Apple Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual

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Final Cut Pro 7

User Manual

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Welcome to Final Cut Pro27Preface

About Final Cut Pro27 About the Final Cut Pro Documentation28 Additional Resources28

About the Post-Production Workflow29Chapter 1

The Industry Workflow29 The Post-Production Workflow30

Video Formats and Timecode35Chapter 2

About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing35 Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro35 Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro37 Video Format Basics37 About Timecode39

Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences41Chapter 3

The Building Blocks of Projects41 Working with Projects45 About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files48 Filenaming Considerations50

Overview of the Final Cut Pro Interface53Chapter 4

Basics of Working in the Final Cut Pro Interface53 Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus55 Customizing the Interface57 Undoing and Redoing Changes62 Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes63

Browser Basics65Chapter 5

How You Use the Browser65 Learning About the Browser66 Working in the Browser67 Using Columns in the Browser71

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Customizing the Browser Display73

Viewer Basics85Chapter 6

How You Can Use the Viewer85 Opening a Clip in the Viewer86 Learning About the Viewer87 Tabs in the Viewer90 Transport Controls in the Viewer92 Playhead Controls in the Viewer93 Marking Controls in the Viewer95 Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus in the Viewer96 Playhead Sync Pop-Up Menu99 Recent Clips and Generator Pop-Up Menus100

Canvas Basics103Chapter 7

How You Use the Canvas103 Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas104 Learning About the Canvas105 Editing Controls in the Canvas107 Transport Controls in the Canvas109 Playhead Controls in the Canvas110 Marking Controls in the Canvas112 Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus in the Canvas113 Playhead Sync Pop-Up Menu in the Canvas113

Navigating and Using Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas115Chapter 8

Navigating in the Viewer and Canvas115 Working with Timecode in the Viewer and Canvas121

Timeline Basics127Chapter 9

How You Use the Timeline127 Opening and Closing Sequences in the Timeline129 Learning About the Timeline130 Changing Timeline Display Options141 Navigating in the Timeline149 Zooming and Scrolling in the Timeline151

Customizing the Interface157Chapter 10

Changing Browser and Timeline Text Size157 Moving and Resizing Final Cut Pro Windows157 Using Window Layouts159 Ways to Customize Keyboard Shortcuts162 Working with Shortcut Buttons and Button Bars171

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Connecting DV Video Equipment177Chapter 11

Components of a Basic Final Cut Pro Editing System177 Setting Up a Final Cut Pro Editing System178 Connecting Your Camcorder179 Opening Final Cut Pro and Choosing Your Initial Settings179 Confirming Remote Device Control Between Final Cut Pro and Your DV Device184 About FireWire185

Connecting Professional Video and Audio Equipment187Chapter 12

Components of a Professional Final Cut Pro Editing System187 About Video Interfaces, Signals, and Connectors191 Connecting Professional Video Devices197 Audio Interfaces202 Audio Connectors and Signal Formats206 Connecting Professional Audio Devices212 Connecting Remote Device Control215

Determining Your Hard Disk Storage Options219Chapter 13

Working with Scratch Disks and Hard Disk Drives219 Data Rates and Storage Devices219 Determining How Much Space You Need221 Choosing a Hard Disk223 Types of Hard Disk Drives224

External Video Monitoring231Chapter 14

Using an External Video Monitor While You Edit231 Using Digital Cinema Desktop Preview238 Compensating for Video Latency by Specifying a Frame Offset241 Troubleshooting External Video Monitoring Problems242

Overview of Capturing Tape-Based Media245Chapter 15

What Are Logging and Capturing?245 Ways to Log and Capture Footage in Final Cut Pro245 The Importance of Logging248 Benefits of Logging249 Preparing to Log249 Additional Sources for Logging Information252 About Capturing Footage253 Are You Ready to Log and Capture?253

About the Log and Capture Window255Chapter 16

Opening the Log and Capture Window255 Controls in the Log and Capture Window256

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Preview Area in the Log and Capture Window257 Logging Tab in the Log and Capture Window259 Clip Settings Tab in the Log and Capture Window261 Capture Settings Tab in the Log and Capture Window262 Log and Capture Buttons in the Log and Capture Window262

Logging from Tape263Chapter 17

Overview of Logging Steps263 Opening the Log and Capture Window265 Inserting a Tape in the VTR266 Setting a Logging Bin to Store Logged Clips267 Entering a Reel Name for the Current Tape268 Setting Clip In and Out Points269 Entering a Clip Name and Other Logging Information270 Adding Markers to Clips While Logging273 Selecting Which Tracks to Capture274 Changing Capture Settings276 Setting Video and Audio Levels for Analog Video277 Logging a Clip277

Capturing Video from Tape279Chapter 18

Capturing Clips as You Log279 Capturing Entire Tapes280 Batch Capturing Clips285

Capturing Audio from Tape299Chapter 19

About Capturing Audio299 Capturing Audio-Only Media Files300 Capturing Multiple Audio Channels300 Adjusting Analog Audio Levels for Capture306 Capturing Audio from an Audio Deck Using Device Control308 Capturing from an Audio Device Without Device Control309 Capturing Synchronized Audio Independently from Video310

Advanced Topics in Capturing Tape-Based Media313Chapter 20

Capturing Footage Without Device Control313 Capturing Video and Audio Separately315 Recapturing Clips315 Avoiding Duplicate Timecode Numbers on a Single Tape316 Capturing Footage with Timecode Breaks318 Renaming Media Files After Capture322 Using the Media Manager After Capturing322

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Overview of Transferring File-Based Media323Chapter 21

About File-Based Media323 Introduction to the Log and Transfer Window324 File-Based Media Terminology325 Example File-Based Media Workflow326

About the Log and Transfer Window329Chapter 22

Opening the Log and Transfer Window329 Controls in the Log and Transfer Window331

Logging File-Based Media341Chapter 23

Preparing to Log File-Based Media341 Entering Logging Information343 Automatically Naming Your Clips345

Transferring File-Based Media349Chapter 24

About Transferring File-Based Media350 Choosing a Scratch Disk and Logging Bin351 Mounting Media Devices351 Mounting Media Volumes in the Log and Transfer Window352 Choosing a Destination Codec353 Viewing Clips to Be Transferred353 Selecting Clips354 Previewing Clips355 Logging Clips in the Log and Transfer Window356 Placing Clips in the Transfer Queue358

Advanced Topics in Transferring File-Based Media363Chapter 25

Setting Log and Transfer Import Preferences363 Retransferring Clip Media364 Viewing Spanned Clips in the Browse Area366 Archiving File-Based Media from Cards368

Importing Media Files into Your Project371Chapter 26

What File Formats Can Be Imported?371 Importing Media Files372 About Importing Video Files375 About Importing Audio Files377 Importing Still Images and Graphics382 Importing Numbered Image Sequences383

Organizing Footage in the Browser389Chapter 27 Using Bins to Organize Your Clips389

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Using Labels to Organize Your Clips395 Sorting Items in the Browser Using Column Headings399 Searching for Clips in the Browser and Finder401

Creating Subclips409Chapter 28

Learning About Subclips409 Techniques for Breaking Large Clips into Subclips413 Creating Independent Media Files from Subclips After Capturing416

Merging Clips from Dual System Video and Audio419Chapter 29

Working with Dual System Video and Audio419 Using Synchronization Points to Create Merged Clips420 Duration of Merged Clips422 Creating Merged Clips from the Timeline423 Changing the Sync of Merged Clips424

Working with Projects, Clips, and Sequences427Chapter 30

Specifying Preferences Before You Start Editing427 Working with Projects428 Learning About the Different Types of Clips431 Viewing and Changing the Properties of a Clip434 Creating and Working with Sequences437

The Fundamentals of Adding Clips to a Sequence445Chapter 31

Creating a Rough Edit445 Overview of Ways to Add Clips to a Sequence448 Preparing a Sequence Order in the Browser450

Using Markers453Chapter 32

Learning About Markers453 Viewing Markers in the Viewer or Canvas459 Viewing Markers in the Browser459 Adding Markers in Clips and Sequences460 Deleting Markers in Clips and Sequences463 Navigating with Markers465 Modifying Markers466 Moving Markers467 Using the Ripple Sequence Markers Setting469 Editing Multiple Markers on the Same Frame469 Aligning Items in the Timeline by Their Markers470 Extending a Marker’s Duration471 Editing Markers into Sequences472 Exporting Markers with Your QuickTime Movies472 Exporting Marker Lists as Text473

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Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences475Chapter 33

About In and Out Points475 Setting Clip In and Out Points in the Viewer478 Setting Sequence In and Out Points in the Canvas or Timeline481 Navigating to In and Out Points491 Moving In and Out Points491 Clearing In and Out Points493

Working with Tracks in the Timeline495Chapter 34

Adding and Deleting Tracks495 Specifying Destination Tracks in the Timeline499 Locking Tracks to Prevent Edits or Changes504 Disabling Tracks to Hide Content During Playback505 Customizing Track Display in the Timeline507

Drag-to-Timeline Editing513Chapter 35

Overview of the Drag-to-Timeline Editing Process513 Dragging Clips to the Timeline514 Doing Simple Insert and Overwrite Edits in the Timeline515 Automatically Adding Tracks to Your Sequence While Dragging517

Three-Point Editing521Chapter 36

Understanding Three-Point Editing521 About Edit Types in the Edit Overlay524 Performing the Different Types of Edits525 Three-Point Editing Examples542

Finding and Selecting Content in the Timeline549Chapter 37

Understanding What’s Currently Selected549 Direct Methods for Selecting Content in a Sequence551 Finding and Selecting Based on Search Criteria559 Selecting a Vertical Range Between In and Out Points561 Using Auto Select to Specify Tracks for Selections562

Arranging Clips in the Timeline565Chapter 38

Snapping to Points in the Timeline565 Moving Items Within the Timeline566 Copying and Pasting Clips in the Timeline571 Deleting Clips from a Sequence576 Finding and Closing Gaps578 Color-Coding Clips in the Timeline581

