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Arranging clips in timeline

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You can try following ways to move the clips in timeline

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• Move clips by dragging horizontally

• Move clips by entering a timecode value​

  •  Move the clips forward: Press the Plus Sign (+) key, then type a timecode duration 
    for the move.

  • Move the clips back: Press the Minus Sign (–) key, then type a timecode duration for 
    the move.​

• Nudge clips

  • Move the selection left by one frame: Press Comma (,)

  • Move the selection left by 10 frames: Press Shift + Comma (,)

  • Move the selection right by one frame: Press Period (.)

  • Move the selection right by 10 frames: Press Shift + Period (.)​

  • Move the selection left by one subframe: Press Option + Comma (,)

  • Move the selection left by 10 subframes: Press Option + Shift + Comma (,)

  • Move the selection right by one subframe: Press Option + Period (.)

  • Move the selection right by 10 subframes: Press Option + Shift + Period (.)

• Moving clip up and down from Primary Storyline

  • Option + Command + Up arrow will move the clip up from primary storyline without ripple​

  • Option + Command + Down arrow will shift down the clip from primary storyline without ripple

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CUT a clip

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• Use Blade menu or Command + B to cut a clip

• To join a continuous clip, select either or both sides of the through edit point, then press Delete​

• To cut primary story line and its connected clip together, use Shift + Command + B

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Extend or shorten clips 

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There are different methods to trim your clips. Following are some of them

 

• Drag edit points using mouse: Adjust the start or end point of clip by your mouse. When you place your playhead at the start or end point of a clip, it turns to trim tool and you can adjust the clip with it.

• Range selection tool: Use Range selection to tool to select a range in your clip and then use Trim>Trim Selection menu to trims the clips start and end point to match the selcetion

• Adjust edit points to the playhead position: Select a clips edit point, then position the play head at your desired location where you want to move your edit point, then press Shift + X

• Cut the start or end of clip at the playhead: Position the playhead at your desired position, then use press Option + Left Bracket to trim off the start of the clip/ Press Option + Right Bracket to trim off the end of the clip.

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 roll edits​

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A roll edit adjusts the start point and the end point of two adjacent clips simultaneously. You can use the Trim tool to roll the edit point between the two clips. No other clips in the project are affected. When you perform a roll edit, the overall duration of the project stays the same, but both 
clips change duration. One gets longer, and the other gets shorter to compensate.

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• Choose Trim Tool or press T

• Click the center of the edit point you want to roll, so that both sides of the edit point are selected

• Drag the edit point left or right.

 

SLIP EDITS​

 

A slip edit allows you to change a clip’s start and end points simultaneously. It changes what portion of the clip’s media appears in the timeline without affecting the clip duration.  The clip’s content and duration remain the same; only its position in the timeline changes. When you slide a clip, the adjacent clips get longer and shorter to accommodate the change in the clip’s position. 

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• Choose Trim Tool or press T

• Drag the clip left or right.

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slide editS

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Slide edit allows you to move a clip’s position in the timeline between two other clips without creating a gap.

• Adding only audio to the timeline: Press Shift + 3 and drag the clip to timeline

• Adding only Video to the timeline: Press Shift + 2 and drag the clip to timeline

• Same options can be selected via button located above the timeline ​

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split edits​

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In Split edit, You can set separate video and audio start and end points in an individual clip. You can use split edits in many different situations, once such example is to start the audio of a conversation before its video clip is introduced. 

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• Select the clip which you wanted for split edit

• Separate the audio by Control + S or by double clicking the clips audio waveform

• Drag the start point of the video to right

• Drag the start point of the audio to left

• Adjust the audio levels to make it smooth by key frames

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Zoom

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• Zoom the time line by Command + Plus Sign (+)

• Zoom out the time line by Command + Minus Sign (–)

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• Use Zoom Tool by pressing Z key Once selected just click or drag the are where you want to Zoom. Abd use Option key to zoom out

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• Shift + Z will fit to zoom into the available window size

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• Use Zoom slider to choose difference appearance controls

 

SNAP

 

Snapping makes it easier and quicker to line up clips with other items in the project. Clips snaps to

 

• • Clip boundaries (start and end points)
  • The playhead and the skimmer
  • Markers
  • Keyframes
  • Range selections

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Turn snapping on or off Press N

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Navigation 

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• You can use the J, K, and L keys to play through a project with different speeds

