SHARP Cut Pro 1-2 User Manual

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Final Cut Pro

User’s Manual

Includes instructions for installing and using your software

K Apple Computer, Inc.

Under the copyright laws, this manual may not be copied, in whole or in part, without the written consent of Apple. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement.

The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Use of the “keyboard” Apple logo (Option-Shift-K) for commercial purposes without the prior written consent of Apple may constitute trademark infringement and unfair competition in violation of federal and state laws.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Apple Computer, Inc. is not responsible for printing or clerical errors.

Apple Computer, Inc. 1 Inﬁnite Loop Cupertino, CA 95014-2084 408-996-1010 http://www.apple.com

Apple, the Apple logo, AppleTalk, Final Cut, FireWire, Mac, Macintosh, MacPaint, Power Macintosh, QuickTake, and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

Final Cut Pro and Finder are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. Times is a registered trademark of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, available from Linotype Library GmbH.

Portions Copyright © 1991-1997 Compuware Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Portions Copyright © 1995-1996 DataPak Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved. EDL Translation Library Copyright © 1991-1999 Alba Editorial, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The VtrEngine videotape control engine is a product of Pipeline Digital, and is licensed to Apple Computer, Inc.

Other company and product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Mention of third-party products is for informational purposes only and constitutes neither an endorsement nor a recommendation. Apple assumes no responsibility with regard to the performance or use of these products.

Contents

1Getting Started 17

Where to Find Information 17 System Requirements 18 Preparing to Install Final Cut Pro 18

Installing QuickTime Components 18 Installing Final Cut Pro 19 Hardware Setup and Conﬁguration 20

Connecting Video Devices to Your Computer 20

Controlling Video Devices With Your Computer 22

About Apple FireWire 22

Apple FireWire Basic 22

System Conﬁgurations 23

Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk Drive and PCI Card Speciﬁcations 24 Optimizing Performance 26 Troubleshooting 27

2 Final Cut Pro Tutorial 29

Getting the Tutorial Files and Starting the Program 29 The Final Cut Pro Workspace 30

Setting Up Your Environment 31 Editing in Final Cut Pro 31

Creating Your Own Project 31

Adding the Base Track for Your Sequence 35

Finishing the Rough Edit 38

Advanced Editing Techniques 39

Match-Frame Editing 42 Applying and Editing a Dissolve Transition 44 Audio Editing 48

Compositing and Special Effects 51

Opening and Saving a New Project 52 Previewing the Introduction’s Titles 52 Building the Background 52 Putting Dancers on the Background 54 Adding Circles Around the Dancers 59 Adding Titles for the Introduction 64 Copying a Title’s Attributes to Other Titles 68 Adding the Titles to the Introductory Sequence 69 Rendering the Sequence 70

Finishing a Project 70

Printing to Video 71 Exporting a Sequence for Multimedia or the Web 71 Moving Forward With a New Project 72

3 Understanding Final Cut Pro 73

4 Contents

The Working Environment 73

The Viewer 73 The Canvas 74 The Timeline 74 The Browser 75 The Tool Palette 76

Other Windows You Will Use 78

Log and Capture 78 Edit to Tape 79 Preferences 80 Sequence Settings 81 Project Properties 81 Item Properties 82 Trim Edit 82

Using Menus, Shortcuts, and Controls 83

Shortcut Menus 83

Keyboard Shortcuts 84

Tabbed Windows 84

Customizing the Screen Layout 86 Undoing Changes 87 Working With Timecode 87

Navigating by Entering New Timecodes 88

Moving to a New Time by Adding or Subtracting Frames 88

Moving to a New Time by Entering Numbers That Are Converted 89

Separators for Timecode Entry and Logging 89

Timecode Keyboard Shortcuts 90 Editing in Final Cut Pro 91

Editing With the Tool Palette Tools 92 Background Information and Concepts 92

4 Preferences and Presets 95

Setting General Preferences 96 Setting Device Control Preferences 99 Specifying Capture Preferences 101 Using Sequence Presets 106

Creating, Editing, and Deleting Presets 107 Setting Scratch Disk Preferences 110

5 Getting Media Into Final Cut Pro 113

Log and Capture Window 114 Changing Device Control, Capture, or Scratch Disk Preferences 117 Calibrating the Timecode Signal You Are Capturing 118 Calibrating Capture Settings With Bars and Tone From Tape 118 Capturing Video Without Device Control 120 Choosing a Logging Bin for Ofﬂine and Captured Clips 121 Capturing Video With Device Control 121 Troubleshooting Your Video Deck 123 Logging Ofﬂine Clips 124 Batch Capturing Clips 126

Changing Duplicate Clip Names and Filenames 128 Importing a Batch List 128

Contents 5

Changing a Clip’s Source Timecode 129 Importing Media 130 Importing Still Images and Audio Files 130

Importing Layered Photoshop Files 131 Importing Audio Files From Audio CDs 132

6 Creating and Organizing Projects 133

Creating, Opening, Closing, and Saving Projects 133

Autosaving Projects 134

Customizing the Browser Display 134

Selecting Items in the Browser 136 Sorting Items in the Browser 136

Organizing Projects With the Browser 136

About the Browser Columns 137 Using Bins to Organize Clips 138 Modifying Clip Properties in the Browser 139 Renaming Clips, Sequences, and Bins 139 Searching for Items in the Browser 140

Changing the Properties of a Project 141

6 Contents

7Working With Clips and the Viewer 143

Using Clips in Sequences 143 Using the Viewer 144

The Video Tab 144 The Audio Tab 145 The Filters Tab 146

The Motion Tab 147 Opening Clips in the Viewer 147 Playing Clips and Locating Speciﬁc Frames 148 Marking In and Out Points 149 Creating Subclips 150 Adding and Editing Markers 151

Renaming Markers and Attaching Comments 152

Moving and Extending the Duration of Markers 152

Using Markers as Subclips 153

Viewing Clips 153

Opening Clips From the View Menu 153 Changing Magniﬁcation in the Viewer or Canvas 154 Viewing Title and Action Safe Boundaries 155 Viewing Overlays 156 Viewing With Different Backgrounds 156

Working With Audio 156

Understanding Audio Formats 157 Compressed Audio Formats 157 Tu r ning Off Audio Scrubbing 157 Using the Viewer to Display Audio Waveforms 157 Changing Your Computer’s Audio Level 158 Adjusting Audio Levels and Pan or Spread for a Clip 158 Synchronizing Audio and Video 159

Getting Information About the Properties of Clips 160

8 Creating Sequences and Editing 163

About Sequences 163 Working With the Timeline and Canvas 163 About Three-Point Editing 164 About Audio in Sequences 164

Mixing Audio in Real Time 165

How Tracks Are Composited to Create the Final Sequence 165 About Presets and Sequence Settings 166 Creating a New Sequence 166 Changing the Settings for an Existing Sequence 167 Creating Sequences Using Edit Decision Lists 168 Viewing a Sequence 168 Copying Sequences 169 Setting Up an Edit 169

Specifying the Target Tracks for Editing 169

Positioning the Playhead at a Speciﬁc Edit Point 170

Marking Edit Points 171 Performing Edits in the Canvas 171

The Canvas Edit Overlay 172

Contents 7

Editing in the Timeline 174 The Canvas Two-Up Display 175

Marking Split Edits 175

Setting the Edit Points to the Current Selection 176 Locating a Match Frame 176

9Working in the Timeline and Canvas 177

The Timeline Window 177

Elements in the Timeline Window 178 Colors of Items in the Timeline Window 180 Customizing the Timeline Track Display 181 Timeline Scaling and Scrolling 182

Scaling the Timeline Display 182 Positioning the Playhead in a Sequence 182 Working With Tracks in the Timeline 183

Selecting Track Contents in the Timeline 185 Working With Markers in the Timeline and Canvas 186 Selecting Items in the Timeline 187

Selecting Clips 188

Linked Selection 188

Selecting Items Between the In and Out Points 189 Moving Clips Into the Timeline 189 Moving Clips Within the Timeline 190 Snapping in the Timeline 190 Deleting Clips 191 Copying and Pasting Clips and Clip Attributes 192 Modifying Clips in a Sequence 193

Making Individual Clips Visible or Invisible 193

Using Ofﬂine Clips 193

Changing the Playback Speed of a Clip 194 Working With Keyframes in the Timeline 195

Displaying Keyframes in the Timeline 195

Modifying Keyframes in the Timeline 196

Adding and Adjusting the Values of Overlay Keyframes 196 Searching for Items in the Timeline 197

8 Contents

Finding and Closing Gaps 198 Making Still Frames From Clips in the Canvas 199 Correcting Clips That Are Out of Sync 199

10 Trimming Edits 201

Accessing Trimming Functions 201

Using Trimming Functions With Linked Selection and Snapping 201

Types of Trimming Operations 202

Selecting One or More Edit Points in the Timeline 203

Using the Trim Edit Window 204

Trimming in the Trim Edit Window 205 Slipping an Edit in the Trim Edit Window 206

Trimming Edits in the Timeline and Viewer 206

Performing a Ripple Edit 206 Performing a Roll Edit 207 Slipping a Clip 208 Sliding a Clip 209 Changing the Duration of a Clip 209

Understanding Error Messages When Trimming 210

11 Creating Transitions 211

Adding Transition Effects 211 Changing Transition Settings 212

Using the Transition Viewer to Change Settings and Edit Transitions 212

Trimming and Moving Transitions in the Viewer 214

Trimming or Performing Ripple and Roll Edits on Transitions 215 Modifying Audio Transitions 216

Saving Transition Settings by Creating a Favorite Transition 216 Previewing Transitions 217 Viewing a Transition in the Canvas 217 Rendering Transitions 217

12 Compositing and Special Effects 219

Locating and Applying Effects 219

Using the Viewer Effects Tabs 219 Setting Effects Parameters 220

Contents 9

Using Video Filters 220 Applying Filters From the Timeline or the Browser 221

Applying Filters to a Range of Clips 222 Changing Filters Over Time 222 Changing the Rendering Order of Filters 223 Saving Filter Settings by Creating a Favorite Filter 223 Using After Effects Third-Party Filters 223

Custom User Interfaces 224

Performance 224

Additional Filters 225 Using Generators 225 Editing Motion Properties 226

The Motion Properties 226

Changing the Position of a Clip in the Viewer or Canvas 227

Scaling a Clip in the Viewer or Canvas 228

Rotating a Clip 228

Distorting the Shape of a Clip 229

Cropping a Clip 230

Setting a Clip’s Opacity 230

Adding a Drop Shadow to a Clip 231

Adding Motion Blur to a Clip 231 Using Keyframes to Change Effects Over Time 232

Types of Keyframes 233

Working With Keyframes in the Viewer 233

Editing Keyframes in the Viewer 234 Creating a Motion Path 235

Editing a Motion Path 237

Creating Curves and Corners Along a Motion Path 237

Controlling Speed Along a Motion Path 237 Using Alpha Channels 239

Importing Transparent Images 239 Setting the Clip Composite Mode 239

10 Contents

13 Rendering 241

About Rendering 241

Rendering Versus Real-Time Playback 241 How Sequences Are Rendered 241 Setting a Sequence’s Render Qualities 242

Editing Render Quality Levels 242

Video Rendering 244

Audio Rendering 244

Using Nested Sequences 244

Using Nested Sequences to Render Transitions 245 Rendering Indicators 245 How to Avoid Rendering 246 Rendering 246 Specifying Storage Locations for Render Files 247 Using Cache Manager to Manage Rendered Files 247 Automatically Rendering Before Playing 248

14 Creating Final Output 249

Printing to Video 249 Editing to Tape 251

Edit to Tape Operations 252

The Difference Between Insert and Assemble Editing 253

Choosing Which Tracks to Record 253

Setting Up for Editing to Tape 254

Performing an Edit to Tape 254

Setting Mastering Options 255

Edit to Tape Device Settings 256 Preparing a Videotape With Black and Code 257 Working With Edit Decision Lists 257

Exporting an EDL 257

Setting EDL Export Options 258

Importing an Edit Decision List 259 Working With Batch Lists 260

Exporting a Batch List 260

Exporting FXScripts as Text 260 Exporting Sequences and Clips 261 Exporting Sequences and Clips in a Batch Operation 263

Contents 11

Batch Export Columns 264 Naming Options Dialog Box 266

15 Managing Complex Projects 267

Placing Sequences Within Other Sequences 267 Nesting Clips 268 Using the Sequence Trimmer 268 Relinking Ofﬂine Files 269 Moving a Project and Its Media 269 Managing Projects With Multiple Users 270

16 Building Effects With FXBuilder 271

What Is Scripting? 271 How Does FXBuilder Work? 272 Opening FXBuilder 272

Opening and Applying Scripts 272 The FXBuilder Tabs 273 Running a Script in FXBuilder 274 Applying a Script in the Timeline 274 Rendering 275

Modifying Scripts 275

How Is a Script Structured? 275

Exporting Scripts 277

Exporting Scripts as Text Files 277 Preventing Scripts From Being Modiﬁed or Viewed 278

Making a Favorite Effect From a Script 278 Installing Scripts 278 Building Scripts 278 About the FXScript Commands 279