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Cutting Clips and Adjusting Durations583Chapter 39

Performing Basic Cut Edits583 Changing the Duration of Clips in the Timeline587 Opening Sequence Clips in the Viewer to Change Durations587

Linking and Editing Video and Audio in Sync589Chapter 40

Linked Sync Relationships Between Video and Audio Clips589 Linking and Unlinking Video and Audio Clip Items in the Timeline594 Selecting Individual Clip Items While They Are Linked597 Getting Clip Items Back in Sync598 Establishing Different Sync Relationships Between Linked Clip Items602 Learning About Linking Behavior in Audio Channel Pairs604 Synchronizing Dual System Recorded Video and Audio605

Split Edits607Chapter 41

Learning About Split Edits607 How Split Edits Look in the Viewer and Canvas608 Setting Up Split Edit Points in the Viewer609 Setting Up a Split Edit While Playing a Clip610 Modifying and Clearing Split Edits611 Split Edit Examples613

Working with Multiclips617Chapter 42

About Multiclips618 Multiclip Workflow619 Preparing Clips to Be Used as Multiclip Angles621 Creating Individual Multiclips622 Creating Multiclip Sequences626 Identifying and Naming Multiclips in the Browser636 Working with Multiclip Angles in the Viewer637 Editing with Multiclips in Real Time644 Using Keyboard Shortcuts and Shortcut Buttons for Multiclip Editing644 Editing Multiclips into the Timeline645 Switching and Cutting Between Angles646 Editing in Multiclip Playback Mode652 Applying Filters, Speed, and Motion Parameters to Multiclips654 Collapsing and Expanding a Multiclip656 Working with Multiclip Master-Affiliate Relationships657 Match Frame Commands Used with Multiclips658 Media Management and Project Interchange659

Audio Editing Basics661Chapter 43 The Goals of Audio Editing661

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Using Waveform Displays to Help You Edit Audio662 Learning About the Audio Controls in the Viewer664 Editing Audio in the Viewer668 Editing Audio in the Timeline676 Creating or Separating Stereo Pairs680 Working with Audio at the Subframe Level682 Examples of Ways to Easily Edit Audio684

Performing Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Edits691Chapter 44

About Trimming with Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Tools691 Sliding Clips in the Timeline692 Slipping Clips in the Timeline695 Using the Ripple Tool to Trim an Edit Without Leaving a Gap699 Using the Roll Tool to Change Where a Cut Occurs709

Learning About Trimming Clips715Chapter 45

What Is Trimming?715 Controls That Affect Trim Edits717 Selecting Edits and Clips to Trim718 Trimming with the Selection Tool721 Extending and Shortening Clips in the Timeline723 Trimming Clips in the Viewer724 Precision Editing Using Timecode726 Understanding Alert Messages When Trimming728

Trimming Clips Using the Trim Edit Window731Chapter 46

Learning About the Trim Edit Window731 Opening and Closing the Trim Edit Window732 Controls in the Trim Edit Window734 Using the Trim Edit Window739 Listening to Audio While Trimming744

Adding Transitions747Chapter 47

Learning About Transitions747 Adding Transitions Between Clips751 Moving, Copying, and Deleting Transitions757 Modifying Transitions in the Timeline759 Working with Default and Favorite Transitions762 Detecting Duplicate Frames over Transitions764 Video Transitions That Come with Final Cut Pro764 Using Alpha Transitions769

Refining Transitions Using the Transition Editor777Chapter 48 Using the Transition Editor777

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Applying a Modified Transition Directly to a Sequence in the Timeline785 Trimming Transitions and the Surrounding Clips785 Previewing and Rendering Transitions789

Sequence-to-Sequence Editing791Chapter 49

Methods for Editing Clips from One Sequence to Another791 Opening More Than One Sequence at a Time792 Copying Clips from One Sequence to Another792 Nesting Sequences795 Editing the Content of One Sequence into Another Without Nesting It801

Matching Frames and Playhead Synchronization805Chapter 50

Working with Sequence Clips in the Viewer805 Matching Frames Between Sequence and Master Clips808 Synchronizing the Canvas/Timeline Playhead and the Viewer Playhead811

Working with Timecode815Chapter 51

About Timecode in Final Cut Pro815 Displaying Timecode in Final Cut Pro816 Modifying Timecode in Media Files822 Modifying Sequence Timecode825 Working with 60 fps Timecode827 Working with 24 @ 25 fps Timecode827 Generating Timecode Window Burns828

Audio Fundamentals829Chapter 52

What Is Sound?829 Measuring Sound Intensity833 Signal-to-Noise Ratio835 Headroom and Distortion835 Dynamic Range and Compression836 Stereo Audio837 Digital Audio839

Assigning Output Channels and External Audio Monitors843Chapter 53

Audio Signal Flow in Final Cut Pro843 Configuring Audio Outputs847 Creating and Saving Audio Output Presets850 Assigning a Default Audio Output Preset for New Sequences851 Assigning Tracks in the Timeline to Audio Outputs851 Matching Audio Outputs to Clip Items in the Timeline851 Assigning More Audio Outputs Than Your Hardware Supports853 Audio Output Export Settings853 Downmixing Multiple Audio Channels to a Stereo Mix854

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Configuring External Audio Monitors857

Evaluating Levels with Audio Meters865Chapter 54

About Audio Meters865 Setting Proper Audio Levels870

Overview of the Audio Mixer877Chapter 55

About the Audio Mixer877 Controls in the Audio Mixer877 Using Audio Mixer Views885

Using the Audio Mixer889Chapter 56

Making Basic Audio Adjustments with the Audio Mixer889 Making Stereo Pan Adjustments with the Audio Mixer896 About Mixer Automation and Keyframe Recording899 Using a Control Surface with the Audio Mixer907 Controlling the Audio Mixer with a Control Surface912 Recording Audio Mixer Keyframes Using a Control Surface914

Mixing Audio in the Timeline and Viewer917Chapter 57

Adjusting Audio Levels in the Timeline917 Changing Audio Levels in the Viewer922 Panning Audio in the Timeline925 Changing the Pan of Audio in the Viewer925 Changing Pan for an Entire Clip926 Copying, Pasting, and Removing Audio Attributes927 Adjusting Clip Audio Levels and Pan Using Keyframes928

Using the Voice Over Tool943Chapter 58

About the Voice Over Tool943 Setting Up Your Computer to Record Voiceover944 RAM Requirements When Using the Voice Over Tool947 Controls in the Voice Over Tool947 Defining the Recording Duration and Destination Track950 Recording a Voiceover955

Using Audio Filters959Chapter 59

Overview of Audio Filters960 Equalization Filters962 Gain Filter964 Compressor/Limiter Filter965 Expander/Noise Gate Filter966 Noise Reduction Filters966 Echo and Reverberation Filters968

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Applying Filters to an Audio Clip969 Displaying Filter Keyframes in the Timeline971 Modifying and Removing Filters973 Automating Audio Filter Parameters with Keyframes974 Making Real-Time Audio Filter Adjustments978 Saving a Filter or Transition as a Favorite980 Installing Third-Party Audio Units Filters981

Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other Applications983Chapter 60

Ways You Can Finish Your Audio983 Organizing Your Audio Clips for Multitrack Export984 About Exporting Audio Tracks to Individual Audio Files986 Preparing to Export Audio Tracks as Audio Files986 Exporting Audio Tracks as Individual Audio Files990 Exporting Audio Output Groups to AIFF Files991 Exporting Multichannel QuickTime Files995 Exporting OMF Audio Files995 Exporting Audio Clip Information to an EDL998 Exporting Audio for DVD999

Tips for Better Audio1001Chapter 61

Learning to Describe Sound Accurately1001 Efficiently Using the Frequency Spectrum1001 Tips for Cutting Dialogue1002 Tips for Cutting Music1004

Working with Soundtrack Pro and Logic Pro1007Chapter 62

Using Soundtrack Pro with Final Cut Pro1007 Sending Individual Audio Clips from Final Cut Pro to Soundtrack Pro1008 Creating Soundtrack Pro Multitrack Projects1013 Initiating Soundtrack Pro Conform with Final Cut Pro1017 Using Logic Pro with Final Cut Pro1019

Using Video Filters1021Chapter 63

Different Ways to Use Filters1021 Applying a Filter to a Clip1022 Applying Multiple Filters to Clips1025 Viewing and Adjusting a Filter’s Parameters1026 Displaying Filters Bars in the Timeline1034 Enabling and Rearranging Filters1035 Copying and Pasting a Clip’s Filters1036 Removing Filters from Clips1036

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Installing and Managing Video Effects1039Chapter 64

Plug-in Formats Supported by Final Cut Pro1039 Installing Video Filters1040 Identifying and Organizing Video Effects1041 Transferring Effects Between Systems1043 Plug-in Restrictions and Troubleshooting1044

Video Filters Available in Final Cut Pro1047Chapter 65

FXScript Plug-ins1047 FxPlug Plug-ins1058

Changing Motion Parameters1059Chapter 66

Creating Motion Effects in the Viewer1059 Adjusting Parameters in the Motion Tab1060 Using Cartesian Geometry to Position Clips1066 Examples Using Motion Settings1068 Creating Motion Effects in the Canvas1081 Manipulating Images in the Canvas1082 Zooming In to the Canvas1083 Using Wireframe Handles to Transform, Scale, and Rotate1084 Example: Using Motion Parameters and Wireframe Handles1088

Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects1093Chapter 67

Animating Motion Effects Using Keyframes1093 Smoothing Keyframes with Bezier Handles1113 Creating Keyframed Motion Paths in the Canvas1117 About the Timeline Keyframe Graph Area1127 Customizing the Keyframe Graph Area in the Timeline1129