• Use skimmer or playhead to move across 

• Navigate frame by frame by left and right arrow keys

• Navigate subframe by subframe by Option + left and right arrow keys

• Use Down and Up arrow keys to move to previous or next edit points

• Press Home key to move to start of the timeline

• Press End Key to move to the end of the timeline

• Press Control + ' (Apostrophe) and Control + , (Semicolon) to move to the next and previous marker

• Navigate using time code

  • Press Control + P and enter the time code value​

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Marker

Markers are reference points you can place within clips to locate, identify, annotate, and 
navigate to specific frames. Markers helps to Sync clips, add editing notes, and to manage to do items.

Markers are classified as

 

• Standard Markers (blue)

• Chapter markers (orange)

• to-do items (red)

• Completed to-do items (green)

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Rate clips

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To rate a clip

 

• Press the F key (or choose Mark > Favorite). A green line appears at the top of frames you’ve marked as favorite.

• If you don’t like the clip: Press the Delete key (or choose Mark > Reject). A red line appears at the top of frames you’ve marked as rejected.

• You can remove ratings from clips by pressing the U key (or choose Mark > Unrate).

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Adding keywords to clips

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Adding custom keywords help you quickly locate the clips you need to compose your movie. To add a keyword

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• open the keyword editor (Command + K) >type the keyword>Press Return

• A blue line appears at the top of the selection in the browser, indicating that keywords 
  have been applied to it.

You can add keywords using keyboard shortcuts. Once the keywords are set use Control and the corresponding number key to add a keyword to a clip

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Another way is to drag and drop the clips to the created keyword collection  

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To view all keywords applied to a clip: Choose View > Browser > Skimmer Info (or press 
Control-Y), then skim the clip in the browser.

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Removing keywords to clips

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• Select the clip that you want to remove the keyword

• Choose Mark > Remove All Keywords (or press Control+0).

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overlays

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Video overlays guide you with boundaries to place a text or graphics. This guide appear only in the viewer not in the output files.

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• Title-safe-Inner 80 % of the screen - Guaranteed visibility

• Action-safe overlays-Inner 90% of the screen - You may loose anything outside this boundary in most TV's

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Custom Overlays

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Organizing THE FILES in your librar

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• Assiging keywords to each file - Easy Management and it creates the key names under the event (Show it by creating multiple keywords to one file)

• Space bar, JKL shortcuts 

• In point - End point - o, , f for favourite (Same can be done in Mark menu and select favourite ) Green line appears after marking it as favourite --> Show it for two favourite and show them a favourite key created under events

• Smart Search - near the search icon somewhere in the middle - It will add a second layer of filtering with the keywords inside favourite

• Shift + F - helps to locate the added piece in timeline with the actual one in event folder (12.12-7)

• Skimming with the video and audio can be enabled or disabled by a button below the inspector window 18-18-11 

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Creating project files

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Unless other softwares, FCP has a different method of creating project files before we edit it

File -> New Project or Click on New Project

Name

The empty torch created now is Called story line

Understand different method to insert by selecting different insertion buttons or you can dig it into the time one with mouse 

Order in the time line can be changed by dragging individual clips towards right or left 

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AUDIO VIDEO​

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Select the file in time line and choose the button on right hand side corner to see the audio wave form in time line

Show zoom function to increase or decrease the size of thumbnail in time line (Apple minus and plus)

Adjust the audio levels by adjusting sound level line

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Overlaying video clips

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Use the first button in insertion to overlay a video clip

When you now move your main clip that is overlaid with another, the ovelayed clip also move along with the main clip. Its is called magnetized time line  

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Trimming video clips

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Show how to trim the video clips with mouse, this is the normal way, advanced is way is coming on the way

Short cut for blade - B

Short cut for arrow = A, same can be taken in left hand side tools, delete a clip by delete key

Z - for magnifying glass to zoom

alt - for zoom out

T - trim tool, (called rolling trim) show the same in tool bar, this is good when we need to keep the time line as constant. say 2 minute song. you still need to trim between the cli using this advanced tool 

Slip tool - Use T in one single clip and slim thru the clip . 

P for position tool, show the same from tools - It will allow you to move the clips, useful to create a blanks space for some reason. 