Statements 279

12 Contents

Appendix A FXScript Reference 285

Scripting Parameters 285 Expressions in FXScript 285

Operators 286

Data Types 287 Functions 288 Geometry 289 Shapes 291 Transform 293 Blit 294 Process 296 Distort 300 Composite 303 Key 306 External 308 String 310 Text 311 Clip 312 Utility 312 Constants and Predeclared Variables 314

General 315 Color 315 Formatting 315 Shapes 316 Text 316 Key 316

Variables 317 Input 318 Deﬁnition 320 Assignment 321 Flow Control 322

Appendix B List of Audio and Video Effects 325

Audio Transitions 325 Audio Filters 326 Video Transitions 328

3D Simulation 328

Dissolve 328

Contents 13

Iris 329 Map 329 Page Peel 329 Slide 329 Stretch 330 Wipe 330

Video Filters 332

Blur 332 Border 332 Channel 332 Distort 333 Image Control 333 Key 334 Using a Color Key 334 Using a Luma Key 335 Matte 335 Perspective 336 Sharpen 337 Stylize 337

Video 337 Video Generators 338 Text 338

14 Contents

Appendix C Keyboard Shortcuts 339

General Controls 339 Application Windows 340 Select, Cut, Copy, and Paste 341 Navigation 342 Finding Items 343 Scrolling 344 Screen Layout and Display 344 Projects and Sequences 344 Browser 345 Timeline 345

Logging and Capturing 346 Playing Video 347 In and Out Points 347 Markers 348 Editing 349 Output 351 Compositing and Special Effects 351 Quick Navigation Keys and Modiﬁers 353 Tools and Modiﬁer Keys 354

Index 357

Contents 15

CHAPTER

Getting Started

‘Welcome to Apple Final Cut Pro, the all-in-one solution for professional digital video editing, compositing, and special effects. Final Cut Pro has been designed to work with professional broadcast equipment in post-production environments. In addition, the program has been thoughtfully designed to take advantage of leading-edge digital technologies, enabling you to be creative as well as productive. Final Cut Pro supports Digital Video (DV) as well as all QuickTime formats, including MJPEG and streaming video. Final Cut Pro includes powerful production management capabilities in an intuitive interface. There are also powerful, builtin effects generators as well as support for Adobe With Final Cut Pro you can produce broadcast-quality productions in a ﬂexible, easy-to-use environment.

In this chapter you will ﬁnd information resources and system requirements for Final Cut Pro. Installation instructions will step you through the installation process. You will also be given hardware setup and conﬁguration information to help you put together hardware components designed for use with Final Cut Pro. At the end of this chapter there are tips for optimizing and troubleshooting Final Cut Pro.

™

After Effects third-party plug-in ﬁlters.

Where to Find Information

m Final Cut Pro User’s Manual: This book documents all of the features of Final Cut Pro. It

contains installation instructions and informative material as well as an instructional tutorial that can be taken using the video and audio clips included on the Final Cut Pro CD-ROM disc. Appendixes contain a complete list of effects scripting commands, sample effects, keyboard shortcuts, and indexes.

m Help system: Online help is built into the application. You can search it for information

while using Final Cut Pro. To open the Help system, choose Context Sensitive Help from the Help menu or press the F1 key.

m Read Me ﬁle: You can ﬁnd late-breaking information in this ﬁle on the Final Cut Pro CD. m Updates: Look in the box for other essential information.

For general product information and updates, visit the Apple Final Cut Pro Web site at www.apple.com/ﬁnalcutpro

System Requirements

m A Power Macintosh G3/266 computer or faster (G3/300 or faster required for DV), or a

PowerBook G3/300 or faster

m Mac OS 8.6 or later m 128 MB of RAM m A CD-ROM drive m A 6 GB, A/V (Audio/Video rated) drive (16 GB recommended) m A true-color display m ATI built-in video support on G3 models (required for DV ) m An Apple FireWire or other QuickTime-compatible digital video card for capturing video

from an external source or exporting video to tape m The correct FireWire or device control cable and any additional cables you may need for

connecting your deck or camcorder to your computer

Preparing to Install Final Cut Pro

18 Chapter 1

Final Cut Pro requires certain software components to be installed on your hard disk. QuickTime is required by Final Cut Pro and has been included with this program. Be sure to install QuickTime before installing Final Cut Pro.

Installing QuickTime Components

Insert the Final Cut Pro CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2 Double-click the Final Cut Pro CD icon on your desktop.

3 Locate and open the QuickTime Installer folder and double-click the QuickTime Installer

icon.

4 Follow the onscreen instructions in the QuickTime Installer.

Important On the “Choose Installation Type” panel, choose Custom and click Continue.

Click the Select All button on the next screen and click Continue.

5 Complete the QuickTime installation process by restarting your computer.

6 Unlock QuickTime Pro by following the instructions on the update sheet in your box.

Installing Final Cut Pro

Installation places the Final Cut Pro application and its components on your hard disk. Installation of certain software components is determined by the type of capture hardware you will be using with Final Cut Pro. If you have not yet installed and conﬁgured the additional hardware you will be using with your computer, read the section “Hardware Setup and Conﬁguration” on page 20. If you already have a system conﬁgured with capture hardware and a camcorder or deck, proceed with the installation instructions in this section.

1 Insert the Final Cut Pro CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2 Double-click the Install Final Cut Pro icon.

3 Choose a destination disk from the pop-up list and click Select.

Note: Final Cut Pro can only be installed on a hard disk with Mac OS 8.5 or later.

4 Read the Software License Agreement and click Continue.

m Click Agree to continue with the installation. m Click Disagree to cancel the installation.

5 Specify the video capture hardware you will be using:

m Select Pinnacle Systems Targa Series if you will use a Targa video capture card. m Select DV (digital video) if you will use Apple FireWire and DV devices. When you select

DV, your default video frame size is set to 720 x 480. Note: Selecting DV will install FireWire extensions in your System Folder. These

extensions are optimized for Final Cut Pro. If you have existing FireWire extensions in your System Folder that you want to retain, move them out of the Extensions folder before you continue.

m Select None/Don’t Know if you will use hardware other than DV or Pinnacle Systems

Ta rga.

6 To specify a default video frame size (Pinnacle Systems Targa only):

m Select NTSC Standard for a 640 x 480 frame size. m Select NTSC (CCIR 601) for a 720 x 486 frame size.

7 To specify the type of video source connection:

m Select Composite to sample video over a single cable using a BNC or RCA connector. m Select S-Video to sample video over a single cable using a 4-pin S-video connector. m Select Component to sample video over three cables using Betacam (r-y, b-y, Y)

Component BNC or RCA connectors.

8 Click Start to install Final Cut Pro.

9 Restart your computer.

Getting Started 19

10 Open the Final Cut Pro application and enter your registration information and serial

number. The serial number can be found on the Final Cut Pro CD sleeve. Note: Final Cut Pro is conﬁgured to use a standard set of preferences and preset controls

based on answers given during installation. You may want to change these before you proceed any further. See Chapter 4, “Preferences and Presets,” on page 95, and “About Presets and Sequence Settings” on page 166.

Hardware Setup and Configuration

Final Cut Pro is designed to work with DV and Pinnacle Systems Targa Series hardware. If you are using DV equipment, use the FireWire cable included with this package to connect your camcorder or deck to your computer. DV devices with FireWire transmit device control data, timecode, video, and audio over a single FireWire cable.

If you are using Pinnacle Systems Targa equipment, device control and timecode signals are transmitted over one cable while video and audio data use another set of cables depending on the type of video source connection you choose. See your Targa manual for details.

You can also connect camcorders or decks that do not support device control to capture video clips and export edited sequences. To print to video or edit to tape, the card must have video out capabilities. To connect these devices, you need a QuickTime-compatible video capture card. Go to the Final Cut Pro Web site at www.apple.com/ﬁnalcutpro for a list of vendors and qualiﬁed products.

20 Chapter 1

Connecting Video Devices to Your Computer

Devices can be connected to your computer through a dedicated video capture card or FireWire connection. It is recommended that you connect and turn on the device before opening Final Cut Pro so the application can detect the device.

If you are connecting devices to your computer with video and audio cables:

m Connect the video and audio cables to the output jacks of your camcorder or deck. m Connect the other ends of the cables to the corresponding input jacks of your capture

hardware. m Connect an appropriate device control cable between your camcorder or deck and the

serial port of your computer.

If you are connecting a DV device to your computer with FireWire: m Use a 2-meter, 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable to connect the DV device to your computer.

4-pin 1394 (FireWire) connector 6-pin 1394 (FireWire) connector

m Plug the 6-pin connector into the computer’s FireWire port and the 4-pin connector into

the device’s DV port. (FireWire ports on external devices are sometimes labeled IEEE 1394 or DV IN/OUT.)

The Apple FireWire port on your Macintosh is a 6-pin port.

Warning Do not attempt to force the 4-pin connector into the computer’s 6-pin FireWire

port. 4-pin connectors and ports can be especially fragile. Before connecting a 4-pin connector to its corresponding port, be sure it is aligned properly by matching an indent on the connector to the indent in the port. Do not force the two together.

Both connectors snap into place when properly engaged.

Once you have connected a camcorder or deck to your computer, turn on the device. If you are using a camcorder, switch it to VCR mode (sometimes labeled VTR.) In VCR mode, the camcorder operates as a playback/record deck and uses the video and audio connectors or FireWire for input and output. In Camera mode, the camcorder acquires video and audio through the CCD sensor and built-in Mic, not through the input connectors or FireWire. Final Cut Pro cannot record to the camcorder while it is in Camera mode.

Getting Started 21

Controlling Video Devices With Your Computer

Final Cut Pro can control devices through a serial or FireWire cable. If your camcorder or deck supports one of the following device control protocols, Final Cut Pro can transmit and receive timecode and transport control data to and from the device. Search mechanisms within some decks can also be controlled by Final Cut Pro.

Note: If your computer does not have a serial port, but does have a USB port, you can use a third-party product such as the Keyspan USB Serial Adapter, which allows you to attach serial devices to the USB port.

The following device protocols are supported:

m Apple FireWire or Apple FireWire Basic m JVC RS-232 m Panasonic RS-232 or RS-422 m Sony RS-422 or RS-232 m Sony VISCA or LANC

Note: The Panasonic RS-422 and Sony RS-422 protocols require special cables. For more information about the various protocols and their cables, see the Final Cut Pro Read Me ﬁle in the Final Cut Pro application folder or visit the Final Cut Pro Web site at www.apple.com/ﬁnalcutpro

For full functionality of Final Cut Pro, your video device needs to support auto editing VTRs and protocols.

Note: An auto editing VTR is a device that can take In Point and Out Point timecode, along with an Edit mode, and perform the edit accurately, regardless of the state of the controlling device or its software.

22 Chapter 1

About Apple FireWire

Apple FireWire is designed to work with digital video camcorders and decks that have a FireWire port and use the DV format. With Final Cut Pro and a FireWire connection, you can control external DV devices and capture DV movie clips to your hard disk. You can then view, edit, and apply effects to the DV clips and render movies in the DV format. Final Cut Pro can also play the movies to your camcorder or deck through the FireWire connection where the output can then be recorded on tape.

Apple FireWire Basic

FireWire (IEEE 1394) is a serial bus currently supported by many professional and consumer level camcorders and decks. However, there is a wide range of functionality and adherence to the FireWire speciﬁcations among these devices. For this reason, two versions of the FireWire protocol (Apple FireWire and Apple FireWire Basic) are provided in Final Cut Pro’s Device Control preferences.

If your deck or camcorder uses FireWire, begin by using the Apple FireWire protocol. This is the default protocol if you selected DV during the installation setup. While all decks and camcorders support the most basic functions like returning timecode and accepting basic transport commands, other commands may not be supported. If you ﬁnd that the device does not accurately go to speciﬁed timecodes or fails to execute special commands, try the Apple FireWire Basic protocol.

To switch between FireWire protocols in Final Cut Pro:

m Choose Preferences from the Edit menu and click the Device Control tab. m Choose Apple FireWire or Apple FireWire Basic from the Protocol pop-up menu.

System Configurations

Final Cut Pro works best with the following hardware conﬁguration:

External

A/V HD

Computer

DV Camcorder

or Deck

FireWire

Video out

Stereo Audio Out

Component, S-Video,

or Composite

Video Signal Out

Monitor

External Speakers

NTSC Video Monitor

A basic conﬁguration includes a computer, a high-resolution monitor, and a video camcorder or deck. Your source footage will be sampled to the internal hard disk of the computer via FireWire or other video/audio connection. Footage can then be edited on the computer with Final Cut Pro and output back to tape through FireWire or other video/audio connection.

Getting Started 23

A recommended setup also includes an Ultra Wide A/V hard disk drive, an external set of speakers, and an NTSC or PAL monitor.

m An Ultra Wide A/V hard disk drive provides a dedicated, high-throughput storage medium

where video and audio can be recorded or rendered. The beneﬁt of using a dedicated

drive for your media is that the drive contains no operating system software or other

applications and ﬁles that can fragment the disk. Fragmentation can interfere with the

continuous data ﬂow of video and audio to and from the disk. You can add an internal

drive to your existing SCSI bus or you can install an Ultra Wide SCSI card to support an

external A/V drive. m External speakers allow you to hear audio output from your video camcorder or deck.