Reusing Effect and Motion Parameters1133Chapter 68

Copying and Pasting Specific Clip Attributes1133 Applying Favorite Filters and Transitions1138

Changing Clip Speed1143Chapter 69

Speed Basics1143 Using the Change Speed Dialogs1145 Using the Speed Tool1152 Making Speed Changes in the Timeline1155 Using the Speed Parameter in the Motion Tab1163 Performing a Fit to Fill Edit1167 Using Speed Settings with Multiclips1170

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Working with Freeze Frames and Still Images1173Chapter 70

Using Still Images and Graphics in Your Sequences1173 Creating Freeze Frames from a Video Clip1174 Exporting Still Images1175 Creating Graphics with the Correct Frame Size for Video1176 Working with Graphics Clips of Different Sizes1176 Bit Depth of Imported Graphics1177 Scaling a Graphic to Fit the Frame Size1177 Creating Graphics with the Correct Color Settings for Video1181 Choosing the Maximum White Sequence Setting1182 Flattening Graphics with Layers1182 Using Alpha Channels1183 Selecting Fonts and Creating Line Art for Video1183 Scaling Images and Video Clips to Match a Sequence1183 Changing the Duration of Still Images1184 Example: Adding Camera Motion to Still Images1185

Compositing and Layering1193Chapter 71

Introduction to Compositing and Layering1193 Working with Composite Modes1198 Composite Modes in Final Cut Pro1200 Using Travel Mattes to Hide or Reveal Parts of a Clip1208 Working with Layered Photoshop Files1210 Using Video and Graphics Clips with Alpha Channels1213 Temporarily Excluding Clips from Playback or Output1219

Keying, Mattes, and Masks1223Chapter 72

Ways to Layer and Isolate Elements in Clips1223 Using Keying to Isolate Foreground Elements1226 Overview of Compositing Using the Chroma Keyer Filter1228 Working with the Chroma Keyer Filter1231 Using Mattes to Add or Modify Alpha Channels1242 Using Masks to Replace or Modify Alpha Channels1245

Using Generator Clips1249Chapter 73

What Is a Generator Clip?1249 Different Ways to Use Generators in Your Sequence1249 Video and Audio Generators Available in Final Cut Pro1250 Creating and Adding Generators to Sequences1255

Using the SmoothCam Filter1257Chapter 74

About the SmoothCam Filter1257 Working with the SmoothCam Filter1258

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Managing Media and Motion Analysis Data1268 Improving SmoothCam Filter Results and Troubleshooting1268

Creating Titles1271Chapter 75

How You Can Use Titles in Your Project1271 Installing and Choosing Fonts1272 Making Sure Titles Fit on TV Screens1272 Text Generators Available in Final Cut Pro1273 Creating and Adding a Title Clip1276 Other Options for Creating and Adding Titles1279

Working with Motion and Shake1281Chapter 76

Using Motion with Final Cut Pro1281 Using Shake with Final Cut Pro1286

Working with Master Templates1289Chapter 77

About Motion Template Files and Master Templates1289 Working with Master Templates1290 Modifying Master Templates1295 Converting a Template Clip to a Motion Project1297 Installing Motion Template Files for Use in Final Cut Pro1298

Measuring and Setting Video Levels1299Chapter 78

RGB Color Model1299

Y′C

Measuring Video Levels with the Final Cut Pro Video Scopes1304 Preventing Illegal Broadcast Levels1315 Displaying Excess Luma and Chroma Levels in the Viewer and Canvas1317 Using the Broadcast Safe Filter1318 Using the RGB Limit Filter1323 Working with Analog Video1325 Using Color Bars for Video Calibration1331

BCR

Color Model1300

About Color Correction1337Chapter 79

Why Color Correct Your Footage?1337 Color Correction Starts During Your Shoot1339 Managing Color During Post-Production1340 The Final Cut Pro Color Correction Process1342

Color Correction Features1345Chapter 80

Color Correction Features in Final Cut Pro1345 Using Scopes Versus Looking at an External Monitor1346 Window Layouts for Color Correction in Final Cut Pro1347

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Color Correction Filters1351Chapter 81

The Final Cut Pro Color Correction Filters1351 The Color Corrector Filter1353 The Color Corrector 3-Way Filter1366 The Desaturate Highlights and Desaturate Lows Filters1381 RGB Balance Filter1382

Color Correction Examples1385Chapter 82

Example: Using the Color Corrector Filter1386 Example: Using the Color Corrector 3-Way Filter1390 Example: Color Correcting a Three-Shot Sequence for Continuity1398 Example: Using the Color Corrector 3-Way Filter Match Hue Controls1404 Example: Using the Limit Effect Controls to Isolate a Specific Color Against Grayscale1408 Example: Using the Limit Effect Controls of the Color Corrector Filter to Change a Specific

1409

Color Example: Using the Desaturate Highlights Filter1413

Color Correction with Color1415Chapter 83 Using Color for Color Correction1415

Using RT Extreme1417Chapter 84

Introduction to Real-Time Processing1417 Locations for Changing Real-Time Playback Settings1422 About Real-Time Playback Options1424 Still-Image Real-Time Playback1431 Improving Real-Time Performance1432 Real-Time Audio Mixing in Final Cut Pro1433 Choosing Real-Time Playback Versus Rendering1435 Supported Real-Time Playback Codecs1436 Using a Third-Party Video Effects Accelerator Card1437 Using RT Extreme for Video Output1438 Viewing Your Composition in the QuickView Tab1438

Rendering and Video Processing Settings1443Chapter 85

What Is Rendering?1443 About Render Status Bars in the Timeline1444 About Item-Level Render Status Bars1447 The Rendering Process1447 About Changing Render and Video Processing Settings1456 Changing Settings in the Render Control Tab1456 Changing Settings in the Video Processing Tab1459 Adjusting Gamma1464 Managing Your Render Files1468

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Tips for Reducing Render Time1471

Working with Mixed-Format Sequences1473Chapter 86

About Mixed-Format Sequences1473 Determining Whether Clips in a Sequence Will Play Back in Real Time1474 Conforming Sequence Settings to Match a Clip’s Settings1476 Conforming Clips to Match Sequence Settings1477 Mixing Frame Rates1479 Combining Interlaced Footage with Different Field Dominances1480 Mixing Footage with Different Codecs1482 Nesting Nonmatching Sequences1482 Adding Filters and Motion Effects to Mixed-Format Sequences1483 Combining SD and HD Video1483 Downconverting HD Video1483 Upconverting SD Video1488 Rendering Mixed-Format Sequences1489 External Monitoring and Output1489 Media Management and Project Interchange1490

Media Management1493Chapter 87

What Is Media Management?1493 Reasons to Use Media Management1494 What You Need to Know to Manage Your Media1495 Media Management Process in Final Cut Pro1495 Strategies for Media Management1496

Backing Up and Restoring Projects1499Chapter 88

Backing Up and Restoring Projects1499 Archiving Completed Projects1503 About Updating Projects from Previous Versions of Final Cut Pro1504 Choosing Project Update Options1505

Elements of a Final Cut Pro Project1509Chapter 89

About Clips, Media Files, and Sequences1509 About Icons and Project Elements in the Browser1513 Clip Properties1514

Working with Master and Affiliate Clips1521Chapter 90

About Using Master and Affiliate Clips1521 Shared and Unique Clip Properties1522 Working with Master Clips1525 Working with Affiliate Clips1527 Creating Independent Clips1528 Changing Independent Clips to Affiliate Clips1529

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Modifying Master-Affiliate Clip Relationships1530 Moving Clips Between Projects1531 How Does Final Cut Pro Identify Matching Clips?1531 Resolving Property Differences Between Matching Clips1532

Offline and Online Editing1535Chapter 91

About Offline and Online Editing1535 Offline/Online Editing Workflows1537 Using the OfflineRT Format in Final Cut Pro1539 Reingesting Media at Full Quality and Full Resolution1541 Online Editing on Non–Final Cut Pro Editing Systems1544 Trading Project Files Using Email or the Internet1545

Reconnecting Clips and Offline Media1549Chapter 92

Finding Your Media Files After Capture1549 About the Connections Between Clips and Media Files1551 Renaming Media Files and Clips1552 How the Connection Between Clips and Media Files Can Be Broken1553 Making Clips Offline1554 Reconnecting Clips to Media Files1556 When Final Cut Pro Reconnects Your Clips1563 Reconnecting Media Files Automatically1564

Overview of the Media Manager1567Chapter 93

What Can You Do with the Media Manager?1567 Selecting Items to Process with the Media Manager1569 Settings and Options in the Media Manager Window1570 How the Media Manager Processes Selected Items1577 Limiting How Much Media Is Copied or Deleted1580 Media File Formats Supported by the Media Manager1582 About Color Space Conversion in the Media Manager1582

Examples of How to Use the Media Manager1583Chapter 94

Media Manager Workflow1583 Using the Media Manager1584 Example: Removing Unused Media from a Sequence1587 Example: Duplicating a Sequence and Its Corresponding Media Files1588 Example: Duplicating a Portion of a Sequence and Its Media Files1589 Example: Copying Sequences with New Settings, but Without Media Files1590 Example: Recompressing Media Files for Editing on a Portable Computer1592 Example: Removing Portions of Media Files After Creating Subclips1593 Example: Consolidating Media Files into One Folder1595 Example: Consolidating Your Project and Media Files for Archiving1596

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Diagnostic Tools for Clips1599Chapter 95

Different Tools for Diagnosing Clips1599 About the Analyze Movie Command1600 Finding and Marking Long Frames1603

Importing and Exporting EDLs1605Chapter 96

About EDLs1605 Exporting EDLs1610 Importing EDLs1617 EDL Considerations Before Capturing1620 EDL Considerations During Editing1623 Transition Wipe Codes for EDL Export1626

