filter effect you have applied to the clip. You can change settings for individual effects and create animated effects by using a combination of keyframes and changes to filter settings. You can navigate with precision within the clip by entering a timecode into the timecode field in the bottom-left corner of the window.
The Motion Tab The Motion tab lets you apply and modify motion effects to a clip. You can also apply animated effects by using a combination of keyframes and changes to motion settings. You can make very fine adjustments to motion properties using the Motion settings. You can navigate with precision within the clip by entering a timecode into the timecode field in the bottom-left corner of the window.
m Select the clip in the Browser or Timeline and choose “Clip in New Window” from the View menu. m Drag multiple clips from the Browser to the Viewer. The first clip is opened in the Viewer and the remainder are listed in the recent clips control. m Select a recently viewed clip from the recent clips control in the Viewer. m Choose Open from the File menu and select a clip. Any changes you make to an opened clip, such as marking edit points or creating markers, are not saved with the clip.
m To play the clip from the current playhead position to the Out point, Command-click the Play button. m To play the clip footage that is centered around the current playhead position, click the Play Around Current button or press \ (backslash). The duration of video that is played is determined by the pre-roll and post-roll preferences. m To loop playback, choose Loop Playback from the View menu. All playback methods are looped. Choose Loop Playback again to turn off looped playback.
Note: You can drag the In or Out point icons along the Scrubber bar to change their location, or drag them off the Scrubber bar to remove them. You can perform these actions using modifier keys in combination with mouse clicks on interface elements: m Option-click the Mark Clip button to clear both In and Out points. m Option-click the Mark In button to clear In points. m Option-click the Mark Out button to clear Out points. m Shift-click the Mark In button to go to the In point.
Adding and Editing Markers Markers create points of reference in a clip that let you do the following: m Align other clip markers, clip boundaries, or transition boundaries to a marker in the Timeline. m Align the clip marker to a marker in the sequence. m Align a filter or motion keyframe to the marker. m Quickly move the playhead to a marker in the clip or sequence. m Mark a range of the clip to use as you might a subclip. You can have any number of markers in a clip.
The following actions are performed using modifier keys in combination with mouse clicks on interface elements. m Shift-click the Marker button to set a marker and open the Edit Marker dialog box. m Option-click the Marker button to delete a Marker if parked on one. Renaming Markers and Attaching Comments The default names Final Cut Pro uses for markers only indicate the order in which you’ve added them to a clip. The first marker you add is named Marker 1, the second Marker 2, and so on.
To extend the duration of a marker to the playhead location: 1 Position the playhead ahead of the marker. 2 Open the Mark menu and choose Extend from the Markers submenu. The marker’s duration will extend from the original location of the marker to the location of the playhead. To move a marker forward in time: 1 Move the playhead to the location where you want the marker to be repositioned. You can only move a marker forward. Final Cut Pro moves the marker nearest the new location.
Opening the Application a Clip Was Created in You can open the application a clip was created in directly from Final Cut Pro. This is sometimes useful when working with imported still images. To open the application: 1 Open the clip in the Viewer or Canvas. 2 Open the View menu and choose Clip Editor. If the clip was created in Final Cut Pro, a new Viewer window opens for it. Clips created in an application other than Final Cut Pro open in that application.
To fit all items into view plus a 10% margin: m Choose Fit All from the Zoom pop-up menu at the top of the Viewer or Canvas or open the View menu and choose Fit All from the Level submenu. To view at actual size: m Choose 100% from the Zoom pop-up menu at the top of the Viewer or Canvas. To shrink the window to the current clip size: m Make the Viewer or Canvas active, then double-click the Zoom tool in the Tool palette.
Viewing Overlays Overlays are visual cues that indicate significant points, such as In and Out points, in a clip or sequence. Overlays are displayed on top of the video when the playhead is parked on the significant frame. Overlays only display in the Viewer and Canvas and are not rendered to output. They are displayed by default.
Understanding Audio Formats A clip’s audio can be in one of several formats. The format appears in the top center of the Viewer’s Audio tab. m Ch 1: The audio consists of only the left channel from the tape (Ch 1), with pan centered. m Ch 2: The audio consists of only the right channel from tape (Ch 2), with pan centered. m Mono Mix: The audio consists of both channels from the tape, mixed into a single track. m Stereo: Both channels have been captured as a stereo pair.
Changing Your Computer’s Audio Level You can change your computer’s audio level with Final Cut Pro if you have a QuickTime-compatible video capture card installed. To do this, open the Modify menu and choose the desired level from the Audio Level submenu. Adjusting Audio Levels and Pan or Spread for a Clip Final Cut Pro enables you to control the volume (levels) and placement of sound (pan or spread) using the slider controls at the top of the Audio tab. This changes the settings for the entire clip.
Level and spread can be adjusted to varying degrees over time using keyframes. To vary audio levels or spread over time: 1 Position the playhead where you want the effect to begin. 2 Adjust the level or spread with the slider bar and set a keyframe. 3 Move the playhead to the next position where you want a change in the effect. 4 Adjust the level or spread with the slider bar and set a keyframe. Repeat this process at intervals to vary the range of level or spread.
Getting Information About the Properties of Clips Information on a clip is available through the Item Properties command. Select a clip in the Browser or Timeline or open it in the Viewer, then choose Item Properties from the Edit menu. Three tabs in the Item Properties window allow you to view or change properties of a clip. To get information about the format of a clip: m Click the Format tab. This tab provides information on the clip’s location, file size, and format characteristics.
To get information about the timing of a clip: m Click the Timing tab. This tab provides information on the timing of a clip. m Duration: Specifies the total media length, the location of the In and Out points, and the duration of the clip m Speed: Specifies the current speed, duration, original duration, and frame blending option for a clip. For more information on these settings, see “Changing the Playback Speed of a Clip” on page 194.
To get the logging information for a clip: m Click the Logging Info tab. This tab provides logging information for a clip.
C H A P T E R 8 8 Creating Sequences and Editing About Sequences When you create a sequence, you place multiple pieces of source media (video, audio, and still images) together to create new content. Sequences are viewed in the Canvas and in the Timeline (the chronological representation of the sequence data). A sequence is part of a project. There can be multiple sequences in one project.
Note: You can drag tabs out of their original window to display them separately. Once you have finished assembling your clips in the sequence, you can trim them using the trim functions in the Timeline and the Trim Edit window. For more details about trimming functions such as the Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll tools, see Chapter 10, “Trimming Edits,” on page 201. About Three-Point Editing When you edit clips together into a sequence, you use a method called three-point editing.
Mixing Audio in Real Time Final Cut Pro can mix and play back multiple audio tracks in a sequence in real time. You can have more than eight audio tracks in a sequence, but the maximum number of tracks you can mix and play back depends on your computer system’s configuration (processor speed, number and types of filters used, data transfer rate of your hard disk, available RAM, and so on). For example, an audio crossfade or transition increases the track count by one.
About Presets and Sequence Settings Every Final Cut Pro sequence has a set of properties that determines the sequence’s editing timebase (or frame rate), frame size, compression settings, and various display options. This set of properties is known as a preset. When a sequence is created, the chosen preset becomes the sequence settings for the new sequence. Final Cut Pro comes with a collection of presets that you can apply to your sequences.
2 A new sequence with a default, highlighted name appears at the top level of the current bin. Type a new name for the sequence to rename it. The settings associated with the preset are copied into the sequence settings for the new sequence. You can modify most of these settings by selecting the sequence in the Browser and choosing Settings from the Sequence menu.
You can also Control-click the sequence in the Browser and choose Sequence Settings from the shortcut menu. For details on the Sequence Settings dialog box, see “Creating, Editing, and Deleting Presets” on page 107. 2 Modify the options and click OK. Creating Sequences Using Edit Decision Lists You can create sequences from Edit Decision List files imported from other applications. For more information, see “Importing an Edit Decision List” on page 259.
Copying Sequences This is a valuable tip if you want to save a project and associated media files after a time-consuming render process. 1 Select the sequence in the Browser. 2 From the Edit menu, choose Duplicate. 3 Rename the new sequence in the Browser with a unique name. 4 Open and edit the new sequence in the Timeline. Changes will not affect the previous sequence or its rendered files.
To select target tracks in the Timeline: m Click the target track controls to target a track. When selecting audio target tracks, you can click the left or right speaker of the audio track icon. This determines the channel of the track. To prevent video or audio from being added to a track when media is dragged directly onto the track: m Lock the track by clicking the track lock control on the left of the Timeline. If you lock a target track, you can’t place edits on it.
Marking Edit Points The edit points define the In and Out points for the clip in the Viewer that will be added to the sequence. To define the edit points for a clip: 1 Open the clip in the Viewer. 2 Click Play or press the Space bar to view the clip. 3 While the clip is playing, click the Mark In button on the transport controls to set the In point. You can also choose Mark In from the Mark menu, press I on the keyboard, or press / (backslash) on the keypad to set the In point.
The Canvas Edit Overlay All edits in the Canvas can be performed using the edit buttons at the bottom of the Canvas window. You can also drag clips directly into the Canvas video frame. When you drag a clip into the video frame, an overlay appears with fields for each type of edit. You can then select the desired edit type by dragging to it. The default is an overwrite edit. To perform an edit in the Canvas: 1 Set the edit points for the clip in the Viewer, as explained in the previous section.
To perform an Overwrite edit: 1 Make sure In and Out points are not set in the Canvas. 2 Position the Canvas playhead where you want the edit to start. 3 Drag the clip from the Viewer to the Overwrite overlay or button in the Canvas. The clip overwrites an amount of media after the playhead position equal to its In-Out point duration. No material is moved to make room. To perform a Replace edit: 1 Position the Viewer playhead on the frame you want to match with a frame in the Canvas.