Many camcorders come with a built-in speaker, but external speakers will provide you

with higher quality audio output.

Audio is output through the camcorder or deck

m when playing back video with audio in the Viewer, Canvas, or Timeline

m when printing or editing video to tape

Note: When playing video in the Canvas, audio output through the external speakers will

be slightly out of sync with the video. Audio from the external speakers will, however, be

in sync with video displayed on an NTSC or PAL monitor. m An NTSC or PAL monitor is highly recommended for previewing video output from your

hard disk if you intend to output to videotape or broadcast on television. Final Cut Pro

outputs video to the NTSC or PAL monitor through the camcorder or deck. Many video

camcorders have built-in LCD displays that can also be used for this purpose. An NTSC or

PAL monitor can also be used to view the playback from your video device when you are

searching for edit points. Connect the NTSC or PAL monitor to your video deck or

camcorder using the Component, S-Video, or Composite output jacks.

24 Chapter 1

Ultra Wide SCSI Hard Disk Drive and PCI Card Specifications

Digital video and audio demands high data throughput to and from the hard disk drive. For the best performance when working with digital media, use a high-capacity, Ultra Wide SCSI drive. Depending on your system conﬁguration, you may be able to add an internal drive if you have an existing Ultra Wide SCSI bus. If you do not have an internal Ultra Wide SCSI bus, install an Ultra Wide SCSI card in one of your computer’s PCI slots. Refer to the Final Cut Pro Web site at www.apple.com/ﬁnalcutpro for a list of vendors and qualiﬁed products.

About the Internal Ultra Wide SCSI Bus

If your computer came with an Ultra Wide SCSI card, all devices on the same SCSI bus must have unique ID numbers. However, devices on different SCSI buses may use the same SCSI ID number. (For example, you can have a removable media drive with ID number 3 connected to the computer’s built-in regular SCSI bus and a hard disk with ID number 3 connected to the Ultra Wide SCSI bus.)

Important Hard disks installed in your computer at the factory and the SCSI card have

reserved certain SCSI ID numbers on the Ultra Wide SCSI bus. Other ID numbers are available for assignment to SCSI devices that are added later, as described in the following table.

Ultra Wide SCSI ID Number Device

0Factory-installed hard disk drive (terminated)

1 through 6 Available

7SCSI PCI card (terminated)

8 through 15 Available

If your computer came with two or more Ultra Wide SCSI hard disk drives, use the System Profiler program (available in the Apple menu) to find out the SCSI ID numbers of your drives.

Getting Started 25

If you want to install an internal SCSI-3 drive, use the internal ribbon cable with the 68-pin connector to connect the device to the Ultra Wide SCSI bus.

68-pin connector

Warning Do not connect any SCSI devices to the external 68-pin SCSI-3 connector or to

the internal 50-pin SCSI-2 connector on the PCI card that supports the internal hard disk.

Connecting even one external SCSI device to the external 68-pin connector extends the

overall cable length of the SCSI bus beyond the limit for which error-free operation can be

guaranteed; the combined length of the internal cable and the external cable reduces the

reliability of all the devices connected to the Ultra Wide SCSI bus. Connecting a device to

the internal 50-pin SCSI-2 connector will cause your Ultra Wide SCSI devices to transfer

data at the slower, SCSI-2 rate.

26 Chapter 1

Optimizing Performance

These tips will help you to get the best from Final Cut Pro: m When a project is ﬁnished and archived, delete all ﬁles from the disk you used to create

the project. Defragment the drive with a disk-optimizing utility. This helps prepare the

disk for the next project you work on.

m Make sure that windows displaying video are not obscured or overlapped. m Don’t place windows so that they overlap monitors. m Defragment disk drives regularly, especially those used for capturing. m Store your project ﬁles on your startup disk. Store your media and rendered ﬁles on

another disk.

m Tu rn off virtual memory in the Memory control panel. (This is required.) m Keep your disk cache as small as possible. m Tu rn off all applications and processes that run in the background, such as networking

(which you can turn off by making AppleTalk inactive using the Chooser).

m Attempting to open clips or media over a network will cause poor performance in Final

Cut Pro. Copy ﬁles from the network to your local disk before importing them.

m Do not set Final Cut Pro’s memory allocation to an amount higher than the currently

available RAM.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter problems after installing Final Cut Pro and conﬁguring your hardware, the following tips may help.

My camcorder or deck is not recognized.

m Make sure your device control cable or FireWire cable is properly connected. m Verify that the camcorder is set to VCR mode. m Tu rn on the device and restart Final Cut Pro. m Make sure the appropriate protocol for your device is selected in the Device Control tab

in the Preferences window. See “Setting Device Control Preferences” on page 99 for more details.

Video is not visible on an external NTSC or PAL monitor.

m Make sure your cables are properly connected. m Verify that the camcorder is set to VCR mode. m Make sure the appropriate hardware setting is selected in the “View External Video Using”

pop-up menu in the General preferences tab. See “Setting General Preferences” on page 96 for more details.

m Choose Rendered Frames from the “View External Video Using” pop-up menu in the

General preferences tab to view rendered frames before they are output to NTSC or PAL video.

m Choose “All frames” or “Single frames” from the External Video submenu in the View

menu.

I noticed dropped frames on my NTSC or PAL monitor during DV playback from the Timeline.

m Reduce the Canvas or Viewer view size to 50%. m Tu rn off “Mirror on desktop during Playback” in the General preferences tab. m Disable View As Sq. Pixels in the View pop-up menu. m Reduce monitor bit depth from millions to 16-bit (thousands).

Getting Started 27

Video does not play through to the computer screen.

m Make sure your cables are properly connected. m Check your QuickTime video settings in the Capture preferences tab. For details on

QuickTime source and compression settings, see “Specifying Capture Preferences” on

page 101.

I am experiencing poor playback and stuttering video when trying to edit.

m Make sure you are not editing with media using keyframe compression such as Sorenson

or Cinepak. m Recompress the media with Final Cut Pro or Media Cleaner without keyframes.

I don’t hear audio on my computer’s speakers when playing video from my camcorder or deck.

m Make sure your audio cables are properly connected. m Check your QuickTime audio settings in the Capture preferences tab. For details on audio

sample and source settings, see “Specifying Capture Preferences” on page 101.

I don’t hear audio through my camcorder speakers.

m Make sure your cables are properly connected. m If you are scrubbing audio in the Viewer’s Audio tab, increase the volume of your

computer’s audio output.

I can’t control certain functions of my camcorder or deck.

m Make sure your device control cable is properly connected. m Make sure the appropriate protocol for your device is selected in the Device Control tab

in the Preferences window. See “Setting Device Control Preferences” on page 99 for more

details. m If you are using a device with FireWire, try switching the device control protocol from

Apple FireWire to Apple FireWire Basic.

28 Chapter 1

CHAPTER

2 Final Cut Pro Tutorial

This tutorial is designed to give you a hands-on introduction to Final Cut Pro. Working through the step-by-step procedures in the tutorial, you will create a short video using a variety of the editing, effects, and compositing features of the application. You will

m create a Final Cut Pro project and sequence m play clips and mark edit points m perform several types of edits m add special effects to your sequence m render and play the sequence you’ve put together m output your ﬁnal sequence to videotape or a QuickTime ﬁle for use on the World Wide Web

or in multimedia

The tutorial should take about one hour to complete.

Getting the Tutorial Files and Starting the Program

If you haven’t installed Final Cut Pro, follow the instructions in Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” on page 17. Next, consult the Read Me ﬁle installed with the program for the location of the tutorial ﬁles on the Final Cut Pro CD-ROM disc. Then copy the necessary ﬁles from the CD and open the project you will use for the tutorial.

Note: The tutorial ﬁles require about 90 megabytes (MB) of free space on your hard disk.

1 If necessary, clear 90 MB of space on your hard disk.

2 Copy the Tutorial folder from the Final Cut Pro CD to your hard disk.

3 Double-click the Final Cut Pro icon to start the program.

The Final Cut Pro Workspace

In Final Cut Pro, you work in four main windows: the Viewer, Canvas, Timeline, and Browser. These windows open the ﬁrst time you start the program. In addition, the Tool palette opens with the program.

Viewer Canvas

30 Chapter 2

Browser Timeline

Tool palette

Each of the four main windows has multiple functions. Functions are grouped by tabs within the windows. You can drag tabs out of their parent windows to customize the workspace for your individual needs. (When you drag a tab, its content opens in a new window.)

Note: In some instances, the windows on your screen may look slightly different from the pictures in this tutorial.

Setting Up Your Environment

When you install Final Cut Pro, you provide information about your system that the program uses to establish its basic settings. You don’t have to change those settings for this tutorial.

Before you begin working, however, you should specify a scratch disk for storing video, audio, and render ﬁles.

To specify the scratch disk and ﬁle type:

1 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

2 Click the Scratch Disks tab and specify a scratch disk for your video, audio, and render ﬁles.

Note: You can specify that these ﬁles be stored on a single disk, on separate disks, or in folders within a disk.

3 Click the Sequence Presets tab and choose Software Preset.

4 Click the Set Default button.

If the button is dimmed, that option is already the default.

5 Click OK.

Now you’re ready to begin editing in Final Cut Pro.

Editing in Final Cut Pro

This section gives you practice with the basic editing features of Final Cut Pro, including adding clips to a sequence, trimming, slip editing, match frame editing, using transitions, and audio manipulation.

“The Lindy Hop” sequence in the project “Swing.fcp” is a section of a documentary about swing dancing in the 1990s. This sequence introduces you to the power and productivity of Final Cut Pro. In the tasks that follow, you will recreate this video segment and learn some of the ways the program facilitates the creative process.

Creating Your Own Project

To begin, open the program, create your own project, and play the sequence named “The Lindy Hop.” This sequence is the model for the learning tasks in the tutorial.

1 Choose Open from the File menu, locate the Tutorial folder on your hard disk, open the

Projects folder inside it, select the ﬁle “Swing.fcp” (one of the tutorial’s project ﬁles), and click Open.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 31

A tab named “Swing.fcp” appears in the Browser, and the Timeline and Canvas windows close.

The Browser is the central storage area for all media. It provides management features, such as sorting and ﬁnding, and allows for complex organization of media combined with quick access to ﬁles. The program organizes clips, sequences, and other data in a project. Projects are represented by tabs in the Browser.

2 Open the File menu and choose Save Project As, type “My Project 1.fcp,” and click Save.

It’s a good idea to save your project with a new name to be sure that your work is saved in a separate ﬁle and to prevent inadvertent changes in the model project, “Swing.fcp.”

3 In the Browser, expand the Dance Shots folder, called a “bin,” to view its contents.

4 Double-click “The Lindy Hop” to open it.

The Canvas and Timeline windows open, with “The Lindy Hop” displayed.

32 Chapter 2

The Canvas is analogous to a “record” monitor; it displays edited material. The Canvas has the same transport controls as the Viewer and the two windows work in a similar way.

Playhead

The Timeline displays clips and sequences over time. Each open sequence is displayed on its own tab in the Timeline. You can customize the appearance and functions of the Timeline and perform editing tasks in this window.

5 Click in the Canvas to make it active.

6 Press the Home key to move the playhead to the beginning of the sequence.

7 Press the Space bar to play the sequence in the Canvas.

Creating a New Sequence

Next, create a new sequence and open a clip to use in it.

1 Open the File menu and choose New, then choose Sequence from the submenu.

The new sequence appears in the Browser as Sequence 2.

2 Double-click “Sequence 2” in the Browser to open it.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 33

3 In the Canvas window, choose 100% from the zoom level pop-up menu at the top center of

the window.

4 Double-click the clip named “Rob Dialog.mov” in the Browser to open it in the Viewer.

The clip opens in the Viewer window.

34 Chapter 2

When you open a clip in Final Cut Pro, it appears in the Viewer, which is analogous to your “source” monitor. The Viewer provides features for viewing and marking source clips; customizing transitions; and viewing and editing effects, ﬁlters, and special-effect clips called generators.

Adding the Base Track for Your Sequence

The base track is the primary set of media—clips, audio, still images—for the sequence. Many times, the base track may be the only one used in a sequence; at other times, you may want to add other tracks to make multiple layers, creating a ﬁnished sequence that might show one clip playing inside another clip or a changing collage of still images playing over a clip.

This tutorial creates a sequence with multiple layers. The next several tasks create the primary layer—the base video and audio tracks for the sequence.

Adding a Clip to Your Sequence

1 Click in the Viewer window to make it active (if necessary).

2 Play “Rob Dialog.mov” by pressing the Space bar or clicking the Play button. Press the Space

bar or click the Play button again to stop play.

Play button

3 Add “Rob Dialog.mov” to the sequence by dragging it from the Viewer to the Canvas window.

The Edit Overlay appears in the Canvas window, and the Overwrite section is highlighted when you drag the image into the window. (Overwrite is the default edit.)