Using Final Cut Pro XML and QuickTime Metadata1629Chapter 97

What Is the Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format?1629 About XML1630 Overview of the Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format1633 Exporting XML in Final Cut Pro1635 Importing XML into Final Cut Pro1636 Working with Metadata in QuickTime Media1637 Controlling Final Cut Pro with Apple Events1637

Remote Previewing with iChat1639Chapter 98

About iChat Theater Preview and Final Cut Pro1639 Initiating an iChat Theater Preview Session1642 Using iChat Theater Preview1643

Working with Film and Cinema Tools1645Chapter 99

An Overview of the Film Editing Process1645 About Using Cinema Tools with Final Cut Pro1648 Creating a New Final Cut Pro Project1649 Importing a Telecine Log to Create a Cinema Tools Database1649 Batch Capturing Video from Tape1651 Removing 3:2 Pull-Down or Conforming 25 fps PAL to 24 fps1651 Synchronizing Clips with the Cinema Tools Database1654 Editing Clips in Final Cut Pro1656 Using Edge Code Overlays and Feet+Frame Rulers1656 Opening Final Cut Pro Clips in Cinema Tools1658 Exporting Film, Change, and Audio Lists1659

Preparing to Output to Tape1667Chapter 100

Choosing a Videotape Format and Equipment for Output1667 Output Requirements1668

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Methods for Output to Tape in Final Cut Pro1669 Setting Up Your Editing System to Output to Tape1671

Assemble and Insert Editing Using Edit to Tape1677Chapter 101

Overview of Tape Editing Methods1677 About the Edit to Tape Window1680 Using the Edit to Tape Window1688

Printing to Video and Output from the Timeline1699Chapter 102

Different Ways You Can Output Video from the Timeline1699 Printing to Video1700 Recording from the Timeline1702 Outputting to VHS Tape1704

Learning About QuickTime1707Chapter 103

What Is QuickTime?1707 The QuickTime Suite of Software Applications1708 The QuickTime Movie File Format1708 Formats Supported by QuickTime1711 How Do You Export the Files You Need?1715

Using Share1717Chapter 104

About the Share Window1719 Exporting Single Clips and Sequences with Share1727 Exporting Groups of Clips and Sequences with Share1729 Creating Multiple Outputs1733 Using Share with Compressor1734 Working with Share Output Types1735 Using Batch Monitor with Share1752

Exporting QuickTime Movies1753Chapter 105

About the Export QuickTime Movie Command1753 Choosing the Type of QuickTime Movie to Export1754 Exporting a QuickTime Movie File1755 Exporting QuickTime Movies with Markers1758

Exporting Using QuickTime Conversion1761Chapter 106

About the Export Using QuickTime Conversion Command1761 Types of File Formats You Can Export with QuickTime1762 About Color Space Conversion1763 Exporting a QuickTime Movie File for Web Distribution1763 Configuring QuickTime Movie Settings1765 About QuickTime Aperture Display Modes1775 Exporting a DV Stream1778

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Exporting an AVI File1779

Exporting Sequences for DVD1783Chapter 107

The DVD Creation Process1783 Adding Chapter and Compression Markers to Your Sequence1788 About DVD Authoring Applications1791 Exporting a QuickTime Movie for DVD Use1791 Using Compressor to Create DVD-Compliant Sources for DVD Studio Pro1792

Using Compressor with Final Cut Pro1793Chapter 108

About Compressor1793 Using Compressor with Final Cut Pro1794 Using Compressor as a Standalone Application1795 Sending from Final Cut Pro to Compressor1797 About Color Space Conversion in Compressor1798

Exporting Still Images and Image Sequences1799Chapter 109

Determining the Image Format for Still-Image Export1799 Exporting a Single Still Image1800 Exporting Image Sequences1801

Batch Exporting Clips and Sequences1805Chapter 110

Overview of the Batch Exporting Process1805 Selecting Items in the Browser to Batch Export1805 Selecting Batch Export Settings1807 Doing a Batch Export1812 Opening Batch Exported Files in the Viewer1813 Redoing Batch Exports1814 About Color Space Conversion During Batch Exporting1815

Choosing Settings and Preferences1817Chapter 111

Changing User Preferences1817 Changing System Settings1829

Audio/Video Settings and Easy Setups1837Chapter 112

The Audio/Video Settings Window1837 Choosing Easy Setups1839 Changing Audio/Video Presets1841 Creating and Modifying Easy Setups1846 Installing and Restoring Easy Setups1850 Loading Settings from a Network Server1850

Capture Settings and Presets1851Chapter 113 About Capture Preset Settings1851

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Creating a Preset to Capture Audio Only1857

Device Control Settings and Presets1859Chapter 114

About Device Control Presets1859 Device Control Protocols Supported by Final Cut Pro1863 Using FireWire Device Control1864 Using Serial Device Control1865 Using a Non-Controllable Device1868 Troubleshooting Your Device Control Setup1868

Sequence Settings and Presets1871Chapter 115

What Are Sequence Settings?1871 About Sequence Settings and Presets1871 Timeline Display, Render, and Audio Output Options1877 Changing Sequence Settings1881

Solving Problems1883Appendix A

Resources for Solving Problems1883 Solutions to Common Problems1883 Contacting AppleCare Support1889

Video Formats1891Appendix B

An Overview of Video Format Characteristics1891 Storage Medium1893 Video Standards1894 Types of Video Signals1895 Aspect Ratio of the Video Frame1897 Frame Dimensions, Number of Lines, and Resolution1899 Pixel Aspect Ratio1901 Frame Rate1902 Scanning Method1902 Color Recording Method1904 Video Sample Rate and Bit Depth1905 Video Compression1907 Video Formats Supported by Final Cut Pro1914

Frame Rate and Timecode1919Appendix C

What Is Frame Rate?1919 Understanding Flicker and Perceived Frame Rate1920 How Many Frames per Second Is Best?1921 Choosing a Frame Rate1922 What Is Timecode?1924 About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode1924 Timecode on Tape1927

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Comparison of Various Timecode Formats1928

Working with 24p Video1931Appendix D

What Is 24p Video?1931 Telecine, Pull-Down, and Reverse Telecine1932 Film, 24p Video, and Cinema Tools1942 Working with 24p NTSC Video1942 Using an AG-DVX100 NTSC Camcorder with Advanced Pull-Down1943

Working with Anamorphic 16:9 Media1945Appendix E

About Anamorphic 16:9 Media1945 Recording Anamorphic Video1946 Capturing Anamorphic Media1947 Changing Clip Properties for Anamorphic Media1948 Viewing and Editing Anamorphic Media1949 Specifying Sequence Settings for Anamorphic Media1949 Outputting Anamorphic Video to Tape1950 Exporting 16:9 Anamorphic Video1950

Using Multi-Touch Gestures with Final Cut Pro1953Appendix F

Using Multi-Touch Gestures in the Timeline1953 Using Multi-Touch Gestures in the Viewer or Canvas1953

1955Glossary

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Welcome to Final Cut Pro

This preface covers the following:

• About Final Cut Pro (p. 27)

• About the Final Cut Pro Documentation (p. 28)

• Additional Resources (p. 28)

The first choice of professional editors worldwide, Final Cut Pro delivers high-performance digital nonlinear editing, native support for virtually any video format, and professional-level extensibility and interoperability. Its workflow extends through the other Final Cut Studio applications and Final Cut Server for even more power. Whether you’re working solo or collaborating with a team, Final Cut Pro gives you the creative options and technical control that you need.

Preface

About Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is the hub of Final Cut Studio, with powerful capabilities for working with the other Final Cut Studio applications.

Final Cut Pro lets you edit everything from uncompressed standard definition video to HDV, DVCPRO HD, and uncompressed high definition video—as well as Panasonic P2 and Sony XDCAM HD tapeless formats. You can mix and match a wide range of formats and even frame rates in the open format Timeline. Final Cut Pro includes a complete set of professional editing and trimming tools that let you work quickly, with a full range of customization options to give you flexibility and control. Also included are powerful multicamera editing tools that allow you to view and cut video from multiple sources in real time.

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About the Final Cut Pro Documentation

Final Cut Pro comes with various documents that will help you get started as well as provide detailed information about the application.

• Exploring Final Cut Pro: The Exploring Final Cut Pro manual presents the basics of Final Cut Pro in an easy, approachable way. Each chapter presents major features and guides you in trying things out. A PDF version of the printed manual is available in Final Cut Pro Help (in Final Cut Pro, choose Help > Exploring Final Cut Pro).

• Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual: This is a comprehensive document that describes the Final Cut Pro interface, commands, and menus and gives step-by-step instructions for creating Final Cut Pro projects and for accomplishing specific tasks. It is written for users of all levels of experience. The user manual is available in Final Cut Pro Help (in Final Cut Pro, choose Help > Final Cut Pro Help).

• Professional Formats and Workflows: The Professional Formats and Workflows document covers how to use digital cinema, high definition, and broadcast formats (such as DVCPRO HD, HDV, AVC-Intra, Sony XDCAM, REDCODE, and Apple ProRes) and devices (such as Sony Video Disk Units and Panasonic P2 cards) with Final Cut Pro. The Professional Formats and Workflows document is available in Final Cut Pro Help (in Final Cut Pro, choose Help > Final Cut Pro Help).

Additional Resources

Along with the documentation that comes with Final Cut Pro, there are a variety of other resources you can use to find out more about Final Cut Pro.

Final Cut Pro Website

For general information and updates, as well as the latest news on Final Cut Pro, go to:

• http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/finalcutpro

Apple Service and Support Websites

For software updates and answers to the most frequently asked questions for all Apple products, go to the general Apple Support webpage. You’ll also have access to product specifications, reference documentation, and Apple and third-party product technical articles.