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AUDIO

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Voice Over - Window->record voiceover

Show where it is coming in events

show the same in timeline

Trim the audio track

Beginning and end of a clip can fade in and fade out 

how to increase or reduce the music? may be at the info you may want a higher sound, and as we begin the voice over, we may want to reduce the music, level. In that case use alt key set points, then with mouse you can up down the volume.

Audio detach - right click on the video ND DETACH 

Import a music track - Drag from a window, 

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advanced audio

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Inspector window - Click o the speaker button after selecting a video in event 

you cN CONTROL THE VOLUME LEVERL FROM INSPECTOR WINDOW 

Turn on the audio meter - Window--> Show to workspace-->Audio Meters

Go to inspector and turn on or off different tracks. This is useful if you are using one colour mic and another mic fitted in camera. you can turn off the voice from the open mic and choose the there one,

Next case-What if the sound is recorded as stern tracks, you can separate it as two mono tracks in inspector window-Right click on the wave form->Dual mono

How to remove the voice- Switch on the button in inspector-it will analyse, then we can possibly remove the voice in FCP 

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Video

 

Overlay video, 

Lifiting the video clip or split edit - right click and lift it, So that you can synch it with the audio if needed, say if an interview begins in video, but you don't wanted to show the interview instead u want to show the product at the beginning, this method is useful

Overlaying two videos - inspector window - click on the video button , show opacity, transition, and other controls , switch on and off the effects to see the changes  

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advanced Video

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Adding a marker for different use - Mark->markers->add a mark 

Show animation in one clip - 16-16-15, do Show rotation

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Titles

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Below the file menu, there is a button to see the titles.

Aligmnetns properly - in inspector window  

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Generators

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Can be used as a background, especially for titles or animations, or show something different from your usual video

Can add multiple generators to timeline and show all of them by adjusting the opacity in inspector window - 18-18-13

Add tires and show animations by adding marks 18-18-11

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Effects

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Adding effects and filters -Button is below the transform window.

The effects ones applied can be adjusted again in inspector window

Pixalate a video and show masking the face, or blur the face 

Audio filters

You can copy all you reflect to another video by copying and paste (Menu Edit->past attributes) in another clip

You can save your preset values for later use also - That option is under the inspector window down right corner - 17-17-18 

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Transition

 

Scenario - two clips one might be office and another might be outside. and if you like to set a transition do the following

just below inspector window . there are few tools. the last one with triangle is for transition

add a transition, then adjust the length of transition with mouse . So the transition can be faster or slower 

Try placing transition on one clip . it won't allow warning message will come, So we need two clips for mixing. With one clip still we can do that. try it ut and show what difference it make  

Note: you need unused meta space to apply the transition in an effective way 

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Keys and masking​

Green Screen

Animation - UFO Flying 21-19

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Speed Controls​

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Editing guides

 

Choose the best pieces from the shots

Keep the sequence in order

Keep the minimum duration - Should not be too short for the audience may not grasp what you are showing - 3 sec

nd don't make too long too. People will surely distract

 Audience yes focus on actors eyes. So make sure the actor leaves the place before you cut. if u cut it in between people will distract 

Cut in the middle of the move. Do not cur before or after the move 

Overlay interviews 

Use mix of wide and close shots , Wide gives geography, but close up detail 

Look for the flow

Pan and Zoom - Do not cut in Pan and Zoom before they settle, that will destroy the few Zoz the audience also expecting to move along with that PAN and move, if you cut, they will loose that fow

Do not overly use PAN and Zoom

Do not spoon feed with narration and videos

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Keyboard shortcuts

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• Space Bar = Pause and Play

• Option + N = Create a new event

• Command + I = Importing media

• JKL - faster , Pause slower, 

• S = Skimmer 

• Shift + S = Audio Skimming

• Control-Shift-I  = Play from the beginning of a clip or a project

• Slash(/) = Select a range and play

• I = In point 

• O = End point

• Undo - Command + Z

• Redo - Command + Shift + Z

• Snapping - N

• Command + + = Increase the zooming in timeline

• Command + - = Decreese the zooming in timeline

• B = Blade tool

• A = Arrow tool

• Z = Magnifying glass for zoom

• Alt = Zoom out

• T = Trim tool

• P = Position tool

• Shift + F - Helps to locate the file in events folder

• Control-Y-To enable or disable Keyword info while skimming the clip in browser

• Space bar = Play and Pause

• Control-Shift-I = To play from the beginning

• J=Move through reverse Speeds

• K=Pause

• L=Move through forward speeds

• Command + 4 = Inspector window on or off

• F = Favorite

• Delete = Reject a file

• U = Un rate

• Command + K = Keyword Editor

• Control + O = Remove Keyword 

• Command + N = Create a project

• Command + J = Project property window

• X - Select the clip and shows range handles.