Overwrite section of Edit Overlay

When you release the mouse button, an image from “Rob Dialog.mov” appears in the Canvas, and the clip’s one video track and two audio tracks appear in the Timeline.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 35

4 Click in the Canvas window to make it active (if necessary).

5 Press Home and then press the Space bar to play the new sequence.

Note: Final Cut Pro provides several ways to add clips to a sequence. These include dragand-drop (used in step 3 above); a source/record metaphor using the Viewer and the Canvas; an assembly timeline/ﬁlm metaphor using the Viewer and the Timeline; and keyboard commands to execute speciﬁc types of edits. All these methods of moving clips are detailed in later chapters of the Final Cut Pro User’s Manual. This ﬂexibility makes Final Cut Pro easy to use and lets you choose the work ﬂow that best suits your needs and work style.

Identifying Part of a Clip for Use

In this sequence, you don’t want to show Rob’s “talking head” for the entire sequence, but you want to use all of his speaking in the clip. You can set In and Out points to mark the starting and ending points for a section of the clip and then substitute other video for Rob’s image in that section, or even eliminate the section between In and Out points. (The clip itself is not changed by marking In and Out points.)

Next, you’ll set In and Out points on one clip and then overwrite that section of the clip with part of another clip.

1 Click in the Canvas window to make it active.

2 Press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip.

3 In the Canvas window, press the Space bar to begin playing the clip.

36 Chapter 2

4 When you hear Rob say “the Lindy Hop,” press the Space bar to stop the clip.

5 Click the Mark In button or press I to mark the In point. The current time in the upper-right

corner of the Canvas should be approximately 1:00:01:23.

Mark Out button

Mark In button

Don’t worry if you didn’t mark the point immediately after the phrase “the Lindy Hop.” You can adjust the point later (in step 10, below).

6 Press Home to reposition the playhead at the beginning of the clip.

7 Press the Space bar to play the clip.

8 When you hear Rob say “constantly moving,” press the Space bar to stop play.

9 Click the Mark Out button or press O to mark the Out point. The current time should be

approximately 1:00:05:20.

10 In the Canvas, drag the indicators for the In and Out points in the ruler (just above the row

of buttons) to match them to the desired timecodes.

In point Out point

When you drag the In or Out point’s indicator, the current time is displayed for that point. Get the points as close to 1:00:01:23 and 1:00:05:20 as you can.

Targeting Audio Tracks

In an upcoming task, you will overwrite the part of “Rob Dialog.mov” that you marked with another video clip. But you want to hear Rob’s voice continuously as the original and overwritten sections of “Rob Dialog.mov” are playing. So you should protect Rob’s voice in this clip by turning off the audio target in “Rob Dialog.mov.”

m In the Timeline, click the audio targeting icon (a double speaker) for tracks A1 and A2 to

turn off targeting.

Ta r get track indicators, currently on

When you click the side of the speaker containing a numeral, targeting is turned off and the numeral and color in the icon disappear. Clicking a speaker icon that contains no numeral turns targeting on for the track.

Setting In and Out Points for Another Clip

In the next two tasks you will set an Out point for another clip and then perform an overwrite edit to replace the marked section of the original clip (“Rob Dialog.mov”). You’ll be using “three-point editing,” Final Cut Pro’s system for calculating the boundaries of an edit from the information it has. In this case, you mark the Out point for the new clip and the program calculates the In point for that clip, based on the In and Out points you set previously for “Rob Dialog.mov.”

For the new clip, “Bloomies.mov,” you’ll mark the Out point in the Viewer.

1 Double-click “Bloomies.mov” in the Browser to open it in the Viewer.

2 Press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 37

3 Type +500 and press Return to go to the frame 5 seconds into the clip.

As you type, the number appears in the current time box at the upper-right corner of the Viewer.

4 Press O to set the Out point at the position you entered.

Performing an Overwrite Edit

Now you’ll replace the marked section of “Rob Dialog.mov” with the section you just marked in “Bloomies.mov” with an Overwrite edit.

1 Drag the “Bloomies.mov” clip from the Viewer to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in

the Canvas.

2 Select the Canvas window, press the Home key, and play the sequence.

Finishing the Rough Edit

Final Cut Pro allows you to add multiple clips in one step. For this tutorial task, you’ll add two more clips to your sequence.

Positioning the Playhead to Add More Clips

To make sure the added clips appear in the right place, use the Timeline to check or adjust the position of the playhead in the sequence. The Up and Down arrow keys move the playhead from one edit point to another; Up moves the playhead to the previous edit point, Down moves the playhead to the next edit point. In this sequence, the edit points are the points where the sequence begins and where each clip meets another clip.

38 Chapter 2

1 Click in the Timeline window to make it active (if necessary).

2 Use the Up Arrow (backward movement) or Down Arrow (forward movement) to position

the playhead at the end of “Bloomies.mov,” the clip you just added to the sequence.

Adding Multiple Clips at One Time

Now add the two additional clips to your sequence.

1 In the Browser, click the Name ﬁeld so that the sort arrow at the right is pointing down.

This sorts the contents of the Browser in alphabetical order by name.

2 Select the following clips: “Johnny n Cari.mov” and “Round n Round.mov.”

Command-click to select separated items.

3 Drag the selected clips from the Browser to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in the

Canvas.

4 In the Canvas, position the playhead at the beginning and then play the sequence.

Your sequence now begins and ends with Rob talking onscreen, and there are three different clips of dancers in between.

Adding One More Clip

To provide a greater focus on the dancers at the end of the sequence, add one more clip at the end.

1 In the Canvas, type 01:00:20:00 and press Return.

As you type, the numbers—a timecode—appear in the Current Timecode box at the upperright corner of the window. When you press Return, the playhead moves to the position corresponding to the timecode you typed.

2 Select the clip “Overhead.mov” in the Browser and drag it to the Overwrite section of the

Edit Overlay in the Canvas.

The clip covers the last portion of “Rob Dialog.mov.”

3 Press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

4 Press the Space bar to play the sequence.

5 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Advanced Editing Techniques

Final Cut Pro includes advanced editing features such as moving In and Out points (slip and slide techniques), trimming in the Trim Edit window and in the Timeline with the Ripple and Roll tools, and Match-Frame editing. The program is designed to let you reﬁne edits quickly, so that you can focus on the timing and rhythm of your work.

Slipping

Use slip editing when you want to simultaneously change the In and Out points of a placed edit (one already in the sequence) without changing the duration of the edit or its location in the ﬁnal program. For example, you can use a slip edit to indicate a different part of a clip if you have unwanted content in the section currently in use.

In the “Bloomies.mov” clip that you’ve included in your sequence, you discover that the dancers do not catch hands for a moment when they both turn at one point. You want to eliminate that small error but not change the clip’s duration or its location in the sequence.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 39

To make a slip edit that avoids the dancers’ missed hands:

1 In the Timeline, use the Up or Down Arrow to position the playhead at the beginning of

“Bloomies.mov” (the second clip in the sequence).

2 Press the Space bar to play the clip.

Notice that the dancers are not clasping hands as they swing around at the very beginning of the clip. (You can see the man’s empty hands as he faces the camera while turning.) They clasp hands again—right hand to right hand—at approximately 1:00:02:20.

If you have trouble seeing the missed hand clasp, use the Shuttle control in the Canvas to move slowly through the clip, or move frame by frame using the Right and Left arrow keys.

Shuttle control

3 Click the Slip tool in the Tool palette to select it.

4 Choose Snapping from the View menu to turn snapping off. (No checkmark should appear

next to Snapping.)

40 Chapter 2

With snapping off, the playhead won’t snap to the nearest edit point, so small movements are easier to make.

5 In the Timeline, press and hold down the mouse button on “Bloomies.mov” with the Slip

tool. The Canvas window displays the head (left) and tail (right) images from the clip, with their times in that clip.

6 Using the images as a reference, slip the edit past the point of the mistake by dragging to the

left. The mistake will be ﬁxed when the dancers’ hands meet in the left (head) reference image. Release the mouse button when you have ﬁnished the slip operation.

Pressing the Command key as you drag provides more precise control.

You can check your edit with the numbers for the head and tail frames displayed in the Canvas when you hold down the mouse button with the Slip tool. The times in the head and tail reference windows should be approximately 03:11:47:16 and 03:11:51:13.

7 Press Home and then press the Space bar to play the sequence.

8 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Trimming an Edit

To make precise adjustments where two clips meet, you can trim one or both clips. Trimming ﬁne-tunes the In or Out point of a clip within a sequence.

Final Cut Pro offers many ways to trim an edit. These include using the Trim Edit window, the Ripple and Roll tools, and keyboard commands.

In this task, you’ll trim some frames from one clip to eliminate a moment in which the male dancer in the clip “Johnny n Cari.mov” looks upward, directly into the camera.

To trim an edit using a Trim tool:

1 Click the Zoom In tool in the Tool palette or press Z.

2 In the Timeline, double-click on “Bloomies.mov” to zoom in on that area of the sequence.

Zooming in makes the view of each clip longer in the Timeline, providing a better view of the clips and the points where they meet.

3 Click the Arrow tool in the Tool palette or press A.

4 In the Timeline, click once on the edge between the second and third clips (“Bloomies.mov”

and “Johnny n Cari.mov”) to select the edit. The pointer changes to indicate that it is over an edit point.

Be careful not to double-click, because this will open the Trim Edit window.

5 Click the Roll tool in the Tool palette (or press R). (The Roll tool affects both clips; the Ripple

tool adjusts only one side of the edit.)

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 41

6 In the Timeline, press and hold down the mouse button on the selected edit and drag the

Roll tool to the right.

The edit is represented in the Canvas as a small window for each clip that displays the frame points and adjustments.

7 Trim the edit by dragging to the right until the male dancer’s eye contact with the camera is

edited out of “Johnny n Cari” in the right window (about ﬁve frames).

8 Press A to select the Arrow tool in the Tool palette.

Note: You can also trim an edit by double-clicking a clip in the Timeline to open it in the Viewer, then dragging the In and Out point indicators in the Viewer to adjust those points. In this method of trimming, you don’t see the changes in the adjoining clip, as you do when using the Roll tool in the Timeline.

Match-Frame Editing

Final Cut Pro provides powerful tools to perform sync-point editing—edits in which you need a visual to match an audio cue. Audio cues can easily be marked using Final Cut Pro’s markers.

When a clip is already in a sequence, the Match Frame button cues the original version of the clip in the Viewer with the playhead. Then you can use the Replace edit mode to select the video frame that will synchronize to the playhead in the sequence.

In your sequence, you’ll mark frames and use the Match Frame command to align the voiceover at the point where Rob says “stops” with a frame in the sequence where a dancer actually stops.

42 Chapter 2

To create a Match-Frame edit that matches a dancer’s movement to a speciﬁc phrase in Rob’s narration:

1 Select the Zoom Out tool from the Tool palette.

To locate the tool, press on the Zoom In tool.

2 Click once in the Timeline to zoom out.

3 Press A to select the Arrow tool.

4 Press Home to go to the beginning of the sequence.

5 Play through the sequence until Rob says “there’s a lot of stops” (approximately 13 seconds

in).

Notice the male dancer jumps to a stop at a different point from where Rob says “stops.”

6 Play the sequence again and press M to place a marker where Rob says “stops.”

A green marker appears in the Timeline at the point you marked and a yellow marker appears in the Canvas.

Marker in Canvas

Marker in Timeline

Note: When the sequence is not playing, you can jump to the next marker (moving forward) by pressing Shift-M or to the previous marker (moving backward) by pressing Option-M.

7 Position the playhead on the marker you just added (by pressing Shift-M or Option-M).

8 Choose Markers from the Mark menu, then choose Edit from the submenu.

9 Name the marker “Stops,” add the comment “he says stops,” and click OK.

10 Click the Match Frame button in the Canvas.

Match Frame button

The Match Frame button opens a copy of the marked clip in the Viewer and cues it to the frame displayed in the Canvas window.

11 If the image in the Viewer appears jagged, make sure the zoom level is set to 100% (using the

pop-up menu above the image).

12 In the Viewer, use the Jog control to locate the frame where the dancer lands from his jump.

The timecode in the Viewer is approximately 00:00:07;00 when the dancer lands.

Jog control

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 43

13 Drag the clip from the Viewer to the Replace section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.

Replace section of Edit Overlay

Notice that the image in the Canvas now matches the Viewer. Replacing the clip with the playhead at the marker (after using the Match Frame button) aligns the frame showing in the Viewer with the marker in the Timeline.

14 Select the Canvas window, press the Up Arrow to go back one or two edits, and press the

Space bar to play the completed edit.

44 Chapter 2

Applying and Editing a Dissolve Transition

You can make the transition between clips less abrupt—and more interesting—by adding a transition, one type of special effect provided in Final Cut Pro. You can see a list of the video and audio transitions in the Effects tab of the Browser.

Transitions can be applied automatically using either of the “Edit with Transition” buttons in the Canvas. You can edit transitions in the Timeline.

Adding a Transition Along With a Clip

In the next task, you’ll add a transition at the same time you add a new clip to the sequence.

1 In the Browser, double-click the clip “Jeremy Solo.mov” to open it in the Viewer.

2 In the Timeline, position the playhead at the end of “Round n Round.mov.”

You may want to turn Snapping on to help position the playhead. If so, press N.