• http://www.apple.com/support

For software updates, documentation, discussion forums, and answers to the most frequently asked questions for Final Cut Pro, go to:

• http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutpro

For discussion forums for all Apple products from around the world, where you can search for an answer, post your question, or answer other users’ questions, go to:

• http://discussions.apple.com

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About the Post-Production Workflow

This chapter covers the following:

• The Industry Workflow (p. 29)

• The Post-Production Workflow (p. 30)

No matter what your project, Final Cut Studio is the cornerstone of your post-production workflow. This section covers the post-production workflow in general terms. For more detailed information, see Final Cut Studio Workflows, available at

http://documentation.apple.com/en/finalcutstudio/workflows.

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 workflowthat almost every project adheres to. From conception to completion, the basic steps to complete a film or video project are described below.

Stage 1: Scripting

Scripting is where the movie is conceived and written.

Stage 2: Preproduction

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

Stage 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.

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Stage 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.

Stage 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 Pro is at the heart of the post-production pipeline, allowing you to organize and assemble media from multiple sources into a finished product.

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Here is an overview of the basic Final Cut Pro post-production workflow. As you begin

Outputting

Industry Workflow

Final Cut Pro

Post-Production Workflow

Distribution

Preproduction

Adding Effects

Mixing Audio

Editing

Ingesting

Setting Up

Planning

Production

Post-Production

Scripting

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.

Stage 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, 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 logging and 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.

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Stage 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 logging and ingesting, you need to connect your computer either to the video and audio from your camcorder or VTR (video tape recorder) or to a device containing your file-based media. You also need to make sure that the correct presets are chosen within Final Cut Pro, so that Final Cut Pro knows what video and audio formats you are capturing and what kind of device control you’re using. (Device control allows Final Cut Pro to remotely control video and audio devices.)

Depending on the format and device you are using, setup can be fairly simple (as it is with DV formats) or morecomplex. For example, if you areworking with an uncompressed video format, you need to install a third-party video interface in your computer, as well as a serial port adapter to communicate with the deck.

For more information, see the various chapters on setup, starting with “Connecting DV

Video Equipment.”

Stage 3: Ingesting

Ingesting is a general term for capturing, transferring, or importing video, audio, still images, and metadata to your computer’s hard disk, which creates media files. You can ingest media files at any time, although most footage should be ingested before you start editing.

Logging is the process of identifying which shots you want to ingest for editing. While you log, you can add scene and shot descriptions, logging notes, and markers. Logging also helps you become familiar with your footage before you begin editing.

The order in which you log and ingest your footage is up to you. There are several possible workflows, depending upon your work style, the needs of your project, and the availability of footage. You can log all or most clips before batch ingesting them (in an automated way), or you can log and then ingest each clip individually. You can also log clips after ingesting your footage to a hard disk.

For more information, see “Overview of Capturing Tape-Based Media,” “Overview of

Transferring File-Based Media,” and “Importing Media Files into Your Project.”

Stage 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.

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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.

Stage 5: Mixing Audio

Once your movie is edited and the picture is “locked,” meaning the duration of the movie is fixed and you nolonger intend to change any of the edits, you can begin working more extensively on your audio. This involves:

• Cleaning up the dialogue with more detailed audio editing, balancing audio levels, and applying equalization

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

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

You can use Final Cut Pro for each of these processes. For more information, see “Audio

Fundamentals.”

Note: You can also sweeten your audio with another audio application, perhaps even at another facility. To export your movie audio, see “Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other

Applications.”

Stage 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 Pro has a wide variety of video and audio filters, each with parameters that you can keyframe to adjust over time in your sequence. You can also create professional titles and motion graphics in Motion.

Stage 7: Finishing and Outputting

Once editing is finished, effects are added, and the final audio mix is complete, you can output your movie to videotape or export your sequence to Compressor or send it to Color for finishing. You can also use Share to quickly create and deliver output media files in iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, MobileMe, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, and YouTube formats.

• Tooutput to tape, follow the standard procedures for using the Printto Video command. For more information, see “Preparing to Output to Tape.”

• For more information about sending to Color, see the Color User Manual, available in Color Help.

• For more information about Share, see “Using Share.”

• For more information about Compressor, see the Compressor User Manual, available in Compressor Help.

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If you need to finish your project on a different editing workstation, you can export your project to an interchange file format such as Edit Decision List (EDL) or Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format. You may need to output on another system if you work with uncompressed video, do lots of real-time effects processing, or require specialized video monitoring. For more information, see “Using Final Cut Pro XML and QuickTime Metadata.” You can also refer to “Offline and Online Editing.”

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Video Formats and Timecode

This chapter covers the following:

• About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing (p. 35)

• Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro (p. 35)

• Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro (p. 37)

• Video Format Basics (p. 37)

• About Timecode (p. 39)

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

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, fromthe 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 Pro lets you do nonlinear, nondestructive editing. Unlike traditional tape-to-tape editing, Final Cut Pro 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 Pro

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.

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

• DV editing: Final Cut Pro supports DV video natively, using your computer’s built-in FireWire port for capture and output. DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO HD are also natively supported. Therefore, your system requires no additional hardware to edit DV material on your computer. You can capture, edit, and output exactly the same data that is recorded on tape, resulting in no quality loss.

• Broadcast, high definition (HD), and digital cinema video formats: Final Cut Pro supports the latest broadcast, HD, and digital cinema formats. With appropriate equipment, you can ingest, edit, and output standard definition (SD), HD, and digital cinema formats such as Digital Betacam, HDV, D-5 HD, HDCAM, MPEG IMX (D-10), XDCAM HD/EX/HD422, AVC-Intra, Apple ProRes, and DPX image sequences. Final Cut Pro also supports ingest and editing of the REDCODE and AVC-Intra formats, and output from those formats as Apple ProRes and DPX image sequences.

• Project interchange: Support for project interchange formats allows Final Cut Pro to integrate into existing broadcast and post-production systems. Final Cut Pro is compatible with formats such as EDL, OMF, and the Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format. For more information, see “Importing and Exporting EDLs.” You can also refer to “Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other Applications.” For information on the Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format, see “Using Final Cut Pro XML and QuickTime

Metadata.”

• QuickTime-compatible files: Because Final Cut Pro 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 “Learning About QuickTime.”

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. For example, a DV sequence containing HDV footage is a mixed-format sequence. Final Cut Pro can play sequence clips in real time even when the clips’ settings don’t match those of the sequence. Any number of formats can be combined together in a single sequence. For more information, see “Working with Mixed-Format

Sequences.”

Offline and Online Editing

Final Cut Pro allows you to edit low-resolution copies of your media until you are ready to finish at high quality. For example, you can edit your movie on a portable computer using low-resolution footage and then reconnect your project clips to high-resolution media for finishing and output. For more information, see “Offline and Online Editing.”

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Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro

You can use a variety of audio formats with Final Cut Pro, including audio files transferred from digital recorders, captured from tape, imported from audio CDs, or provided by musicians and sound designers. Final Cut Pro 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. For more information, see “Capturing Audio from Tape” and “About Importing

Audio Files.”

Video Format Basics

Most video formats are described by the following characteristics:

• Standard

• Image dimensions and aspect ratio

• Frame rate

• Scanning method

For a more thorough explanation of video formats, see “Video Formats.”

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.

• NTSC (National Television Systems Committee): The television and video standard used in most of the Americas, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

• PAL(Phase Alternating Line): The television and video standard used in most of Europe, Brazil, Algeria, and China.

• 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 Pro. 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 Pro works with your editing system.) For more information, see “Opening Final Cut Pro and Choosing Your Initial Settings.”

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 Pro. VHS and Betacam SP are both analog tape formats.

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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, HD, or digital cinema video.

Image Dimensions and Aspect Ratio

The horizontal and vertical pixel dimensions of your format determine the frame size and aspect ratio. For example, SD NTSC video is 720 pixels wide and 486 pixels tall. HD video is either 1280 x 720 or 1920 x 1080, and is usually referred to by the vertical dimension (for example, 720 or 1080) and the frame rate. In addition, Final Cut Pro refers to interlaced HD formats according to their field rate rather than frame rate; for example, 1080i60 (59.94 fields per second) rather than 1080i30 (29.97 frames per second). Digital cinema formats are generally referred to using their horizontal dimension as either 2K, 3K, or 4K, shorthand for at least 2,000 pixels, 3,000 pixels, or 4,000 pixels wide.

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. Digital cinema formats use the 16:9 aspect ratio as well as closely related film-based aspect ratios.

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 “Video Formats.”

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:

• 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.

• 25 fps: SD PAL, HD PAL

• 29.97 fps: SD NTSC, HD NTSC (720p30, 1080p30, and 1080i60)

• 50 fps: 720p HD

• 59.94 fps: 720p HD

• 60 fps: 720p HD

For more information, see “Frame Rate and Timecode.”

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). For more information, see “Video Formats.”

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About Timecode

Hours Minutes Seconds Frames

SMPTE timecode

01:32:15:28

Timecode is a signal recorded with your video that uniquely identifies each frame on tape. When you capture video or audio in Final Cut Pro, you also capture the timecode signal, which is displayed in Final Cut Pro when you play back your clips. Timecode allows you to recapture your footage from tape and always get the same frames. Final Cut Pro uses SMPTE timecode (developed by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers), which is represented in hours, minutes, seconds, and frames, using the following format:

In Final Cut Pro, timecode is used for synchronization between video and audio clip items, project interchange (such as Edit Decision Lists), and recapturing clips from tape. When you play clips, Final Cut Pro displays the media file timecode. Timecode also allows you to navigate through your sequences, and see how long your edit is.

For more information about timecode, see “Working with Timecode.”

About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode

With the exception of timecode used with NTSC video, all video formats use non-drop frame timecode, which simply counts at the frame rate of the video itself. For example,

PAL video runs at 25 fps, and it uses 25 fps timecode.

When working with NTSC video, you have the option to use drop frame timecode to compensate for the fact that NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 fps, while the timecode runs at 30 fps. Timecode can only be represented by whole numbers, so drop frame timecode periodically skips numbers so that the timecode count and the amount of actual time passed stays in sync. This way, the timecode count matches the the number of hours, minutes, and seconds that it takes for your video footage to play. NTSC video can use either drop frame or non-drop frame timecode.