• Option-X = To clear one or more ranges

• E = Append the selected clip to end of the primary story line

• W = To insert the clip within the timeline

• Q =  To add the clip as a connected clip to the primary line.

• Option +W = To insert a blank clip

•  Command + Option +W =  To insert a placeholder clip

• D = Replace

• Control + D = Duration of the clip

• Option + F = Freeze frame

• Shift + Delete =Delete the clip or selection and generate gap clip

• Option + S = Solo

• V = Disable/Enable

• Shift + F = Reveal in Browser

• Comma (,) = Move the selection left by one frame

• Shift-Comma (,) = Move the selection left by 10 frames

• Period (.) = Move the selection right by one frame

• Shift-Period (.)​ = Move the selection right by 10 frames

• Option-Comma (,) = Move the selection left by one subframe

• Option-Shift-Comma (,) = Move the selection left by 10 subframes

• Option-Period (.) = Move the selection right by one subframe

• Option-Shift-Period (.) = Move the selection right by 10 subframes

• Option + Command + Up arrow = move the clip up from primary storyline without ripple​

• Option + Command + Down arrow = Shift down the clip from primary storyline without ripple

• Shift + X = Adjust edit points to the playhead position

• Option + Left Bracket = Trim off the start of the clip

• Option + Right Bracket = Trim off the end of the clip

• Option + Backslash (\) = Trim the edit point closest to the playhead

• T = Trim Tool

• Control + S = Separate the audio from video in timeline

• Z = Zoom Tool

• Command + Plus Sign (+) = Zoom in the time line

• Command + Minus Sign (–) = Zoom out the time line

• Shift + Z = Fit to zoom

• N = Turn snapping on or off

• J = Move through reverse speeds

• L = Move through forward speeds

• left and right arrow keys = Navigate frame by frame

• Option + left and right arrow keys = Navigate subframe by subframe

• Down and Up arrow keys = move to previous or next edit points

• Home = move to start of the timeline

• End = move to the end of the timeline

• Control + ' (Apostrophe) = move to the next marker in timeline

• Control + , (Semicolon) = move to the previous marker in timeline

• Control + P = Allows to enter the time code value​ and navigate

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FAQ

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1) Can I replace the symbolic links with the actual source media later?​

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Yes, File>Consolidate Event files

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2) Can I record a video directly into FCP using your computers built-in camera and mic?

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Yes, Click the import media button in the toolbar for this option, Choose the camera listed on the left side of the media import window and choose import. Then follow the on screen instructions or actions

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3) What are the supported video formats?

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• Apple Animation codec
• Apple Intermediate codec
• Apple ProRes (all versions)
• Apple ProRes RAW and Apple ProRes RAW HQ
• AVCHD (including AVCCAM, AVCHD Lite, and NXCAM)
• AVC-ULTRA (including AVC-LongG, AVC-Intra Class 50/100/200/4:4:4, and AVC-Intra LT)
• Canon Cinema RAW Light (requires the camera manufacturer’s plug-in software)
• DV (including DVCAM, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50)
• DVCPRO HD
• H.264
• HDV
• HEVC (requires macOS High Sierra 10.13)
• iFrame
• Motion JPEG (OpenDML only)
• MPEG IMX (D-10)
• QuickTime formats
• REDCODE RAW (R3D) (requires the camera manufacturer’s plug-in software)
• Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2
• Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2
• XAVC (including XAVC-S)
• XDCAM HD/EX/HD422
• XF-AVC
• XF-HEVC

• 3GP
• AVI
• MOV (QuickTime)
• MP4
• MTS/M2TS
• MXF

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4) What are the supported Audio formats?

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• AAC
• AIFF
• BWF
• CAF
• MP3
• MP4
• RF64 (requires macOS High Sierra 10.13)
• WAV

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5) What are the supported Image formats?

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• BMP
• GIF
• HEIF (requires macOS High Sierra 10.13)
• JPEG
• PNG
• PSD (static and layered)
• RAW
• TGA
• TIFF

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