3 Drag the clip “Jeremy solo.mov” from the Viewer to the “Overwrite with Transition” section

of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.

Overwrite with Transition section

The icon for a transition appears in the Timeline between the clips “Round n Round.mov” and “Jeremy Solo.mov.”

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 45

Note: This edit uses the default transition, in this case, a cross dissolve. If you position the playhead over the transition in the Timeline, you can see the effect in the Canvas.

Render bar (red) over transition that must be rendered

Transition icon

The render bar over the transition is red, indicating that this part of the sequence must be rendered before you can play the transition.

Replacing the Transition

Now you can replace the current transition with one of the other video transition effects available in Final Cut Pro.

1 In the Timeline window, drag the playhead to position it anywhere in the transition.

46 Chapter 2

2 Choose Video Transitions from the Effects menu, choose Wipe from the submenu, and then

choose Center Wipe from the second submenu.

3 Position the playhead over the transition to see the change.

4 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Editing the Transition

Once you’ve replaced the transition, you can edit it by changing its length and type.

To edit the transition in the Timeline:

1 Click the transition to select it in the Timeline.

2 Control-click on the transition to open the shortcut pop-up menu, and then choose

Duration.

3 Type “.25” in the Duration dialog box and click OK to change the duration of the transition to

25 frames.

You can also edit a transition in the Viewer by double-clicking it in the Timeline.

Rendering the Transition

To play the transition in the sequence, you need to render it.

1 In the Timeline, click the transition to select it (if necessary).

2 Choose Render Quality from the Sequence menu, then choose Hi Res from the submenu.

3 Choose Render Selection from the Sequence menu.

A status bar shows the progress of rendering.

4 Position the playhead to the left of the transition and play through the transition.

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 47

Performing an Insert Edit

To perform an Insert edit in the Timeline:

1 In the Timeline, press Home to move the playhead to the beginning of the sequence.

2 In the Browser, drag the clip named “Intro.mov” to the Insert section of the Edit Overlay in

the Canvas.

The clip is inserted at the location of the playhead (the beginning of the sequence). All the items to the right of the playhead are moved further to the right—and further out in time.

3 In the Timeline, press Home to move to the new starting point for the sequence and press

the Space bar to play the title section.

4 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Now you’re ready to add sound to the sequence’s new opening.

Audio Editing

Final Cut Pro can use up to 99 tracks of audio, which you can edit and adjust without leaving the application. A minimum of eight tracks can be manipulated and mixed in real time, and some computer models permit working with 24 or more audio tracks in real time.

The program includes audio pitch shifting, which mimics how audio sounds when played at a variety of speeds using analog tape. In addition, Final Cut Pro displays separate waveforms for left and right audio tracks, and offers independent fade controls, panning controls, and a variety of audio ﬁlters.

48 Chapter 2

Adding an Audio Introduction

You can give this Swing Dance sequence a lively introduction by adding a music ﬁle. Then you’ll adjust the music’s volume so that it fades to the background when Rob begins speaking.

1 In the Browser, double-click “Jumptown.aiff ” to open it into the Viewer.

Notice that when you open an audio ﬁle, audio controls become available in the Viewer.

Shuttle control

2 Using the Shuttle control, move the shuttle button to various locations.

You should hear the audio playing at different speeds. This is pitch-shifting at various levels depending on the speed.

3 Press the Tab key to select the duration (in the upper-left corner of the Viewer), type “43.”

(the number 43 and a period), and press Return.

Entering the new duration sets an Out point for the audio clip at 43 seconds past the In point.

4 Click in the Timeline window to make it active.

5 Choose Insert Tracks from the Sequence menu.

6 In the dialog box, type 2 in the Insert Audio Tracks box, then click OK.

7 In the Timeline, click the target track indicator (a dual speaker icon) for tracks A3 and A4 to

make them the target tracks.

Click the left side of the dual speaker icon in audio track A3; then click the right side of the dual speaker icon in audio track A4.

Ta r get track indicators, currently on

Final Cut Pro Tutorial 49

The numeral 1 appears in the left part of the target indicator in A3 and the numeral 2 appears in the right part of the indicator in A4.

8 Select the Timeline window (if necessary) and press Home to put the playhead at the start of

the sequence.

9 Using the Drag Hand (the hand icon) in the upper-right corner of the Viewer, drag the audio

clip to the Overwrite section of the Edit Overlay in the Canvas.

Drag Hand

10 Select the Timeline window and press Home to put the playhead at the start of the sequence.

11 Play the sequence.

Notice that the volume of the music is too loud when Rob starts talking and needs to be adjusted.

Adjusting the Volume Over Time

To change the music’s volume to hear the voiceover:

1 In the Timeline, ﬁnd the point where the interview footage starts and move the playhead to

that location.

50 Chapter 2

2 Click the Clip Overlays button at the lower-left area of the Timeline to display audio volume

levels.

Clip Overlays button

Notice that a thin line, the volume level indicator, appears over the audio tracks.

3 Press Option and click the volume level line of “Jumptown.aiff” to set a keyframe about 2

seconds before the “Rob Dialog.mov” audio clip begins (at approximately 15 seconds).

A small diamond appears at the keyframe location.

Keyframe indicator

4 Move about 2 seconds further to where the “Rob Dialog.mov” audio clip actually begins and

set another keyframe (at approximately 17 seconds).

5 Drag the second keyframe’s indicator (the diamond at 17 seconds) down to adjust the

volume level to about –8.

If you can’t set an exact value, choose a number between –8 and –10 if possible. (Holding down the Command key while dragging allows for more precise control.)

6 Play back the sequence with the audio mixed in real time.

7 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

You’re now ﬁnished with the current project. The concluding section of the tutorial uses a different project.

Compositing and Special Effects

Compositing is the process of combining multiple layers of video, usually along with special effects such as animation, painting, or retouching images, and a variety of digital alterations using ﬁlters.

In this section you will use the introduction piece for the Swing Dance video to explore Final Cut Pro’s special effects and compositing features. The tasks include compositing a background, animating multilayered elements, and applying ﬁlter effects to add elements to a composition.

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You use a different project, named “Compositing,” for the tutorial’s compositing and special effects.

Opening and Saving a New Project

Next, you’ll open the new project for this part of the tutorial.

To open the ﬁles for compositing:

1 Choose Open from the File menu, select the project “Compositing.fcp” in the Projects folder,

and click Open.

2 Choose Save Project As from the File menu, type “My Project 2.fcp,” and click Save.

Previewing the Introduction’s Titles

Next, you’ll open the sequence for this part of the tutorial and preview it.

1 Double-click “Intro.mov” in the Browser to open it in the Viewer.

2 Press Home to reposition the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

3 Press the Space bar to play the clip.

This is the title portion of the introductory sequence you’ll create.

Building the Background

The background for the introduction is a still image of velvet that you’ll animate by changing its size, or scaling it.

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Adding the Background Image to the Sequence

The ﬁrst task in preparing the background is to add it to your sequence.

1 Double-click Sequence 1 in the Browser to open it.

The sequence opens in the Canvas and Timeline. No clips are in the sequence yet.

2 Double-click “Velvet Background.pict” in the Browser to open it in the Viewer.

3 Drag “Velvet Background.pict” from the Viewer to the Canvas.

Scaling the Background Over Time

Next, you’ll change the size of the background image over time.

1 Click the Canvas window to make it active.

2 Open the View menu and choose Image+Wireframe to change the display mode for the

background image.

3 Click the image in the Canvas.

A frame with diagonal crosshairs appears on top of the image. You use this wireframe to scale the image or change its position.

4 Press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip.

5 In the Canvas, click the Add Keyframe button.

Add Keyframe button

The crosshairs in the wireframe turn green when you add a keyframe.

6 Press the End key or press Shift-Home to move the playhead to the end of the clip.

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7 In the Canvas, place the pointer at one corner of the wireframe and drag toward the center

until the frame’s outline is just outside the edges of the viewable area.

8 In the Canvas, drag the playhead through the Scrubber. The wireframe indicates the change

in image size between the beginning and end of the 17-second clip.

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Playhead in the Scrubber

Putting Dancers on the Background

Next, you’ll add a pair of dancers to the velvet background, add a ﬁlter, and add motion.

1 In the Canvas, press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

2 Type 1:00 to move the playhead 1 second into the sequence.

3 Drag “Blue Dance.mov” from the Browser to the Superimpose section of the Edit Overlay in

the Canvas.

“Blue Dance.mov” appears on track V2 in the Timeline.

Adding a Filter to the Clip

Next, you’ll add a ﬁlter to the dancers.

1 Select “Blue Dance.mov” in the Timeline.

2 Open the Effects menu and choose Video Filters, then choose Key from the submenu and

Blue and Green Screen from the second submenu.

You can use a blue and green screen key to isolate a subject that was shot against a specially lit blue or green background.

Editing the Filter

Once you’ve applied a ﬁlter, you can change its parameters.

1 Double-click “Blue Dance.mov” in the Timeline to open it in the Viewer.

2 If the image in the Viewer appears jagged, make sure the zoom level is set to 100% (using the

pop-up menu above the image).

3 Click the Filters tab.

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4 Select the Color Level text box, type 40 in it, and press Return.

Color Level

Adding Another Filter

Next, you’ll add a second ﬁlter to the dancers.

1 Open the Effects menu, choose Video Filters, then choose Image Control from the submenu

and Desaturate from the second submenu.

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2 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Adding Motion and a Drop Shadow

To ensure that the titles and dancers are visible in the ﬁnal sequence, you’ll reposition the dancers. Then you’ll give them more deﬁnition by adding a drop shadow.

1 In the Canvas, drag the wireframe to the right until the dancers are just slightly to the right of

center.

2 In the Viewer, click the Motion tab.

Drop Shadow

3 Click the Drop Shadow checkbox to put an X in it.

Doubling the Dancers

The introduction uses two images of dancers in slightly different positions on the screen. In this task, you’ll copy them and reposition the second image.

1 In the Timeline, select “Blue Dance.mov” (if necessary).

2 Open the Edit menu and choose Copy.

3 Create a new video track (V3) by Control-clicking in the gray area above track V2 and

choosing Add Track.

4 In the Timeline, click the ﬁlmstrip icon in track V3 to make it the target track.

Ta r get Track indicator (yellow when on)

5 Position the playhead at the beginning of “Blue Dance.mov” (if necessary).

6 Choose Paste from the Edit menu.

A copy of “Blue Dance.mov” appears on track V3 in the Timeline.

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Stretching the Dancers

Next, you’ll stretch one of the images of dancers and reposition it.

1 In the Timeline, position the playhead over the “Blue Dance.mov” clips.

2 Select “Blue Dance.mov” on track V2.

3 In the Canvas, press the Shift key and drag upward from a top corner of the wireframe to

stretch the image of the dancers.

Elongate the image so that the dancers’ heads are just below the edge of the image area.

4 Drag the dancers to the right a short distance to offset them from the second image.

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Changing the Opacity of an Image

Next, change the opacity of the pair of dancers you stretched to add yet another effect in the introduction.

1 In the Timeline, click the Clip Overlays button at the lower-left side of the window.

Clip Overlays button

2 Select “Blue Dance. mov” on track V2 (if necessary).

3 Drag the overlay (a white line) on track V2 downward to a value of approximately 40.

As you drag, numerical values appear next to the overlay. (Press the Command key as you drag to make more precise adjustments.)

4 Choose Save Project from the File menu to save your work.

Overlay and numeric value

Adding Circles Around the Dancers

In this task you’ll work with two circles that move with the dancers.

1 Double-click “Circle Rules.psd” in the Browser.

™

This ﬁle is an Adobe

Photoshop ﬁle, which opens as a new sequence with video tracks for

“circle 1” (V1) and “circle 2” (V2).

2 In the Timeline, select “circle 1.”

3 Choose Image+Wireframe from the View menu (if necessary).

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4 In the Tool palette, press the Crop tool, then select the Distort tool from the pop-up menu.

Distort tool

5 Click the center point of the wireframe and drag to the left about one-fourth of an inch.

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This movement offsets the point around which the circle rotates.

Changing a Circle’s Rotation Over Time

Next, add rotation to the circle.

1 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

2 In the Timeline, double-click “circle 1” to open it in the Viewer.

One circle appears in the Viewer, against a checkerboard background.

3 In the Viewer, click the Motion tab.

4 Click the Add Keyframe button for Rotation to add a motion keyframe at the beginning of the

clip.

A diamond-shaped keyframe symbol appears at the left edge of the graph area in the Viewer. (You may want to enlarge the Viewer’s window to see the entire graph area.)

Keyframe symbol

Add Keyframe button

5 Press Shift-O to move the playhead to the end of the clip.

6 Click in the Rotation text box, type 1000, and press Return to set a new value for rotation.

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The program adds a motion keyframe at the end of the clip and displays a graph of the rotation values at the right side of the Viewer window.

Rotation text box

Rotating the Second Circle

Next, you’ll rotate the other circle around a different center point.

1 In the Timeline, select “circle 2.”

2 Select the Distort tool from the Tool palette.

Rotation graph

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3 In the Canvas, click the center of the wireframe and drag to the right about one-eighth of an

inch.