Important: No video frames are dropped when you use drop frame timecode. Only the

associated timecode numbers are skipped.

Here is how to determine the type of timecode used in Final Cut Pro:

• Non-drop frame timecode has a colon (:) between the seconds and frames fields, and no numbers are dropped from the counter.

01:16:59:29, 01:17:00:00

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• Drop frame timecode has a semicolon (;) between the seconds and frames fields, and two timecodenumbers are skipped from the frames counter each minute (except every tenth minute).

01:16:59;29, 01:17:00;02

A clip’s timecode comes directly from its media files. To set sequence timecode, you can use the Drop Frame checkbox in the Timeline Options pane of Sequence Settings. For more information, see “Changing Timeline Display Options.”

How Drop Frame Timecode Works

When you use drop frame timecode, numbers :00 and :01 are skipped at the beginning of each minute, unless the minute number is exactly divisible by 10. The dropped numbers do not appear in the timecode fields in Final Cut Pro because they’ve been dropped and are not on your tape.

If you’re entering timecode to navigate and inadvertently type a timecode number that doesn’t exist in drop frame timecode, Final Cut Pro automatically moves forward to the next available timecode number.

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Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences

This chapter covers the following:

• The Building Blocks of Projects (p. 41)

• Working with Projects (p. 45)

• About the Connection Between Clips and Media Files (p. 48)

• Filenaming Considerations (p. 50)

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

The Building Blocks of Projects

Media files, clips, and sequences are the elements that provide the main foundation for your work in Final Cut Pro. 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 Pro sequence, you can work with these media tracks together or separately.

Before you can edit in Final Cut Pro, you need to capture media files from a video deck or camcorder to your hard disk. For more information about capturing media files, see

“Overview of Capturing Tape-Based Media.”

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What Are Clips?

ClipClip Clip

Media files on your hard disk

Project

Once you have media files on your hard disk, you need a way of working with them in Final Cut Pro. A clip is the most fundamental object in Final Cut Pro. 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.”)

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 Pro). You can also subdivide a clip into separate pieces, called subclips, to further organize your footage.

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What Are Sequences?

Project

ClipClip Clip

Sequence

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.

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.

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:

• Video, audio, and still image clips

• Comments, descriptions, and log notes for all your clips

• Sequences of edited clips

• Motion and filter parameters

• Audio mixing levels

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

Project

Audio clip

Video clip

Still image

Sequence

ABC

Project

Bin 1

Sequence 1

Clip

Bin 2

Clip

ClipClip

Clip Clip Clip

Clip

and sequences

To start working in Final Cut Pro, you must have a project open in the Browser. For more information, see “Browser Basics.” 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 theassociated media, your project can easily be archived or transferred to another computer, and it can be opened even if none ofthe media files canbe 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.

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.

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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.

Bins exist only in project files. Changes you make to the contents ofa 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.

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 ofthe same media, but theyare completely independent structures, each with its 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 Pro 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:

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

• 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.

• Sequences for special effects: This allows you to separate elaborate effects shots in separate sequences so you can render them separately.

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Creating and Saving Projects

A new sequence is automatically created when you create a new project.

This is your new project.

When you create a new project in Final Cut Pro, 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 Pro > Easy Setup.) For more information, see “Audio/Video Settings and Easy

Setups.”

Note: When you open Final Cut Pro for the first time, there are some initial settings you must specify before you can create and save projects. For more information, see

“Connecting DV Video Equipment.”

To create a new project

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.

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

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for the project, then click Save.

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To save all open projects

Control-click the tab and choose Close Tab.

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.

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 Pro, a message appears for each open project, asking if you want to save your changes. The next time you open Final Cut Pro, 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 Pro, you’ll be asked if you want to update your project. For more information, see “Backing Up and Restoring Projects.”

To close a project

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

2 Do one of the following:

• Choose File > Close Project (or press Control-W).

• Control-click the project’s tab, then choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu that appears.

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

To switch between projects, click a project’s tab.

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

To switch between several open projects

In the Browser, click a project’s tab.

To close all open projects

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

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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, or merged clips that refer to several media files at once.

A Final Cut Pro 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

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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.

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:

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

• 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.

• Source tape: An original videotape from your production.

• Media file: A QuickTime movie file created by capturing video, audio, and timecode from the source tape to a computer hard disk. This is a copy of the original footage.

• Clip: An object in a Final Cut Pro 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 Pro 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.

To create an offline clip (without a corresponding media file)

Do one of the following:

Choose File > New > Offline Clip.

Create a clip by clicking the Log button in the Log and Capture window.

For more information, see “Logging from Tape.”

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An offline clip has a red slash through its icon in the Browser. In the Timeline, an offline

Offline clips in the Browser

Offline clips in the Timeline

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.

Final Cut Pro 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 “Reconnecting Clips and Offline Media.”

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.

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:

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ReasonsExample charactersAvoid

File separators

included in your native alphabet

parentheses, quotation marks, brackets, and operators

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

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

¢ ™Special characters not

. , [ ] { } ( ) ! ; " ' * ? < > |Punctuation marks,

You cannot use colons (:) in the names of files and folders because Mac OS 9 (Classic) uses this character to separate directories in pathnames. 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.

These characters may not be supported or may be difficult to work with when exported to certain file formats, such as EDL, OMF, or XML.

These characters are often used 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 yourfiles differently than expected. Themost conservative filenames avoid all use of whitespace characters, and use the (underscore) _ character instead.

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 allow only 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.

For EDL files, which may be stored on DOS-compatible disks, you should limit your filenames to eight characters plus a three-character file extension (.EDL).

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-Mac 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 .png (TIFF graphics file).

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Adding Times and Dates to Final Cut Pro 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 Pro autosave feature appends the date and time in the following format: ProjectName_03-21-09_1744. The filename here 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 “Backing Up and Restoring Projects.”

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.

• Avoid filenames such as: “Media” and “Media 1”

• Create filenames such as: “Zeus” and “Apollo”

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Overview of the Final Cut Pro Interface

This chapter covers the following:

• Basics of Working in the Final Cut Pro Interface (p. 53)

• Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus (p. 55)

• Customizing the Interface (p. 57)

• Undoing and Redoing Changes (p. 62)

• Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes (p. 63)

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

Basics of Working in the Final Cut Pro Interface

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

Note: If you’re opening Final Cut Pro for the first time, you’re prompted to choose an Easy Setup (a collection of settings that determines how Final Cut Pro 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 Pro and Choosing

Your Initial Settings.”

To open Final Cut Pro

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

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

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You see these windowswhen you open a sequence with clips already in it.These windows

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

Viewer: Used for previewing and preparing source clips for editing, as well as for adjusting filters and motion parameters.

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

Timeline: This displays sequences.

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

Browser: This is where you organize the media in your project.

are covered in more detail in the chapters that follow.

Before working in a window in Final Cut Pro, 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

Look for the highlighted title bar.

To make a window active

Do one of the following:

Click anywhere in the window.

Press one of the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Browser: Command-4

• Viewer: Command-1

• Timeline: Command-3

• Canvas: Command-2

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• Audio meters: Option-4

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

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

Using Keyboard Shortcuts, Buttons, and Shortcut Menus

Final Cut Pro 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 Pro by 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 press Command-N; to zoom in, you press Command–Equal Sign (=).

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

Final Cut Pro allows you to change the default keyboard shortcuts to better suit your needs. For example, if your style of editing requires a particular set of commands that isn’t readily available by default, you can modify the default keyboard layout with your own set of commands. You can also create different keyboard layouts for different tasks. For example, you may find it useful to create different keyboard layouts for editing, color correction, multicamera editing, and audio mixing.

For more information on how to customize keyboard layouts in Final Cut Pro, see

“Customizing the Interface.”

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Using Button Bars

Button bar in the Browser with several shortcut buttons

You can create shortcut buttons and place them in the button bar along the top of the main windows in Final Cut Pro—the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, Timeline, and any Tool Bench windows. (The Tool Bench is a specialized window containing tabs for specific tasks, such as the Audio Mixer.) You can then click any of the shortcut buttons in the button bar to perform commands, instead of using keyboard shortcuts or menus.

For more information on using and customizing button bars, see “Customizing the

Interface.”

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 Pro.

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

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

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 Pro, a small box called a tooltip appears witha description of the control. Next to the description isthe keyboard shortcut for using the control. You can turn tooltips off and on in the General tab of the User Preferences window.

To turn on tooltips in Final Cut Pro

1 Choose Final Cut Pro > User Preferences.

2 In the General tab, select Show Tooltips.

Customizing the Interface

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

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Moving and Resizing Windows

Pointer between three or more windows

Pointer between two windows

All open windows in Final Cut Pro—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.

To resize windows in Final Cut Pro

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 Pro 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 Pro Windows” for more information.

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Working with Tabs and Tabbed Windows

The Viewer contains tabs that specify functions within clips.

The Browser contains tabs for open projects and effects.

The Canvas contains a tab for each open sequence.

Like the Canvas, the Timeline contains a tab for each open sequence.

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.

To make a tab active

Click the tab.

To close a tab

Do one of the following:

Click the tab to make it the frontmost tab, then choose File > Close Tab.

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

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

When multiple tabs appear in a Timeline or Canvas window, you can have Final Cut Pro close all the tabs except the active one.

To close all tabs except the active one in the Timeline or Canvas window

Do one of the following:

Click the tab you want to keep open to make it the frontmost tab, then choose File >

Close Other Tabs.

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Control-click the tab, then choose Close Other Tabs from the shortcut menu.

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

In the Browser, you can also close all open bins that are represented as tabs.

To close all bin tabs in the Browser window

Control-click a bin tab, then choose Close All Bins from the shortcut menu.

To switch between tabs of the active window

Do one of the following:

To select the previous tab, press Command–Shift–Left Bracket ([).