The Viewer clip is placed on the track above the target track, starting at the playhead location. The target track is not changed. If there is no track above the target track, another one is created. Insert with Transition editing: m An Insert with Transition edit is exactly the same as an ordinary Insert edit, but it places the default transition for the clip into the Canvas, at the beginning of the clip. This is a quick way to include a frequently used transition in your sequences.
m Through keyboard commands. For more information, see Appendix C, “Keyboard Shortcuts,” on page 339. The Canvas Two-Up Display When you drag a clip from the Browser onto a clip or transition in the Timeline, a two-up display appears in the Canvas. This two-up display shows the frame just before your insert on the left and the frame after your insert on the right. The clip name of the affected incoming and outgoing clip appears at the top of each display.
To move only one edit point in a split edit: m Press Option and drag the edit point for a video or audio track in the Timeline. A ToolTip pops up as you drag to indicate the number of frames between the edit points. The Scrubber bar in the Viewer updates to reflect the new edit points. To remove a split edit point: m Control-click the split edit point and choose an option from the pop-up menu.
C H A P T E R 9 9 Working in the Timeline and Canvas When you open a sequence, it is displayed simultaneously in the Canvas and the Timeline. These two windows mirror one another, so that if you move the Timeline’s playhead, the Canvas display changes accordingly. You can have multiple sequences in the Timeline. Each sequence has its own tab in the header of the Timeline. The video that is displayed in the Canvas is not the same as the video that is displayed in the Viewer.
Elements in the Timeline Window Name 178 Chapter 9 Element Function Vertical scroll bars Scroll the video and audio tracks separately. Use the thumb tabs between the scroll controls to create a static area in the center of the Timeline. Drag the thumb tabs up or down to define static track boundaries. Defining static tracks allows you to scroll through layers without losing view of your base tracks. Use the center tab to move the static area up or down in the window.
Name Element Function Link indicators Appear as underlined names. They link up to one video and two audio clips on separate tracks. When one is selected, moved, or trimmed, items linked to it are affected in the same way if the linked selection preference is on. Stereo pair indicators Appear as two triangles. They indicate that two audio clips are linked as a stereo pair.
Name Element Function Clip overlays Toggles the display of opacity graphs that have been applied to video clips and level graphs showing the audio clips Zoom control Lets you zoom in and out on the contents of your sequence in the Timeline Zoom slider Scales or scrolls the Timeline. Drag thumb controls on either side to extend or condense the view of the sequence in the Timeline. Drag the center slider to scroll back and forth.
Customizing the Timeline Track Display At the center of the Timeline window are the base layers of video and audio. Additional video tracks extend upward, additional audio tracks extend downward. Audio tracks are one channel. Stereo tracks from source clips are split with the left and right channels going into two separate tracks. Several options let you customize the appearance of tracks and clips in the Timeline. m Video tracks can display clips as name (only), name and thumbnail frame, or filmstrip.
To modify the time display in the Timeline: m Choose a time display option from the Timeline ruler’s shortcut menu. Timeline Scaling and Scrolling Final Cut Pro provides various methods for viewing the contents of the Timeline. m You can scale the view of the Timeline to see a representation of several minutes of footage or a very small portion of the sequence, such as every single frame. m You can quickly scroll to the desired section of the sequence in the Timeline.
2 Type a new timecode and press Enter. The playhead moves to the new position in both the Timeline and Canvas. For more information about timecode entry, see “Working With Timecode” on page 87. To move the playhead to the closest previous or next edit, do one of the following: m Click the Previous Edit or Next Edit button in the Canvas. Final Cut Pro looks for the next or previous edit, In point, or Out point. m Press the Up Arrow (previous) or Down Arrow (next) on the keyboard.
To add tracks to a sequence: 1 Open the sequence in the Timeline. 2 Choose Insert Tracks from the Sequence menu. 3 Choose your options for inserting tracks: m Video and audio tracks can be inserted independently. Click the checkbox to select track types. m Enter the desired number of tracks for either video or audio. Final Cut Pro supports up to 99 tracks for video and 99 tracks for audio. m Choose Before Base Track to insert the desired number of tracks before the first track in the Timeline.
3 Choose Delete Tracks from the Sequence menu. 4 Choose your options for deleting tracks. m Video and audio tracks can be deleted independently. Check the box next to Video or Audio to select track types. m Choose Current Target Track to delete the current target track in the Timeline. m Choose All Empty Tracks to delete any empty track in the Timeline. m Choose “All Empty Tracks at End of Sequence” to delete all empty tracks after the last used track in the Timeline. 5 Click OK to delete the tracks.
To select all of the items on a single track forward or backward from the selected point: 1 Choose the Select Track Forward or Select Track Backward tool. 2 Click in the track on the first clip that should be included in the selection. The entire selected clip plus all of the items in front of it or behind it are selected. These tools select entire clips only; they do not make range selections.
To add a marker to a sequence: 1 Make sure no items are selected in the Timeline. 2 Move the playhead to the location where you want to add a sequence marker. 3 Open the Mark menu and choose Add from the Markers submenu. To position the playhead on a specific sequence marker: m Control-click the Timeline ruler and choose the marker from the ruler’s shortcut menu. The playhead moves to that marker’s position.
m Transitions, which can then be trimmed or deleted. For more information, see Chapter 11, “Creating Transitions,” on page 211. m Edits, which can then be modified in several ways. For more information, see “Trimming Edits in the Timeline and Viewer” on page 206. m Gaps, which can be closed or filled with media. These items can’t be selected in the Timeline: m Filter and motion bars and their keyframes: Double-click the clip to view filter and motion details in the Viewer.
To link a group of unrelated clips: m Select one video and up to two audio clips from different tracks in the Timeline and choose Link from the Modify menu. To turn linked selection on or off, do one of the following: m Choose Linked Selection from the Sequence menu. m Use the General tab of the Preferences window. To select an item without selecting any that are linked to it: m Hold down the Option key when you select the item.
Moving Clips Within the Timeline There are two methods of moving clips within a sequence: m Drag the clip to a new position. You can move the clip to a new position on the same track or to a different track, and you can do an Insert or Overlay edit to make room for the clip. Note: You can also make copies of clips by dragging them from the Timeline into the Browser. Dragging multiple clips creates copies of each clip. m Select the clip and enter a timecode to move the clip by that number of frames.
m When you drag a clip from the Browser or Viewer, both the In and Out points of the clip can snap to an edit point. m When you drag a clip from another Timeline tab, or move a clip within a Timeline tab, Final Cut Pro snaps the In and Out points. m When you drag the playhead, it snaps to items in the Timeline when it encounters them, and a small arrow appears above or below the edit, marker, or keyframe to indicate that the playhead has snapped to this item.
Copying and Pasting Clips and Clip Attributes You can copy and paste clips between two sequences or within the same sequence. Clips are always pasted at the playhead position as an Overwrite edit, so the duration of the track where the clip is pasted is not changed. You can also paste the attributes of one clip onto another clip in the Timeline or Canvas. The Paste Attributes command lets you paste some of the settings of a clip onto another clip while leaving other attributes untouched.
m Capture Settings pastes all the capture settings that are logged with a clip (using the settings in the Clip Settings tab in the Log and Capture window). m Audio Attributes: Determines which attributes of the audio clip are pasted m Content pastes the audio waveform only. If the content is pasted onto a selected clip, it is cropped or lengthened to match the duration of the selected clip. The speed is not affected.
To create an offline clip: m Choose Offline Clip from the New submenu of the File menu. An offline clip is inserted into the Browser. You can treat offline clips just like regular clips: you can set In and Out points, add transitions and filters, rename them, and so on. Later, you can replace an offline clip by recapturing it or relinking to the original source media. For more information, see “Relinking Offline Files” on page 269.
m The Reverse checkbox makes the clip play in reverse. 4 Click OK. m The clip will be resized based on original In and Out points. Note: The Speed command acts on the entire clip, not on a selected range of a clip. If you want to apply speed effects to only a portion of the clip, use the Razor Blade tool to divide the clip into sections. Working With Keyframes in the Timeline Keyframes indicate that effects parameters are changing over time.
2 Toggle the keyframe display by doing one of the following: m Open the shortcut menu for the filter or motion bar. This menu lists all of the parameters for each filter that has been applied to the clip. Select the name of a parameter to toggle the display of its keyframes. Select the filter name to toggle all of its parameters.
To delete overlay keyframes: m Drag them off the track completely to delete them. The keyframes (except for the last one) are removed and the keyframe path is adjusted to reflect the change. Searching for Items in the Timeline Use the Find command to search for clip names, marker text, and clip timecodes in the Timeline. You can search for items forward or backward. You can also search for and close gaps in all tracks in a sequence or in individual tracks.
To search for an item backward from the position of the playhead: m After specifying the Find dialog box options, press Shift-F3. Finding and Closing Gaps There are gaps and track gaps. Gaps are empty spaces in time in a sequence on all unlocked tracks. Track gaps are empty spaces in time in sequences on individual tracks. Many operations such as Ripple Delete only work with gaps, not track gaps. To close track gaps, you may need to lock the other tracks that contain clips where the track gap occurs.
Making Still Frames From Clips in the Canvas You can make a still image from the current frame in the Canvas and edit it into a sequence. To make a still image from a canvas frame: 1 Position the playhead on the desired frame. 2 Open the Modify menu and choose Make Still Frame. The new still image has the default duration as specified in the General tab of the Preferences window for stills. It opens in the Viewer window.
C H A P T E R 10 Trimming Edits 10 Accessing Trimming Functions You can trim edits in the Trim Edit window, the Timeline, and the Viewer. Each way of trimming offers different capabilities so that trimming a single edit or several edits is flexible and fast. m For very precise control when trimming, use the Trim Edit window. It displays both sides of the edit—the outgoing clip and the incoming clip—and lets you refine an edit by one frame or many.
Types of Trimming Operations Tool Name 202 Chapter 10 Icon Function Ripple Use the Ripple tool to perform a Ripple edit. A Ripple edit affects the overall duration of the sequence. Clips that are to the right of the edit on other unlocked tracks move to accommodate the change and maintain sync in the sequence. The In and Out points of clips can be rippled. Roll Use the Roll tool to roll the selected edit. A Roll edit affects the two clips that share the edit point.