4 In the Timeline, double-click “circle 2” to open it in the Viewer.

5 Click the Motion tab.

6 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the clip.

7 Click the Add Keyframe button for Rotation.

8 Press Shift-O to position the playhead at the end of the clip.

9 Click in the Rotation text box, type “500,” and press Return.

Adding the Circles to the Sequence

Next, you’ll add the circles to the sequence with the dancers.

1 In the Timeline, select the Sequence 1 tab.

2 Choose Snapping from the View menu to turn it on.

A checkmark appears next to Snapping to indicate that it is turned on.

3 Drag “Circle Rules.psd” from the Browser to the blank area above video track V3 in the

Timeline, aligning it with the beginning of “Blue Dance.mov.”

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A track (V4) is added automatically and “Circle Rules.psd” appears on it in the Timeline.

4 Select “Circle Rules.psd” in the Timeline.

5 Select the Arrow tool in the Tool palette.

6 In the Canvas, drag the wireframe to place the circles around the dancers.

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If you don’t see the wireframe, choose Image+Wireframe from the View menu.

Adding Titles for the Introduction

To ﬁnish the introduction, you’ll animate several titles. m Double-click “Dance Names.psd” in the Browser.

Because it’s an Adobe Photoshop ﬁle, “Dance Names.psd” opens as a new sequence in

the Timeline.

Animating One Title

First, you’ll add motion to one of the titles.

1 Select the “Dance Names.psd” tab in the Timeline.

2 Press the Home key to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

3 Open the View menu and choose Image+Wireframe.

4 In the Canvas, drag the BOOGIE WOOGIE image to the lower-left corner of the screen.

5 In the Timeline, double-click “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to open it in the Viewer.

6 Click the Motion tab in the Viewer.

7 Click in the Scale text box, type 0 (zero), and press Return.

8 Click the Add Keyframe button for Scale.

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9 Click the Add Keyframe button for Center.

10 Click the arrow to expand the Opacity section, then click the Add Keyframe button for

Opacity.

11 Press Shift-O to position the playhead at the end of the clip.

12 Press the Left arrow once to move the playhead back one frame.

13 Click in the Scale text box, type 150, and press Return.

14 In the Canvas, drag the wireframe and title image to the middle of the screen.

If you don’t see the wireframe, choose Image+Wireframe from the View menu.

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A motion path appears to show the movement of the image.

15 Control-click at the beginning of the motion path (a green circle) and choose Ease In/Ease

Out from the pop-up menu.

A tiny purple dot appears on the motion path.

16 Place the pointer on the purple dot and drag it up and to the left to create a curved motion

path.

17 In the Canvas, scrub through the part of the sequence with “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to see the

title’s motion.

Fading a Title In and Out

Next, you’ll change the title’s opacity so that it fades in and out as it moves across the screen.

1 In the Timeline, press Home to position the playhead at the beginning of the sequence.

2 Press the Tab key to select the Timecode box at the lower-left side of the Timeline window.

Timecode

3 Type +15 and press Return.

The playhead moves forward 15 frames.

4 In the Timeline, double-click “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to open it in the Viewer.

5 Click the Motion tab.

6 Click the Add Keyframe button for Opacity.

7 In the Viewer, click the previous keyframe indicator in the opacity graph to move the

playhead to it.

8 Click in the Opacity textbox, type 0 (zero), and press Return.

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9 Press Shift-O to move the playhead to the end of the clip.

10 Click in the timecode ﬁeld in the bottom-left corner of the Viewer.

11 Type –15 and press Return.

12 Click the Add Keyframe button for Opacity.

13 Press Shift-O to move the playhead to the end of the clip.

14 Click in the Opacity textbox, type 0 (zero), and press Return.

The opacity graph in the Viewer shows the fade in-fade out effect you created.

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Copying a Title’s Attributes to Other Titles

In Final Cut Pro you can copy and paste attributes from one clip to another. In this task, you’ll copy the motion and fade effects from “BOOGIE WOOGIE” to the other title images in the introduction.

1 In the Timeline, select “BOOGIE WOOGIE.”

2 Open the Edit menu and choose Copy.

3 Option-click the visibility indicator for track V1 in the Timeline (the bright green bar at the

left edge of the track) so that all tracks’ indicators are turned on.

Visibility indicator

When visibility for other tracks is off, Option-clicking the visibility indicator of the visible track turns on visibility for all tracks.

4 In the Timeline, select the clips in tracks V2 to V6 above “BOOGIE WOOGIE.”

Command-click clips individually or drag across the clips to select them.

5 Open the Edit menu and choose Paste Attributes.

6 Select Basic Motion and Opacity in the Paste Attributes dialog box, then click OK.

7 In the Canvas, drag the playhead through the Scrubber to see the titles in motion.

Adding the Titles to the Introductory Sequence

The ﬁnal task in preparing the introduction is to add the titles to the dancers and background.

1 In the Timeline, click the Sequence 1 tab.

2 Click the target indicator (ﬁlmstrip) in video track V1 to make it the target track.

3 Position the playhead over the clip on track V1 (if necessary).

4 Open the Mark menu and choose Mark Clip.

This sets In and Out points at the boundaries of the clip on track V1.

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5 Drag “Dance Names.psd” from the Browser to the Superimpose section of the Edit Overlay in

the Canvas.

Superimpose section

Rendering the Sequence

Now it’s time to render the introductory sequence so you can play it with all the new effects. The Timeline indicates which sections of the sequence need to be rendered by displaying a red bar above the Ruler.

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Depending on the computer you’re using and size of the media ﬁles, rendering can take a few minutes or longer. Rendering time for this sequence is approximately 10 minutes.

To render and play the sequence:

1 Choose Render All from the Sequence menu.

A status bar reports the progress of rendering.

2 When rendering is complete, press the Space bar to play the sequence.

Finishing a Project

When you’ve completed the editing for your project, you have several options for saving your work in the format that’s best suited to the way you’ll use it. The formats available in Final Cut Pro include printing or editing on videotape; saving as a QuickTime movie, a digital video stream, a still image, or a series of still images; and saving as an audio ﬁle.

Printing to Video

Use the Print to Video command to print a sequence or clip to video tape. You can use the Print to Video command without device control. If you have device control, the Edit to Tape command (in the Tools menu) lets you perform insert and assemble edits to tape.

Note: You must have a videotape recorder (VCR) connected to your computer and operating before you can actually print a sequence on videotape. You can follow the steps in this procedure without having a VCR connected, however.

To print a sequence on videotape:

1 Click the tab for “My Project 1.fcp” in the Browser.

2 Double-click “Sequence 2” in the Browser to open it.

3 Select the Sequence 2 tab in the Timeline.

4 Choose Print to Video from the File menu.

5 In the dialog box, specify the Print to Video options and click OK.

(For this tutorial, use the default settings. For more information on Print to Video, see Chapter 14, “Creating Final Output,” on page 249.)

6 The sequence is rendered if necessary and a message appears, prompting you to start

recording on your VCR.

7 Start recording and press OK.

Exporting a Sequence for Multimedia or the Web

Final Cut Pro offers several ways to export your work. You can create a QuickTime movie, a format that is widely used and has relatively small ﬁles. Or you can export an Edit Decision List (EDL), a record of all the ﬁles, edits, effects, and other essential details of the project in text format. An EDL is especially useful for projects in which several people are working with the media.

For this task, you’ll export a sequence as a QuickTime movie. These ﬁles are quite popular for delivering video on Web sites and in multimedia presentations.

To export a sequence as a QuickTime movie:

1 Select the Sequence 2 tab in the Timeline.

2 Choose Export from the File menu, then choose Movie from the submenu.

3 In the dialog box, specify the options for the exported ﬁle, type a name for it, and click Save.

(For this tutorial, use the default settings. Or experiment with changing options if you prefer, and view the changes when you replay the video.)

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Moving Forward With a New Project

Before you start working on your own project, complete the following steps to close the tutorial and create a new project with sequence presets appropriate for the format you will be working in.

1 Close the Browser window and save your project if necessary.

2 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

3 Click the Sequence Presets tab and select the particular format (such as DV or Targa) you will

be working in, then click the Set Default button and click OK.

4 Open the File menu and choose New Project.

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CHAPTER

3 Understanding Final Cut Pro

The Working Environment

You use four windows for most tasks in Final Cut Pro. You also use the Tool palette to make selections, navigate, and perform edits in the Timeline and Canvas.

The Viewer

The Viewer is analogous to a source monitor. You use it to watch individual clips, mark edit points, and apply effects. You can also load clips from the current sequence into the Viewer to reﬁne details such as edits, effects, and audio volume. For more information on the Viewer, see Chapter 7, “Working With Clips and the Viewer,” on page 143.

Viewer

The Canvas

The Canvas window is analogous to a record monitor and looks like the Viewer. It displays the composited results of the edited sequence as you are creating it. You also use the Canvas to edit clips in relation to one another in the sequence. For more information on the Canvas, see Chapter 9, “Working in the Timeline and Canvas,” on page 177.

Canvas

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The Timeline

The Timeline displays a chronological view of a sequence. As you drag the playhead along the Timeline ruler, the current frame of the sequence is updated in the Canvas window and vice versa. Video tracks are displayed in descending order. Track V1 is the base layer. Clips placed on track V2 are composited onto the clips in track V1, and so on. For more information on the Timeline, see Chapter 9, “Working in the Timeline and Canvas,” on page 177.

The Browser

You use the Browser to organize and locate the source material for your project and the ﬁnished product. The Browser is not a collection of ﬁles; it is a collection of references to ﬁles, which you organize in the context of your project. You can group Browser items in bins, which are similar to folders. The Browser’s scrollable columns provide information about your ﬁles.

When you move Browser resources from one bin to another, their corresponding files are not moved. This means that disk organization is independent of Browser organization. It also means that you can place the same clip in the Browser for several projects. For detailed information about the Browser, see Chapter 6, “Creating and Organizing Projects,” on page 133.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 75

The Tool Palette

The Tool palette contains tools for selecting and manipulating items in the Timeline and Canvas. These tools are explained in more detail later in the manual.

The Tool palette contains the following tools:

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Tool Name Icon Function

Arrow

Selects individual items

Edit Selection Selects an edit point

Group

Selects multiple contiguous items

Selection

Range Selection Selects a range across multiple contiguous items

Select Track

Selects all the contents of the track after the selection point

Forward

Select Track

Selects all the contents of the track before the selection point

Backward

Track Selection Selects the entire contents of a single track

Tool Name Icon Function

Select All Tracks

Selects the contents of all tracks after the selection point

Forward

Select All Tracks

Selects the contents of all tracks before the selection point

Backward

Roll Rolls edit points

Ripple Ripples edit points

Slip Slips a clip’s In or Out point

Slide Slides a clip in a sequence and creates an edit point

Razor Blade Cuts a single clip into two sections

Razor Blade All Cuts clips on all tracks at the selection point into two clips

Zoom In Zooms in on an image, or in the Timeline

Zoom Out Zooms out from an image, or in the Timeline

Hand Moves the Timeline or image view from side to side. This can be

used to move around a zoomed-in view of a video image.

Crop Crops a selection

Distort Distorts a selection by click-dragging corner points

Pen Adds a keyframe

Understanding Final Cut Pro 77

Tool Name Icon Function

Pen Delete Deletes a keyframe

Pen Smooth Smooths a curve by adding bezier handles to the selected keyframe

This arrow may sometimes function as a custom “wait” cursor during render processes. It will be hollow and gradually fill with black as rendering takes place.

Other Windows You Will Use

Although you do most of your work in Final Cut Pro’s four main windows, you also occasionally use several other windows to perform other important tasks.

Log and Capture

To collect your source material together and store it on disk, you use the Log and Capture window. Log and Capture functions are explained in detail in Chapter 5, “Getting Media Into Final Cut Pro,” on page 113.

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Edit to Tape

Some projects involve editing directly onto videotape. You do this using the Edit to Tape window, available in the Tools menu. For details on the Edit to Tape window, see “Editing to Tape,” on page 251.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 79

Preferences

When you need to change various options and settings in Final Cut Pro, use Preferences, available in the Edit menu. Preferences are explained in detail in Chapter 4, “Preferences and Presets,” on page 95.

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Sequence Settings

You can modify the group of settings speciﬁc to an individual sequence by choosing Sequence Settings from the Sequence menu. For more information on Sequence Settings, see, “Creating, Editing, and Deleting Presets,” on page 107.

Project Properties

This window allows you to view or change information about a project. The Project Properties window is explained in detail in the section “Changing the Properties of a Project,” on page 141.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 81

Item Properties

This window allows you to view or change information about media within a project. The Item Properties window is explained in detail in the section “Getting Information About the Properties of Clips,” on page 160.

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Trim Edit

The Trim Edit window shows a speciﬁc edit point. You use it to reﬁne or trim an edit in detail. For more information on Trimming edits, see Chapter 10, “Trimming Edits,” on page 201.

Using Menus, Shortcuts, and Controls

Final Cut Pro offers several methods for performing video editing tasks. Experiment to ﬁnd out which control methods work best for you. Some people work fastest using keyboard shortcuts; others prefer to use the menu bar or shortcut menus as much as possible.

