Apple FINAL CUT EXPRESS 4 User Manual

Final Cut Express 4

User Manual

Apple Inc.

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Preface 25 Final Cut Express 4 Documentation and Resources

Onscreen Help

Apple Websites

Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Chapter 1 29 About the Post-Production Workflow

The Industry Workflow

The Post-Production Workflow

Chapter 2 35 Video Formats

About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing

Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express

Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express

Video Format Basics

Chapter 3 39 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences

The Building Blocks of Projects

Working with Projects

About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files

Filenaming Considerations

Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Chapter 4 55 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface

Basics of Working in the Final Cut Express Interface

Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus

Customizing the Interface

Undoing and Redoing Changes

Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes

Chapter 5 65 Browser Basics

How You Use the Browser

Learning About the Browser

Working in the Browser

Using Columns in he Browser

Customizing the Browser Display

Chapter 6 79 Viewer Basics

How You Can Use the Viewer

Opening a Clip in the Viewer

Learning About the Viewer

Tabs in the Viewer

Transport Controls

Playhead Controls

Marking Controls

Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus

Recent Clips and Generator Pop-Up Menus

Chapter 7 93 Canvas Basics

How You Use the Canvas

Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas

Learning About the Canvas

Edit Overlay in the Canvas

Transport Controls

Playhead Controls

10 0

Marking Controls

101

Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus

Chapter 8 103 Navigating and Using Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas

10 3

Navigating in the Viewer and Canvas

11 0

Working with Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas

Chapter 9 113 Timeline Basics

113

How You Use the Timeline

11 5

Opening and Closing Sequences in the Timeline

11 6

Learning About the Timeline

12 6

Changing Timeline Display Options

13 0

Navigating in the Timeline

131

Zooming and Scrolling in the Timeline

Contents

Chapter 10 137 Customizing the Interface

13 7

Changing Browser and Timeline Text Size

13 7

Moving and Resizing Final Cut Express Windows

13 9

Using Window Layouts

14 0

Working with Shortcut Buttons and Button Bars

Part III Setting Up Your Editing System

Chapter 11 147 Connecting DV Video Equipment

14 7

Components of a Basic Final Cut Express Editing System

14 8

Setting Up a Final Cut Express Editing System

14 9

Connecting Your Camcorder

14 9

Opening Final Cut Express and Choosing Your Initial Settings

15 3

Confirming Remote Device Control Between Final Cut Express and Your DV Device

15 4

About FireWire

Chapter 12 155 Determining Your Hard Disk Storage Options

15 5

Working with Scratch Disks and Hard Disk Drives

15 6

Data Rates and Storage Devices

15 6

Determining How Much Space You Need

15 9

Choosing a Hard Disk

160

Types of Hard Disk Drives

163

Fibre Channel Drive Arrays and RAIDs

164

Storage Area Networks

Chapter 13 165 External Video Monitoring

165

Using an External Video Monitor While You Edit

166

Connecting DV FireWire Devices to an External Monitor

167

Using Digital Cinema Desktop Preview

171

About the Display Quality of External Video

171

Troubleshooting External Video Monitoring Problems

Part IV Capturing and Importing

Chapter 14 175 Capturing Your Footage to Disk

17 5

Overview of the Capturing Process

17 7

Overview of the Capture Window

17 8

Transport Controls

17 8

Jog and Shuttle Controls

17 9

Marking Controls

17 9

Capture Tab

18 2

Capture Buttons

Contents

18 2

Preparing to Capture

18 2

Organizing and Labeling Your Tapes

183

Logging Your Tapes

18 4

Choosing a Filenaming Scheme

18 4

Determining How Much Disk Space You Need

185

Capturing Individual Clips in the Capture Window

19 0

Using Capture Now

19 2

Automatically Creating Subclips Using DV Start/Stop Detection

19 3

Adding Markers to Clips in the Capture Window

19 3

Marker Controls in the Capture Window

19 4

Setting Markers

19 4

Recapturing Clips

19 5

Using Capture Project

19 7

About the Additional Items Found Dialog

19 8

Finding Your Media Files After Capture

19 8

Where Are Captured Media Files Stored?

19 9

Consolidating Media Files to One Folder

200

Modifying a Media File’s Reel Name Property

201

Avoiding Duplicate Timecode Numbers on a Single Tape

202

Logging Tapes with Duplicate Timecode Numbers

202

Avoiding Multiple Occurrences of the Same Timecode Number on a Single Tape

Chapter 15 205 Importing Media Files into Your Project

205

What File Formats Can Be Imported?

206

Importing Media Files

209

About Importing Video Files About Importing Audio Files

211

214

Importing Still Images and Graphics

Chapter 16 219 Ingesting Media Files

219

About File-Based Media

220

Working with AVCHD Footage

222

Sample Media File Workflow

224

Working with the Log and Transfer Window

Chapter 17 233 Working with HDV

233

About HDV

234

HDV Formats Supported by Final Cut Express

234

About MPEG-2 Compression

236

HDV Apple Intermediate Codec Editing Workflow

236

Connecting an HDV Device to Your Computer

237

Choosing an Easy Setup

237

Capturing HDV Video to the Apple Intermediate Codec

Contents

238

Editing Video Using the Apple Intermediate Codec

239 Outputting HDV to Tape or Exporting to a QuickTime Movie 240 HDV Format Specifications

Part V Organizing Footage and Preparing to Edit

Chapter 18 245 Organizing Footage in the Browser

245 Using Bins to Organize Your Clips 246 Creating New Bins 247 Opening Bins in the Browser 248 Opening Bins in a Separate Window or Tab

251 Moving Items Between Bins 253 Sorting Items in the Browser Using Column Headings 254 Searching for Clips in the Browser and Finder 254 Revealing a Clip’s Media File in the Finder 255 About Search Options 257 Searching for Items in the Browser 259 Manipulating Items in the Find Results Window

Chapter 19 261 Using Markers

261 Learning About Markers

261 What Can You Do with Markers? 262 Differences Between Sequence and Clip Markers 263 Types of Markers 264 Working with Markers 264 Viewing Markers in the Viewer or Canvas 264 Viewing Markers in the Browser 264 Adding Markers in Clips and Sequences 267 Deleting Markers in Clips and Sequences 269 Navigating with Markers 270 Renaming Markers, Adding Comments, and Changing the Kind of Marker

271 Moving a Marker 272 Aligning Items in the Timeline by Their Markers 274 Extending a Marker’s Duration 275 Editing Markers into Sequences 275 Exporting Markers with Your QuickTime Movies

Chapter 20 277 Creating Subclips

277 Learning About Subclips 280 Techniques for Breaking Large Clips into Subclips 283 Automatically Creating Subclips Using DV Start/Stop Detection

Contents

Part VI Rough Editing

Chapter 21 289 Working with Projects, Clips, and Sequences

290 Working with Projects 290 Working with Multiple Projects in the Browser 290 Choosing Whether the Last Previously Opened Project Opens on Launch

291 Viewing and Changing the Properties of a Project

291 Backing Up and Restoring Projects 293 Learning About the Different Types of Clips 293 Types of Clips 295 Sequences as Clips 295 Viewing and Changing the Properties of a Clip 295 Changing Clip Properties in the Browser 296 Viewing and Changing Clip Properties in the Item Properties Window 297 Changing the Properties of Affiliate Clips 297 Creating and Working with Sequences 297 Creating and Deleting Sequences 299 Opening and Closing Sequences 300 Duplicating a Sequence 300 Copying a Sequence into Another Project 301 Nesting a Sequence 301 Basic Sequence and Timeline Settings

Chapter 22 303 The Fundamentals of Adding Clips to a Sequence

303 Creating a Rough Edit 303 Basic Steps Involved in a Rough Edit 304 How Clips Appear in the Timeline 306 Undoing and Redoing Actions 306 Overview of Ways to Add Clips to a Sequence 307 Methods for Adding Clips to Sequences 309 Determining What Parts of Clips You Want in Your Sequence 309 Preparing a Sequence Order in the Browser 309 Sorting to Create a Sequence Order

310 Visually Storyboarding in the Browser

Chapter 23 313 Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences

313 About In and Out Points 314 Learning About the Out Point Inclusive Rule 315 Things to Keep in Mind When Setting an Out Point 317 Setting Clip In and Out Points in the Viewer 318 Specifying an Edit Point Using Timecode 319 Setting In and Out Points to Include a Whole Clip 319 Reviewing Your Edit Points

8 Contents

320 Setting Sequence In and Out Points in the Canvas or Timeline

321 Options for Setting Sequence In and Out Points 326 Setting Sequence In and Out Points 327 Setting In and Out Points to Match a Clip or Gap 328 Setting In and Out Points Based on a Selection in the Timeline 330 Navigating to In and Out Points

331 Moving In and Out Points 332 Clearing In and Out Points

Chapter 24 335 Working with Tracks in the Timeline

336 Adding and Deleting Tracks 336 Adding Tracks 338 Deleting Tracks 339 Specifying Destination Tracks in the Timeline 339 Understanding Source and Destination Controls 340 Setting Destination Tracks

341 Changing Source and Destination Control Connections

341 Disconnecting Source and Destination Controls 343 Resetting Destination Tracks to the Default State 344 Locking Tracks to Prevent Edits or Changes 345 Disabling Tracks to Hide Content During Playback 346 Customizing Track Display in the Timeline 346 Resizing Timeline Tracks 349 Saving Track Layouts 349 Creating a Static Region in the Timeline

Chapter 25 353 Drag-to-Timeline Editing

353 Overview of the Drag-to-Timeline Editing Process 354 Dragging Clips to the Timeline 355 Doing Simple Insert and Overwrite Edits in the Timeline 358 Automatically Adding Tracks to Your Sequence While Dragging

Chapter 26 361 Three-Point Editing

361 Understanding Three-Point Editing

361 Overview of the Three-Point Editing Process 362 Different Ways to Do Three-Point Editing 364 About Edit Types in the Edit Overlay 365 Performing the Different Types of Edits 365 Performing an Insert Edit 367 Performing an Insert with Transition Edit 368 Performing an Overwrite Edit 370 Performing an Overwrite with Transition Edit

371 Performing a Replace Edit

Contents 9

377 Superimposing Clips 380 Three-Point Editing Examples 380 Example: Editing a Specific Clip into Your Sequence 382 Example: Editing a Clip into a Gap in Your Sequence 383 Example: Backtiming a Clip into Your Sequence 385 Example: Editing a Clip with No Specified In or Out Points into Your Sequence

Chapter 27 387 Finding and Selecting Content in the Timeline

387 Understanding What’s Currently Selected 388 Identifying Selections in the Timeline 389 How Selections Are Prioritized in the Timeline 389 Direct Methods for Selecting Content in a Sequence 390 An Introduction to the Selection Tools 392 Selecting Clips 395 Selecting a Range of Timeline Content 396 Selecting All Clip Items on a Track 397 Selecting All Items on All Tracks Forward or Backward 398 Selecting or Deselecting All Clips in a Sequence 399 Finding and Selecting Based on Search Criteria 401 Selecting a Vertical Range Between In and Out Points 402 Using Auto Select to Specify Tracks for Selections

Chapter 28 405 Arranging Clips in the Timeline

405 Snapping to Points in the Timeline 407 Moving Items Within the Timeline 407 Moving by Dragging 408 Moving Clips Numerically

410 Performing Shuffle Edits 412 Copying and Pasting Clips in the Timeline 412 Copying Clips by Option-Dragging 413 Copying, Cutting, and Pasting Clips in the Timeline 416 Example: Copying and Pasting Audio and Video Clip Items to Different Tracks in the

Timeline

417 Deleting Clips from a Sequence 417 Deleting with a Lift Edit (Leaving a Gap) 418 Deleting with a Ripple Edit (Leaving No Gap)

420 Finding and Closing Gaps

Chapter 29 423 Cutting Clips and Adjusting Durations

423 Performing Basic Cut Edits 427 Changing the Duration of Clips in the Timeline 428 Opening Sequence Clips in the Viewer to Change Durations

10 Contents

Chapter 30 429 Linking and Editing Video and Audio in Sync

429 Linked Sync Relationships Between Video and Audio Clips 430 When Linked Clips Are Moved out of Sync 432 Understanding Sync Relationships Between Multiple Linked Audio Items 434 Linking and Unlinking Video and Audio Clip Items in the Timeline 434 Linking Video and Audio Clip Items 435 Unlinking Video and Audio Clip Items 436 Selecting Individual Clip Items While They Are Linked 437 Getting Clip Items Back in Sync 437 Moving a Clip into Sync 438 Slipping a Clip Item into Sync 440 Moving or Slipping All Clip Items into Sync at Once

441 Establishing a Different Sync Relationship Between Linked Clip Items 442 Marking a Clip as In Sync 443 Learning About Linking Behavior in Audio Channel Pairs

Chapter 31 445 Split Edits

445 Learning About Split Edits 446 How Split Edits Look in the Viewer and Canvas 447 Setting Up Split Edit Points in the Viewer 448 Setting Up a Split Edit While Playing a Clip 449 Modifying and Clearing Split Edits

451 Split Edit Examples

Chapter 32 455 Audio Editing Basics

455 The Goals of Audio Editing 457 Using Waveform Displays to Help You Edit Audio 458 Learning About the Audio Controls in the Viewer

461 Editing Audio in the Viewer

461 Opening Audio Clips in the Viewer 462 Viewing Audio Tracks in the Viewer 463 Zooming In or Out of the Waveform Display Area 464 Scrolling Through a Zoomed-In Audio Clip 465 Using the J, K, and L Keys to Hear Subtle Details 465 Turning Off the Audio Scrubbing Sounds 466 About Setting Edit Points for Audio 466 Dragging an Audio Clip to the Canvas, Browser, or Timeline 466 Trimming Audio Clips in the Viewer 468 Editing Audio in the Timeline 468 Timeline Audio Display Options 470 Zooming In and Out of Waveforms in the Timeline

471 Moving Audio Items from One Track to Another at the Same Frame

471 Using Audio Transitions to Smooth Audible Changes

Contents 11

472 Creating or Separating Stereo Pairs 474 Working with Audio at the Subframe Level 474 Subframe Synchronization of Audio and Video 476 Examples of Ways to Easily Edit Audio 476 Example: Replacing Unwanted Audio with Room Tone 479 Example: Fixing Awkward Audio Cuts in the Timeline

Part VII Fine-Tuning Your Edit

Chapter 33 483 Performing Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Edits