Selecting One or More Edit Points in the Timeline Whether you want to trim an edit directly in the Timeline or in the Trim Edit window, you need to select one or more edits in the Timeline first. By using a trimming tool to select the edit, you can also define the type of trim to perform at the same time. You can select only one edit per track. To select one or more edits: m Use the Edit Selection tool to draw a marquee around the edit point of one or more tracks.
Using the Trim Edit Window You can trim one or more edits very precisely by using the Trim Edit window. This window gives a close-up view of all the trimming functions you can use in the Timeline. You can modify the selected edit by one frame or several frames, quickly switch between Ripple and Roll edits, and play the edit back to make sure it is correct. The play controls on each side of the Trim Edit window are for viewing only. They don’t change the position of any edit.
m Double-click an edit. To close the Trim Edit window, do one of the following: m Move the playhead in the Timeline or Canvas away from the edit. m Click anywhere in the Timeline away from an edit to deselect all edits in the Timeline. m Close the Trim Edit window. Trimming in the Trim Edit Window Use the Trim Edit window to trim one edit or multiple edits at one time. When trimming multiple edits at once, you can perform different edits on each of the edit points.
7 When you are finished trimming, move the playhead off the edit point in the Canvas or Timeline, or click in the Timeline to deselect all edits. The Trim Edit window closes. You can also close the Trim Edit window. Slipping an Edit in the Trim Edit Window You can slip either clip displayed in the Trim Edit window. A slip edit changes the clip’s In and Out points simultaneously while maintaining the clip’s duration. Surrounding clips are not affected.
To perform a Ripple edit in the Timeline: 1 Select the Ripple tool. 2 Select the edit by clicking near the edge of the clip. If linked selection is on, the edit points of linked clips are also selected. 3 Ripple the edit using one of the following methods: m Drag the edit to lengthen or shorten the clip in the sequence. m Type the number of frames you want to add to or subtract from the current In or Out point. (Use the + or – key followed by the number of frames to add or subtract, then click Enter.
To perform a Roll edit in the Timeline: 1 Select the Roll tool. 2 Select the edit point. If linked selection is enabled, the edit points of linked clips are also selected. 3 Roll the edit using one of the following methods: m Drag in either direction. As you drag, the Canvas displays the Out point of the outgoing clip on the left and the In point of the incoming clip on the right. m Type the number of frames you want to add to or subtract from the current edit point.
To slip a clip in the Timeline using numerical timecode entry: 1 Select the Slip tool. 2 Select the clip in the Timeline. 3 Type + or – and the number of frames to slip, then click Enter. To slip a clip in the Viewer: 1 Open the clip in the Viewer by double-clicking it or select it and choose Clip from the View menu. 2 Do one of the following: m Select the Slip tool and drag one of the edit points. m Press Shift and drag one of the edit points.
2 Select an edit point and drag it. You can drag the edit point to create a gap (by making the duration of the clip smaller) or to cover an existing gap. You cannot do a Ripple or Roll edit with the Selection tool in the Timeline. You can change the duration of a clip in the sequence by extending its Out point. To extend the duration of an edit: 1 Select the edit in the Timeline. 2 Move the playhead to the position that the edit will extend to.
C H A P T E R 11 Creating Transitions 11 The simplest transition between two clips is a cut, in which a clip begins immediately after the previous clip ends. You create a cut by arranging two clips tail to head on the same video track in the Timeline.
m Drag a transition effect from the Effects tab in the Browser onto the cut, centering it over the cut. m Open the shortcut menu over the cut and choose Add Transition to add the default transition. To add a transition effect that starts or ends at a cut: m Drag a transition effect from the Effects tab in the Browser onto the cut, aligning it so that it starts or ends at the cut. To set the default transition effect: m Open the shortcut menu on a transition effect. m Choose Set Default.
The starting percentage determines the point where the transition process begins, and the ending percentage determines the point where the transition stops. The default is a starting percentage of 0 percent and an ending percentage of 100 percent, which encompasses the whole transition effect. If, for example, a transition involves a colored vertical bar moving from far left to far right across the video frame, setting the starting percentage to 50 percent begins the effect with the bar at the center.
4 To have the transition center on, begin on, or end on the edit, click the corresponding placement button at the top center of the Transition Viewer. End on Begin on Center on 5 Make other settings as desired for the transition. For more information, see “Setting Effects Parameters” on page 220. Trimming and Moving Transitions in the Viewer Once you’ve placed a transition effect in a sequence, you can move and trim it in the Viewer.
When you trim either the In point or the Out point of the transition, the Canvas displays the frames of each clip where the transition effect is starting or ending. When you move a transition by dragging, the Canvas displays the frame of the outgoing clip where the transition effect ends and the frame of the incoming clip where the transition effect begins.
Modifying Audio Transitions Final Cut Pro includes two audio cross-fade transitions. The first is a 0 decibel cross-fade. This transition fades the first clip out, while simultaneously fading the second clip in. This effect applies a linear ramp to the volume level. The second is a +3 decibel cross-fade. This transition performs the same operation as the 0 decibel cross fade, but applies an exponential, equal-power ramp to the volume level.
4 Rename the new transition in the Favorites bin. m You can also select the transition in the Browser and choose Duplicate from the Edit menu. A copy of the transition appears in the Favorites submenu of the Effects menu. Previewing Transitions You can preview a transition effect in the Canvas by placing the playhead in the Viewer within the area covered by the transition. As you change transition settings, Final Cut Pro changes the previewed effect in the Canvas as the playhead is stationary.
C H A P T E R 12 Compositing and Special Effects 12 You can use Final Cut Pro to add many effects to video and audio, and to create unique composite effects by altering the layers of video. Locating and Applying Effects You can locate and apply effects in the following ways: m Select them from the Browser’s Effects tab and drag them onto clips. m Select a clip and then choose an effect from the Effects menu. m Use the Motion tab in a clip’s Viewer window to turn on and set the motion effects.
Setting Effects Parameters When you apply an effect to a clip, you can set parameters to fine-tune it. You can view and change an effect’s parameters within a clip by clicking the Audio, Filters, or Motion tab in a clip’s Viewer. There are several types of effects parameters: m Slider controls: Some of these are logarithmic, rather than linear, and vary depending on the type of setting. You can also click the arrows at either end of a slider to change the setting at single increments.
Final Cut Pro supports three types of effects. The Final Cut Pro FXScript architecture includes video effects for transitions, filters, and generators. QuickTime 3.0 filters are also recognized. In addition, Final Cut Pro works with many After Effects third-party filters. Not all of these plug-ins, however, are certified for use with Final Cut Pro. For more information about After Effects third-party filters, see “Using After Effects Third-Party Filters” on page 223.
2 Move the cursor over an In or Out point in the duration bar. m The cursor changes to this symbol. 3 Drag the ends of the duration bar to set a filter’s In and Out points within a clip. 4 Drag between the In and Out points on the duration bar to move the position of the filter’s duration within the clip. To turn a filter off: 1 Open the clip in the Viewer and click the Filters tab. 2 Click the checkbox next to the filter’s name. The filter remains applied to the clip, but is temporarily disabled.
Changing the Rendering Order of Filters The order in which filters are listed on the Filters tab is the order in which they are rendered. You can affect the final results of a filtered clip by changing the rendering order. To change the rendering order of filters: m In the Filters tab, drag a filter name into a new position. Saving Filter Settings by Creating a Favorite Filter You can save the filter settings you’ve specified so that you can use the same filter again without having to remember settings.
Final Cut Pro also supports QuickTime Effects. The files are automatically loaded during startup and appear as QuickTime Transitions or QuickTime Filters in the Browser under the Effects tab and menu. To install After Effects third-party filters: m Drag the After Effects third-party filters to the Plug-ins folder in the Final Cut Pro application folder. Or create an alias of the folder where the After Effects plug-ins reside and place it in the Plug-ins folder in the Final Cut Pro folder.
If an image doesn’t appear when you use a third-party filter, try the following: m If the filter uses Clip Controls, drag a clip to all Clip Control boxes. m Change the alpha type in the Modify menu. m Choose Reverse Alpha from the Modify menu. m If the filter uses a hardware key or dongle, make sure you’ve installed it. To process effects faster: m Turn on Draft Render in the Render Quality Editor. m Turn Field Rendering off in the Render Quality Editor. m Scale down the Viewer window.
Dragging a generator to the Canvas will also place the generator in the Timeline. 3 Double-click the generator in the Timeline to open the generator in the Viewer. If the generator can be configured, a Controls tab appears in the Viewer. 4 Click the Controls tab in the Viewer. 5 Adjust the parameters to suit your needs. You can manipulate and apply the settings over the duration of the generator using keyframes in the timeline of the Viewer.
When you change any motion property graphically in the Viewer or Canvas, it must be in one of the two wireframe modes. Note: Green crosshairs indicate that there is a keyframe for scale on that frame. A green center handle indicates that the center has a point keyframe applied. A green border indicates a rotation keyframe. To use wireframe mode, do one of the following: m Press W once to place the Viewer or Canvas into Image+Wireframe mode. Press W again to turn on wireframe mode.
To move a clip in the Viewer’s Motion tab: 1 Double-click a clip in the Timeline or in the Browser. 2 Click the Motion tab in the Viewer. 3 Do one of the following: m Enter new values for the center property. m Click the button with the plus sign to the left of the center property and then click the Canvas or the Video tab of the Viewer to specify new center coordinates.
You can rotate a clip multiple times, when you want to rotate an object over time, such as a spinning wheel. (See “Using Keyframes to Change Effects Over Time” on page 232.) To rotate a clip by dragging: 1 Open a clip in the Viewer or Canvas and turn on a wireframe mode. 2 Select the Arrow tool and point to the outside border of the clip. 3 Click any edge of the border and drag in an arc around the clip’s center point. The wider the arc from the center point, the finer control you have.
m Click the button with the plus sign next to the corner property you want to adjust and then click the Canvas or the Video tab of the Viewer. Cropping a Clip You can crop a clip to remove unwanted elements from a clip’s image. This is a useful technique if you want to remove rough, overscan edges on captured clips. Cropping hides the selected parts of a clip rather than deleting them, so you can always reset the cropped image to reveal the original image.
To set a clip’s opacity in the Timeline: 1 Click the Clip Overlays button in the Timeline. 2 Select the Pen tool and Shift-drag from the top of the clip’s video track. The pointer changes shape to indicate when you can drag the opacity control. Final Cut Pro displays the opacity setting next to the pointer as you drag. Adding a Drop Shadow to a Clip For clips that are smaller than the sequence frame size, you can display a drop shadow.
Note: The blur is applied to one frame’s duration. The quality and rendering time of samples is decreased as the number of samples is increased. Using Keyframes to Change Effects Over Time You can create many time-varying effects by applying a combination of keyframes and changes to effects parameters to a clip. A keyframe is a point where a parameter for an effect changes.
The Nav column in the Viewer’s Filters and Motion tabs lets you view, add, delete, or change the position of keyframes. Note: After you have added a keyframe to a clip for the first time, a new keyframe will be added whenever you change the parameters for an effect applied to that clip at a different point in time. Types of Keyframes There are two types of keyframes: m One-dimensional: These relate to absolute specifications, such as points or colors.
3 Move the playhead in the Canvas or the playhead above the keyframe graph in the Filters or Motion tab to the point at which you want to create a keyframe. 4 Adjust the value for the property you want to set. Alternatively, you can graphically edit the motion properties for position, scale, rotation, and crop. To set a keyframe: 1 Move the playhead to a position in time where you want to place a keyframe. 2 Click the Set Keyframe button for the desired effect.
3 Click the Next or Previous Keyframe button to move the playhead to the desired keyframe. 4 Adjust the property values for the keyframe. You can also make changes graphically for motion properties of scale, position, rotation, and crop in the Canvas. 5 To expand the keyframe graph, drag the Zoom control in the right corner of the keyframe graph. 6 To delete a keyframe, click the Add Keyframe button while the playhead is over a keyframe.
You can use the Pen tool for maximum control over the shape of the motion path, creating curves and corners along the path, and controlling the speed of a clip as it travels along the path. (See “Editing a Motion Path” on page 237.) You can also control the position of the clip at keyframe locations by modifying the center (position) motion property for those keyframes. To create a motion path: 236 Chapter 12 1 Set the Canvas or Viewer display mode to Wireframe+Image or Wireframe.
6 Drag the clip to a new position. Final Cut Pro automatically adds a new keyframe. 7 Repeat steps 5 and 6 to add as many keyframes as you want. Editing a Motion Path You can edit a motion path directly in the Viewer or Canvas by moving or deleting motionpath keyframes. Because a motion path defines spatial as well as temporal changes, the playhead doesn’t need to be over a keyframe for you to be able to move or delete it, nor does the playhead location prohibit you from adding a motion-path keyframe.
You can also fine-tune the rate at which a clip approaches and leaves a keyframe if the keyframe is a curve. The ease handles are located between the Bezier handles and the center point. You can drag the handles so that the clip eases in and eases out at the same rate, or you can drag the handles separately to set different ease-in and ease-out rates. Keyframe Keyframe Bezier handle Ease In/Out handle Motion path This motion path has Bezier handles at the ends of the straight line.
Using Alpha Channels An alpha channel is a fourth 8-bit channel in an image that describes which areas of the image are transparent. Because an alpha channel has 8 bits of information per pixel, an image can be partially transparent or have areas that change from opaque to transparent. An image can have an alpha channel if the hardware or software that produced it has alpha channel support. Many digital-image and video-editing applications can create alpha channels in an image.
To set the clip composite mode: 240 Chapter 12 1 Select the clip in the Timeline. 2 Open the Modify menu and choose the mode you want from the Composite Mode submenu. m Normal: Displays the clip without any changes m Add: Combines the color values of the clips, not exceeding absolute white. The resulting image is lighter. Where the added values are greater than one, absolute white is displayed. m Subtract: Subtracts the color values of the clips, not going below absolute black.
C H A P T E R 13 Rendering 13 About Rendering Rendering is the process of computing frames of video and sections of audio so that they can be played smoothly in Final Cut Pro. Once rendered, the audio and video are stored in render cache files. This section describes the fundamental concepts that you need to understand about rendering when creating sequences in Final Cut Pro.
Setting a Sequence’s Render Qualities The Render Quality Editor lets you specify four render qualities for the current project. This lets you work at lower frame rates, smaller frame sizes, and with various rendering options disabled for some effects, while viewing full-frame video at another quality level. By customizing the quality settings, you can manage the quality-speed trade-offs of video editing by quickly switching between quality levels while you work.
m Open the Render Quality pop-up menu in the Sequence tab in the Timeline and choose Edit Render Quality. 2 Specify the options for each render quality and click OK. m Quality Name: You can assign names to each render quality. m Draft Render: Check this box to render filters at the lowest possible quality. This is useful to speed up previewing, but should be left unchecked before final rendering and export. m Field Rendering: Check this box to turn field rendering on.
Video Rendering Video frames in sequences are rendered in the following order: m The top layer of video (the highest numbered track) is processed first and then composited onto the track below it. m Within each track, motion effects, filters, and transitions are processed, in that order. Note: It is possible to change the order of rendering by using nested sequences. See “Using Nested Sequences,” on page 244 for more details.
The nested sequence inherits the render quality of the parent sequence. If render files already exist for the nested sequence at that render quality, then they are used. If render files don’t yet exist, they are created when the parent sequence is rendered and saved with the nested sequence. Nested sequences may require separate rendering in a parent sequence in these circumstances: m If a parent sequence modifies a nested sequence, then the nested sequence needs to be rerendered as a sub-sequence.
How to Avoid Rendering In general, you need to render transitions, effects, and composited layers to play a sequence smoothly. Sequences consisting of cuts only do not require rendering for playback as long as sequence size and frame rate match the original source material. To avoid rendering when creating a sequence with cuts only, make sure that the sequence’s editing timebase, frame rate, and compression settings are the same as the frame rate, frame size, and compression settings of your source media.
Specifying Storage Locations for Render Files Final Cut Pro lets you specify multiple disk locations for storing render cache files. When render files are created, they are stored on the disk with the most available space. You can specify up to five disks for storing either captured video, captured audio, or render cache files. If no disk locations are specified, Final Cut Pro saves the render files in a folder called Render Files, which is located in the same folder as the Final Cut Pro application.
The Cache Manager displays a list of all of the Final Cut Pro render files on designated scratch disks. 2 Click next to the file name in the Remove column to designate a file to be deleted. 3 When you click OK, all of the files tagged for removal are deleted from your hard disk. Automatically Rendering Before Playing The render ahead preference tells Final Cut Pro to render a specified amount of material ahead of the current playhead position before attempting to play it.
C H A P T E R 14 Creating Final Output 14 Printing to Video You use the Print to Video command in the File menu to output a sequence or clip to videotape. You can use the Print to Video command without device control. If you have device control, the Edit to Tape command in the Tools menu lets you perform precise Insert and Assemble edits to tape in addition to previewing an edit. To print a sequence or clip to video using the current render quality: 1 Select the sequence or clip in the Browser.
m Leader: These options create lead-in frames that precede the actual footage. The options are applied in order. A duration for each option can be defined by typing a time value into the field next to the option. m Color Bars: Check this box to add color bars and a 1 kHz tone, preset to –12 dB, before the beginning of the sequence or clip. m Black: Check this box to add black frames between Color Bars and Slate or before the beginning of the sequence or clip.
Note: Final Cut Pro monitors the state of controlled devices. If your camcorder or deck malfunctions while printing to video or editing to tape, you may receive an error warning. Cancel the operation before proceeding further and consult your camcorder or deck’s manual for troubleshooting information. Editing to Tape The Edit to Tape command lets you perform linear Insert and Assemble edits to tape with frame accuracy. Editing to tape requires device control.
m Editing: Uses exactly the content that you select and doesn’t include any mastering options. In editing mode, you can do standard three-point edits directly to tape. You use editing mode if you want to replace video, audio, or both on tape. m Mastering: Includes mastering options in the final output such as color bars and tone, a slate, and a countdown. The Duration and Out fields are dimmed, since mastering options affect the overall duration of the piece.
m Insert: Preserves the existing timecode on the tape. Insert requires black and coded tapes, which you can create using the “Black and Code” button. This is the default mode if you drag the clip directly into the Edit to Tape window. m Assemble: Writes the sequence or clip to tape at the designated In point, or at the current point (after pre-roll). It overwrites the existing timecode on the tape. Note: Assemble will not work on non-coded tapes.
Choosing Which Tracks to Record Click the track selection controls on the bottom right of the Edit to Tape window to choose which tracks are recorded. When you play the clips in Final Cut Pro, you will hear and see all three tracks, but only the selected ones will actually be recorded onto the tape. This allows you to record audio with no video, or vice versa. Setting Up for Editing to Tape To perform an edit to tape, there must be timecode on the tape.
3 Insert a tape. Note: If you notice that the tape you inserted is not displaying the type of timecode you expected (drop frame or non-drop frame), play the tape first to register its timecode in Final Cut Pro. 4 If you are working in mastering mode, click the Mastering Settings tab and specify the desired mastering options. Mastering options let you add items such as a leader with a countdown, color bars, tone, and a slate.
m m m m m Color Bars: Check this box to add color bars and a 1 kHz tone, preset to –12 dB, before the beginning of the sequence or clip. m Black: Check this box to add black frames between Color Bars and Slate or before the beginning of the sequence or clip. m Slate: Check this box to add the content specified in the Slate Source pop-up menu. m Black: Check this box to add black frames between Slate and Countdown or before the beginning of the sequence or clip.
Preparing a Videotape With Black and Code The “Black and Code” button is to the right of the pop-up menu at the top center of the Edit to Tape window. Black and code formats the tape in a connected deck with a black screen and user-defined timecode. To prepare a tape with black and code: 1 In the Edit to Tape window, click the “Black and Code” button. 2 Verify that the settings are correct for your video card, to be sure that the card will output black. 3 Enter the starting timecode and click OK.
3 Specify the EDL export options and click OK. Note: If you exceed the number of events for a specified EDL format, additional files will be created. Setting EDL Export Options m EDL Title: Displays the title of the EDL as it will appear at the top of the file. You can change the name in this field. This name can be different from the file’s name on the disk. m Format: Choose an EDL format. It should correspond to the format required by the linear system that will use the EDL.
m m m m m m m Source, Audio Merged: Sorts edits first by source reel number, then by sequence chronology. Linked video and audio appear on the same line, even if the audio ends before the video. Target Video Track Only: Check this box to export the edits from the sequence’s current target video track. All audio edits are still exported. Pre-read Edits: Check this box to create a transition between two clips on the same reel. This only works with digital video decks that support this feature.
3 Click the Options button to m recapture or relink media when importing m specify handle sizes for capturing additional media m enable or disable the feature that makes filenames unique. Check this box if you will be recapturing clips. Leave the box unchecked if you will be relinking to clips that are already on disk. 4 Click Import. After you import an EDL, the sequence is placed in the Browser. The clips are in the sequence as they appear in the EDL. Clips are named in two ways.
To export an effect as text: 1 Select the effect in the Browser and choose Effect Editor from the View menu. The text version of the effect is loaded into FXBuilder. 2 Open the File menu and choose Text from the Export submenu. 3 Specify a file destination and click OK. Exporting Sequences and Clips You can export clips, sequences, or portions of either as a Final Cut Pro Movie or in a variety of movie and audio formats using QuickTime.
To export a still image: 1 Place the playhead in the Canvas or Viewer on the frame that you want to export. 2 Open the File menu and choose Still Image from the Export menu. 3 Click the Options button to select the format, resolution, and compression settings for the image and click OK. 4 Specify a filename and destination folder and click Save. To export an image sequence: 1 Set the Still Image Duration field in the General preferences tab to 1 frame (00:00:00:01). Note: The default is 10 seconds.
7 Choose a method from the pop-up menu and specify settings, if available. 8 Click the Sound Settings button. 9 Choose a method from the Compressor pop-up menu and make the appropriate selections for Rate and Size. The Options button offers additional settings for certain compressor types. 10 Select either Mono or Stereo output. 11 Click OK in this and the next window. 12 Specify a filename and destination folder and click Save.
You can also choose Export Queue from the Window menu to open the Batch Export window. Items can then be dragged from the Browser to the Batch Export window. Final Cut Pro creates new Batch folders in the Export Queue tab for each group of items that are dragged to the Batch Export window. Items can also be dragged into existing Batch folders. All of the items in a top-level Batch folder share the same export settings, so be sure to group items into batches based on which export options you want to use.
m Status: Displays the current export status for the item m Queued: Appears when an item is added to the batch queue m Done: Appears when the item has been successfully exported. Items marked Done are ignored when a batch export operation is started. m Canceled: Appears when the export process has been canceled m If there is an error during export, a message explaining the problem will appear in this column. m Output Filename: Lets you specify new filenames for clips and sequences.
m Format: Displays the current export type. All available export types can be accessed through the shortcut menu. Select any of these presets as QuickTime settings and apply them to individual or multiple batches. m Use Item In/Out: Exports the sequence or clip using the current In and Out points. If this option is not selected, all of the media in the clip or the entire sequence is exported.
C H A P T E R 15 Managing Complex Projects 15 Working with complex and large projects that contain hundreds or thousands of individual clips can be complicated. Final Cut Pro provides a number of ways to manage these projects. As a project demands the use of more tracks to create desired effects, you can simplify the management of many tracks by nesting sequences inside one another.
Nesting Clips You can nest several clips in a sequence into another sequence. This allows multiple identical parts of a larger sequence to be standardized because the new sequence and all settings that apply to it can be reused. You can also use the Nest Item(s) command to apply the attributes of one clip to an entire sequence. To nest clips in a sequence: 1 Select the clips you want to nest. 2 Choose Nest Item(s) from the Sequence menu. 3 Name the sequence and choose the new frame size.
3 Enter a name for the new sequence and click OK. Note: Selecting Extract Full Clip will not trim the clips, but will provide them in their full media length in an offline sequence and a bin. Relinking Offline Files If you’ve moved the source media files used in a project or sequence, you can relink online and offline clips to media on your disk using the Relink Media command. To relink individual offline files: 1 Select the file or files to be relinked. 2 Open the File menu and choose Relink Media.
Note: Using the Save As command will make a copy of the project file, but not related media. Use Media Mover to save a copy of your project along with copies of associated render flies. To use the Media Mover: 1 Click the project’s Browser tab, or select any item in the project. 2 Open the Sequence menu and choose Media Mover. 3 If you want to move rendered files as well as the source media, click the Include Render Files checkbox. 4 Click OK.
C H A P T E R 16 Building Effects With FXBuilder 16 FXBuilder gives you the ability to create, test, and modify custom video effects, such as filters, text generators, or transitions. You don’t need in-depth programming knowledge to create your own effects in FXScript. You use a process called scripting to create your effects. You can build effects quickly and connect several effects together, so that they run in the order you choose.
How Does FXBuilder Work? You can do several things with effects scripts in FXBuilder: m Open an existing script m Make changes to a script m Test a script to see how it looks in real time m Create a new script In addition, you can take existing effects from your project’s Browser and apply them to video in your project’s Timeline or Canvas. FXBuilder has three components: m The FXBuilder window: You use this to create, test, and edit effects scripts.
To open a script so that you can view its code: 1 In the Browser’s Effects tab, locate and select the effect you want. 2 Choose Effect Editor from the View menu. An FXBuilder window shows the script for the selected effect. This is the window you use when working with scripts. The FXBuilder Tabs The FXBuilder window has two tabs. m FX Builder Text Entry: Use this tab to review, enter, and edit script code. Note: FXBuilder does not support multiple levels of undo.
m FXBuilder Input Controls: Use this tab to test your script on some source video. Some scripts require input from you in order to run. For example, if you’re testing a script that adds a color tint, you need to specify which color you want the tint to be. You also need to set the input controls for a script when you apply it to a clip in a sequence’s timeline. Running a Script in FXBuilder You can run scripts in real time, without rendering them first.
You can place effects anywhere in the video you want to apply them to. You can also apply multiple effects to the same video. If you are placing transitions in the Timeline, you can place them between the end of the first and the beginning of the second clip in the transition. You can also place effects at the end of the second clip, or the beginning of the first. When you place effects in the Timeline, you can adjust their inputs. If you do not set the input controls, the defaults apply.
yuvcolor yuvtint; yuvtint = RGBtint; yuvtint += 128; offset128[ 1] = 128; offset128[ 2] = 128; colorTransform (Src1, Dest, RGBtoYUV, offset0, offset128); channelFill(Dest, -1, -1, yuvtint.u, yuvtint.v); ColorTransform (Dest, Dest,YUVtoRGB, offset128, offset0); The first two lines state the script’s name and type, and assign it to a group in the Browser. This script is named “Tint.” It is a filter script and has been assigned to the group Image Control.
Script Lines A script is divided into lines. Each line contains a statement, or a group of statements. You can’t end a line in the middle of a statement. So, for example, in the Tint script, the statement yuvtint = RGBtint must all appear on the same line. If you break the line in the middle of this code, the script will not run. The ; character denotes the end of a line. You can also use a carriage return (the Return key). Use the ; character if you want to join two short lines together.
Preventing Scripts From Being Modified or Viewed m If you want a script to be saved so that it can be viewed only in Final Cut Pro: Choose Create Plugin from the FXBuilder menu. m If you want the script to be saved so that it can’t be viewed or changed: Choose Create Encoded Plugin from the FXBuilder menu. This saves a copy of the script that can be run, but can’t be viewed or changed. Making a Favorite Effect From a Script m Choose Make Favorite Effect from the Effects menu.
m Coding: Once you know your script’s purpose and have an idea of how it will be structured, you can begin writing the code. When you’re coding, remember that the exact format (“syntax”) of each word or statement is important. Misspelled words, or words that are not accompanied by all the necessary information, will cause errors in the script. Important It’s also a good idea to keep your script lines as short as possible. This makes the code easier to read and interpret.
Conditional Statements A conditional statement says that something should happen if a certain condition is met. Conditional statements always begin with if and end with end if. This example comes from the Bevel filter script, which places a beveled border around the picture. if framewidth
Subroutines A subroutine is a section of the code that can be “called” from another part of the script. When the subroutine is called, it runs and then returns the script flow to the place from which it was called. Subroutines are a useful way to break code up, and they minimize the amount of code in a script, because they can be reused. You begin a subroutine in a script using the on command, like this: on mysub (parameter 1, parameter 2...) You end a subroutine with the word end on a line by itself.
Constants A constant is a number that always has the same value. Several are available for use in your scripts. Data Data is any type of information processed in a script. FXScript can handle several types of data: m Strings: A string is a sequence of characters. Strings are processed as characters only and do not have mathematical or arithmetical meaning, even if they contain numbers. m Numbers: FXScript allows you to work with several types of numbers.
Comments Any script line that begins with the characters // is a comment. You can place a comment line anywhere in a script. It’s a good idea to include plenty of comments in scripts, especially if you make changes to them, or if they are long or complex. Comments are an essential part of a script. They give information about the script and what it is doing. They can make a script much easier to understand, test, and change by including useful explanatory detail about the script’s code and structure.
A P P E N D I X A A FXScript Reference This appendix lists all the commands and functions in the FXScript language. These are grouped by the FXBuilder submenu they appear in. Each command includes information about its syntax, any parameters it requires, and any special information about its use. When creating a script, you can place command templates into an FXBuilder Text Entry tab by choosing them from the FXBuilder menu.
Operators The following table lists all the operators that can be included in your scripts. Operator Meaning + Add (This operator can also be used to indicate a positive number.) – Subtract (This operator can also be used to indicate a negative number.
Compound Operators In an assignment statement, you can use the compound assignment operators. These are +=, –=, *=, /=, %=, &=, |=, and ˆ=. Operators and Regions For regions, only a few operators can be used. These are +, –, &, |, and ˆ. Operators and Strings For strings, only the + operator can be used, for adding strings together. Data Types Data types allow you to declare variables and assign specific data types to them.
Data Type Syntax Description color color variablename Declares a variable with four fields (one each for a, r, g, and b) that contains an ARGB color value YUVcolor YUVcolor variablename Declares a variable with four fields (one each for a, y, u, and v) that contains a YUV color value clip clip variablename Declares a variable that holds a video clip value value variablename Declares a non-modifiable parameter in a subroutine Functions Functions can be used with variables as well as with known
Function Syntax Description Abs Abs(value) The absolute integer value of the value Power Power(value, exponent) The value raised to the specified exponent Exp Exp(value) The mathematical constant e raised to the power corresponding to the specified value Log Log(value) The base e logarithm of the value Log10 Log10(value) The base 10 logarithm of the value Integer Integer(value) Converts the value into an integer number Sign Sign(value) The sign of the value.
Appendix A Command Syntax Description BoundsOf BoundsOf(image, result) Fills in the polygon represented by “result” with a four-sided rectangle that is the bounds of “image.” The result must be a point [4] variable, set as a rectangle. DimensionsOf DimensionsOf(image, width, height) Returns the width and height of the specified image buffer AspectOf AspectOf(image) Returns a floating-point value that is the aspect ratio of the pixels of the specified image buffer.
Shapes Command Syntax Description Line Line(p1, p2, image, color, width) Draws a line in the buffer corresponding to “image,” from p1 to p2, with the specified color (expressed as an RGB value) and width (in pixels) MakeRect MakeRect(result, left, top, width, height) Fills in a rectangular polygon, “result,” with the dimensions specified. Left and top are twodimensional points and width and height are distances in pixels.
Command Syntax Description FramePoly FramePoly(poly, image, color, width) Draws a frame around the bounds of the specified polygon, with the specified color (as an RGB value) and the specified width (in pixels). Stores the result in the specified image buffer.
Transform Command Syntax Description Rotate Rotate(point/poly, center, angle, aspect) Rotates the specified point or polygon through the specified angle in degrees, around the specified center Rotate3d Rotate3d(point3d/poly, center3d, xrotate, yrotate, zrotate) Rotates the specified threedimensional point or polygon through the specified angle, around the specified center. Note that center3d has three fields, corresponding to height, width, and depth and separated by commas.
Blit 294 Appendix A Command Syntax Description RegionCopy RegionCopy(srcImage1, srcImage2, destImage, rgn, softness) Copies the two source images into the destination image buffer using the specified region as a mask, softening the edges of the mask according to the value given for softness Blit Blit(sourceImage, sourcePoly, destImage, destPoly, opacity) Copies the pixels inside “sourcepoly” in “sourceimage” into the “destpoly” in “destimage,” applying the “opacity” value BlitRect BlitRect(sour
Command Syntax Description MaskCopy MaskCopy(sourceImage1, sourceImage2, maskImage, destImage,softness, amount) Copies from the two source images into the destination image, using a gradient mask. The value given for “softness” defines the threshold amount for the gradient, and “amount” specifies the gradient percentage. This command is the same as RegionCopy, but the mask is derived from an image buffer.
Process 296 Appendix A Command Syntax Description Blur Blur(srcImage, destImage, radius, aspect) Performs a blur operation on the source image buffer and places the result in the destination image buffer. “Radius” specifies the radius of the blurred area. BlurChannel BlurChannel(srcImage, destImage, radius, doAlpha, doRed, doGreen, doBlue, aspect) Performs a blur operation on the specified channels of the source image buffer and places the result in the destination image buffer.
Command Syntax Description DiffuseOffset DiffuseOffset(srcImage, destImage, repeatEdges, hMin, hMax, vMin, vMax, hTable[width], vTable[height]) This is similar to Diffuse, but the horizontal and vertical offset for each pixel is added to the hTable and vTable, which contain the horizontal and vertical position for each pixel.
Appendix A Command Syntax Description ColorTransform ColorTransform(srcImage, destImage, matrix, float[3], float[3]) Performs color transformation from the source image buffer to the destination image buffer, based on the specified 3x3 float matrix. The two float arrays specify the offsets to be added to the source and destination buffers during the operation. If the matrix is an RGB to RGB transformation, the arrays should be filled with zeros.
Command Syntax Description ChannelFill ChannelFill(destImage, alphaValue, redValue, greenValue, blueValue) Fills the channels of the destination image buffer with the color values specified ChannelMultiply ChannelMultiply(srcImage, destImage, alphaValue, redValue, greenValue, blueValue) Copies the source image buffer into the destination image buffer, multiplying each channel by the corresponding color value. If any of these is set to 1.0, the channel is unchanged.
Distort Distort is a group of routines that distort a clip. 300 Appendix A Command Syntax Description Cylinder Cylinder(srcImage, destImage, center, radius, amount, vertical) Copies the source image buffer into the destination image buffer, distorting the pixels so that they appear to have been mapped onto the surface of a cylinder. “Center” specifies the three-dimensional center point for the cylinder; “radius” specifies the width of the affected area.
Command Syntax Description Ripple Ripple(srcImage, destImage, repeatEdges, centerPt, amplitude, wavelength, aspect) Copies the source image buffer into the destination image buffer, distorting the image by applying waves from the edges. “Amplitude” and “wavelength” control the size and number of waves in the ripple.
Appendix A Command Syntax Description Displace Displace(srcImage, destImage, mapImage, repeatEdges, xScale, yScale, lumaScale, aspect) Performs a pixel operation by taking the red and green channel values of a clip to offset the source clip horizontally and vertically, respectively BumpMap BumpMap(srcImage, destImage, mapImage, repeatEdges, angle, scale, lumaScale, aspect) Performs a pixel operation by taking the luminance value of a clip to offset the source clip OffsetPixels OffsetPixels(s
Composite Command Syntax Description Matte Matte(overImage, baseImage, destImage, amount, type) Composites the image buffer specified as “overImage” onto the buffer specified as “baseImage,” and places the result in the destination image buffer. “Type” can be one of the predeclared variables kAlpha, kWhite, or kBlack. These allow alpha channel compositing or black or white matte alpha channel compositing. “Amount” controls the opacity of the image being overlaid.
Appendix A Command Syntax Description Lighten Lighten(srcImage1, srcImage2, destImage, percent, type) For each pixel in the destination image buffer, this function chooses the corresponding pixel in the source image that has the lighter grayscale value. Darken Darken(srcImage1, srcImage2, destImage, percent, type) For each pixel in the destination image buffer, this function chooses the corresponding pixel in the source image that has the darker grayscale value.
Command Syntax Description Subtract Subtract(srcImage1, srcImage2, destImage, percent, type) Each pixel in the destination image buffer is filled with a color value corresponding to that for the same pixel in source image 1 less the values of the matching pixels in the portion of source image 2 specified by “percent.
Key 306 Appendix A Command Syntax Description BlueScreen BlueScreen(srcImage, destImage, min, max, fillRGB) Creates a mask from the source image buffer, extracting the blue areas of the image. “min” and “max” control the range of color extraction. If “fillRGB” is 1, the RGB channels are filled with a grayscale mask. Otherwise only the alpha channel is filled.
Command Syntax Description RGBColorKey RGBColorKey(srcImage, destImage, redTarget, redPass, greenTarget, greenPass, blueTarget, bluePass, softness, fillRGB) Fills either the alpha or RGB channels of the destination image buffer with a mask created by comparing the values of the pixels in the source image to the “pass” values and “target” numbers specified. “Softness” specifies the softness of the mask. “FillRGB” specifies whether the alpha or RGB channels are filled with the results.
External 308 Appendix A Command Syntax Description Filter Filter("name", source, dest, frame, duration, fps, ["parmName", parmValue, ...]) This calls another script, which must be a filter. It passes one source and one destination image buffer, as well as values corresponding to the frame where the filter is to begin, the frames per second for the video where the frame is found, and the duration of the filter effect. You can also set the inputs for the filter using the parameters in square brackets.
Command Syntax Description Transition Transition("name", src1, src2, dest, frame, duration, fps, ["parmName", parmValue, ...]) This calls another script, which must be a transition. It passes two source image buffers and one destination image buffer, as well as values corresponding to the frame where the transition is to begin, the frames per second for the video where the frame is found, and the duration of the transition effect.
String 310 Appendix A Command Syntax Description NumToString NumToString(number, string, format) Converts a number into a string of text, using the format specified. The format can be any one of the constants used to describe text formatting.
Text Command Syntax Description DrawString DrawString(string, h, v, spacing, image, color, aspect) Draws the specified text string in the specified image buffer, starting in the position specified by “h” and “v.” “Spacing” determines the distance in pixels between the characters (auto-kerning), and “color” specifies the color value for the text. Can be used with doublebyte characters.
Command Syntax Description SetTextSize SetTextSize(size) Sets the point size for a text string ResetText ResetText Resets the text to plain style, black text color, 24-point size, Times® font, and left-aligned Command Syntax Description GetVideo GetVideo(srcClip, timeOffset, destImage) Places the clip specified in “srcClip” into the “destImage” buffer, starting at the specified time offset GetTimeCode GetTimeCode(srcClip, timeCode, frameRate, dropFrame) Gets the timecode for the specified f
Command Syntax Description RandomTable RandomTable(array[n]) Fills the specified float array with unique random values between 0 and n-1 RandomSeed RandomSeed(value) Initializes the random number generator. If “value” is zero, random numbers generated will be in a different sequence every time.
Command Syntax Description Highlight Highlight(destImage, centerPoint, angle, width, softness, dither, gaussian, foreColor, backColor, aspect) Paints a specular highlight band in the destination image buffer, using the specified center point and angle as the highlight line. “Width” and “softness” define the size of the highlight band, and “color” specifies the color. If the value for “dither” is true, a random dither is applied to the highlight gradient, making it smoother over large areas.
General Constant Description kUndefined A value that static variables intially have kAlpha Used to define the alpha channel or straight alpha type true A Boolean variable false A Boolean variable Color Constant Description kBlack Used to define black color or black pre-multiplied alpha type kWhite Used to define white color or white pre-multiplied alpha type kGray Used to define gray color kRed Used to define red color or the red channel kGreen Used to define green color or the green ch
Constant Description k25fps Used to define the timecode format, 25 frames per second k30fps Used to define the timecode format, 30 frames per second, non-drop frames k30df Used to define the timecode format, 30 frames per second, drop frames k16mm Used to define the timecode format 16 mm k35mm Used to define the timecode format 35 mm Shapes Constant Description kRound Used to define an oval geometrical shape kSquare Used to define a rectangle geometrical shape kDiamond Used to define a di
Constant Description kKeySubtract Used to define the composite mode Subtract kKeyDifference Used to define the composite mode Difference kKeyMultiply Used to define the composite mode Multiply kKeyScreen Used to define the composite mode Screen kKeyOverlay Used to define the composite mode Overlay kKeyHardLight Used to define the composite mode HardLight kKeySoftLight Used to define the composite mode SoftLight kKeyDarken Used to define the composite mode Darken kKeyLighten Used to define
Variable Description exposedBackground Used to define the background visibility previewing Used to define the rendering mode, frame render, or sequence render renderRes Used to define the sequence quality RGBtoYUV Used to define the matrix conversion from RGB to YUV color space YUVtoRGB Used to define the matrix conversion from YUV to RGB color space Input Input statements are used to specify the input controls that appear in the Input Controls tab for your script.
Statement Syntax Description RadioGroup input varName, "UIName", RadioGroup, value, label1, label2, ..., labelN Specifies a radio button or group of radio buttons with the specified label or labels Color input varName, "UIName", Color, alpha, red, green, blue Defines a color selection tool. The chosen color is placed in the “color” variable. The default color is specified by “alpha,” “red,” “green,” and “blue.
Definition These statements are used to define and set up the script. They must be included at the beginning of the script, before any code.
Statement Syntax Description QTEffect QTEffect("name") QTEffect defines the QT realtime effect name. If a QT realtime effect is installed on a system with the same name, the application uses the QT realtime effect instead. ProducesAlpha ProducesAlpha Specifies that the effect will produce an alpha channel FullFrame FullFrame Is an input definition which states that the filter only works on a full frame. Final Cut Pro, when processing fields, will only pass the full frames.
Flow Control Statement Syntax Description If/Else If (condition1) If/Else statements run different script code if the stated conditions are met. Each If statement isolates a single condition and directs the flow of the script to the statement immediately following it only if the condition is met. Else/If statements isolate successive conditions and direct script flow to the code following them, if the condition attached to the statement is met. These are optional.
Statement Syntax Description Repeat With list Repeat With variable in [x1, x2, x3, ...] This repeats the script lines between Repeat and End Repeat once for each of the values specified in the list. At the same time, it assigns each value in turn to the variable. End Repeat Exit Repeat Exit Repeat This command directs the script flow to the lines immediately following the End Repeat statement. It can be structured as the result of a condition being met.
Statement Syntax Description Subroutine On subName(type parm1, type parm2, ...) A subroutine is a part of a script that can be called by name from anywhere else in the script. Once the subroutine has been run, the flow of the script returns to the line immediately after the subroutine call. You can “pass parameters” to a subroutine. This means that information, such as numbers or text strings, is put into the subroutine from the part of the script that calls it.
A P P E N D I X B B List of Audio and Video Effects This appendix lists all the special effects provided with Final Cut Pro, which are available in the Browser’s Effects tab. It also explains any settings you need to make when applying these effects. You can apply these effects to clips individually or in combinations. Audio Transitions Transition Description Cross Fade (0 dB) Fades the first clip out, while simultaneously fading the second clip in.
Audio Filters 326 Appendix B Filter Description 3 Band Equalizer Divides the audio spectrum into three frequency bands, corresponding to treble, mid-range, and bass. You can set the center frequency for each band and adjust the volume of each band relative to the others by changing the Gain setting. Band Pass Filter Allows you to modify a single frequency band. By choosing its center frequency, you can modify the boost or cut level.
Filter Description High Shelf Filter Similar to a Band Pass filter, but the upper end of the frequency range is sharply cut off, while lower frequencies are allowed to pass. You can use the Gain setting to boost or cut the relative volume at the upper end of the frequency range. Hum Remover A notch filter that allows you to compensate for various types of hum interference by screening out a specific frequency. You can also specify up to five related harmonic frequencies to screen out.
Video Transitions 3D Simulation Transition Description Cross Zoom Causes the video to zoom in on the first clip, switch to the second, and zoom out. You can specify the center point, the amount of magnification in the zoom, and the degree of blur applied during the zoom. Cube Spin Creates a three-dimensional cube from each clip and spins it in the direction you choose. You can also view the cube from the inside or the outside.
Transition Description Ripple Dissolve Applies a pond ripple effect to the first clip, simultaneously blending it into the second. You can choose the number of ripples, their center point on the first clip, and their amplitude and acceleration. You can also apply a circle highlight to the ripples. Fade In, Fade Out Fades in the incoming clip as the Outgoing clip fades out. Reveals the track below the current track in a transition.
Transition Description Push Slide The second clip pushes the first clip out of the view. You can adjust the push direction. Spin Slide Boxes of the first clip spin and zoom out to reveal the second clip. You can adjust the spin about the center of the box, and the number of boxes. Multispin Slide Boxes of the first clip spin and zoom out to reveal the second clip. You can adjust the spin about the center of the first clip, and the spin about the center of the box, as well as the number of boxes.
Transition Description Checker Wipe Checkered boxes appear on the first clip to reveal the second clip. You can adjust the number of boxes and the wipe direction. Checkerboard Wipe Checkered boxes wipe individually on the first clip to reveal the second. You can adjust the number of boxes and the wipe direction. Clock Wipe A rotational wipe over the first clip reveals the second. You can adjust the start and direction of the wipe, and the center point of the rotation.
Video Filters Blur Filter Description Gaussian Blur Blurs the clip. You can adjust which channel to blur. Radial Blur Blurs the clip. You can adjust the angle and steps of rotation. You can also specify the center point of rotation. Wind Blur Directionally blurs the clip. You can adjust the direction, distance, and steps. Zoom Blur Blurs the clip. You can adjust the type, amount, center point, and number of steps for the zoom.
Distort Filter Description Bumpmap Distorts the clip by offsetting pixels using the luminance of map image. You can adjust the map image, luma scale, direction, outset, and repeat edges. Direction and outset define the direction and amount of the offset. Luma scale and repeat edges define the appearance of the offset. Cylinder Distorts the clip as if it were wrapped around a cylindrical object. You can adjust the radius, center, and orientation of the cylinder.
Filter Description Proc Amp Changes the clip’s color by the specified amount. You can adjust the setup, video, chroma, and phase. Sepia Tints the clip with sepia color. You can adjust the amount and brightness of tint. Tint Tints the clip with the specified color Key Filter Description Blue and Green Screen Keys the blue or green area of the clip and uses its color as a transparency mask for compositing backgrounds into a scene. You can adjust the color level and tolerance.
2 Drag the Color Key effect from the Browser onto the clip, or choose Color Key from the Effects menu. 3 Click the Filters tab for the clip and adjust the settings as desired. Using a Luma Key Use a luma key when you want to make an area of a clip transparent using the luminance of the foreground clip. Keying out a luminance value works best when the clip has patches of flat color. To use a luma key: 1 Select the clip in the Timeline, or open a Viewer window for it.
Perspective 336 Appendix B Filter Description Basic 3D Transforms the clip in three dimensions. You can adjust the rotation around the x, y, and z axes. You can set the center and scale. Curl Curls the clip. You can adjust the amount, direction, radius, type, and back side of the curl. Flip Flips the clip horizontally, vertically, or both Mirror Reflects a mirror image of the clip. You can adjust the position and angle of the mirror.
Sharpen Filter Description Sharpen Increases the contrast between adjacent pixels Unsharp Mask Increases the contrast of adjacent pixels that are light or dark. You can adjust the sharpness of the clip. Stylize Filter Description Anti-Alias Blurs the high-contrast areas in the clip Diffuse Randomly offsets pixels in the clip. You can adjust the offset, direction, and distance.
Video Generators Filter Description Bars and Tone Generates a video color bar and tone Color Matte Generates a specific color matte. You can adjust the opacity. Custom Gradient Generates a linear or radial gradient. You can adjust the gradient position, direction, width, and colors. Gradient Generates a predefined gradient. You can adjust the gradient colors. Highlight Generates a specular highlight band using the specified center point and angle as the highlight line.
A P P E N D I X C Keyboard Shortcuts C This appendix lists keyboard shortcuts provided in Final Cut Pro.
Function Key command Help x +? Quit x +Q Save x +S option +S Save all Undo x + Redo x +Y Audio scrub on or off Edit render quality Looping on or off Z shift + shift +Y S control + L Snapping on or off N Application Windows Function 340 Appendix C Key command Viewer x +1 Canvas x + 2 Timeline x + 3 Browser x +4
Function Key command Effects x +5 Favorites bin x +6 Trim Edit x +7 Log and Capture x +8 Item Properties x +9 Sequence Settings x +0 option +Q Preferences Select, Cut, Copy, and Paste Function Key command Copy x +C Cut (lift to Clipboard) x +X option +D option +A x +V option +V Duplicate Make In/Out a selection Paste (overwrite) Paste attributes Paste insert shift +V Keyboard Shortcuts 341
Function Key command Select all x + A Deselect all x + D Navigation Function Key command Forward one frame Back one frame Forward one second Back one second Play reverse1 Stop/Pause2 Play forward3 Match frame Select an edit Add edit Next edit Previous edit 342 Appendix C shift + shift + J or shift K or space L or space + space F V control + V shift option + E or ' + E or ;
Function Next gap Previous gap To beginning of media To end of media Key command +G shift option +G home or end + home shift To next edit or In/Out To previous edit or In/Out To next edit, In/Out, or marker To previous edit, In/Out, or marker To master clip 1 2 3 shift + shift + shift + F Press key up to four times for accellerated reverse playback: once (1x), twice (2x), three (3x), and four (4x). Hold key down while pressing J or L to step forward or backward one frame at a time.
Scrolling Function Horizontal scroll left Horizontal scroll right Vertical scroll up Vertical scroll down Key command shift page + up shift page + down page up page down Screen Layout and Display Function Custom layout 1 Custom layout 2 Standard layout Key command +U shift option +U control + U Projects and Sequences Function 344 Appendix C Key command Import file x +I New project x +E New sequence x +N New sequence with presets x + option + N
Browser Function Change list (icon view) Insert bin Key command + shift x +B option +F H Open bins (list view) Close bins (list view) Make Favorite Make Favorite Motion Set logging (list view) Set standard (list view) control + F option +B + shift B Timeline Function Create or break link Linked selection on or off Create or break stereo pair Change track size Clip Keyframes on or off Key command x +L + shift option shift option + L L +T +T Keyboard Shortcuts 345
Function Clip overlays on or off Delete and leave gap Ripple delete (no gap) Fit sequence in window Lock video track Lock all video tracks Lock audio track Lock all audio tracks Key command option +W delete shift + delete shift + Z F4 + track number + F4 shift F5 + track number + F5 shift Turn on waveforms x + option + W Logging and Capturing Function Log clip Key command F2 Batch capture Capture now 346 Appendix C x shift +H +C
Playing Video Function Play reverse1 Stop/Pause2 Play forward3 Play around current Play every frame Play here to Out Play In to Out 1 2 3 Key command J or shift K or space L or space + space \ option +P shift + P shift + \ Press key up to four times for accellerated reverse playback: once (1x), twice (2x), three (3x), and four (4x). Hold key down while pressing J or L to step forward or backward one frame at a time.
Function1 Key command Set audio Out only x + option +O Audio level keyframe x + option +K Clear In Clear Out Clear In and Out Make selection an In or Out Mark clip To In point To Out point 1 option +I option +O option +X +A shift X shift + shift +O I In and Out shortcuts follow a simple “set-go to-clear” scheme, using “I” or “O” for set, Shift+I or O to go to In or Out, and Option+I or O to clear In or Out.
Function Extend marker Reposition marker Next marker Previous marker Key command option +~ shift +~ shift +M option +M Editing Function Key command Apply default video transition x +T Apply default audio transition x + Delete (lift) Ripple delete Extend edit Insert edit Insert with transition Overwrite Overwrite with transition Replace control + T or option +T delete or x shift + delete + delete or x E F9 shift + F9 F10 shift + F10 F11 Keyboard Shortcuts 349
Function Fit to fill Superimpose Key command F12 Make subclip Modify duration Toggle Ripple/Roll type Ripple cut to Clipboard Slip edit Split edit Set target video Set target video to None Set target Audio 1 Set target Audio 1 to None Set target Audio 2 Set target Audio 2 to None Mixdown audio Trim backward one frame 350 Appendix C + F11 shift x +U control + D or U + shift R shift + shift +click In or Out option F6 + F6 + track number shift F8 +click In or Out + track number shi
Function Trim backward x frames1 Trim forward one frame Trim forward x frames2 1 2 Key command + shift [ or shift +, ] or shift +. or . ] + shift Specify the number of frames in the Preview Pre and Post-Roll fields in the General tab of the Preferences window. Specify the number of frames in the Preview Pre and Post-Roll fields in the General tab of the Preferences window.
Function Key command Render effect (FXBuilder) x +K Render selection x +R option +R Render sequence Render single frame on or off caps lock Speed Change Image/Wireframe view Change RGB/RGB+A/Alpha Fit in window Nudge position down W shift +W shift +Z + option + option + option + Sub pixel down x + Sub pixel left x + Sub pixel right x + Sub pixel up x + Nudge position right Nudge position up Appendix C +J option Nudge position left 352 x
Function Key command Zoom in x += Zoom out x +- Quick Navigation Keys and Modifiers Key No Modifier Shift + key Option + key or Control + Shift + key I Set In Go To In Clear In O Set Out Go To Out Clear Out M Set Marker Next Marker Previous Marker E Extend Edit Next Edit Previous Edit G Next Gap Previous Gap K Next Keyframe Previous Keyframe Keyboard Shortcuts 353
Tools and Modifier Keys Tool 354 Appendix C Select Tool + (x) Command Tool + Shift Tool + Option Arrow A Select additional Select range Link on/off Edit Selection G Select additional To Ripple tool Link on/off Group Selection G+G Select additional Select additional Link on/off Range Selection G+G+G Track Forward Select T All forward Link on/off Track Backward Select T+T All backward Link on/off Track Selection T+T+T All Tracks Forward Select T+T+T+T Track forward Link on
Tool Select Tool + (x) Command Hand H Zoom in Zoom In Z To Hand tool Zoom in maximum Zoom out Zoom Out Z+Z To Hand tool Zoom out maximum Zoom in Crop C All sides Two sides Distort D Pen P Pen Delete P+P Pen Smooth P+P+P Smooth on/off Tool + Shift Tool + Option Zoom out Perspective Resize Adjust line Pen delete Pen Keyboard Shortcuts 355
Index If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
Clip Collision message 210 Clip Control parameter 220 clip data 282 Clip icon 137 Clip Keyframes 179 clip markers 152, 186 Clip Name notes for EDL export 259 clip overlays 180 clips 92, 143 adding drop shadows to 231 adding markers to 125, 151 adding motion blur to 231–232 adding transition effects between 211–212 adjusting audio levels for 158–159 adjusting filters in 221 adjusting pan for 158–159 adjusting settings for 118–120 adjusting spread for 158–159 and transitions 239 appearance in Timeline 178 app
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
compression, video 104 compression settings 246 computer changing audio level of 158 connecting video devices to 20 conditional statements 280 Connecting Video Devices 20 constants (FXScript) 282, 314–316 copying a project and render files 270 Countdown option 250, 256 cropping clips 77, 230 Crop property 226 Crop tool 77 cross fade transitions 216 Current Target Track option 185 current time indicator 178 Curves 237 curves, smoothing 78 customizing See also preferences; presets Browser display 134–136 clip
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
Field Dominance 108 Field Dominance property 160 Field Rendering option 243 files autosaved project files 134 changing duplicate filenames 128 Final Cut Pro Read Me file 22 graphic file formats 131 importing 130 offline files 269 project files 133 render files 98, 247–248 Filmstrip option 181 film support EDL formats 258 filters 92 adjusting for clips 221 After Effects third-party image filters 223–225 applying from Browser 221–222 applying from Timeline 221–222 applying to clips 186, 221, 222 audio filters
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
searching for in Browser 140–141 searching for in Timeline 197–198 selecting individual items 76 selecting in Timeline 187–189 selecting multiple items 76 selecting on tracks 185 selecting range of 76 selecting without linked items 189 unable to select in Timeline 188 J Jog control 85 jogging playhead 149 JVC RS-232 deck protocol 22 K keyboard shortcuts 84, 90, 339–355 See also commands key filters 334 keyframe markers 145 keyframe overlays 110, 195, 196 Keyframe Overlays button 196 Keyframes corner point
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
editing and 91, 92 marking 125, 149 modifying in Viewer 171 moving playhead to 170 replace editing and 173 setting (Tutorial) 36 three-point editing and 164 timecodes and 87 Out property 161 Overlay mode 240 overlays 156 Canvas editing 172 clip overlays 180 Edit to Tape 252 In and Out points overlay 156 keyframe overlays 110, 195, 196 marker overlays 156 modifications of 98 title safe overlays 156 viewing or hiding 156 overscan 155 overscan edges 230 overwrite editing 91, 173, 174 Overwrite with Transition
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
audio rendering 244 automatically rendering before playing 248 backgrounds and 156 changing clip speed and 194 Disabling temporarily with Caps Lock key 246 entire sequence 246 filter order 223 how to avoid 246 indicators for 245 nested sequences 244 procedure for 246 rendering ahead in sequences 97 section of sequence 246 sequences 241–248 transitions 217, 245 Tutorial 70 versus real-time playback 241 video rendering 244 render qualities 242–245 Render Quality command 242 Render Quality Editor 242–243 Rende
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
slide transitions 329 sliding clips 77, 209 slip editing 92, 199, 202 Tutorial 39 Slip into Sync command 199 slipping clips 171, 199, 208–209 slipping edits in Trim Edit window 206 Slip tool 77, 190, 202 slow-motion effects 194–195 snapping in Timeline 190 keyframes and 196 trimming functions and 201 turning on 98 Soft Light mode 240 Sony deck protocols 22 Sorting option for EDL export 258 sound See also audio adjusting for clips 158–159 audio scrubbing and 157 beep sounds 245 turning off audio scrubbing 15
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
titling, custom text 225 Tool palette 76–78 editing with 92 trimming edits and 201 ToolTips 98 Track Gap command 198 track gaps 198 track lock controls 84, 183 tracks See also audio tracks; video tracks adding overlay keyframes to 196 adding to sequences 184 compositing for final sequence 165 controls for 84–85 cost of 244 customizing appearance in Timeline 181–182 deleting from sequences 184 deselecting items on 185 editing contents of 186 hiding 85, 183 in Timeline 181 invisible tracks 85 locking 183, 198
If you can’t find what you’re looking for in this index, look in the onscreen help, available in the Help menu on your computer.
changing position of clips in 227–228 changing transition duration in 215 clips and 143 controls in 84–86 editing keyframes in 234–235 Effects tabs in 219 modifying In and Out points in 171 moving transitions in 214–215 opening clips in 147–148, 176 playing clips in 86, 148–149 scaling clips in 228 tabs in 84–86 trimming edits in 201, 206–210 trimming transitions in 214–215 turning off audio scrubbing in 157 Tutorial 34 viewing clips with 153–156 working with 144–147 working with keyframes in 233–234 View m