To select the next tab, press Command–Shift–Right Bracket (]).

When multiple tabs appear in a window, you can reorder them by dragging a tab left or right to a different position in the top of the window. When you hold the pointer over a tab, a tooltip appears showing the location of the tab in the hierarchy of tabs. You can also assign colors to tabs that represent bins and sequences by assigning a colored label to the bin or sequence icon in the Browser. For more information about assigning labels, see “Using Labels to Organize Your Clips.”

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.

To make a tab appear in its own window

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

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To put a tab back in its original window

Drag the tab to the title bar of the original window to put it back.

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

Moving Windows

There are several ways you can move windows in Final Cut Pro. 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 Pro comes with a set of predefined window layouts. These layouts determine the size and location of the four main windows in Final Cut Pro (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

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

If none of the existing layouts meets your needs, you can create and save additional window layouts that you’ve arranged yourself. See “Customizing Window Layouts” for more information.

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Showing and Positioning the Dock

When you use Final Cut Pro, 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 Pro to accommodate the position of the Dock.

To arrange Final Cut Pro windows and make room for the Dock

1 If you prefer, 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 Pro, choose Window > Arrange, then choose your preferred layout from the

submenu.

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

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 Pro to undo up to 99 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 “Choosing Settings

and Preferences.”

To undo a change

Choose Edit > Undo (or press Command-Z).

To redo a change

Choose Edit > Redo (or press Command-Shift-Z).

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Entering Timecode for Navigation Purposes

Current Timecode field in the Canvas

Timecode is a signal recorded with your video that uniquely identifies each frame on tape. Timecode also allows you to navigate through your sequences to a specific point in time.

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 Pro automatically adds them for you after each set of two digits.

For example, if you enter 01221419, Final Cut Pro 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 Pro 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 Pro 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 Pro interprets this as 01:24 (1 second and 24 frames). However, if you enter 125, or 199, Final Cut Pro 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.

For more information about using timecode, see “About Timecode” and “Working with

Timecode.”

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Browser Basics

This chapter covers the following:

• How You Use the Browser (p. 65)

• Learning About the Browser (p. 66)

• Working in the Browser (p. 67)

• Using Columns in the Browser (p. 71)

• Customizing the Browser Display (p. 73)

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

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 Pro—media files, clips, sequences, bins, and projects—and how they relate to the Browser, see “Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences.”

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Learning About the Browser

You can also access effects through the Browser.

Bins help you organize clips in your projects.

Sequence

Columns display clip properties.

Each tab represents a project or an open bin.

Clip

Sequence

Bin

Project

You can 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 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.

For more information about viewing items in the Browser in list view or icon view, see

“Customizing the Browser Display.”

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Working in the Browser

A selected clip is highlighted 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:

Click anywhere in the Browser.

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 Pro 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

Click an item.

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To select a group of adjacent clips

The first and last items are selected, along with all items in between.

Drag across multiple items to select them.

Do one of the following:

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

Drag over multiple clips.

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To select multiple, nonadjacent clips

Then press the Command key while selecting other clips.

Select the first clip.

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

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.”)

To navigate within the Browser

Do one of the following:

Press the Up Arrow 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.

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

view.

Press the Tab key to move between items alphabetically.

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, ormaster clip. For more information about master-affiliate clip relationships, see “Working with Master and Affiliate Clips.”

To copy an item

Do one of the following:

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

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

Hold down the Option key while you drag the item to a new bin or to the Name column heading.

to the Name column heading.

Press Option-D to duplicate the selected item.

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:

• Choose Modify > Duplicate as New Master Clip.

• 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

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 Pro 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).

Renaming Clips, Sequences, and Bins

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

To rename clips, sequences, and bins within Final Cut Pro

1 Select the clip, sequence, or bin.

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2 Click the item’s name, type a new name, then press Return or Enter.

Enter a new name for the item in the Name field.

Use the horizontal scroll bar to navigate and view all of the columns in list view.

Use the vertical scroll bar to navigate and view all of the clips and sequences in your project.

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 “Working with Master and Affiliate

Clips.”

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.

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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 logged and 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 withinthe column, andthen 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 “Working with Projects, Clips, and Sequences.”

Other properties, such as the frame size or video rate, are determined by the capture preset you used to capture the clip’s media file. See “Capture Settings and Presets.”

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.

Viewing Columns in Standard or Logging Formats

There are two default column layouts included with Final Cut Pro: standard and logging. You can customize both layouts for particular projects. You can also create and save your own column layouts.

• Standard Columns: Choose this option to see most of a clip’s properties.

• Logging Columns: Choose this option when logging clips, so you can focus on clips’ logging properties (such as Media Start, Media End, Duration, and Reel) and the Browser isn’t cluttered with other information.

You can customize both column layouts, displaying, hiding, and reordering columns in any way you like. Any modifications you make are remembered for the column layout you’re using for that project. New projects you create use the default column layouts.

Note: For a description of column information, see “Elements of a Final Cut Pro Project.”

To switch between standard and logging columns

Control-click any column heading in the Browser, then choose Standard Columns or

Logging Columns from the shortcut menu.

Creating Custom Column Layouts

You can create your own column layouts, based on your preferred arrangement of columns. For more information, see “Saving and Using Custom Column Layouts.”

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Customizing the Browser Display

List view (default)

Small icon view Medium icon view Large icon view

There are various ways you can display items in the Browser, depending on your needs and work style. 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.

To display Browser items as icons or in a list

Do one of the following:

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

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.

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Press Shift-H to toggle through all four views.

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

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

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:

• Rearrange, resize, hide, and show individual columns

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

• Change the Master Comment or Comment column headings

To rearrange a column

Drag the column heading to the new location.

To resize a column

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

To hide a column

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

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

Control-click a column heading, then choose Hide Column.

Control-click a column heading, then choose the column you want to display.

To display a hidden column

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.

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To display thumbnails

Control-click a column heading, then choose Show Thumbnail.

Thumbnails appear as small images of your video clips.

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.

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 Media Start or In point of the clip.

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

To hide thumbnails

Control-click the Thumbnailcolumn heading, then choose Hide Column from theshortcut

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To scrub, or move, through a thumbnail

The thumbnail you’re scrubbing through is highlighted.

Control-click a Comment column heading, then choose Edit Heading.

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

Note: You can also scrub through clips that are displayed in large icon view. See “Scrubbing

Through Clips in Icon View.”

To change the name of the Master Comment or Comment column heading

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

menu.

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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 canchange. 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 “Working with Projects, Clips, and Sequences.”

Note: You can change the name of a Master Comment column. For example, you can change “Master Comment 1” to “Director’s Notes.” But when you export this data (or reimport it into Final Cut Pro), the column will always retain its original name; for example, “Master Comment 1.”

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Working with the Browser in Icon View

Thumbnails of clips in icon view

Video clip with audio

Audio clip

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.

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.”) 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.

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To scrub through clips in large icon view

Selection tool

Scrub tool

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

1 Do one of the following:

• Select the Scrub tool in the Tool palette.

Note: When the Scrub 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.

• Select the Selection tool in the Tool palette, then press Shift-Control to temporarily make the Scrub tool active.

2 Drag the Scrub tool over the thumbnail.

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 commandsto automaticallyarrange your icons from left toright, 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.

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To arrange items in the Browser into rows in icon view

Before using the Arrange command

After using the Arrange command

Do one of the following:

Choose View > Arrange > by Name or by Duration.

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

by Duration from the shortcut menu.

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.

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

Original poster frame (before scrubbing)

The poster frame is now set to the frame you scrubbed to.

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

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

Scrub through a clip until you get to the frame youwant, press and holddown the Control

key, then release the mouse button.

Saving and Using Custom Column Layouts

You can create customized column layouts and save them for easy access at any time. For example, some editors prefer to have the Master Comment 1 column after the Name column, so they don’t have to scroll to that column all the time to review the assistant editor’s notes. The custom column layouts you save are displayed in the shortcut menu that appears when you Control-click any column heading in the Browser (except the Name column).

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To save a custom column layout

1 Rearrange the Browser columns the way you want them to appear.

Note: The Name column always appears on the far left and cannot be moved.

2 Control-click any column heading, then choose Save Column Layout from the shortcut

menu.

3 In the Save dialog, choose where you want to save the layout, change its name if you

like, then click Save.

Custom column layout files are saved by default to the following folder location:

/Users/username/Library/Preferences/Final Cut Pro User Data/Column Layouts/

To open a custom column layout

Control-click any column heading in the Browser except Name, then choose a custom

layout from the shortcut menu.

If you have placed column layouts in a location other than the default folder mentioned above, you need to open them using the Load Column Layout command in the shortcut menu.

To open a custom column layout that is not in the default location

1 Control-click anycolumn heading in the Browser except Name, then chooseLoad Column

Layout from the shortcut menu.

2 In the Choose a File dialog, navigate to the location where the column layout is stored,

select it, then click Choose.

Tip: You can also save and use custom column layouts in the Find Results window, following the same instructions you use for the Browser. Any custom column layouts created in the Browser can be used in the Find Results window, and vice versa.

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Viewer Basics

This chapter covers the following:

• How You Can Use the Viewer (p. 85)

• Opening a Clip in the Viewer (p. 86)

• Learning About the Viewer (p. 87)

• Tabs in the Viewer (p. 90)

• Transport Controls in the Viewer (p. 92)

• Playhead Controls in the Viewer (p. 93)

• Marking Controls in the Viewer (p. 95)

• Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus in the Viewer (p. 96)

• Playhead Sync Pop-Up Menu (p. 99)

• Recent Clips and Generator Pop-Up Menus (p. 100)

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

How You Can Use the Viewer

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

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

• Adjust audio levels and panning in the Audio tab

• 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.

• Add filters to clips and adjust filters applied to clips

• Adjust the motion parameters of clips to modify or animate such parameters as Scale, Rotation, Cropping, and Opacity

• Adjust generator clip controls

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

Clips.”