Note: When working with multiple windows in the Viewer, Timeline, Canvas, or Browser, menu commands and keyboard shortcuts apply to the default, or labeled, window. To use commands and shortcuts in other windows, you must drag the desired window to one of the main labeled windows.

Apart from the menu bar and window buttons, there are several other ways to access Final Cut Pro’s functions.

Shortcut Menus

These contain functions relevant to the location of the pointer on the screen. They exist in almost every window.

To use shortcut menus: m Control-click to make a shortcut menu appear.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 83

Keyboard Shortcuts

These are listed in Appendix C, “Keyboard Shortcuts,” on page 339. You may ﬁnd that these shortcut keys help you work more efﬁciently.

Tabbed Windows

In the Viewer, Preferences, and other windows, tabs give you access to functions within the window. In the Canvas, Timeline, and Browser, tabs give you access to the same functions or information, but for a different sequence or project. You can drag the tab out of the Browser, Viewer, Canvas, and Timeline windows to display the tab in its own window independently. This is useful when you are working on more than one sequence or project at a time. You can also put a tab back into its original window by dragging the tab to the tab header of the parent window.

Other Important Controls

m Ta r get track controls in the Timeline: You can have a maximum of one video and two

audio tracks selected as the target tracks for new edits. You can change any of the target

tracks by clicking the target track controls in the Timeline.

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m Track Lock and Unlock controls in the Timeline: The track Lock/Unlock controls are

located in the Timeline. You use them to stop tracks from being changed. Locked tracks

can still be viewed in the Canvas window, and can be rendered, but you can’t make any

changes to any clip on a locked track.

m Track Visibility controls in the Timeline: The Track Visibility controls are located in the

Timeline. You use them to show or hide individual tracks. This allows you to view selected tracks in the Canvas, and is useful when compositing. An invisible track will not be shown when the sequence is viewed in the Canvas. If you make a track invisible after rendering a sequence, rendered ﬁles will be lost.

m Zoom Slider: The Zoom Slider is in the Timeline and the Audio, Filters, and Motion tabs

of the Viewer. You use it to scale and scroll part of a window at the same time. To scroll, drag the slider from side to side. To expose more of the window’s contents on either side, drag one of the thumb controls from side to side.

m Scrubber bar, Shuttle, and Jog controls in the Viewer and Canvas: These three controls

are used to locate different parts of a clip easily. To scrub rapidly though a clip, you move the playhead back and forth across the Scrubber bar in the Viewer or Canvas, or the ruler in the Timeline. This is useful for moving back and forth through a clip rapidly. To shuttle clips at different speeds, use the Shuttle control. This is useful for playing clips at different speeds while shifting the pitch of audio. To move forward or backward a few frames at a time, use the Jog control in the Viewer or Canvas. This is useful for visually locating a speciﬁc frame.

Note: In the Viewer, Final Cut Pro distinguishes clips that have been opened from the Timeline by displaying two lines of dots in the Scrubber bar. Clips that have been opened from the Browser have a plain Scrubber bar.

Scrubber bar

Shuttle control

Jog control

Understanding Final Cut Pro 85

m Transport controls: You use the transport controls to move the playhead within a clip.

Previous Edit

Play

Play In to Out

Play Around Current

Next Edit

m Play: Plays the clip from the current location of the playhead

m Play Around Current: This is based on the Preview Pre-roll and Preview Post-roll

settings in General Preferences. When you press this button, play begins before the current playhead position at the Pre-roll setting and continues through the amount of time speciﬁed by the Post-roll setting.

m Next Edit: Jumps the playhead forward from its current position to the next edit in the

Canvas or to the next point (In, Out, or end) of a clip in the Viewer.

m Previous Edit: Jumps the playhead backward from its current position to a preceding

edit in the Canvas or to a preceding point (start, In, or Out) of a clip in the Viewer.

m Play In to Out: Resets the position of the playhead to the current In point of a clip

and proceeds to play forward from that point straight through to the Out point of the clip.

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Customizing the Screen Layout

Several screen layouts are available in the Arrange submenu of the Window menu. You can also conﬁgure a customizable screen layout.

To customize a screen layout:

1 Arrange the four main windows in the layout and sizes you want.

2 Hold down the Option key and choose one of the two Custom Layouts from the Arrange

submenu of the Window menu.

3 The next time you open Final Cut Pro, you can choose the layout you created from the

Arrange submenu of the Window menu.

Undoing Changes

You can undo every action you do in your projects, sequences, and clips. You can also redo actions that you have undone. Up to 99 changes can be undone. You set the number in the Levels of Undo preference.

Important The Undo feature does not distinguish sequences or projects from one another.

If you are working with more than one sequence or project, be sure you are in the correct sequence or project when you choose Undo. The change you undo may not occur in the current project, so take care when undoing multiple changes.

To undo the last action: m Open the Edit menu and choose Undo.

To redo the last undone action: m Open the Edit menu and choose Redo.

To specify the number of actions that can be undone:

1 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

2 Click the General tab.

3 Set the Levels of Undo to any number between 1 and 99.

Note: More levels may require more memory and disk space.

Working With Timecode

Timecode is essential to navigation and accuracy when working with video, and it allows you to locate speciﬁc frames quickly. Final Cut Pro uses standard timecode, which follows the format

Hours: Minutes: Seconds: Frames

Typing “01221419” sets the timecode to 01:22:14:19.

You can copy the timecode from one ﬁeld and paste it into another if the timecode is valid in the location where it is being pasted. You can also drag a timecode from one ﬁeld to another by pressing Option while dragging.

The types of timecode boxes in the Canvas and Viewer are m Duration: This appears in the upper-left corner of the Canvas or Viewer. It displays the

duration between the In and Out points of a clip or sequence. The Browser has a corresponding duration column for clips and sequences.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 87

m Playhead position: This appears in the upper-right corner of the Canvas or Viewer. It

displays the current position of the playhead. You can change the playhead position by

entering a new timecode in the box.

Navigating by Entering New Timecodes

You can move the playhead around in a clip by entering a new timecode into the right-hand playhead position box in the Canvas or Viewer. You don’t need to click in the box to begin entering a new timecode, just type the numbers.

You only need to type the numbers that change to go to a speciﬁc point. Numbers that don’t change, like the hour or minute, don’t need to be entered.

You can also change the Out point for a clip or sequence by entering a new timecode in the Duration box, in the upper-left corner of the Canvas or Viewer.

In the Browser, you can change the In, Out, and Duration timecodes to change the length of time between a clip’s In and Out points.

Note: Typing a partial timecode keeps numbers that don’t change in the playhead position box only. In the duration and other timecode ﬁelds, the entire timecode is reset. For example, if you have a timecode of 01:22:05:23 and you type 1612 in the position ﬁeld, the playhead moves to 01:22:16:12 and this timecode appears in the playhead position box. In the duration ﬁeld, 00:00:16:12 appears.

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The following examples are based on an original timecode of 01:22:05:23. m To go to timecode 01:22:08:10, type 810 (for 8 seconds, 10 frames) and press Enter. The

timecode moves to 01:22:08:10. The hour and minutes do not change in the new

timecode location, so there is no reason to re-type the hour or minute entries. m To go to 01:22:16:12 (same hour and minute, but 16 seconds, 12 frames), type 1612. The

time moves to 01:22:16:12. m To go to timecode 01:25:22:18, type 252218.

If you leave out 25, the time changes to 01:22:22:18 instead.

Moving to a New Time by Adding or Subtracting Frames

When you type a timecode, entering the timecode value preceded by the + (plus) or – (minus) key changes the current time by that amount.

You can move to a different time with the + (plus) and – (minus) keys in two ways: using time (hours: minutes: seconds: frames) or using the total number of frames, which can be converted to time plus frames.

m Typing –209 moves the time back 2 seconds and 9 frames.

m Typing +101223 moves the time ahead 10 minutes, 12 seconds, and 23 frames.

Moving to a New Time by Entering Numbers That Are Converted

If you enter a number that is greater than the maximum for a position in a timecode, the number is converted so that whole units (seconds, minutes, or hours) are “carried over” into the next position to the left.

m Hours: For the hours position in a timecode, a 2-digit number less than 24 is treated as a

valid entry for that position. Numbers between 24 and 99 are converted, for example: A timecode of 24 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, and 0 frames (24:00:00:00) is equivalent to

00:00:00:00. A timecode of 25 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds, and 0 frames (25:00:00:00) is equivalent to

01:00:00:00.

m Minutes and seconds: For the minutes and seconds positions in a timecode, each 2-digit

number less than 60 is treated as a valid entry for that ﬁeld and does not have to be converted. So, entering 00006700 results in a timecode of 0 hours, 1 minute, 7 seconds, and 0 frames (00:01:07:00).

m Frames: In the frames position in the timecode, any 2-digit value between 30 and 99 is

converted to the correct number of seconds (30 frames=1 second). Entering 00000032 results in a timecode of 0 hours, 0 minutes, 1 second, and 2 frames (00:00:01:02).

Entering –87 frames moves back 87 frames, which is 2 seconds and 27 frames. Entering +33 frames moves ahead 1 second, 3 frames, or 33 frames.

Using Both Systems Together

You can use either system or a combination to enter timecodes. The values are automatically converted to the correct timecode, as shown in these examples:

m Entering –199 moves back 4 seconds and 9 frames. The 1 provides one second in the

seconds position. The 99 frames translates into 3 seconds and 9 frames, making the total 4 seconds and 9 frames.

m 71:23:00 becomes 1:01:23:00. m With a current time of 01:00:02:02, entering 29 changes the timecode to 01:00:02:29. m With a current time of 01:00:02:02, entering 30 changes the timecode to 01:00:01:00.

Separators for Timecode Entry and Logging

m A colon (:) indicates a non-drop frame timecode. A semi-colon (;) indicates a drop frame

timecode. You can use either when typing timecode. The base timecode of the clip is either drop frame or non-drop frame timecode. The ﬁeld converts the separator to the correct one.

Note: Drop frame timecode is only applicable to NTSC format and is not applicable to PAL.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 89

Drop frame timecode is a frame-labeling scheme used to compensate for the difference

between the NTSC rate of 29.97 frames per second (fps) and the common 30 fps rate. No

actual video frames are dropped. Numbers in drop frame progress in this fashion:

01:08:59;28

01:08:59;29

01:09:00;02 (frame labels 01:09:00;00 and 01:09:00;01 have been dropped)

01:09:59;29

01:10:00;00

01:10:00;01

01:10:00;02

01:10:00;03 m Periods (.) and commas (,) can also be used as separators and are automatically converted

to the appropriate separator in the timecode ﬁeld (based on what the type of timecode

is). m Any separator can be used. The drop/non-drop state is controlled by the ﬁeld. Separators

are not required when entering timecode. You can enter numbers without separators and

let Final Cut Pro convert them to timecode.

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Timecode Keyboard Shortcuts

To avoid typing zeros when moving by larger amounts, type a period instead, as in the following examples:

m To move to timecode 00:00:03:00, type 3. (3 and a period). The period inserts 00 in the

frames ﬁeld automatically. m To move to 00:03:00:00 from the previous position, type 3.. (3 and two periods). The

periods insert 00 in the frames and seconds ﬁelds.

m Type 3... to move to 03:00:00:00. m Use the + and – keys plus a numerical value to add and subtract frames from the current

timecode position.

Editing in Final Cut Pro

Editing video and audio in Final Cut Pro follows an overall rule known as three-point editing. There are four possible points that can be speciﬁed when editing a clip into a sequence. These are the In and Out points in the source clip, and the In and Out points for where the clip is to be placed in the sequence. When you perform a three-point edit, you specify three of the possible four points for the edit. An exception to the three-point editing rule is Fit-toFill editing, which requires four points: In and Out in the source media, and In and Out in the destination sequence.

You use controls in the Canvas to edit clips displayed there. When you perform an edit, you follow the overall rules of three-point editing, and the edit is placed on your chosen target track or tracks. Target tracks are brieﬂy explained on page 94. For more detailed information, see “Setting Up an Edit,” on page 169 and “Target track control,” on page 179.