483 About Trimming with Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Tools 484 Sliding Clips in the Timeline 485 Performing Slide Edits Using the Slide Tool 486 Performing Precise Slide Edits Numerically 487 Slipping Clips in the Timeline 488 Performing a Slip Edit Using the Slip Tool 489 Performing Precise Slip Edits Numerically

491 Using the Ripple Tool to Trim an Edit Without Leaving a Gap 492 Performing Ripple Edits 496 About Ripple Edits and Sync Relationships of Clip Items on Other Tracks 498 Doing Ripple Edits on Multiple Tracks at Once 498 Asymmetrical Trimming with the Ripple Tool 501 Using the Roll Tool to Change Where a Cut Occurs 502 Rolling the Position of an Edit Between Two Clips

Chapter 34 507 Learning About Trimming Clips

507 What Is Trimming? 509 Controls That Affect Trim Edits

510 Selecting Edits and Clips to Trim

511 Tools for Selecting Edit Points 512 Selecting Single Edit Points 512 Selecting Multiple Edit Points 513 Trimming Clip In and Out Points 513 Trimming with the Selection Tool 515 Extending and Shortening Clips in the Timeline 516 Trimming Clips in the Viewer 518 Precision Editing Using Timecode

521 Understanding Alert Messages When Trimming

Chapter 35 523 Trimming Clips Using the Trim Edit Window

523 Learning About the Trim Edit Window 525 Opening and Closing the Trim Edit Window

12 Contents

526 Controls in the Trim Edit Window 530 Using the Trim Edit Window

531 Playing Incoming and Outgoing Clips in the Trim Edit Window 531 Dynamic Trimming

531 Trimming an Edit in the Trim Edit Window 534 Reviewing and Playing Back Your Edits in the Trim Edit Window 534 Slipping a Clip in the Trim Edit Window 535 Listening to Audio While Trimming

Chapter 36 537 Adding Transitions

537 Learning About Transitions 538 Common Types of Transitions 539 Using Transitions in Your Sequences 539 How Transitions Appear in the Timeline 540 Having Handles at Edit Points 540 Aligning a Transition in the Timeline

541 Adding Transitions

541 Adding Transitions with Clips You Add to the Timeline 542 Quickly Adding the Default Transition to Clips in Your Sequence 543 Adding Transitions to Clips in Your Sequence 544 Example: Transitioning to or from Black 545 Moving, Copying, and Deleting Transitions 546 Moving a Transition to Another Edit Point 546 Copying and Pasting Transitions 547 Deleting Transitions 547 Modifying Transitions in the Timeline 547 Changing the Duration of a Transition in the Timeline 549 Changing the Alignment of a Transition in the Timeline 549 Changing an Edit Point After Adding a Transition 550 Replacing Transitions 550 Video Transitions That Come with Final Cut Express 555 Using After Effects Transitions

Chapter 37 557 Refining Transitions Using the Transition Editor

557 Using the Transition Editor 563 Applying a Modified Transition Directly to a Sequence in the Timeline 564 Trimming Transitions and the Surrounding Clips 568 Previewing and Rendering Transitions

Chapter 38 571 Sequence-to-Sequence Editing

571 Methods for Editing Clips from One Sequence to Another 572 Opening More Than One Sequence at a Time 572 Copying Clips from One Sequence to Another

Contents 13

576 Nesting Sequences 579 Editing the Content of One Sequence into Another Without Nesting It

Chapter 39 585 Matching Frames

585 Working with Sequence Clips in the Viewer 586 Opening a Sequence Clip in the Viewer 587 Switching Between the Viewer, Canvas, and Timeline 587 Using the Viewer to Adjust Sequence Clip In and Out Points 588 Using the Viewer to Adjust Motion and Filter Parameters 588 Matching Frames Between Sequence and Master Clips 589 Matching a Frame in the Canvas to Its Master Clip 589 Matching a Frame in the Canvas to Its Media File 590 Matching a Frame in the Viewer to a Sequence Clip in the Canvas or Timeline

Part VIII Audio Mixing

Chapter 40 593 Setting Up for Audio Mixing in Final Cut Express

593 About Digital Audio 594 Sample Rate 594 Bit Depth 597 Audio Signal Flow in Final Cut Express 597 Configuring External Audio Monitors 597 Connecting Speakers to Your Editing System 598 Setting Monitoring Levels and Muting System Sound Effects 599 Tips for Choosing Speakers and an Amplifier 601 Setting Up a Proper Audio Monitoring Environment

Chapter 41 603 Evaluating Levels with Audio Meters

603 About Audio Meters 603 Average and Peak Audio Levels 604 Analog Versus Digital Meters 606 About the Audio Meters in Final Cut Express 606 Setting Proper Audio Levels 607 Raising Audio Levels Using Audio Normalization and Gain 609 What Reference Level Should You Use for Mixing and Output?

610 Outputting Bars and Tone at the Head of Your Tape

Chapter 42 611 Mixing Audio in the Timeline and Viewer

611 Adjusting Audio Levels in the Timeline and Viewer

611 Adjusting Audio Levels in the Timeline 615 Changing Audio Levels in the Viewer 618 Panning Audio in the Timeline and Viewer 618 Panning Audio in the Timeline

14 Contents

619 Changing the Pan of Audio in the Viewer

620 Changing Pan for an Entire Clip

621 Copying, Pasting, and Removing Audio Attributes 622 Adjusting Clip Audio Levels and Pan Using Keyframes 622 Tools for Adjusting Keyframes 623 Creating, Modifying, and Deleting Keyframes in the Viewer 628 Example: Using Keyframes to Adjust Audio Levels 629 Example: Using Keyframes in the Timeline to Automate Audio Levels 630 Example: Setting Subframe Audio Level Keyframes to Eliminate Clicks 633 Example: Using Keyframes to Control Pan

Chapter 43 637 Using the Voice Over Tool

637 About the Voice Over Tool 637 Setting Up Your Computer to Record Voiceover

641 Controls in the Voice Over Tool 644 Defining the Recording Duration and Destination Track 648 Recording a Voiceover

Chapter 44 653 Using Audio Filters

653 About Audio Filters 654 Overview of Audio Filters 654 Equalization Filters 657 Gain Filter 657 Compressor/Limiter Filter 658 Expander/Noise Gate Filter 659 Noise Reduction Filters 660 Echo and Reverberation Filters 662 Working with Audio Filters 664 Applying Filters to an Audio Clip 667 Modifying and Removing Filters 668 Making Real-Time Audio Filter Adjustments 669 Automating Audio Filter Parameters with Keyframes 673 Installing Third-Party Audio Units Filters

Part IX Effects and Color Correction

Chapter 45 677 Using Video Filters

677 Different Ways to Use Filters 678 Applying a Filter to a Clip

681 Applying Multiple Filters to Clips 682 Viewing and Adjusting a Filter’s Parameters 689 Enabling and Rearranging Filters

Contents 15

690 Copying and Pasting a Clip’s Filters

691 Removing Filters from Clips

Chapter 46 693 Color Correction

693 What Is Color Correction? 694 Why Color Correct Your Footage? 695 Color Correction Starts During Your Shoot 696 Managing Color During Post-Production 701 The Color Correction Process 703 The Final Cut Express Color Correction Filters 703 Using the Color Correction Filters 704 About the Controls in the Color Corrector Filter 704 The Color Corrector Filter 705 General Controls 706 Copy Filter Controls

711 Color Balance Controls 715 Example: Using the Color Corrector Filter 719 The Desaturate Highlights and Desaturate Lows Filters 719 Desaturate Highlights and Desaturate Lows Filter Controls

720 Example: Using the Desaturate Highlights Filter

Chapter 47 723 Changing Motion Parameters

723 Creating Motion Effects in the Viewer 724 Adjusting Parameters in the Motion Tab 729 Using Cartesian Geometry to Position Clips

731 Examples Using Motion Settings 741 Creating Motion Effects in the Canvas

741 Choosing the Image+Wireframe Mode 742 Manipulating Images in the Canvas 743 Zooming In to the Canvas 744 Using Wireframe Handles to Transform, Scale, and Rotate 748 Example: Using Motion Parameters and Wireframe Handles

Chapter 48 751 Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects

751 Animating Motion Effects Using Keyframes

752 How Keyframing Works

753 Determining the Number of Keyframes to Use 754 Keyframing Controls in the Viewer 756 Keyframing Tools in Final Cut Express

757 Setting Keyframes 758 Adjusting and Deleting Keyframes 759 Moving Between Keyframes 760 Resizing the Keyframe Graph Area

16 Contents

763 Adjusting All Opacity Keyframes of a Clip 763 Example: Using Keyframes to Make Opacity Changes 765 Example: Keyframing Opacity in the Timeline 767 Smoothing Keyframes with Bezier Handles 768 Understanding Bezier Handles and Curves 770 Smoothing Keyframes

771 Creating Keyframed Motion Paths in the Canvas 772 What Are Motion Paths? 772 Creating Motion Paths

774 Adding, Moving, and Deleting Keyframes in Motion Paths

774 Creating Curved Motion Paths Using Bezier Handles 776 Controlling Speed Along a Motion Path 778 Moving an Entire Motion Path in the Canvas

Chapter 49 779 Reusing Effect and Motion Parameters

779 Copying and Pasting Specific Clip Attributes 782 Removing Attributes from a Clip 783 Applying Filters Across Multiple Tracks at Once

Chapter 50 785 Changing Clip Speed

785 Speed Basics 786 How Changing Speed Affects a Clip’s Duration 786 Performing a Fit to Fill Edit 789 Constant Speed Settings 789 Frame Blending and Reverse Speed

Chapter 51 791 Working with Freeze Frames and Still Images

791 Using Still Images and Graphics in Your Sequences 792 Creating Freeze Frames from a Video Clip 793 Exporting Still Images 794 Considerations Before Creating and Importing Stills 802 Changing the Duration of Still Images 803 Example: Adding Camera Motion to Still Images

Chapter 52 807 Compositing and Layering

807 Introduction to Compositing and Layering 808 Methods of Compositing 808 Different Ways to Layer Clips in the Timeline 809 Adjusting Opacity Levels of Clips

812 Working with Composite Modes 812 How Composite Modes Affect Images 814 Applying Composite Modes to Clips 815 Composite Modes in Final Cut Express

824 Using Travel Mattes to Hide or Reveal Parts of a Clip

Contents 17

826 Working with Layered Photoshop Files 826 Updating Photoshop Files in Adobe Photoshop 827 Working with Layered Photoshop Sequences 828 Using Video and Graphics Clips with Alpha Channels 829 Working with Clips That Have Alpha Channels 830 Changing a Clip’s Alpha Channel Type 832 Choosing a Background 833 Temporarily Excluding Clips from Playback or Output 834 Temporarily Disabling a Single Clip 835 Soloing Clips in Multitrack Sequences

Chapter 53 837 Keying, Mattes, and Masks

837 Ways to Layer and Isolate Elements in Clips 837 What Are Mattes and How Can You Use Them? 838 What Is Keying and How Can You Use It? 839 What Are Masks and How Are They Used? 840 Using Keying to Isolate Foreground Elements 840 Shooting Footage That Keys Well 842 Overview of Compositing Using the Chroma Keyer Filter 844 Working with the Chroma Keyer Filter 854 Using Mattes to Add or Modify Alpha Channels 854 Matte Filters Available in Final Cut Express 854 Example: Using the Four-Point Garbage Matte Filter 856 Example: Keyframing Garbage Mattes 857 Using Masks to Replace or Modify Alpha Channels 857 Mask Filters Available in Final Cut Express 858 Example: Using the Image Mask and Mask Feather Filters

Chapter 54 861 Using Generator Clips

861 What Is a Generator Clip? 862 Different Ways to Use Generators in Your Sequence 863 Video and Audio Generators Available in Final Cut Express 867 Creating and Adding Generators to Sequences

Chapter 55 869 Creating Titles

869 How You Can Use Titles in Your Project 870 Installing and Choosing Fonts

871 Making Sure Titles Fit on TV Screens 872 Text Generators Available in Final Cut Express

874 Creating and Adding a Title Clip 877 Other Options for Creating and Adding Titles 878 Using LiveType to Create Titles for Your Project

18 Contents

Part X Real Time and Rendering

Chapter 56 881 Using RT Extreme

881 Introduction to Real-Time Processing 882 How Real-Time Processing Works 884 Identifying Which Effects Can Play Back in Real Time 886 Changing Real-Time Playback Settings 886 Locations for Changing Real-Time Playback Settings 888 About Real-Time Playback Options 893 Still-Image Real-Time Playback 893 Improving Real-Time Performance 894 Reporting Dropped Frames During Playback 894 Factors That Affect Real-Time Performance 895 Real-Time Audio Mixing in Final Cut Express 896 Calculating the Number of Tracks That Can Be Played Back in Real Time 897 Improving Real-Time Audio Performance 898 Choosing Real-Time Playback Versus Rendering 898 Using RT Extreme for Video Output

Chapter 57 899 Rendering and Video Processing Settings

899 What Is Rendering? 900 Render Indicators in Final Cut Express 900 About Render Status Bars in the Timeline 903 About Item-Level Render Status Bars 904 The Rendering Process 904 Controlling Render Quality 904 Order of Effects Rendering 904 Selecting Clips for Rendering 905 Rendering Segments in a Sequence 908 Rendering Audio Items in a Sequence 909 Using the Mixdown Command 909 Keeping Track of Rendering Progress

910 Temporarily Disabling Rendering

911 Automatic Rendering While You Are Away from Your Computer 912 Changing Render Settings 912 Using the Render Control Tab 914 Managing Your Render Files 914 Locating Render Files 915 Preserving Render Files 916 Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Rendering and Reducing Render Time

Contents 19

Chapter 58 919 Working with Mixed-Format Sequences

919 About Mixed-Format Sequences

920 Determining Whether Clips in a Sequence Will Play Back in Real Time

921 Formats That Support Real-Time Playback 921 Formats That Don’t Support Real-Time Playback

921 Viewing Clip Properties and Sequence Settings 922 Working with Mixed-Format Sequences 922 Conforming Sequence Settings to Match a Clip’s Settings 923 Conforming Clips to Match Sequence Settings 924 Mixing Frame Rates 926 Combining Interlaced Footage with Different Field Dominances 927 Mixing Footage with Different Codecs 928 Adding Filters and Motion Effects to Mixed-Format Sequences 928 Combining SD and HD Video 928 Downconverting HD Video 933 Upconverting SD Video 933 Rendering Mixed-Format Sequences

Part XI Project Management and Settings

Chapter 59 937 Backing Up and Restoring Projects

937 Backing Up and Restoring Projects 937 Using the Revert Project Command 938 Using the Autosave Feature 940 Restoring Autosaved Projects

941 Opening a Project File After Your Computer Is Unexpectedly Shut Down

941 Archiving Completed Projects

Chapter 60 943 Working with Master and Affiliate Clips

943 Using Master and Affiliate Clips 944 Shared and Unique Clip Properties 945 Working with Master Clips 947 Working with Affiliate Clips 948 Creating Independent Clips 950 Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Modify Master-Affiliate Clip Relationships

951 Moving Clips Between Projects

951 How Does Final Cut Express Identify Matching Clips? 952 Resolving Property Differences Between Matching Clips

Chapter 61 955 Reconnecting Clips and Offline Media

955 Finding Your Media Files After Capture 958 About the Connections Between Clips and Media Files

20 Contents

959 How the Connection Between Clips and Media Files Can Be Broken 959 Reconnecting Clips to Media Files 966 When Final Cut Express Reconnects Your Clips 968 Reconnecting Media Files Automatically

Chapter 62 969 Choosing Settings and Preferences

969 Changing User Preferences 970 General Tab 975 Editing Tab 977 Timeline Options Tab 977 Render Control Tab 978 Locating and Deleting the Preferences File 978 Changing System Settings 979 Scratch Disks Tab 980 Search Folders Tab

981 Memory & Cache Tab 982 Playback Control Tab 982 External Editors Tab

Part XII Output

Chapter 63 987 Preparing to Output to Tape

987 Output Requirements 988 Methods for Output to Tape in Final Cut Express 989 Setting Up Your Editing System to Output to Tape

Chapter 64 993 Printing to Video and Output from the Timeline

993 Different Ways You Can Output Video from the Timeline 994 Printing to Video 994 Automatically Recording with Print to Video 995 Using the Print to Video Command 997 Recording from the Timeline 999 Outputting to VHS Tape

Chapter 65 1001 Learning About QuickTime

10 01 What Is QuickTime? 1002 The QuickTime Suite of Software Applications 1002 QuickTime for Media Authoring 1002 The QuickTime Movie File Format 1005 How Final Cut Express Uses QuickTime for Import, Export, and Capture 1006 Formats Supported by QuickTime

1011 How Do You Export the Files You Need?

Contents 21

Chapter 66 1013 Exporting QuickTime Movies

1013 About the Export QuickTime Movie Command 1014 Choosing the Type of QuickTime Movie to Export 1015 Exporting a QuickTime Movie File 1017 Exporting QuickTime Movies with Markers

Chapter 67 1019 Exporting Using QuickTime Conversion

1019 About the Export Using QuickTime Conversion Command

1020 Types of File Formats You Can Export with QuickTime

10 21 About Color Space Conversion

10 21 Exporting a QuickTime Movie File for Web Distribution 10 23 Configuring QuickTime Movie Settings 10 33 About QuickTime Aperture Display Modes 10 36 Exporting to an Apple Device 10 37 Exporting a DV Stream 10 38 Exporting an AVI File

Chapter 68 1041 Exporting Sequences for DVD

10 41 The DVD Creation Process 10 44 Adding Chapter and Compression Markers to Your Sequence 1047 Using iDVD 1047 Exporting a QuickTime Movie for DVD Use

Chapter 69 1049 Exporting Still Images and Image Sequences

1049 Determining the Image Format for Still-Image Export 1050 Exporting a Single Still Image

10 51 Exporting Image Sequences

Part XIII Appendixes

Appendix A 1057 Video Formats

10 57 Characteristics of Video Formats 10 58 Storage Medium 10 59 Video Standards 1060 Types of Video Signals 10 62 Aspect Ratio of the Video Frame 1064 Frame Dimensions, Number of Lines, and Resolution 1066 Pixel Aspect Ratio 10 67 Frame Rate 10 67 Scanning Method 1070 Color Recording Method 1070 Video Sample Rate and Bit Depth 10 72 Video Compression

22 Contents

10 79 Video Formats Supported by Final Cut Express 10 79 DV Formats 1080 High Definition Video Formats

10 81 Data Rate Comparisons

10 81 A Brief History of Film, Television, and Audio Formats

Appendix B 1085 Frame Rate and Timecode

10 85 What Is Frame Rate? 1086 Understanding Flicker and Perceived Frame Rate 10 87 Frame Rate Limits: How Many Frames per Second Is Best? 1088 Choosing a Frame Rate 1090 What Is Timecode? 1090 About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode

Appendix C 1095 Working with Anamorphic 16:9 Media

10 95 About Anamorphic 16:9 Media 1099 Recording Anamorphic Video

11 0 0 Capturing Anamorphic Media 11 0 0 Viewing and Editing Anamorphic Media 11 0 2 Rendering Items That Contain Anamorphic Media 11 0 3 Exporting Anamorphic Video to a QuickTime Movie

Appendix D 1105 Solving Common Problems

11 0 5 Resources for Solving Problems 11 0 6 Solutions to Common Problems

1111 Contacting AppleCare Support

Index 1113

Contents 23

Final Cut Express 4 Documentation and Resources

You can use Final Cut Express to create movies of any budget, style, and format. Final Cut Express comes with onscreen documentation to help you learn how.

This preface provides information on the documentation available for Final Cut Express, as well as information about Final Cut Express resources on the web. Final Cut Express comes with several types of documentation to help you learn more about movie editing and how to use the application:

Onscreen Help

Onscreen help (available in the Help menu) provides easy access to information while you’re working in Final Cut Express. An onscreen version of the Final Cut Express 4 User Manual is available here, along with links to other documentation and related Apple websites.

Preface

To access onscreen help:

m In Final Cut Express, choose an option from the Help menu.

Onscreen User Manual

The onscreen version of the user manual is helpful if you do not have immediate access to the printed volumes.

To access the onscreen user manual:

m In Final Cut Express, choose Help > Final Cut Express User Manual.

Release Notes

This document contains information about issues with third-party hardware and software and other known issues.

Note: You must be connected to the Internet to view the Release Notes document.

To access Release Notes:

m In Final Cut Express, choose Help > Release Notes.

Apple Websites

There are a variety of discussion boards, forums, and educational resources related to Final Cut Express on the web.

Final Cut Express Websites

The following websites provide general information, updates, and support information about Final Cut Express, as well as the latest news, resources, and training materials.

For information about Final Cut Express, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress

To get more information on third-party resources, such as third-party tools and user groups, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/resources.html

For information on the Apple Pro Training Program, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/software/pro/training

To provide comments and feedback to Apple about Final Cut Express, go to:

Â http://www.apple.com/feedback/finalcutexpress.html

Apple Service and Support Website

The Apple Service and Support website provides software updates and answers to the most frequently asked questions for all Apple products, including Final Cut Express. You’ll also have access to product specifications, reference documentation, and Apple and third-party product technical articles:

Â http://www.apple.com/support

26 Preface Final Cut Express 4 Documentation and Resources

Part I: An Introduction

to Final Cut Express

Find out how Final Cut Express fits into the moviemaking process and learn about fundamental concepts of digital video editing and the basic elements of a Final Cut Express project.

Chapter 1 About the Post-Production Workflow

Chapter 2 Video Formats

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences

1 About the Post-Production

Workflow

No matter what your project, Final Cut Express is the cornerstone of your post-production workflow.

This chapter covers the following:

Â The Industry Workflow (p. 29)

Â The Post-Production Workflow (p. 30)

The Industry Workflow

Before you start editing, it’s helpful to consider how post-production fits into the overall moviemaking workflow. Even though no two movie projects follow exactly the same steps, there is a common workflow that almost every project adheres to. From conception to completion, the basic steps to complete a film or video project are described below.

Step 1: Scripting

Scripting is where the movie is conceived and written.

Step 2: Preproduction

This is where budgeting, casting, location scouting, equipment and format selection, and storyboarding take place.

Step 3: Production

Production is where you create your footage, capturing performances using video or film cameras, as well as audio recorders. Lighting, cinematography, acting, and directing all come together to create the elements used to tell your story or deliver your message. For practical reasons, scenes are usually shot out of order, which means they have to be properly arranged during editing.

Step 4: Post-production

Post-production is where you organize and assemble your production footage, putting scenes in proper order, selecting the best takes, and eliminating unnecessary elements. Production sound is synchronized (with the picture), edited, sometimes rerecorded, and mixed. Music is composed and added. Footage is color-corrected and special effects are created. The final movie is output to tape, film, or some other high-quality media format.

Step 5: Distribution

Distribution is when you release a movie for viewing. This may involve theater screenings, video and DVD releases, festival submissions, or web delivery.

The Post-Production Workflow

The post-production phase begins with the raw source footage and ends with a completed movie, ready for making distribution copies. As technology evolves, post-production continues to proliferate into an increasing variety of jobs and tasks. Where there was once a single editor who was responsible for the majority of the post-production process, there may now be a whole special effects team, an audio department, a colorist (responsible for color correction), and a number of assistant editors keeping track of all the footage. Final Cut Express is at the heart of the post-production pipeline, allowing you to organize and assemble media from multiple sources into a finished product.

Here is an overview of the basic Final Cut Express post-production workflow. As you begin your project, remember that there are no hard and fast rules for editing. Different editors have different working styles and, given the same source material, no two editors will cut the same finished program. The workflow described here offers just one example of how you might approach a typical project.

30 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Industry Workflow

Final Cut Express

Post-Production Workflow

Scripting

Preproduction

Production

Post-Production

Distribution

Planning

Setting Up

Logging

and Capturing

Editing

Mixing Audio

Adding Effects

Outputting

Step 1: Planning

Planning is where you choose your basic workflow, such as offline and online editing (for projects with a lot of media) or editing the uncompressed footage (for shorter projects with quick turnaround times), choose input and output formats, and plan for equipment requirements (such as hard disk space), timecode and sync requirements, special effects shots and color correction, audio mixing requirements, and so on.

Planning for post-production primarily means preparing for each of the upcoming post-production phases: choosing input and output formats; acquiring your original footage, music, and graphics; deciding on a capturing method; choosing an editing strategy; and planning the scope of effects you will be adding so you can determine how much time and support you will need to dedicate to them.

Chapter 1 About the Post-Production Workflow 31

Step 2: Setting up

In this phase, you set up your editing system by installing and connecting the hardware you need, as well as configuring your software. For example, before capturing, you need to connect the video and audio from your camcorder or VTR (video tape recorder) to your computer. You also need to make sure that the correct presets are chosen within Final Cut Express, so that Final Cut Express knows what video and audio formats you are capturing and what kind of device control you’re using. (Device control allows Final Cut Express to remotely control video and audio devices.)

Step 3: Capturing and importing

Once you’ve set up your editing system, you need to sort through your raw footage and then transfer it to your computer’s hard disk for editing.

Capturing is the process of getting source media from your video camcorder or deck onto your computer’s hard disk. You can use the device control capabilities of Final Cut Express and your DV camcorder to do this. (Device control allows Final Cut Express to control a DV camcorder through a FireWire connection.) Final Cut Express allows you the flexibility of capturing individual clips or an entire tape.

You can also import QuickTime, audio, and graphics files, such as a music track from a CD, a still image, or a layered Photoshop file. You can import files at any time during your project. For example, if someone is creating an elaborate graphics file for an opening sequence, you may be in the midst of editing before the finished file is ready to import.

Step 4: Editing

The editing process involves taking the video and audio you’ve captured, along with any music or graphics you’ve imported, and arranging these raw materials into a final edited sequence of clips. Most editors start with a rough cut, where they quickly arrange all of the clips for a movie in sequence. Once that’s finished, they work on fine-tuning, subtly adjusting the edit points between clips and refining the pacing of each cut. Basic audio editing and synchronizing are also part of this process, as well as adding transitions, such as fades and dissolves.

Often, the type of project you’re working on determines your method of editing. For example, documentary editing, in which the script often evolves in parallel with the editing, is quite different from commercial television and film editing, in which there is already a finished script to provide an order for clips.

32 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Step 5: Mixing audio

Once your movie is edited and the picture is “locked,” meaning the duration of the movie is fixed and you no longer intend to change any of the edits, you can begin working more extensively on your audio. This involves:

Â Cleaning up the dialogue with more detailed audio editing, balancing audio levels,

and applying equalization

Â Adding sound effects, music, and voiceover on additional audio tracks in the

sequence

Â Mixing the levels of all the different clips together to create a balanced sound mix

You can use Final Cut Express for each of these processes. For more information, see Chapter 42, “Mixing Audio in the Timeline and Viewer,” on page 611.

Note: You can also sweeten your audio with another audio application, perhaps even at another facility.

Step 6: Adding effects

Creating effects tends to be more time-consuming than cuts-only editing, so it’s good to focus on basic edits first and work on effects when the timing of your project is finalized. Effects are any enhancements you want to make to your footage, such as color correction, special transitions, animation, still or motion graphics, multilayered images (compositing), and titles. Final Cut Express has a wide variety of video and audio filters, each with parameters that you can keyframe to adjust over time in your sequence, as described below.

Step 7: Outputting

Once editing is finished, effects are added, and the final audio mix is complete, you can output your movie to videotape or film. You can also export to a QuickTime format for web delivery or use in a DVD-authoring application.

Chapter 1 About the Post-Production Workflow 33

2 Video Formats

Before you begin editing, you need to decide what video format you will capture, edit, and output. The format you choose determines your post-production workflow.

This chapter covers the following:

Â About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing (p. 35)

Â Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express (p. 36)

Â Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express (p. 36)

Â Video Format Basics (p. 37)

About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing

In the past, video editing was a time-consuming process. With linear editing, video editors had to edit everything onto a tape sequentially, one shot after another, from the beginning to the end. If you wanted to insert a series of shots in the middle of your edit, you had to reedit everything forward from that point.

Final Cut Express lets you do nonlinear, nondestructive editing. Unlike traditional tape-to- tape editing, Final Cut Express stores all of your footage on a hard disk, allowing you to access any frame of your footage instantaneously. Without the constraints of linear editing, you are free to combine shots in different orders and change their durations until you arrive at the exact sequence you want. Video and audio effects, such as scaling, position, rotation, speed changes, and multiple layers can also be applied and played back in real time. No matter how you process your footage, the underlying media is never touched. This is known as nondestructive editing, because all of the changes and effects you apply to your footage never affect the media itself.

Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express

Long before editing begins, the most basic decision you need to make is which format to shoot with. The format you choose affects the equipment needed for editorial work, as well as how the finished product will look.

Final Cut Express uses QuickTime technology, allowing you to use almost any digital video format available. This flexibility ensures that your Final Cut Express editing system always works with the latest video formats.

Â DV editing: Final Cut Express supports DV video natively, using your computer’s

built-in FireWire port for capture and output.

Â Broadcast and high definition (HD) video formats: With Final Cut Express, you can

capture or ingest HD video which is transcoded by the Apple Intermediate Codec.

Â QuickTime-compatible files: Because Final Cut Express uses QuickTime technology,

almost any QuickTime-compatible file format can be imported and exported. This allows you to import files created in video editing, motion graphics, and photo editing applications. For a list of all formats that you can import, see Chapter 65, “Learning About QuickTime,” on page 1001.

Using Multiple Video Formats in a Sequence

A mixed-format sequence is a sequence containing clips whose media files don’t match the sequence format. Any number of formats can be combined together in a single sequence. For more information, see Chapter 58, “Working with Mixed-Format

Sequences,” on page 919.

Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Express

You can use a variety of audio with Final Cut Express, including audio files captured from tape, imported from audio CDs, or provided by musicians and sound designers. Final Cut Express is compatible with audio files with sample rates as high as 96 kHz and a bit depth of 24 bits. You can work with most audio devices, such as audio CD players, DAT machines, digital multitrack recorders, or audio from videotape.

36 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Video Format Basics

Most video formats are described by the following characteristics:

Â Standard

Â Image dimensions and aspect ratio

Â Frame rate

Â Scanning method

For a more thorough explanation of video formats, see Appendix A, “Video Formats,” on page 1057.

Video Standards

A number of video standards have emerged over the years. Standard definition (SD) video formats have been used for broadcast television from the 1950s to the present. These include NTSC, PAL, and SECAM, regional video standards, with each used in certain countries and regions of the world.

Â NTSC (National Television Systems Committee): The television and video standard used

in most of the Americas, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

Â PAL (Phase Alternating Line): The television and video standard used in most of

Europe, Brazil, Algeria, and China.

Â SECAM: A video standard that is based on PAL and used in countries such as France,

Poland, Haiti, and Vietnam. SECAM is not supported by Final Cut Express. However, editing work is usually done in PAL and converted to SECAM for broadcasting.

Important: When you are specifying your initial settings, make sure you choose an

Easy Setup that corresponds to your country’s video standard. (An Easy Setup is a collection of settings that determines how Final Cut Express works with your editing system.) For more information, see “Opening Final Cut Express and Choosing Your

Initial Settings” on page 149.

Originally, all these formats were analog. Analog video uses a signal that consists of a constantly varying voltage level, called a waveform, that represents video and audio information. Analog signals must be digitized, or captured, for use by Final Cut Express. VHS and Betacam SP are both analog tape formats.

More recently, digital SD video formats were introduced, as well as digital high definition (HD) video formats. Most consumer camcorders today record SD digital video (such as DV), and professional cameras may record SD or HD digital video.

Chapter 2 Video Formats 37

Image Dimensions and Aspect Ratio

The horizontal and vertical pixel dimensions of your format determine the frame size and aspect ratio. For example, DV NTSC video is 720 pixels wide and 480 pixels tall. HD video is either 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080, and is usually referred to by the vertical dimension and the frame rate (for example 720p30 or 1080i30).

The aspect ratio of a video frame is the width with respect to the height. SD video has an aspect ratio of 4:3, while HD video uses 16:9.

Note: You may notice that 1280/720 or 1920/1080 is equivalent to 16:9, while 720/480 is not equivalent to 4:3. This is because SD digital video uses pixels that are rectangular, not square. For more information, see Appendix A, “Video Formats,” on page 1057.

Frame Rate

The frame rate of your video determines how quickly frames are recorded and played back. The higher the number of frames per second (fps), the less noticeably the image flickers on screen. There are several common frame rates in use:

Â 24 fps: Film, certain HD formats, and certain SD formats use this frame rate. This may

also be 23.98 fps for compatibility with NTSC video.

Â 25 fps: SD PAL

Â 29.97 fps: SD NTSC

Â 59.94 fps: 720p HD video frame rate. This can also be 60 fps.

For more information, see Appendix B, “Frame Rate and Timecode,” on page 1085.

Scanning Method

Video frames are composed of individual lines, scanned from the top of the screen to the bottom. Lines may be scanned progressively (one line at a time), or interlaced (every other line during one scan, and then the alternate lines on a subsequent scan). SD video uses interlaced scanning, while high definition formats may use either interlaced or progressive scanning. For more information, see Appendix A, “Video

Formats,” on page 1057.

38 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

3 Understanding Projects,

Clips, and Sequences

The basic elements in Final Cut Express are projects, clips, and sequences. Once you learn what these are and how you can use them, you can begin working in Final Cut Express.

This chapter covers the following:

Â The Building Blocks of Projects (p. 39)

Â Working with Projects (p. 43)

Â About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files (p. 47)

Â Filenaming Considerations (p. 49)

The Building Blocks of Projects

Media files, clips, and sequences are the elements that provide the main foundation for your work in Final Cut Express. You use projects and bins to organize these elements in your program.

What Are Media Files?

Media files are the raw materials you use to create your movie. A media file is a video, audio, or graphics file on your hard disk that contains footage captured from videotape or originally created on your computer. Since media files—especially video files—tend to be quite large, projects that use a lot of footage require one or more high-capacity hard disks.

Many media files contain multiple tracks. For example, a typical DV media file has a video track, audio track, and timecode track. In a Final Cut Express sequence, you can work with each of these media tracks as separate items, either in sync or separately.

Before you can edit in Final Cut Express, you need to capture media files from a video deck or camcorder to your hard disk.

What Are Clips?

Once you have media files on your hard disk, you need a way of working with them in Final Cut Express. A clip is the most fundamental object in Final Cut Express. Clips represent your media, but they are not the media files themselves. A clip points to, or connects to, a video, audio, or graphics media file on your hard disk. (For more information on the relationship between media files and clips, see “About the

Connection Between Clips and Media Files” on page 47.)

Project

Clip Clip Clip

Media files on your hard disk

Clips allow you to easily cut, trim, rearrange, and sort your media without manipulating it directly. You manage and organize your clips in the Browser. The three kinds of clips you’ll see most often are video, audio, and graphics clips, but there are other kinds of clips that can be stored within a project, such as a generator clip (a clip whose media is generated within Final Cut Express). You can also subdivide a clip into separate pieces, called subclips, to further organize your footage.

40 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

What Are Sequences?

A sequence is a container for editing clips together in chronological order. The editing process involves deciding which video and audio clip items to put in your sequence, what order the clips should go in, and how long each clip should be. Sequences are created in the Browser. To edit clips into a sequence, you open a sequence in the Timeline from the Browser.

Project

Sequence

Clip Clip

Clip

A sequence contains one or more video and audio tracks, which are empty when first created. When you edit a clip into a sequence, you copy the clip’s individual clip items to the sequence. For example, if you drag a clip that contains one video and two audio tracks to the Timeline, a video clip item is placed in a video track in the Timeline, and two audio clip items are placed in two audio tracks. In a sequence, you can move any clip item to any track, allowing you to arrange the contents of your media files however you want.

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 41

What Are Projects?

A project contains all of the clips and sequences you use while editing your movie. Once you create or open a project, it appears as a tab in the Browser. There’s no limit to the number of items, including clips and sequences, that can be stored in your project in the Browser.

A project file acts as a sort of database for tracking the aspects of your edited movie:

Â Video, audio, and still image clips

Â Comments, descriptions, and notes for all your clips

Â Sequences of edited clips

Â Motion and filter parameters

Â Audio mixing levels

Â Bins, or folders within a project in the Browser, for organizing elements, such as clips

and sequences

Project

Video clip

Audio clip

ABC

Still image

Sequence

To start working in Final Cut Express, you must have a project open in the Browser. For more information, see Chapter 5, “Browser Basics,” on page 65. You can have multiple projects open at the same time, each represented by its own tab in the Browser.

Note: A project does not contain any media at all, which keeps it small and portable. Even though project files refer to your media files, the media is not actually stored in the project. By separating the structure of your project from the associated media, your project can easily be archived or transferred to another computer, and it can be opened even if none of the media files can be located. Compared to media files, project files are relatively small and portable. You can make regular backup copies of your project without filling your hard disk.

42 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

What Are Bins?

A bin is a folder within a project that can contain clips and sequences, as well as other items used in your project, such as transitions and effects. You use bins to organize these elements, sort them, add comments, rename items, and so on. Bins help you to design a logical structure for your projects, making your clips easier to manage.

Project

Bin 1

Clip

Clip Clip

Clip

You can create separate bins for organizing clips by movie scene, source tape, or any other category. You can organize bins hierarchically and open them in their own windows. You can even put bins inside other bins. There is no limit to the number of bins you can have in your project, or the number of items you can store in each bin.

Sequence 1

Clip Clip Clip

Bin 2

Clip Clip Clip

Bins exist only in project files. Changes you make to the contents of a bin, such as deleting, moving, and renaming clips or renaming the bin itself, have no effect on the original media files stored on your computer’s hard disk. If you delete a clip from a bin, the clip’s media file is not deleted from the hard disk. Likewise, creating a new bin does not create a new folder on your hard disk.

Working with Projects

How you use and organize your projects depends on the scope of your movie as well as your particular organizational style. These factors also affect your decision to use one or more sequences in your project.

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 43

Organizing Your Projects

Typically, you create a new project file for each movie you work on, regardless of its duration. For example, if you’re working on a documentary about a bicycle manufacturing company, you would create a project for it. If you’re also working on an industrial training video about how to fix bicycles, that would be a second, separate project. Both projects could conceivably refer to some of the same media, but they are completely independent structures, each with their own clips, bins, and sequences.

Very large movie projects, such as feature films and documentaries with high shooting ratios (meaning most of the footage shot during production will not be used in the final movie), may contain thousands of clips. Although the number of clips and sequences you can store in a project is theoretically unlimited, Final Cut Express may take longer to search, sort, and update if there are too many clips. If you find that managing your project is becoming difficult, you can always break one project into several for the early editing stages.

Using More Than One Sequence in a Project

For some projects, it makes sense to use several different sequences within the project. You can use sequences in several ways, including:

Â Sequences as scenes: Break a movie into a series of separate sequences for each scene.

Â Sequences as versions: Edit different versions of the same movie, with each as its own

sequence. Examples are a television commercial with several alternative sound mixes, or a documentary cut to feature film length as well as broadcast television length.

Â Sequences for special effects: This allows you to separate elaborate effects shots in

separate sequences so you can render them separately.

Creating and Saving Projects

When you create a new project in Final Cut Express, a new blank sequence is automatically created and named Sequence 1. You can change the sequence name to better reflect its content or the type of program you’ll be working on. The settings for the new sequence are determined by your current Easy Setup. (To check your current Easy Setup, choose Final Cut Express > Easy Setup.)

Note: When you open Final Cut Express for the first time, there are some initial settings you must specify before you can create and save projects. For more information, see Chapter 11, “Connecting DV Video Equipment,” on page 147.

44 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

new project.

A new sequence is

automatically created

when you create a

new project.

To create a new project:

m Choose File > New Project.

A new, untitled project appears in the Browser with an empty sequence. You can name the project when you save it.

This is your

To save a project:

1 Click the project’s tab in the Browser.

2 Choose File > Save Project (or press Command-S).

3 If you haven’t named the project yet, a dialog appears. Enter a name and choose a

location for the project, then click Save.

To save all open projects:

m Choose File > Save All (or press Option-S).

If you haven’t named a project yet, a dialog appears where you can enter a name and choose a location for the project.

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 45

Opening and Closing Projects

You can open and work on more than one project at a time. When you finish working and quit Final Cut Express, a message appears for each open project, asking if you want to save your changes. The next time you open Final Cut Express, all projects that were open at the end of your last session open automatically. You can have multiple projects open at the same time, each represented by its own tab in the Browser.

To open a project:

1 Choose File > Open.

2 Locate and select the project file, then click Open.

If you created the project in a previous version of Final Cut Express, you’ll be asked if you want to update your project. For more information, see Chapter 59, “Backing Up

and Restoring Projects,” on page 937.

To close a project:

1 Click the project’s tab to bring it to the front.

2 Do one of the following:

Â Choose File > Close Project.

Â Control-click the project’s tab, then choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu

that appears.

Â Press Control-W.

3 If you’ve modified the project and haven’t saved it, a message asks if you want to save

changes to the project. Click Yes to save the project.

46 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Control-click the tab and choose Close Tab.

To switch between

To switch between several open projects:

m In the Browser, click a project’s tab.

projects, click a

project’s tab.

To close all open projects:

m Close the Browser.

Any project that has its own window (because you dragged the project’s tab out of the Browser) remains open.

About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files

Clips are not to be confused with the media files you captured to your computer’s hard disk. A clip refers to a media file on your computer’s hard disk, but the clip is not the media file itself. Clips usually reference all of the content within a media file, but you can also create subclips that reference only part of a media file.

A Final Cut Express clip refers to its media file via the clip property called Source, which describes the location of the media file in the form of a directory path. For example, the directory path for a clip’s media file might look like this:

/MyScratchDisk/Capture Scratch/MyProject/MyMediaFile

Note: Every file on your hard disk can be located by its directory path. A directory path describes where a file is located within the file and folder hierarchy of the operating system.

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 47

To see a clip’s Source property:

1 Select a clip in the Browser by clicking it.

2 Choose Edit > Item Properties > Format (or press Command-9).

The Item Properties window appears.

3 Look at the directory path in the clip’s Source field.

4 If you can’t see the complete directory path, you can do one of the following:

Â Drag the right edge of the column heading to the right to increase the column width.

Â Move the pointer over the directory path in the Source field, then wait until a tooltip

appears showing the complete directory path.

Relationship Between Source Tapes, Media Files, and Clips

The relationship between source tapes, media files, and clips is described below.

Â Source tape: An original videotape from your production.

Â Media file: A QuickTime movie file created by capturing video and audio from the

source tape to a computer hard disk. This is a copy of the original footage.

Â Clip: An object in a Final Cut Express project that represents a media file on the scratch

disk. A clip connects to a media file, but it isn’t the media file itself. If you delete a clip, the media file remains intact on the scratch disk. If you delete the media file, the clip remains in the project, but it is no longer connected to its media. You can create clips by importing or dragging media files to the Final Cut Express Browser.

Reconnecting Clips to Media Files

If you modify, move, or delete your media files on disk, the clips in your project lose the connection to the media files and they become offline clips. In this case, the word offline refers to the fact that a clip’s media file has become unavailable.

48 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

An offline clip has a red slash through its icon in the Browser. In the Timeline, an offline clip appears white (when you play back your sequence in the Canvas, offline clips display a “Media Offline” message). To view these clips properly in your project, you need to reconnect the clips to their corresponding media files at their new locations on disk. This reestablishes the connection between the clips and their media files.

Offline clips in the Timeline

Offline clips in

the Browser

Final Cut Express allows you to reconnect clips to media files in whatever way suits your project. For example, you can work on one project on two different editing systems that both contain the same media files. When you transfer the project from one system to another, you can easily reconnect the project clips to the local media files. For more information on reconnecting offline clips, see Chapter 61, “Reconnecting

Clips and Offline Media,” on page 955.

Filenaming Considerations

Proper filenaming is one of the most critical aspects of media and project management. When you capture your media files, consider how and where your files may be used in the future. Naming your files simply and consistently makes it easier to share media among multiple editors, transfer projects to other editing systems, move files across a network, and properly restore archived projects. The following sections present several issues to consider when naming project files and media files.

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 49

Avoiding Special Characters

The most conservative filenaming conventions provide the most cross-platform compatibility. This means that your filenames will work in different operating systems, such as Windows, Mac OS X and other Unix operating systems, and Mac OS 9. You also need to consider filenaming when you transfer files via the Internet, where you can never be certain what computer platform your files may be stored on, even if temporarily.

Most special characters should be avoided. Here are some suggested conservative filenaming guidelines for maximum cross-platform compatibility:

Avoid Example characters Reasons

File separators : (colon)

/ (forward-slash) \ (backward-slash)

Special characters not included in your native alphabet

Punctuation marks, parentheses, quotation marks, brackets, and operators.

White space characters such as spaces, tabs, new lines, and carriage returns (the last two are uncommon).

  ¢ ™ These characters may not be

. , [ ] { } ( ) ! ; “ ‘ * ? < > | These characters are often used

You cannot use colons (:) in the names of files and folders because Mac OS 9 (Classic) uses this character to separate directories in path names. In addition, some applications may not allow you to use slashes (/) in the names of items.

These characters are directory separators for Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, and DOS (Windows) respectively.

supported or may be difficult to work with when exported to certain file formats.

in scripting and programming languages.

White space is handled differently in different programming languages and operating systems, so certain processing scripts and applications may treat your files differently than expected. The most conservative filenames avoid all use of whitespace characters, and use the (underscore) _ character instead.

50 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express

Restricting Length of Filenames

Although current file systems such as HFS+ (used by Mac OS X) allow you to create filenames with a 255-character limit, you may want to limit your filename length if you intend to transfer your files to other operating systems. Earlier versions of the Mac OS only allow 31-character filenames, and if you want to include a file extension (such as .fcp, .mov, or .aif ), you need to shorten your Mac OS 9-compatible filenames to 27 characters.

Using Filename Extensions

Mac OS X and other operating systems can use file extensions when determining which application to open a file with, or what method of transfer to use for a network transfer. If you intend to transfer your media or project files to non-Macintosh computer platforms, you should use standard file extensions for your files. Some common file extensions include .mov (QuickTime movie file), .xml (XML file), .zip (ZIP compressed archive file), .aif (AIFF audio file), .wav (WAVE audio file), .psd (Photoshop graphics file), .jpg (JPEG graphics file), and .tif (TIFF graphics file).

Adding Times and Dates to Final Cut Express Project Names

When you make a backup copy of your project file, adding the date to the project name helps identify the file among the other saved versions. If you add dates to a filename, avoid using special characters like the slash (/), since that may be interpreted by Mac OS X as a file separator.

The Final Cut Express autosave feature appends the date and time in the following format: ProjectName_03-21-04_1744. The filename above is a backup of a project called ProjectName. The date is March 21, 2004, and it was saved at 5:44 PM. Note that the name includes no white space. This filenaming convention is simple, consistent, and easily identifies the order in which the project files were created. (For more information about this feature, see Chapter 59, “Backing Up and Restoring Projects,” on page 937.

Using Multiple Hard Disks

If you have multiple hard disks and partitions, or volumes, that have similar names, they may cause problems during the capture process. Each hard disk should have a name that doesn’t contain the entire name of another disk or partition.

Â Avoid names such as: “Media” and “Media 1”

Â Create names such as: “Zeus” and “Apollo”

Chapter 3 Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences 51

Part II: Learning About

the Final Cut Express Interface

Get familiar with the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, and Timeline, and learn how to customize the Final Cut Express interface to meet your specific needs.

Chapter 4 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface

Chapter 5 Browser Basics

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics

Chapter 7 Canvas Basics

Chapter 8 Navigating and Using Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas

Chapter 9 Timeline Basics

Chapter 10 Customizing the Interface

4 Overview of the

Final Cut Express Interface

The Final Cut Express interface has four main windows and a Tool palette.

This chapter covers the following:

Â Basics of Working in the Final Cut Express Interface (p. 55)

Â Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus (p. 57)

Â Customizing the Interface (p. 59)

Â Undoing and Redoing Changes (p. 63)

Â Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes (p. 63)

Basics of Working in the Final Cut Express Interface

There are four main windows in Final Cut Express that you use while you are making your movie. You may want to open Final Cut Express so you can view these windows and familiarize yourself with them.

Note: If you’re opening Final Cut Express for the first time, you’re prompted to choose an Easy Setup (a collection of settings that determines how Final Cut Express works with your editing system) and a scratch disk (the hard disk where you’ll store your captured media files). For more information about these settings, see “Opening

Final Cut Express and Choosing Your Initial Settings” on page 149.

To open Final Cut Express:

m In the Finder, double-click the Final Cut Express icon in the Applications folder.

You may also choose to add the Final Cut Express icon to the Dock for easier access. For more information, see Mac Help.

You’ll see these windows when you open a sequence with clips already in it. These windows are covered in more detail in the chapters that follow.

Viewer: Used to preview and prepare source

clips for editing, as well as adjust filter and motion parameters to clips.

Browser: This is where

you organize the media

in your project.

Timeline: This displays

sequences.

Canvas: Allows you to view your edited sequence, as well as perform a variety of editing functions. Works in parallel with the Timeline.

Audio meters: These floating meters let you monitor audio levels.

Tool palette: This contains tools for selecting, navigating, performing edits, and manipulating items.

Before working in a window in Final Cut Express, you must make sure it’s the currently selected (or “active”) window. Otherwise, your actions and commands might trigger actions in another window.

Important: Menu commands and keyboard shortcuts apply to the active window.

To determine the active window:

m Look for the highlighted title bar.

To make a window active, do one of the following:

m Click anywhere in the window.

m Press one of the following keyboard shortcuts:

Â Browser: Command-4

Â Viewer: Command-1

Â Timeline: Command-3

Â Canvas: Command-2

Â Audio meters: Option-4

Note: There is no keyboard shortcut to open the Tool palette.

m Choose Window, then in the submenu, choose the window you want to display.

56 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus

Final Cut Express offers several methods for performing commands. You can choose commands from the menu bar at the top of the screen or from contextual shortcut menus, or you can use keyboard shortcuts to perform many commands. Most people work fastest using keyboard shortcuts; others prefer to use shortcut menus or the mouse to access commands in the menu bar. Experiment to find out which method best suits your editing style.

You can also create shortcut buttons that appear at the top of each window in the window’s button bar. Learning about these basic interface elements will enable you to work faster and more efficiently.

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts let you perform commands in Final Cut Express using the keyboard instead of by pointing and clicking. These shortcuts can help you work more efficiently. For example, to create a new sequence, you’d press Command-N; to zoom in, you’d press Command-= (equal sign).

Note: The default keyboard shortcuts for tasks are presented throughout this volume, as well as in menu commands and tooltips (tooltips appear when you move the pointer over a control in Final Cut Express and show the name of the control, as well as the current shortcut key(s) assigned to that control).

Using Button Bars

You can create shortcut buttons and place them in the button bar along the top of the main windows in Final Cut Express—the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, and Timeline. You can then click any of the shortcut buttons in the button bar to perform commands, instead of entering keyboard shortcuts or using menus.

For more information on using and customizing button bars, see Chapter 10, “Customizing the Interface,” on page 137.

Chapter 4 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface 57

Using Shortcut Menus

Shortcut menus (also called contextual menus) are available in nearly every section of every window and offer a quick way to perform various tasks. The commands available in a shortcut menu depend on the location of the pointer. For example, a shortcut menu in the Browser shows options different from those available in a shortcut menu in the Timeline.

To view and use a shortcut menu:

1 Press the Control key and click an item (this is called Control-clicking), or Control-click

an area in a window in Final Cut Express.

2 In the shortcut menu that appears, choose the command you want, then release the

mouse button.

Note: If you have a multibutton mouse, clicking the right mouse button is the same as Control-clicking by default.

Learning Commands by Using Tooltips

When you move the pointer over a control in Final Cut Express, a small box called a tooltip appears with a description of the control. Next to the description is the keyboard shortcut for using the control. You can turn tooltips off and on in the General tab of the User Preferences window.

This tooltip appears when the pointer is over the Play button in the Viewer.

To enable tooltips in Final Cut Express:

1 Choose Final Cut Express > User Preferences.

2 In the General tab, select Show Tooltips.

58 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Customizing the Interface

Final Cut Express allows you to customize the interface in several ways. You can rearrange windows and move them to suit your needs and work style. You can also use various window layouts provided by Final Cut Express. You can also position the Dock in the Mac OS X interface so that it takes up less room or is hidden.

Moving and Resizing Windows

All open windows in Final Cut Express—the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, Timeline, and Tool Bench—can be individually moved and resized to suit both your working style and the task at hand, even across multiple monitors. When all windows are arranged together on a single monitor, you can drag the border between any aligned group of adjacent windows to quickly resize all the windows at the same time.

Pointer between

three or more windows

Pointer between two windows

To resize windows in Final Cut Express:

m Drag the border in the desired direction to resize the appropriate windows.

The windows on either side of the border are resized accordingly.

Any border between two windows in Final Cut Express can be dragged. When borders line up, such as the tops of the Browser and Timeline, they act as a single border— resizing one window resizes the other as well. See “Moving and Resizing

Final Cut Express Windows” on page 137 for more information.

Chapter 4 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface 59

Working with Tabs and Tabbed Windows

The Viewer and Browser contain tabs that let you access different functions. The Browser also contains tabs for open projects. Tabs in the Timeline and Canvas represent open sequences.

The Viewer contains tabs that specify functions within clips.

The Browser

contains tabs

for open projects

and effects.

Like the Canvas, the

Timeline contains a tab

for each open sequence.

The Canvas contains a tab for each open sequence.

To make a tab active:

m Click the tab.

To close a tab, do one of the following:

m Control-click the tab, then choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu

m Click a tab to make it the frontmost tab, then press Control-W.

You can drag tabs out of their main, or parent, windows so they appear in a separate window. This is useful when you are working on more than one sequence or project at a time.

60 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

to the title bar of the

original window

To make a tab appear in its own window:

m Drag the tab out of its parent window (Browser, Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline).

The Effects tab is dragged out of the Browser and appears in its own window.

To put a tab back in its original window:

m Drag the tab to the title bar of its parent window.

Drag the tab

to put it back.

Chapter 4 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface 61

Moving Windows

There are several ways you can move windows in Final Cut Express. You can move a window by clicking its title bar, and then dragging it to a new position and releasing the mouse button. You can also hold down the Command and Option keys, and then click anywhere in a window and drag it to a new position.

Using Different Window Layouts

Final Cut Express comes with a set of predefined window layouts. These layouts determine the size and location of the four main windows in Final Cut Express (the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, and Timeline), along with the Tool palette and audio meters. Some window layouts include additional windows, such as the Tool Bench. Choose a layout that maximizes your screen space in the best way for your source material, editing function, screen resolution, and monitor type.

To choose a window layout:

m Choose Window > Arrange, then choose an option from the submenu.

Showing and Positioning the Dock

When you use Final Cut Express, your screen space may be limited by the presence of the Dock. You can make the Dock smaller so it takes up less room on the screen. You can also hide the Dock, so it only appears when you move the pointer over its (hidden) position. Another option is to position the Dock somewhere else on the screen. The default is on the bottom, but you can also choose to place it on the left or right side of the screen.

Decide how you think you’ll work best, then modify the Dock settings. You can then rearrange the windows in Final Cut Express to accommodate the position of the Dock.

To arrange Final Cut Express windows and make room for the Dock:

1 If desired, change the position of the Dock.

For specific information on changing the way the Dock looks and works, see Mac Help (in the Finder, choose Help > Mac Help).

2 In Final Cut Express, choose Window > Arrange, then choose your preferred layout from

the submenu.

The windows are rearranged to take into account the position of the Dock.

62 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Undoing and Redoing Changes

You can undo changes you make in your projects, sequences, and clips. This is helpful if you make a change you don’t like and want to revert to an earlier version. You can also redo actions that you have undone.

By default, you can undo 10 of your previous changes. You can set Final Cut Express to undo up to 32 changes. The more levels of Undo you select, the more memory is needed. For more information on modifying the number of changes to undo, see Chapter 62, “Choosing Settings and Preferences,” on page 969.

To undo a change, do one of the following:

m Press Command-Z.

m Choose Edit > Undo.

To redo a change, do one of the following:

m Press Command-Shift-Z.

m Choose Edit > Redo.

Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes

Timecode also allows you to navigate through your sequences to a specific point in time. All clips in Final Cut Express start at 00:00:00:00.

Current Timecode field in the Canvas

When you enter timecode in a field, such as the Current Timecode field in the Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline, you don’t need to enter all of the separator characters (such as colons); Final Cut Express automatically adds them for you after each set of two digits.

Chapter 4 Overview of the Final Cut Express Interface 63

For example, if you enter 01221419, Final Cut Express interprets it as 01:22:14:19. This stands for 1 hour, 22 minutes, 14 seconds, and 19 frames.

If you enter a partial number, Final Cut Express interprets it with the rightmost pair of numbers as frames and puts each successive pair of numbers to the left in the remaining seconds, minutes, and hours areas. Numbers you omit default to 00.

For example, if you enter 1419, Final Cut Express interprets it as 00:00:14:19.

However, if the rightmost pair of numbers is not a valid frame number, then the entire number entered is interpreted as absolute frames.

For example, suppose the frame rate of your clip is 25 fps. If you enter 124, Final Cut Express interprets this as 01:24 (one second and 24 frames). However, if you enter 125, or 199, Final Cut Express interprets these as 125 frames or 199 frames, respectively. This is because the frame counter cannot be higher than 24 when you use 25 fps timecode. Since a number like 01:99 is not a valid timecode number, the entire value is interpreted as absolute frames.

64 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

5 Browser Basics

The Browser is where you organize all of the clips in your project.

This chapter covers the following:

Â How You Use the Browser (p. 65)

Â Learning About the Browser (p. 66)

Â Working in the Browser (p. 67)

Â Using Columns in he Browser (p. 69)

Â Customizing the Browser Display (p. 70)

Note: For information about organizing footage in the Browser, see Chapter 18, “Organizing Footage in the Browser,” on page 245.

How You Use the Browser

The Browser is a powerful tool used to organize your project’s clips. In the Browser, you can sort, rename, and rearrange hundreds of clips in a multitude of ways. You can also customize how the Browser displays information about clips to suit your preferred work habits.

You can think of the Browser as a way of viewing and manipulating your clips as if they were in a database or spreadsheet. Each row represents a clip or sequence, and each column represents a property field containing information about that clip or sequence.

Note: For more information about the basic organizational elements of Final Cut Express— media files, clips, sequences, bins, and projects—and how they relate to the Browser, see Chapter 3, “Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences,” on page 39.

Learning About the Browser

By default, you view items in the Browser in icon view, which lets you easily see items by type. For video clips, you see a frame of video to help you distinguish the contents.

Project

Sequence

Bin

Each tab represents a

project or an open bin.

Bins help you organize

clips in your projects.

Sequence

Clip

You can also view items in the Browser in different ways. When the Browser displays items in list view, all items appear in a sorted list.

You can also access effects through the Browser.

Columns display clip properties.

For more information about viewing items in the Browser in list view or icon view, see “Customizing the Browser Display” on page 70.

66 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Working in the Browser

Before you can work in the Browser, it must be the currently selected, or active, window. Otherwise, any commands or keyboard shortcuts you use may perform the wrong operations.

To make the Browser window active, do one of the following:

m Click anywhere in the Browser.

m Press Command-4.

Creating Sequences

Before you can begin editing clips into a sequence, you must create a sequence.

To create a new sequence:

1 Click in the Browser to make it the active window.

2 Choose File > New > Sequence (or press Command-N).

If no project is currently open, Final Cut Express creates a new untitled project and creates a new sequence within it.

Selecting Items in the Browser

You can select and modify individual clips, or many clips at once.

To select a single clip:

m Click an item.

To select a group of adjacent clips, do one of the following:

m Select an item, press and hold down the Shift key, then click the last item.

m Drag over multiple clips.

To select multiple, nonadjacent clips:

m Press and hold down the Command key while clicking multiple items.

Chapter 5 Browser Basics 67

Navigating Within the Browser Using the Keyboard

You can navigate to items in the Browser in various ways, depending on whether you are viewing items in list view or icon view (see “Customizing the Browser Display” on page 70).

To navigate within the Browser, do one of the following:

m Press the Up and Down Arrow keys to move up and down in a list of items in list view

or move vertically between items in icon view.

m Press the Right and Left Arrow keys to move horizontally between items in icon view.

m Press the Tab key to move between items alphabetically.

m Type the first few letters of an item’s name.

Copying and Deleting Items in the Browser

Copying or duplicating a clip creates an affiliate clip, which is a clip that shares properties with the original clip, or master clip. For more information about master-affiliate clip relationships, see Chapter 60, “Working with Master and Affiliate Clips,” on page 943.

To copy an item, do one of the following:

m Select the item, then hold down the Option key while you drag the item to a new bin

or to the Name column heading.

m Press Option-D to duplicate the selected item.

m Select an item, choose Edit > Copy, then choose Edit > Paste.

To duplicate a master clip, creating a new master clip instead of an affiliate clip:

1 Select a clip in the Browser.

2 Do one of the following:

Â Choose Modify > Duplicate as New Master Clip.

Â Control-click the clip, then choose Duplicate as New Master Clip from the shortcut menu.

To delete a clip, sequence, or bin from a project:

m Select the item, then press Delete.

Note: Deleting a clip from a project does not delete that clip’s media file from your hard disk, nor does it delete any other affiliated clips, including sequence clips. When deleting a master clip, however, Final Cut Express warns you that affiliated clips will lose the master clip they refer to. Deleting a master clip turns all affiliated clips into master clips (in the Browser) or independent clips (in sequences).

68 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Renaming Clips, Sequences, and Bins

You can rename items within Final Cut Express. Renaming clips does not change the names of media files on your disk.

To rename clips, sequences, and bins within Final Cut Express:

Select the clip, sequence, or bin.

Once the item is selected, click the item’s name, type a new name, then press Return or Enter.

Renaming a clip automatically renames all affiliated clips in the current project, because there is only a single Name property shared between a master clip and all of its affiliate clips. This affects all clips in the Browser and in all sequences within your project. For more information on master and affiliate clips, see Chapter 60, “Working with

Master and Affiliate Clips,” on page 943.

Note:

Master-affiliate clip relationships exist only within a project, not across

multiple projects.

Using Columns in the Browser

In list view, the Browser’s scrollable columns provide information about your clips and their associated media files.

The Browser can display many columns of information at once. You can customize the Browser to display only the columns you want, as well as rearrange columns and change their width. The Name column cannot be hidden, and always appears at the far left.

Information in Browser columns is based on the following:

The item properties of a clip

The clip settings you selected when your clips were captured

A clip’s media file properties such as image dimensions and frame rate

The sequence settings of an individual sequence (the selected sequence preset)

You can change properties in some columns directly in the Browser by clicking or Control-clicking within the column, and then choosing an option from the shortcut menu. You can also modify these properties in the Item Properties window for a clip. For more information, see Chapter 21, “Working with Projects, Clips, and Sequences,” on page 289.

∏

Tip:

If a field in the Browser contains more text than fits within the field or column, you view the complete information by moving the pointer over the field and then waiting for several seconds. A tooltip appears with the full text of the entry.

Chapter 5

Browser Basics

Customizing the Browser Display

There are various ways you can display items in the Browser, depending on your needs and workstyle. You can display items in list or icon (thumbnail) view, choose columns you want to show or hide, and choose the frame you see for a clip in icon (thumbnail) view.

Choosing Views in the Browser

You can view items in the Browser in list view or icon view. List view provides detailed clip information in columns; clips within bins appear hierarchically, allowing you to reveal or hide the contents of a bin.

If you want to organize your clips visually, you can set the Browser to display your clips as icons. There are three icon view sizes—small, medium, and large. When you choose an icon view, items are rearranged in a grid. The large icon view is particularly useful when using larger (20-inch or greater viewable area) monitors.

Small icon view Medium icon view Large icon view

To display Browser items as icons or in a list, do one of the following:

m Choose View > Browser Items, then choose an option from the submenu.

m Control-click in the Name column (or any place in the tab other than an icon), then

choose a view option from the shortcut menu.

m Press Shift-H to toggle through all four views.

70 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Working with the Browser in List View

When items are displayed as a list, the Browser displays information about the items in columns. You can customize these columns in several ways. You can:

Â Rearrange, resize, hide, and show individual columns

Â Sort clips by columns

Â Change the Master Comment column headings

Â Display, hide, and scrub (move) through thumbnails of clips

To rearrange a column:

m Drag the column heading to the new location.

As you drag a column, the pointer changes to a rectangle.

To resize a column:

m Drag the right edge of the column heading to the desired width.

The pointer between two columns changes to a Resize pointer, indicating a column can be resized.

Chapter 5 Browser Basics 71

To hide a column:

m Control-click the column heading, then choose Hide Column from the shortcut menu.

Note: You can’t hide the Name column; it’s always displayed.

To display a hidden column:

m Control-click the column heading to the right of where you want to display the column,

then choose the column you want to display from the shortcut menu.

To display thumbnails:

m Control-click any column heading other than Name, then choose Show Thumbnail from

the shortcut menu.

A thumbnail column appears with images for all video clips.

Thumbnails appear as small images of your video clips.

When thumbnails are displayed, the image shown is the first frame of the clip or the In point of the clip, if one is set. You can scrub through a thumbnail by dragging in the image, but the frame shown in the Browser always reverts to the In point of the clip.

You can change the starting image (called the poster frame) if you want to display another frame in the thumbnail. For more information, see “Setting the Poster Frame” on page 77.

To hide thumbnails:

m Control-click the Thumbnail column heading, then choose Hide Column from the

shortcut menu.

72 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

To scrub, or move, through a thumbnail:

m Drag the thumbnail image in the direction you want to view.

The thumbnail you’re scrubbing through is highlighted.

Note: You can also scrub through clips that are displayed in large icon view (see “Scrubbing Through Clips in Icon View” on page 74).

To change the names of the Master Comment or Comment column headings:

1 Control-click a Comment column heading, then choose Edit Heading from the

shortcut menu.

2 Type a new name in the column’s Name field, then press Return.

Enter the new column name.

The Master Comment and Comment column headings are the only column headings you can change. Once you customize the name of a Comment column, it remains changed in that project file, even if you hide it. New projects you create use the default names.

If you want to change several Comment headings at once, use the Project Properties window. For more information, see Chapter 21, “Working with Projects, Clips,

and Sequences,” on page 289.

Chapter 5 Browser Basics 73

Working with the Browser in Icon View

In large, medium, or small icon view, you arrange your clips graphically in the Browser. Video clips are displayed as a thumbnail of the starting frame of video, audio clips are displayed as a speaker, and bins are indicated by a folder icon. If a video clip has an audio track, a small speaker icon appears inside the clip’s thumbnail.

Video clip with audio

Thumbnails of

clips in icon view

Audio clip

You can use different views for open Browser windows and tabs. For example, you can keep the main tab of your project in the Browser in list view for organizational purposes, but open bins in their own windows or tabs using large icon view to quickly identify clips visually.

Scrubbing Through Clips in Icon View

In large icon view, you can scrub through video clips to see their content. You can also scrub through thumbnails of clips displayed in list view (see “Working with the Browser

in List View” on page 71). However, you don’t have all of the options you have in large

icon view.

Note: You can’t scrub through clips in small icon view.

74 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

To scrub through clips in large icon view:

1 Do one of the following:

Â Select the Scrub Video tool in the Tool palette.

Selection tool

Select the Scrub Video tool.

Note: When the Scrub Video tool is selected, you can hold down the Shift or Command key to temporarily make the Selection tool active to select, open, or move clips.

Â With the Selection tool selected, press Control-Shift to temporarily make the Scrub

Video tool active.

2 Drag the Scrub Video tool over the thumbnail.

Move right to scrub forward; move left to scrub backward.

Chapter 5 Browser Basics 75

Automatically Arranging Clips in Icon View

When you’re in icon view in the Browser, you can organize clip icons however you want. You can use the Arrange commands to automatically arrange your icons from left to right, either in alphabetical order or by duration, within the current width of the Browser or bin window. This is useful if the Browser or a bin window has overlapping icons or if you find yourself constantly scrolling to see icons.

To arrange items in the Browser into rows in icon view, do one of the following:

m Choose View > Arrange, then select by Name or by Duration.

m Control-click in an empty area of the Browser, then choose Arrange by Name or

Arrange by Duration from the shortcut menu.

Before using the Arrange command

After using the Arrange command

76 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Setting the Poster Frame

The poster frame is the picture that represents a clip in icon view in the Browser. When you look at clips in the Browser in large icon view or when you show the Thumbnail column in list view, the icon or thumbnail picture you see reflects either the In point for that clip (or the first frame of the clip if no In point has been set), or the poster frame you set for the clip in the Browser.

Poster frames are useful if you want to identify a clip visually in the Browser using a specific image, and can be especially useful if you’re working with a lot of clips or subclips with similar imagery. Any frame of a clip can be its poster frame.

To set the poster frame of a clip in the Viewer:

1 Double-click a clip in the Browser to open it in the Viewer.

2 In the Viewer, navigate to the frame you want to use as the poster frame for the clip.

3 Choose Mark > Set Poster Frame (or press Control-P).

To set the poster frame in the Browser in large icon view:

m Scrub through a clip until you get to the desired frame, press and hold the Control key,

then release the mouse button.

Original poster frame

(before scrubbing)

The poster frame is

now set to the frame you

scrubbed to.

Chapter 5 Browser Basics 77

6 Viewer Basics

The Viewer is used for viewing a clip’s media and preparing clips before editing them into a sequence.

This chapter covers the following:

Â How You Can Use the Viewer (p. 79)

Â Opening a Clip in the Viewer (p. 80)

Â Learning About the Viewer (p. 81)

Â Tabs in the Viewer (p. 83)

Â Transport Controls (p. 84)

Â Playhead Controls (p. 85)

Â Marking Controls (p. 87)

Â Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus (p. 88)

Â Recent Clips and Generator Pop-Up Menus (p. 91)

How You Can Use the Viewer

The Viewer is extremely versatile. You can use the Viewer to:

Â Define In and Out edit points for clips before editing them into a sequence

Â Adjust audio levels and panning in the Audio tab

Â Open clips within sequences to adjust durations, In and Out points, and filter parameters

Note: Changes you make to a clip opened from a sequence are applied to the clip only in that sequence. If you make changes to a clip opened from the Browser, the changes appear only in the clip in the Browser.

Â Add filters to clips and adjust filters applied to clips

Â Adjust the motion parameters of clips to modify or animate such parameters as scale,

rotation, cropping, and opacity

Â Adjust generator clip controls

Generators are special clips that can be generated by Final Cut Express, so they don’t require source media. Final Cut Express has generators that create color mattes, text of different types, gradients, color bars, and white noise. For more information, see Chapter 54, “Using Generator Clips,” on page 861.

Â Open a transition, such as a dissolve or a wipe, from an edited sequence for

detailed editing

For more information, see Chapter 36, “Adding Transitions,” on page 537.

Before you can work in the Viewer, it must be the currently selected, or active, window. Otherwise, any commands or keyboard shortcuts you use may perform the wrong operations. To display the Viewer (if it’s not open already), you must open a clip from the Browser or the Timeline (see the next section, “Opening a Clip in the Viewer”).

To make the Viewer window active, do one of the following:

m Click the Viewer.

m Press Command-1. (Press this again to close the Viewer.)

m Press Q to switch between the Viewer and the Canvas.

Opening a Clip in the Viewer

The Viewer is where you look at source clips from the Browser before editing them into a sequence. You can also open clips that are already in a sequence in order to adjust durations and edit points, or edit filter parameters. There a variety of ways to open clips in the Viewer. You can choose the method that you find most convenient.

∏ Tip: You can tell whether a clip in the Viewer has been opened from the Browser or

from a sequence in the Timeline. Sprocket holes appear in the scrubber bar for clips opened from a sequence. You can also tell the origin of the clip from the name of the clip in the Viewer title bar.

To open a clip in the Viewer from the Browser, do one of the following:

m In the Browser, double-click the clip.

m Drag the clip from the Browser to the Viewer.

m In the Browser, select the clip and press Return.

Note: In the Browser, pressing Enter is different from pressing Return. Pressing Enter allows to you to rename the clip.

m In the Browser, Control-click the clip, then choose Open in Viewer from the shortcut menu.

m In the Browser, select the clip, then choose View > Clip.

m In the Viewer, select a clip name from the Recent Clips pop-up menu in the lower-right

area of the window.

80 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

indicate that this is

Sprocket holes

a sequence clip.

To open a sequence clip in the Viewer from the Timeline or Canvas, do one of the following:

m In the Timeline, double-click the clip.

m In the Timeline or Canvas, move the playhead over the clip, then press Return or Enter.

The clip on the lowest-numbered track with Auto Select enabled is opened in the Viewer.

m In the Timeline, select the clip and press Return or Enter.

m Drag the clip from the Timeline to the Viewer.

Learning About the Viewer

The following is a quick summary of the Viewer controls. For a more detailed description of Viewer controls, see the sections starting with “Tabs in the Viewer” on page 83.

Clip name and the

Tabs

project it’s in

Timecode Duration field

Zoom pop-up menu

Image display area

Playhead

In point

Scrubber bar

Shuttle control

Current Timecode field

View pop-up menu

Out point

Marker

Jog control Generator pop-up menu

Marking controls

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 81

Transport controls

Recent Clips pop-up menu

Â Tabs: There are five tabs that can be shown in the Viewer—Video, Audio, Filters,

Motion, and Controls—each providing certain editing functions. For more details, see “Tabs in the Viewer” on page 83.

Â Image display area: This is the area of the Viewer where you can see the video from

your sequence play back.

Â In Point and Out point: In and Out points allow you to define a specific portion of a

clip to include in a sequence. A clip In point marks the first frame of a clip to be edited into a sequence. A clip Out point specifies the last frame of the clip to be used. For more information, see Chapter 23, “Setting Edit Points

for Clips and Sequences,” on page 313.

Â Playhead: The position of the playhead corresponds to the currently displayed frame.

You can move the playhead to go to different parts of a clip.

Â Scrubber bar: The scrubber bar represents the entire duration of a clip. You can click

anywhere in the scrubber bar to automatically move the playhead to that location.

Â Transport controls: You use these to play clips and move the playhead within clips

and sequences.

Â Jog and shuttle controls: You use the jog and shuttle controls to navigate within your

clip, much like traditional VTR controls.

Â Marking controls: You use these to set edit points (In and Out points) and add

markers and keyframes to your clips.

Â Zoom pop-up menu: This lets you enlarge or shrink the image that appears in

the Viewer.

Â View pop-up menu: This allows you to control display options such as timecode and

marker overlays, as well as the background color for transparent pixels.

Â Generator pop-up menu: You use this to select and open generators in the Viewer for

modifying and editing into your sequence. Generators are special clips that can be generated by Final Cut Express; for example, they can be used to create color mattes and text of different types.

Â Recent Clips pop-up menu: This allows you to open recently used clips in the Viewer

for modifying and editing into your sequence.

Â Current Timecode field: This field displays the timecode of the frame at the current

position of the playhead. You can enter timecode numbers here to navigate to a new position in the clip.

Â Timecode Duration field: This field shows the current duration between the clip In

and Out points. You can change the duration here, which automatically adjusts the the clip Out point.

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Tabs in the Viewer

Each tab in the Viewer provides a specific set of editing functions: Video, Audio, Filters, Motion, and Controls. You can drag tabs out of the Viewer so they appear in a separate window. This is useful, for example, if you want to adjust filter or generator parameters while watching the results in the Video tab.

Video Tab

The video tab lets you view a clip’s video media, set In and Out points, and add markers and keyframes. This tab appears when you open a clip that includes video clip items. This tab is shown by default (see “Learning About the Viewer” on page 81).

Audio Tabs

Audio tabs display audio waveforms for audio clip items. If your clip has audio items, each audio item opens in its own Audio tab. (If you open an audio-only clip, you’ll only see Audio tabs with no accompanying Video tab.) Clips in Final Cut Express may have up to 24 audio items.

An audio tab may represent a single (mono) audio item or a stereo pair of audio items. Stereo audio items appear together in a single tab, while mono audio items appear separately in individual tabs. Controls in each Audio tab allow you to change the audio level and the stereo panning parameters, creating keyframes if necessary to adjust levels over time. You can also use an Audio tab to set In and Out points, markers, and keyframes for audio clips. To learn more, see Chapter 32, “Audio Editing Basics,” on page 455.

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 83

Filters Tab

You use this tab to adjust parameters for any video or audio filters you’ve applied to a clip. You can also set keyframes to adjust filter parameters over time. For more information, see Chapter 45, “Using Video Filters,” on page 677. For audio filters, see Chapter 44, “Using Audio Filters,” on page 653.

Motion Tab

Every clip with a video clip item, whether it’s a video, still image, or generator clip, has the same motion parameters: scale, rotation, center, anchor point, and additional attributes such as crop, distort, opacity, drop shadow, and motion blur. The Motion tab allows you to adjust these parameters of a clip.

You can create motion effects by setting keyframes for motion parameters over time. For more information, see Chapter 47, “Changing Motion Parameters,” on page 723 and Chapter 48, “Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects,” on page 751.

Controls Tab

You use the Controls tab to change the parameters for generator clips, such as the font and text size in a Text generator, or the size of a Circle Shape generator. The Controls tab appears only when a generator is open in the Viewer. For additional information, see Chapter 54, “Using Generator Clips,” on page 861.

Go to Previous Edit

Play In to Out

Transport Controls

Transport (or playback) controls let you play clips in the Viewer. These controls play clips at 100 percent (or 1x) speed. There are keyboard shortcuts for each control.

Go to Next Edit

Play Around Current Frame

Play

Â Play (Space bar): Plays your clip from the current location of the playhead. Clicking it

again stops playback.

Â Play In to Out (Shift-\): Moves the playhead to the current In point of a clip and plays

forward from that point to the Out point.

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Â Play Around Current Frame (\): Plays the selected clip “around” the current playhead

position. When you click this button, the playback begins before the playhead position based on the value in the Preview Pre-roll field in the Editing tab of the User Preferences window. Playback continues through the original position of the playhead, and then continues for the amount of time in the Preview Post-roll field in User Preferences. When you stop playback, the playhead jumps back to its original position. For more information, see Chapter 62, “Choosing Settings and Preferences,” on page 969.

Â Go to Previous Edit (Up Arrow) and Go to Next Edit (Down Arrow): When you have a

Browser clip open in the Viewer, these controls navigate between the In, Out, and Media Start and End points of the clip. When you have a sequence open, these buttons let you navigate between sequence edit points; sequence In and Out points are skipped over.

Playhead Controls

The playhead lets you navigate through and locate different parts of a clip quickly and easily.

Scrubber bar

Shuttle control

Playhead

Inactive video

Jog control

Playhead and Scrubber Bar

The playhead shows the location of the currently displayed frame within the current clip. The scrubber bar runs along the entire width of the Viewer, below the video image. To scrub through a clip, drag the playhead across the scrubber bar. You can also hold down the Command key to drag the playhead at a slower speed, so you can more easily locate specific frames. You can click anywhere in the scrubber bar to instantly move the playhead to that location.

The playhead’s movement in the scrubber bar is affected by whether “snapping” is turned on. When snapping is on, the playhead “snaps,” or moves directly, to any markers, In points, or Out points in the scrubber bar when it gets close to them. (To turn snapping on or off, choose View > Snapping, or press the N key.)

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 85

To move the playhead to the next In or Out point, or Media End:

m Press the Down arrow key.

To move the playhead to the previous In or Out point, or Media Start:

m Press the Up arrow key.

To move the playhead to the beginning of your clip:

m Press Home on your keyboard.

To move the playhead to the end of your clip:

m Press End on your keyboard.

Jog Control

To move forward or backward in your clip very precisely, use the jog control. The jog control allows you to move the playhead as if you were actually moving it with your hand, with a one-to-one correspondence between the motion of your mouse and the playhead’s motion. This control is useful for carefully locating a specific frame (for instance, if you’re trimming an edit). For more information, see “Jogging Through a Clip

or Sequence” on page 109.

To move the playhead backward, one frame at a time:

m Press the Left Arrow key.

To move the playhead forward, one frame at a time:

m Press the Right Arrow key.

To move the playhead one second at a time:

m Hold down the Shift key and press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key.

Shuttle Control

This control lets you quickly play through clips at different speeds, in fast and slow motion. It also shifts the pitch of audio as it plays at varying speeds. In slow motion, this can make it easier to locate specific words and sounds for editing.

Drag the slider to the right to fast-forward and to the left to rewind. Playback speed varies depending on the distance of the slider from the center of the control. When the slider is green, playback speed is normal (or 100 percent speed). The further away from the center you move, the faster the playback speed. The keyboard equivalents of the shuttle control are the J, K, and L keys. For more information, see “Shuttling Through a

Clip or Sequence” on page 107.

86 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Marking Controls

Marking controls let you set In and Out points, add markers and keyframes, and navigate to matching frames in master or affiliate clips (this is called performing a match frame). There are keyboard shortcuts for each control.

Add Motion Keyframe

Mark Clip

Show Match Frame

Add Marker

Mark In

Mark Out

Â Show Match Frame (F): When you click this button, Final Cut Express searches the

current sequence for the same frame shown in the Viewer. Specifically, Final Cut Express looks for any sequence clips that are affiliated with the clip in the Viewer. If the frame shown in the Viewer is used in the current sequence, the Canvas/ Timeline playhead is positioned to that frame. The result is that you see the same frame in both the Viewer and the Canvas, but the clip you see in the Canvas is actually an affiliate of the clip in the Viewer. This is useful if you want to see where you have already used a particular frame in your sequence.

Each time you click the Show Match Frame button, Final Cut Express navigates to the next occurrence of that frame in the sequence. To make sure you find the first occurrence of the frame, you can move the Canvas/Timeline playhead to the start of the sequence.

Â Mark Clip (X): Click to set In and Out points at the boundaries of the clip.

Â Add Motion Keyframe (Control-K): Click to add a keyframe to the current clip at the

position of the playhead for clip parameters such as Scale, Rotate, Crop, Distort, and so on. By default, this button sets keyframes for all clip motion parameters at once. To add keyframes for individual parameters, Control-click this button and choose a parameter from the shortcut menu. For more information, see Chapter 48, “Adjusting

Parameters for Keyframed Effects,” on page 751.

Â Add Marker (M): Click to add a marker at the current playhead position. While editing

you can use markers to make notes about important points in your sequence, such as areas to change, potential edit points, or sync points. For more information, see Chapter 19, “Using Markers,” on page 261.

Important: If a clip is selected in the Timeline, and the playhead touches that clip, a

marker is added to the sequence clip, not the sequence.

Â Mark In (I): Click to set the In point at the current position of the playhead.

Â Mark Out (O): Click to set the Out point at the current position of the playhead.

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 87

Zoom pop-up menu

Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus

The two pop-up menus near the top of the Viewer let you quickly select the magnification level and a viewing format to control the way media in the Viewer is displayed.

Note: These menus also appear in the Canvas, and the options are the same.

Zoom Pop-Up Menu

Choose a magnification level from this pop-up menu. Your choice affects only the display size of the image; it doesn’t affect the scaling or frame size of the footage in the Viewer. You can also change the magnification level from the keyboard by pressing Command-= (equal sign) to zoom in and Command-– (minus) to zoom out.

Besides simply choosing a magnification level, you can choose one of the following:

Â Fit to Window: Increases or decreases the size of your media’s image to match any

size of the Viewer window. You can also do this by clicking the Viewer to make it active, and then pressing Shift-Z (Zoom to Fit).

Before

88 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

After

Â Fit All: This is similar to the Fit to Window command, but this command takes into

account clips whose borders extend beyond the current Viewer boundaries.

Before

After

Â Show as Sq. Pixels: Displays non-square pixel images as square pixels so they look

correct on your computer screen. Standard definition (SD) video equipment displays video using non-square pixels, whereas computer monitors display video with square pixels. Because of the difference in the shape of the pixels, the same video image looks different on each kind of monitor. Final Cut Express can simulate how your images will look on a video monitor using the computer’s display, so that your video images look correct as you edit. This does not permanently affect your picture; it’s only for display purposes.

Displaying native, non-square pixels Display pixel as square

Note: When playing back media with the Viewer scaled to 100 percent, both fields of interlaced video are displayed. If the Viewer is scaled to anything other than 100 percent and you’re displaying a DV clip, only one field is shown during playback or while scrubbing through the clip. When playing back media captured with a third-party video interface, some interfaces display both fields regardless of the scale of the Viewer, which may result in visible artifacts in the picture. These are display artifacts only, and do not exist in the video signal output to tape.

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 89

Important: Clips may not play back smoothly if you zoom in on them so far that part of

the image is obscured, and you see scroll bars to the right and below the Viewer windows. Other windows blocking the Viewer will also affect playback. Choosing a window layout or pressing Shift-Z are easy ways to remedy playback quality in this situation.

View Pop-Up Menu

You can choose various options from this pop-up menu for how you view your clips and sequences in the Viewer.

View pop-up menu

Â Image or Image+Wireframe: Image is the default, and simply shows the video of

your clip or sequence as it plays back. Image+Wireframe is useful when you’re using motion effects or compositing. Each video layer in the Viewer has a bounding box with handles (or a wireframe) that can be used to adjust that clip’s size, rotation, and position. For more information on using motion effects, see Chapter 47, “Changing

Motion Parameters,” on page 723 and Chapter 48, “Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects,” on page 751. For information on compositing, see Chapter 52,

“Compositing and Layering,” on page 807.

Â Overlays: Final Cut Express provides translucent visual cues, called overlays, that help

you easily recognize certain parts of your edit in the Viewer, such as the markers and In and Out points of clips in your sequence.

Note: To view overlays such as title safe and timecode overlays, you need to enable this option.

Â Title safe overlay: These show you the boundaries within which you need to keep

your graphics and text so they’ll appear when the sequence is played back on television. For more information, see Chapter 55, “Creating Titles,” on page 869.

None of these view options affect either rendered output or material sent to tape. They only affect display in Final Cut Express.

90 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Recent Clips and Generator Pop-Up Menus

The two pop-up menus near the lower-right corner of the Viewer let you quickly choose source clips and generators.

Generator pop-up menu

Recent Clips pop-up menu

Recent Clips Pop-Up Menu

This pop-up menu shows recently used clips. A clip is not added to this list when first opened in the Viewer, but only when another clip replaces it. The last clip that was replaced in the Viewer appears at the top of the list. By default, the maximum number of clips that appear in this list is 10, but you can change this number. For more information, see Chapter 62, “Choosing Settings and Preferences,” on page 969.

The clip replaced most recently is at the top of the list.

Generator Pop-Up Menu

Use this pop-up menu to create a generator clip, such as bars and tone, text, black, a color matte, or a gradient. A generator clip appears in the Viewer; you can then customize it using the Controls tab. For more information, see Chapter 54, “Using

Generator Clips,” on page 861.

Chapter 6 Viewer Basics 91

7 Canvas Basics

The Canvas provides an environment for viewing your edited sequence, and works in tandem with the Timeline while you edit.

This chapter covers the following:

Â How You Use the Canvas (p. 93)

Â Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas (p. 94)

Â Learning About the Canvas (p. 95)

Â Edit Overlay in the Canvas (p. 96)

Â Transport Controls (p. 97)

Â Playhead Controls (p. 98)

Â Marking Controls (p. 100)

Â Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus (p. 101)

How You Use the Canvas

In Final Cut Express, the Canvas is the equivalent of a record monitor in a tape-to-tape editing suite; it displays the video and audio of your edited sequence during playback.

When you open a new sequence, it appears simultaneously in tabs in both the Canvas and the Timeline. The Canvas playhead mirrors the position of the Timeline playhead, and the Canvas displays the frame at the playhead’s current position in an open sequence. If you move the Timeline’s playhead, the frame displayed in the Canvas changes accordingly. If you make a change in the Canvas, it’s reflected in the Timeline.

The controls in the Canvas are similar to those in the Viewer, but instead of navigating and playing back individual clips, the controls in the Canvas navigate the entire sequence currently open in the Timeline.

Before you can work in the Canvas, it must be the currently selected, or active, window. Otherwise, any commands or keyboard shortcuts you use may perform the wrong operations. To display the Canvas, you must open a sequence from the Browser (see the next section, “Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas”).

Note: Most of the commands you use in the Canvas also work in the Timeline.

To make the Canvas window active, do one of the following:

m Click the Canvas.

m Press Command-2.

m Press Q to switch between the Viewer and the Canvas.

Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas

Sequences are represented by tabs in the Canvas and Timeline. All controls and commands in the Canvas affect only the sequence in the foreground.

To open a sequence in the Canvas:

m Double-click a sequence in the Browser.

m Select the sequence in the Browser, then press Return.

m Control-click the sequence in the Browser, then choose Open Timeline from the

shortcut menu.

m Select the sequence in the Browser, then choose View > Sequence in Editor.

If you have more than one sequence open in the Canvas, the tab in front is the active sequence.

To make a sequence active in the Canvas:

m Click a sequence’s tab to bring it to the front.

To close a sequence in the Canvas, do one of the following:

m Click a sequence’s tab to bring it to the front, then choose File > Close Tab.

m Click a sequence’s tab to bring it to the front, then press Control-W.

m Control-click the tab, then choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu.

When you close the tab of a sequence in the Canvas, its corresponding tab in the Timeline also closes.

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Learning About the Canvas

The following is a summary of the controls in the Canvas.

Name of the currently Tab for the open sequence

selected sequence and

the project it’s in

Timecode Duration field

Zoom pop-up menu

Image display area

Playhead

In point

Scrubber bar

Jog control

Current Timecode field

View pop-up menu

Out point

Shuttle control

Transport controls

Sequence marking controls

Â Tabs: Each tab in the Canvas represents an open sequence. Each tab in the Canvas

has a corresponding tab in the Timeline.

Â Image display area: This is the area of the Canvas where you can see the video from

your sequence play back.

Â Playhead: The position of the playhead corresponds to the currently displayed frame.

You can move the playhead to go to different parts of a sequence.

Â In Point and Out Point: You can set sequence In and sequence Out points in the

Canvas or Timeline. You can use these as placement points to determine where clips are placed in the Timeline destination tracks when you’re doing three-point editing. For more information, see Chapter 23, “Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences,” on page 313.

Â Scrubber bar: The scrubber bar represents the entire duration of a sequence. You can

click anywhere in the scrubber bar to automatically move the playhead to that location.

Â Transport controls: You use these to play a sequence and to move the playhead

within your sequence. The position of the playhead corresponds to the currently displayed frame.

Â Jog and shuttle controls: These let you navigate more precisely within your sequence.

Â Sequence marking controls: These are used to add sequence In and Out points,

markers, and keyframes.

Â View pop-up menu: This allows you to control display options such as timecode and

marker overlays, as well as the background color for transparent pixels.

Chapter 7 Canvas Basics 95

Drag a clip to

the image display area

of the Canvas.

Â Zoom pop-up menu: This lets you enlarge or shrink the image that appears in

the Canvas.

Â Current Timecode field: This field displays the timecode of the frame at the current

position of the playhead. You can enter timecode numbers here to navigate to a new position in your sequence.

Â Timecode Duration field: This field shows the current duration between the sequence

In and Out points. You can change the duration here, which automatically adjusts the the sequence Out point.

Edit Overlay in the Canvas

The Canvas can perform five basic types of edits to place a clip in the Viewer into the current sequence. The clip is placed in the Timeline according to the In and Out points set in the clip and the sequence, following the rules of three-point editing.

To place a clip, you can drag it from the Viewer into the Canvas, which then displays editing overlays. You then drag the clip to the overlay section you want.

The Edit Overlay appears.

The basic edit types are:

Â Overwrite: Replaces the clip items in the destination sequence track with the clip in

the Viewer.

Â Insert: Pushes clip items in the sequence forward to accommodate the clip from

the Viewer.

Â Replace: Replaces the clip item beneath the Canvas/Timeline playhead with the clip in

the Viewer, using the playhead position in both windows as a synchronization point.

Â Fit to Fill: Speeds up or slows down the clip in the Viewer to fit between the In and

Out points set in the Canvas and Timeline.

Â Superimpose: Edits the clip in the Viewer into a track above the sequence clip that

intersects the playhead.

96 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Drag a clip to

the image display area

of the Canvas.

Variations of overwrite and insert, called overwrite with transition and insert with transition, add the default transition when you perform the edit. This allows you to

perform transitions such as dissolves in a single move. These edits are covered in much more detail in Chapter 26, “Three-Point Editing,” on page 361.

The Edit Overlay appears only when you drag clips from the Browser or Viewer to the image area of the Canvas. The Edit Overlay appears translucently over the image currently in the Canvas.

The Edit Overlay appears with its seven sections.

There are seven sections in the Edit Overlay. If you simply drag your clip to the image display area to the left of the Edit Overlay, an overwrite edit is performed. To perform any of the other edits, drag your clip to the overlay area for the edit you wish to perform.

Go to Previous Edit

Play In to Out

You’ll know that the clip you’re dragging is over a specific overlay when a colored outline appears around the border of the overlay.

Transport Controls

Transport (or playback) controls let you play sequences in the Canvas, as well as move the playhead in the Timeline. These controls play clips and sequences at 100 percent (or 1x) speed. There are keyboard shortcuts for each control.

Go to Next Edit

Play Around Current Frame

Play

Â Play (Space bar): Plays your sequence from the current location of the playhead.

Clicking it again stops playback.

Â Play In to Out (Shift-\): Moves the playhead to the current In point of a sequence and

plays forward from that point to the Out point.

Chapter 7 Canvas Basics 97

Â Play Around Current Frame (\): Plays the selected sequence “around” the current

playhead position. When you click this button, playback begins before the playhead position based on the value in the Preview Pre-roll field in the Editing tab of the User Preferences window. Playback continues through the original position of the playhead, and then continues for the amount of time specified in the Preview Post-roll field. When you stop playback, the playhead jumps back to its original position. For more information, see Chapter 62, “Choosing Settings and Preferences,” on page 969.

Â Go to Previous (Up Arrow) and Go to Next Edit (Down Arrow): These controls are

primarily used for quickly navigating from one edit point to the next in the Canvas. The Go to Previous and Go to Next Edit buttons move the playhead to the previous and next edit points in the sequence, relative to the current playhead position. If you have In and Out points set in your sequence, the Go to Previous and Go to Next Edit buttons navigate to these points as well.

Playhead Controls

The playhead lets you navigate through and locate different parts of a sequence quickly and easily.

Scrubber bar

Jog control

Inactive video

Playhead Shuttle control

Playhead and Scrubber Bar

The playhead shows the location of the currently displayed frame within the current sequence. The scrubber bar runs along the entire width of the Canvas, below the video image. To scrub through a sequence, drag the playhead across the scrubber bar. You can also hold down the Command key to drag the playhead at a slower speed, so you can more easily locate specific frames. You can click anywhere in the scrubber bar to instantly move the playhead to that location.

98 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

To move the playhead to the beginning of your sequence:

m Press Home on your keyboard.

To move the playhead to the end of your sequence:

m Press End on your keyboard.

To move the playhead to the next edit point, do one of the following:

m Choose Mark > Next > Edit.

m Click the Go to Next Edit button.

m Press the Down Arrow key.

m Press Shift-E.

Final Cut Express looks for the next edit, In point, or Out point. If overlays are enabled in the View menu, an L-shaped icon appears in the Canvas, indicating whether you are on an In or Out point.

To move the playhead to the previous edit point, do one of the following:

m Choose Mark > Previous > Edit.

m Click the Go to Previous Edit button.

m Press the Up Arrow key.

m Press Option-E.

Final Cut Express looks for the previous edit, In point, or Out point. If overlays are enabled in the View menu, an L-shaped icon appears in the Canvas, indicating whether you are on an In or Out point.

To move the playhead to sequence markers, do one of the following:

m Control-click in the Current Timecode field in either the Timeline or the Canvas, then

choose a marker from the shortcut menu that appears.

m Press Shift–Down Arrow to move to the next marker to the right of the playhead.

m Press Shift–Up Arrow to move to the next marker to the left of the playhead.

The playhead moves to that marker. If overlays are enabled in the View menu, the marker is displayed in the Canvas. For more information on setting markers in the Timeline, see Chapter 19, “Using Markers,” on page 261.

Chapter 7 Canvas Basics 99

Jog Control

To move forward or backward in your sequence very precisely, use the jog control. The jog control allows you to move the playhead in the Canvas as if you were actually moving it with your hand, with a one-to-one correspondence between the motion of your mouse and the playhead’s motion. This control is useful for carefully locating a specific frame (for instance, if you’re trimming an edit).

Shuttle Control

This control lets you quickly play through sequences at different speeds, in fast and slow motion. It also shifts the pitch of audio as it plays at varying speeds. In slow motion, this can make it easier to locate specific words and sounds for editing.

Clip or Sequence” on page 107.

Marking Controls

Mark In

Mark Out

Add Marker

Â Mark In (I): Click to set the In point at the current position of the playhead.

Â Mark Out (O): Click to set the Out point at the current position of the playhead.

Â Add Marker (M): Click to add a marker at the current playhead position. While editing

you can use markers to make notes about important points in your sequence, such as areas to change, potential edit points, or sync points. Markers can be added to sequences in the Canvas and Timeline. For more information, see Chapter 19, “Using

Markers,” on page 261.

Important: If a clip is selected in the Timeline, and the playhead touches that clip, a

marker is added to the sequence clip, not the sequence.

100 Part II Learning About the Final Cut Express Interface

Mark Clip Show Match Frame

Add Motion Keyframe

Apple FINAL CUT EXPRESS 4 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Onscreen Help

Onscreen User Manual

Release Notes

Apple Websites

Apple Service and Support Website

The Industry Workflow

The Post-Production Workflow

2 Video Formats

About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing

Using Multiple Video Formats in a Sequence

Video Format Basics

Video Standards

Image Dimensions and Aspect Ratio

Frame Rate

Scanning Method

The Building Blocks of Projects

What Are Media Files?

What Are Clips?

What Are Sequences?

What Are Projects?

What Are Bins?

Working with Projects

Organizing Your Projects

Using More Than One Sequence in a Project

Creating and Saving Projects

Opening and Closing Projects

About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files

Relationship Between Source Tapes, Media Files, and Clips

Reconnecting Clips to Media Files

Filenaming Considerations

Avoiding Special Characters

Restricting Length of Filenames

Using Filename Extensions

Using Multiple Hard Disks

Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Using Button Bars

Using Shortcut Menus

Learning Commands by Using Tooltips

Customizing the Interface

Moving and Resizing Windows

Working with Tabs and Tabbed Windows

Moving Windows

Using Different Window Layouts

Showing and Positioning the Dock

Undoing and Redoing Changes

Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes

5 Browser Basics

How You Use the Browser

Learning About the Browser

Working in the Browser

Creating Sequences

Selecting Items in the Browser

Navigating Within the Browser Using the Keyboard

Copying and Deleting Items in the Browser

Renaming Clips, Sequences, and Bins

Customizing the Browser Display

Choosing Views in the Browser

Working with the Browser in List View

Working with the Browser in Icon View

Setting the Poster Frame

6 Viewer Basics

How You Can Use the Viewer

Opening a Clip in the Viewer

Learning About the Viewer

Tabs in the Viewer

Video Tab

Audio Tabs

Filters Tab

Motion Tab

Controls Tab

Transport Controls

Playhead Controls

Playhead and Scrubber Bar

Jog Control