• Open a transition, such as a dissolve or a wipe, from an edited sequence for detailed editing

For more information, see “Adding Transitions.”

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 “Opening a Clip in the Viewer.”

To make the Viewer window active

Do one of the following:

Click the Viewer.

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

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, In and Out points, and filter parameters. There are 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:

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

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

In the Browser, double-click the clip.

Drag the clip from the Browser to the Viewer.

In the Browser, select the clip and press Return.

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

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

Sprocket holes indicate that this is a sequence clip.

area of the window.

To open a sequence clip in the Viewer from the Timeline or Canvas

Do one of the following:

In the Timeline, double-click the clip.

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 turned on is opened in the Viewer.

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

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.”

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Clip name and the project it’s in

Tabs

View pop-up menu

Playhead Sync pop-up menu

Current Timecode field

Timecode Duration field

Zoom pop-up menu

Image display area

Controls in the Top Part of the Viewer

The top part of the Viewer has the following controls.

• 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.”

• 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 clip Out point.

• Zoom pop-upmenu: This pop-up menu lets youenlarge or shrink the image that appears in the Viewer.

• Playhead Sync pop-up menu: This pop-up menu gives you options for locking the movement of the playheads in the Viewer and the Canvas together in different ways while scrubbing through clips. For more information, see “Matching Frames and

Playhead Synchronization.”

• View pop-up menu: The View pop-up menu allows you to control display options such as timecode and marker overlays, as well as the background color for transparent pixels.

• 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.

• Image display area: This is the area of the Viewer where you can see the video from your sequence play back.

• 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.

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Out point

Marking controls

Transport controls

In point

Shuttle control

Jog control

Scrubber bar

Recent Clips pop-up menu

Generator pop-up menu

Playhead

Marker

Controls in the Bottom part of the Viewer

The bottom part of the Viewer has the following controls.

• Jog and shuttle controls: You use the jog and shuttle controls to navigate within your clip, much like traditional VTR controls.

• Marking controls: You use the marking controls to set edit points (In and Out points) and add markers and keyframes to your clips.

• 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.

• Transport controls: You use these controls to play clips and move the playhead within clips and sequences.

• 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 “Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences.”

• Recent Clips pop-up menu: This pop-up menu allows you to open recently used clips in the Viewer for modifying and editing into your sequence.

• Generator pop-up menu: You use this pop-up menu 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 Pro; for example, they can be used to create color mattes and text of different types.

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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 separate windows. 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.”)

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 only see Audio tabs with no accompanying Video tab.) Clips in Final Cut Pro 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 “Audio Editing Basics.”

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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 on video filters, see “Using Video Filters.” Formore information on audio filters, see “Using

Audio Filters.”

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, Motion Blur, and Speed. 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 “Changing Motion Parameters.” Also refer to “Adjusting Parameters

for Keyframed Effects.”

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Controls Tab

Go to Next Edit

Play Around Current Frame

Play In to Out

Play

Go to Previous Edit

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

“Using Generator Clips.”

Transport Controls in the Viewer

Transport (or playback) controls let you play clips in the Viewer. (The same controls also appear in the Log and Capture and Edit to Tape windows.) These controls play clips at 100 percent (or 1x) speed. There are keyboard shortcuts for each control.

• Play (Space bar): Plays your clip from the current location of the playhead. Clicking it again stops playback.

• Play In to Out (Shift–Vertical Bar): Moves the playhead to the current In point of a clip

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• Play Around Current Frame (Backslash): Plays the selected clip “around” the current

Inactive video

Scrubber bar

Playhead

Jog controlShuttle control

playhead position. When you click this button, the playback begins before theplayhead 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 set 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 “Choosing Settings and Preferences.”

• Go toPrevious 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 in the Viewer

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

Playhead and Scrubber Bar in the Viewer

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

The playhead’smovement inthe scrubber bar is affectedby 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.)

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

Press the Down Arrow key.

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

Press the Up Arrow key.

To move the playhead to the beginning of your clip

Press Home on your keyboard.

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To move the playhead to the end of your clip

Press End on your keyboard.

Jog Control in the Viewer

To move forward or backward in your clip very precisely, use the jog control. The jog control allows you tomove the playhead as if youwere actually moving it withyour hand, with a one-to-one correspondence between the motion of your mouseand 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.”

To move the playhead backward, one frame at a time

Press the Left Arrow key.

To move the playhead forward, one frame at a time

Press the Right Arrow key.

To move the playhead one second at a time

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

Shuttle Control in the Viewer

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 theslider to the right to fast-forward and to the left torewind. 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.”

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Mark Out

Add Motion Keyframe

Show Match Frame

Add Marker

Mark In

Mark Clip

Marking Controls in the Viewer

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.

• Show Match Frame (F): When you click this button, Final Cut Pro searches the current sequence for the same frame shown in the Viewer. Specifically, Final Cut Pro 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 Pro 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.

For a more comprehensive discussion of the Match Frame controls, see “Matching

Frames and Playhead Synchronization.”

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

• 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 “Adjusting Parameters

for Keyframed Effects.”

• 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 “Using

Markers.”

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.

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

Zoom pop-up menu

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

Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus in the Viewer

The twopop-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 by pressing Command–Equal Sign (=) to zoom in and Command-Hyphen (-) to zoom out.

When playingback media withthe Viewer scaled to 100 percent,both fields ofinterlaced 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.

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.

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

Before After

• 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).

• 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.

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• Correct for Aspect Ratio: Displays non-square pixel images as square pixels so they

Displaying native, non-square pixels Display pixel as square

View pop-up menu

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 Pro 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. Final Cut Pro always displays video in Production aperture display mode. For more information about aperture display modes, see

“About QuickTime Aperture Display Modes.”

• 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.

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

• Image, Image+Wireframe, orWireframe mode: 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. Wireframe mode shows only the bounding box and handles of each clip in your sequence, without the corresponding image. For more information on using motion effects, see “Changing Motion Parameters.” You can also refer to “Adjusting Parameters for Keyframed Effects.” For information on compositing, see “Compositing and Layering.”

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• Overlays: Final Cut Pro provides translucent visual cues, called overlays, that help you

Playhead Sync pop-up menu in the Viewer

easily recognize certain parts of your edit in the Viewer, such as the markers and In and Out points of clips in your sequence. To view overlays such as title safe and timecode overlays, you need to turn on this option.

• Title safe and action safe overlays: These overlays 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 “Creating Titles.”

• Timecode overlays: These overlays display the source timecode for clips and are

color-coded to show which items are in sync. For more information, see “About

Timecode Overlays and Sync Color Coding.”

• Excess luma: This overlay indicates whether the luma levels of your footage are

acceptable for broadcast. For more information, see “About Color Correction.”

• RGB, Alpha, or Alpha+RGB: When you’re compositing, it can sometimes be handy to

have a quick look at the alpha channel of your clip. The alpha channel defines areas of transparency, and can change if various filters are applied. Viewing your sequence with the Alpha or Alpha+RGB option selected shows you exactly which areas of your image have transparency. Additional controls are available in the View menu for viewing the individual Red, Green, and Blue channels. If the image display area in the Viewer is all black or all white, it may be because the Canvas is set to view only the alpha channel instead of the RGB channels. Try changing the channel view to RGB to solve this problem.

• Black, White, Checkerboard: When working with clipsthat have an alpha channel,you

can choose different backgrounds to make it easierto see which areas of yourpicture are transparent. For example, translucent clips or generated text may be more visible if you choose a background that emphasizes them, such as Checkerboard 1 or 2. You can also view Red, Green, and Blue background colors using the View menu.

Playhead Sync Pop-Up Menu

You can lock the Viewer playhead to the Canvas/Timeline playhead so that they move together while scrubbing through clips.

Note: This menu also appears in the Canvas, and the options are the same.

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The following playhead sync modes are available from the Playhead Sync pop-up menu:

Generator pop-up menu

Recent Clips pop-up menu

• Sync Off: The Viewer and Canvas playheads move independently of each another. This is the default behavior.

• Open: As the playhead moves through your sequence, the clip that appears at the current position of the playhead is automatically opened in the Viewer. Playhead sync between the Viewer and Canvas is maintained so the same frame is always open in both windows. This method is useful when you need to quickly adjust filters for a number of clips in a sequence, such as for color correction. Multiclip playback mode also turns on this playhead sync mode, so you can view multiple camera angles in the Viewer while you watch the active angle in the Canvas.

• Gang: This mode allows you to establish an arbitrary synchronization between the Viewer and Canvas/Timeline playheads. Each time you choose this mode, the current position of each playhead is used to set the sync relationship. For more information on ganging, see “Matching Frames and Playhead Synchronization.”

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.

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Apple Final Cut Pro 7 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Welcome to Final Cut Pro

About Final Cut Pro

About the Final Cut Pro Documentation

Additional Resources

About the Post-Production Workflow

The Industry Workflow

The Post-Production Workflow

Video Formats and Timecode

About Nonlinear and Nondestructive Editing

Video Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro

Using Multiple Video Formats in a Sequence

Offline and Online Editing

Audio Formats Compatible with Final Cut Pro

Video Format Basics

Video Standards

Image Dimensions and Aspect Ratio

Frame Rate

Scanning Method

About Timecode

About Drop Frame and Non-Drop Frame Timecode

Understanding Projects, Clips, and Sequences

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

Adding Times and Dates to Final Cut Pro Project Names

Using Multiple Hard Disks

Overview of the Final Cut Pro Interface

Basics of Working in the Final Cut Pro Interface

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

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

Using Columns in the Browser

Viewing Columns in Standard or Logging Formats

Creating Custom Column Layouts

Customizing the Browser Display

Choosing Views in the Browser

Working with the Browser in List View

Working with the Browser in Icon View

Scrubbing Through Clips in Icon View

Automatically Arranging Clips in Icon View

Setting the Poster Frame