Overwrite

Insert

Replace

m Insert editing: Places the selected video or audio so that everything after the insertion

point, on any unlocked track, is shifted forward in time.

m Overwrite editing: Replaces the current video or audio of equal length on the selected

tracks with the selected video or audio.

m Replace editing: A form of overwrite editing that replaces the current frame in the Canvas

with the current frame displayed in the Viewer, together with enough additional frames of video on either side, to replace the entire clip currently displayed in the Canvas. If you have set In and Out points in the Canvas, a replace edit ﬁlls the space between these points only. If you have not set In and Out points in the Canvas, a replace edit ﬁlls the clip’s entire boundary as it appears on the target track in the Timeline.

m Superimpose editing: Superimposes by placing the source clip in the Viewer in the

marked area in the Canvas, but on the track above it. You can use this type of edit to overlay titles and other text onto video. If you perform several superimpose edits in the same location, each is placed above the previous one.

m Fit-to-Fill editing: Inserts and then speeds or slows the selected material so that it ﬁts the

available space exactly. You need four edit points: the In and Out points for the material in the Viewer, and the In and Out points where it will be ﬁtted into the Canvas.

m Transition editing (Insert with Transition and Overwrite with Transition): Performs an

insert or overwrite edit and places the default transition at the beginning of the clip in the Canvas. To set the default transition, select a transition in the Browser and use the shortcut menu.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 91

Editing With the Tool Palette Tools

You perform additional types of edits using tools from the Tool palette. m Ripple editing: Ripple editing affects the overall duration of a sequence by moving the In

or Out point of a clip. Ripple editing lengthens or shortens the In-Out point of a clip as it

is edited into a sequence, without affecting the duration of any other clip or creating gaps

in the sequence. m Roll editing: Roll editing moves the Out point of one clip and the In point of the clip next

to it, so that the overall duration of the sequence is not affected, but the location of the

edit in the sequence is changed. m Slip editing: Slip editing moves both the In and Out points of a single clip simultaneously

in the same direction, so that the duration of the clip is unaffected. m Slide editing: Slide editing moves a single clip in relation to those before and after it, so

that the durations of the clips on either side are changed, but the In and Out points of the

clip on which the slide is being performed remain the same.

Background Information and Concepts

This information will help you to understand how you work with Final Cut Pro, especially if you are unfamiliar with non-linear video editing. The terms explained in this section are used throughout this manual.

m Capturing: Capturing is the process of getting copies of video and audio into Final Cut

Pro, in the form of ﬁles on one of your disk drives. When you have captured your source

media, you can begin to edit it and put it together into a sequence. m Channels: Channels control the color and opacity of a video image. RGB video, for

example, has three color channels (red, green, and blue), plus a fourth channel, the alpha

channel, which determines opacity.

m Clips: A clip is an individual section of video, audio, or graphics ﬁles. m Effects (Transitions, Filters, and Generators): Effects change the appearance or sound of

video or audio. In Final Cut Pro, you can apply more than 50 effects using the Viewer

(Final Cut Pro also supports third-party After Effects plug-ins). A transition moves from

one piece of video or audio into another. A ﬁlter changes a single clip in some way. A

generator creates video, such as text, that can be composited into a sequence. m Favorites: A favorite is an effect that you use frequently. You can set the parameters for an

effect and then choose Make Favorite from the Effects menu to place the effect, together

with the parameters you have set, into the Favorites bin in the Browser. This saves time if

you want to apply the same effect in the same way to multiple clips. m Gap: A gap is a location in a sequence where there is no media on any track.

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m Importing: Importing is the process of getting ﬁles of various types into Final Cut Pro.

Imported ﬁles have usually been created in another application. Examples are still images, CD audio ﬁles, Edit Decision Lists, Batch Lists, video ﬁles, and audio ﬁles.

m In and Out points: These correspond to the beginning and end of the media as it will be

used in a sequence. Often, not all of the media on a disk is needed in a sequence, so you use the In and Out points to specify exactly which frames are needed. An In or Out point is also used for selection and three-point editing.

m Keyframes: A keyframe is a special-purpose marker that denotes the change in value in an

applied effect parameter. When two keyframes are set in Final Cut Pro, the application calculates a transition between the keyframes based on their values. Video, audio level, and pan change by setting keyframes over time.

m Logging: Logging is the process of recording detailed information about source media

before you capture it from videotape. In Final Cut Pro, you use the Log and Capture window for this task.

m Markers: Markers are used throughout the process of creating a sequence. You use them

to mark and make notes about important sections of the media before you begin to make a rough cut. You also use them to pinpoint the locations of In or Out points, edit points, places where effects are to be applied, or any special area of interest.

m Ofﬂine clips: Ofﬂine clips are speciﬁcations for clips that have not yet been captured. You

can place ofﬂine clips into a sequence in the Timeline. Final Cut Pro colors ofﬂine clips white in the Timeline.

m Presets: A preset is a saved group of settings that can be applied to a sequence when it is

created. Presets determine items such as the frame rate, editing timebase, and Timeline options used for creating new sequences or exporting media.

m Projects: A project is all of the clips, effects settings, and sequences involved in a single

ﬁnished product.

m Rendering: Rendering is necessary whenever motion or special effects are used.

Rendering applies any motion or effects to the media and then copies the result to disk. Rendering can take time depending on the complexity of your project, ﬁlters applied, processor speed, and other factors. See Chapter 13, “Rendering,” on page 241 for tips on improving rendering performance.

Note: Pressing the Caps Lock key temporarily disables rendering. This allows you to adjust all of your settings before rendering a preview. It does not speed up ﬁnal rendering, but allows you to work faster without the processing overhead of background rendering.

m Sequences: A sequence is a series of video and audio clips that are being edited together.

A project may consist of several sequences, and sequences can be used as source clips and edited into another sequence.

Understanding Final Cut Pro 93

m Subclips: A subclip is a shortened view of a piece of media that can be easier to work with

than a full clip. For example, if you have a piece of media that is 10 minutes long, you

could create ten 1-minute subclips so you don’t have as much media to move through in

the Viewer at one time. You mark the In and Out points on a clip to indicate the portion

of a clip that is a subclip. Subclips can also be references to other sequences that have

been created with the Make Subclips command in the Modify menu. You can use subclips

to prepare complex effects, dramatic scenes, or even audio submixes which can be used

in other sequences or projects. m Ta r get tracks: The target tracks specify the destination tracks for the edits you perform.

When you work with multiple video and audio tracks, you need to choose the track where

you want edits to be placed. You do this by using the target track controls in the Timeline. m Wireframes: A wireframe is a view of the outline of a clip’s video frame. You use the

handles on wireframes to scale, distort, rotate, and move images. In the Canvas and

Viewer, you can view an image, its wireframe, or both.

94 Chapter 3

CHAPTER

4 Preferences and Presets

Final Cut Pro includes many preferences and settings that you can customize to reﬂect your choice of capture hardware and storage options, and the needs of individual projects and sequences. These options do not need to be changed frequently, but it is important to set them up correctly when you ﬁrst begin using Final Cut Pro, or if you change your hardware or the type of project you are working on.

To access preferences and presets:

1 Open the Edit menu and choose Preferences.

2 Click the appropriate tab for the preferences you want to modify.

m General m Device Control m Capture m Sequence Presets m Scratch Disks

Setting General Preferences

The General preferences tab lets you conﬁgure various options for working in Final Cut Pro.

To conﬁgure General preferences:

1 Choose Preferences from the Edit menu.

2 Click the General tab.

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m Levels of Undo: Adjust this slider to specify the number of actions that can be undone.

The total number of undo’s depends on how much memory is installed in your system. m List Recent Clips: Adjust this slider to set the number of recently accessed clips available

in the Viewer’s Recent Clips pop-up menu. m Automatic Save Every: Check this box to save projects automatically at regular intervals.

Use the slider to select the desired time interval. m Multi-Frame Trim Size: Enter the desired number of frames in this field to set the multi-

frame trim size. The maximum is 9. This number appears in the multi-frame trim buttons

in the Trim Edit window as well as the shortcut keys.

m Real-time Audio Mixing: Enter a number in this box to specify the number of audio

tracks that are mixed in real time. The maximum is 8 tracks. The maximum number of tracks you will be able to mix depends on multiple factors. Your processor’s speed, number and types of ﬁlters used, data transfer rate of your hard disk, and available memory are all factors which determine the maximum number of tracks that can be mixed in real time.

m Render Ahead: Check this box to enter the number of seconds to render ahead in a

sequence in the box. This will pre-render any effects ahead of the current play position when you click the Play button.

m Still Image Duration: Enter a value in this field to determine the duration between In

and Out points for imported images. Still images are, by default, imported with 10 seconds of frames between In and Out points.

m Preview Pre-roll and Preview Post-roll: Enter durations into these ﬁelds to specify the

amount of a clip played when the Play Around Current control is used. This is used for all clips that are ﬁles on disk.

m AutoSyncCompensator for movies: Hardware variations occasionally lead to

synchronization problems between audio and video. Check this box if you experience A/V sync drifts on long clips. The AutoSyncCompensator analyzes clips and compensates for any audio drift by adjusting the sampling rate of audio to match the duration of video in a clip. This adjustment is only applied to the timing of clips in the Browser or Timeline and does not affect the media on disk. Enter a value in the minutes ﬁeld to specify a minimum duration limit to trigger the AutoSyncCompensator. The AutoSyncCompensator will only analyze clips longer than this duration. The default duration of 5 minutes is suitable for most circumstances.

m View External Video Using: Choose a setting from this pop-up menu to specify how you

will view external video. Depending on your hardware conﬁguration, you may need to decompress frames when

viewing video on an external monitor. To do this, click the Options button and check the box labeled “Also Decompress.”

m Mirror on desktop during Playback: Check this box to mirror video on the desktop

when playing back video. Turn off this option if you notice dropped frames in your output during video playback.

m Mirror on desktop during Print to Video: Check this box to mirror video on the desktop

when using the Print to Video function. Turn off this option if you notice dropped frames in your output during Print to Video or Edit to Tape.

Note: Displaying video on the computer monitor while printing to video or editing to tape taxes the computer’s processing power and can cause performance problems. If you notice dropped frames in your output when performing these operations, try reducing your monitors bit depth from millions to 16-bit (thousands of colors) or turn “Mirror on desktop” off.

Preferences and Presets 97

m Pen Tools Can Edit Locked Item Overlays: Check this box to allow modiﬁcation of

overlays in locked tracks or clips. m Show ToolTips: Check this box to show descriptions of interface elements when you

move the pointer over them. m Linked Selection: Check this box to link selections. Uncheck the box to unlink selections.

Linked selection allows you to select audio and video for a clip together in the Timeline. If

linked selection is off, you can select them separately. m Snapping: Check this box to turn snapping on. This feature can also be toggled on and

off on the ﬂy by pressing the N key.

m Fit Full Size: Check this box to open all clips in the Viewer to “Fit to Window.” m Visibility Warning: Check this box to see a warning about loss of render ﬁles when track

visibility is turned off.

m Report Drops: Check this box to be warned when frames are dropped during playback. m Thumbnail Cache (Disk) and (RAM): Enter a desired cache size in these boxes to change

the sizes of the thumbnail caches.

You may want to have large thumbnail caches if you are working with a large number of

clips and want to display thumbnails, or if you are using the Browser’s icon view. If you

often scrub through thumbnails in the Browser’s icon view, you can optimize the quality

of this feature by increasing the thumbnail RAM cache. To set a location for the thumbnail

cache, see “Setting Scratch Disk Preferences” on page 110.

98 Chapter 4

Setting Device Control Preferences

The Device Control tab lets you conﬁgure options for external devices so you can begin logging and capturing clips.

To conﬁgure device control preferences:

1 Choose Preferences from the Edit menu.

2 Click the Device Control tab.

m Enable Device Control: Check this box to activate device control. Refer to the

documentation that came with your camcorder or deck to ﬁnd out if it supports device control.

Preferences and Presets 99

m Protocol: Choose a protocol from this pop-up menu to specify the protocol your

camcorder or deck uses.

m FireWire (IEEE 1394): As FireWire is being adopted for the full range of digital

equipment from professional decks down to consumer camcorders, there is a wide range of functionality and adherence to the FireWire speciﬁcations among these devices. For this reason, two versions of the FireWire protocol (Apple FireWire and Apple FireWire Basic) are provided in the device control preferences. If your deck or camcorder uses FireWire, begin by using the Apple FireWire protocol. While all decks and camcorders support the most basic functions like returning timecode and accepting basic transport commands, other commands may not be supported. If you ﬁnd that the device does not accurately go to speciﬁed timecodes or fails to execute commands, then try the Apple FireWire Basic protocol.

m Other protocols: Check your deck or camcorder manual for the type of protocol it

uses and select the appropriate protocol from the Protocol pop-up menu.

m For additional information on compatible devices, check the Final Cut Pro Web site at

www.apple.com/ﬁnalcutpro

m Time Source: Choose a format from this pop-up menu to specify the timecode format

supported by your deck or camcorder. Refer to the manual that came with your device to

determine which format is supported.

m LTC: Longitudinal Timecode is recorded on a linear track of the tape and can be read

while the tape is moving.

m VITC: Vertical Interval Timecode is contained in the vertical blanking of a signal and

can be read when the tape is paused on a frame.

m LTC+VITC: A combination of Longitudinal Timecode and Vertical Interval Timecode

ensures that timecode can be read while the tape is in motion or paused.

m Timer: A clock-based value timecode.

m DV Time: Digital Video Timecode is available for FireWire, Sony VISCA, and LANC

protocols and should be selected when using Digital Video formats.

m Port: Choose a port from this pop-up menu to specify the computer port that your

device control cable is connected to. m System: Choose a standard from this pop-up menu to specify the broadcast standard for

your system. m Use Deck Search Mechanism: Check this box to use a deck’s internal search mechanism.

Tu rn off this option if your deck has problems moving the playhead to a speciﬁed

timecode during capture. m Pre-roll: Enter a value in this ﬁeld to determine the amount of video played before the

current position.

100 Chapter 4

SHARP Cut Pro 1-2 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual