Digital Video Editing with Final Cut Express

Digital Video Editing with Final Cut Express

by Charles Roberts
Released January 2013
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136070051

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Book description

Suitable for those new to nonlinear editing as well as experienced editors new to Final Cut Express, this book is an introduction to Apple's editing software package and the digital video format in general. You will come away with not only an in-depth knowledge of how to use Final Cut Express, but also a deeper understanding of the craft of editing and the underlying technical processes that will serve you well in future projects.

Workflow, editing techniques, compositing, special effects, audio tools, and output are explained in clear, jargon-free terms. The book's emphasis is always on using Final Cut Express in the real world, and as such it is the only book to go beyond the interface to address crucial issues like proper setup, system configuration, hardware, the Mac operating system, what equipment to purchase, and troubleshooting common problems. Armed with this information, you will sidestep problems and complete projects of exceptional quality.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Full Title
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Chapter 1 The Initial Setup: Optimizing the Mac OS and Final Cut Express
    1. Macintosh OSX: The System Preferences
      1. The Energy Saver Preference
      2. The Displays Preference
      3. Software Update
      4. Network Issues and AppleTalk
      5. Multiuser and Administrator Issues
    2. Installing Final Cut Express Software
    3. Project Setup: Do It Right the First Time and Every Time
      1. Starting Up Final Cut Express
      2. Saving Your Project Correctly
    4. The Structure of Final Cut Express
      1. The Browser Window
      2. The Viewer Window
      3. The Canvas Window
      4. The Audio Meters
      5. The Toolbar
      6. The Timeline
    5. Moving a Clip Around the Windows
      1. The Color Bars and Tone Generator Clip from the Effects Tab
      2. Moving the Clip from the Effects Tab to the Project Tab
      3. Creating a Bin and Using It as an Organizing Tool
      4. Moving the Clip from the Bin to the Viewer
      5. Moving the Clip from the Viewer Window to the Sequence
  8. Chapter 2 Getting Your Footage into Final Cut Express
    1. What Is Media and What Is Capturing?
    2. Setting the Preferences and the Easy Setup
    3. The Essential Preferences
      1. The General Preferences Tab
      2. The Timeline Options Tab
      3. The External Editors Tab
      4. The Scratch Disk Preferences Tab: The Issues for Scratc Disk Assignment
    4. Scratch Disk Assignment: Follow the Next Steps Precisely
    5. The Easy Setup
      1. The Easy Setup Dialog Box
      2. Audio Sample Rates
      3. Anamorphic Video
      4. Device Control
      5. Making the Easy Setup Choice
    6. Capture
      1. What Is Capture?
      2. Efficient Capture Techniques: The Paper Log
      3. Create a Capture Bin
      4. Opening the Capture Window
      5. The Reel Name
      6. The Name, Description, and Marker Fields
      7. The Capture Buttons
    7. The Process of Capturing
      1. The Capture Window
      2. Scratch Disk Info
      3. Current Frame Timecode Field
      4. The Tape Transport Controls and J-K-L Support
      5. The Jog and Shuttle Wheels
      6. Set the In and Out Points for a Clip
      7. The Clip Duration Timecode Field
      8. Capture Using Capture Clip
    8. Capture Now
      1. Capture Now and the Relationship with DV Timecode
      2. The Capture Now Process
      3. Using DV Start/Stop Detection
    9. Capture Project
      1. Getting Your Project Back Online
  9. Chapter 3 Importing Media
    1. What Importing Is and What It Is Not
      1. CD Import: The Right Way
      2. Using iTunes to Import and Convert Sample Rates
      3. Using QuickTime Pro to Import and Convert Sample Rates
      4. Importing Photoshop Image Files
      5. The Process
    2. Organizing and Backing Up Your Project’s Imported Media
  10. Chapter 4 What Is Editing?
    1. Working in the Viewer Window
      1. Match Frame Button
      2. Mark Clip Button
      3. Add Keyframe Button
      4. Add Marker Button
      5. In and Out Point Buttons
    2. Drag and Drop to the Sequence: Insert/Overwrite
    3. Drag and Drop to the Canvas: Insert/Overwrite with a Transition
      1. A Few Words About Real-time and Rendering Effects
      2. Refining the Transition
    4. More About Transitions
      1. Drag-and-Drop Transitions
      2. Creating Customized Transition Favorites
      3. A Super Quick Transition Sequence
    5. Trimming Those Edits
    6. The Easiest Trimming Technique
    7. More Trimming Precision: The Trim Edit Window
      1. Calling Up the Trim Edit Window
      2. The Track Drop-Down bar
      3. Navigating the Clips in the Trim Edit Window
      4. Previewing the Trim Before Leaving the Trim Edit Window
    8. The Timeline and the Toolbar, a Deadly Duo
      1. The Timeline Tracks
      2. The Target Track Selection Area
    9. Timeline Customization Controls
      1. The Time Scale Bar
      2. The Zoom Control Meter
      3. Playhead Timecode Field
      4. Track Height Switch
      5. The Clip Overlays Button
      6. Toggle Snapping Button
      7. Toggle Linking Button
      8. Linking Operations Demonstrated
      9. Sync Issues with Linking and Unlinking Clips
    10. The Toolbar
      1. The General Selection Tool (Keyboard Shortcut–A)
      2. The Selection Toolset and Accessing “Hidden” Toolset
      3. The Track Selection Toolset (Keyboard Shortcut–T)
      4. Ripple and Roll Edit Toolset
      5. The Slip and Slide Toolset
      6. The Razorblade Toolset (Keyboard Shortcut–B)
      7. The Zoom Toolset (Keyboard Shortcut–Z)
    11. Master Clips and Subclips
      1. The Final Cut Express Subclip
      2. Another Subclip Technique
      3. Creating Thumbnails in the List View
      4. The Crop/Distort and Pen Toolsets
  11. Chapter 5 Compositing and Special Effects
    1. What Exactly Is Compositing?
    2. Compositing Layers
      1. Setting Up a Sequence for Compositing Layers
      2. Keyframing in the Sequence Timeline
      3. Keyframe Interpolation
      4. Adding Type: The Text Generator
    3. Special Effects: Motion Effects
      1. The Image + Wireframe Viewing Mode in the Canvas Window
      2. Creating a Motion Path
      3. Setting the Keyframes for Motion
      4. Nonlinear Interpolation—Adding a Curve
      5. Ease In/Ease Out
      6. Bezier Handles on the Timeline
      7. The Other Motion Tab Tools
    4. Effects Filters
      1. Applying Fun and Useful Effects: The Basic 3D and Viewfinder Filters
    5. Composite Modes
    6. Mattes, Masks, and Stencils
      1. Setting the Travel Matte-Luma
      2. The Travel Matte-Alpha: What Is an Alpha Channel?
    7. Speed and Duration
    8. Nesting and Effects, the Final Cut Express Way
  12. Chapter 6 The Audio Tools
    1. Adjusting Audio in Final Cut Express
      1. Fixing Audio Levels
      2. Keyframing Audio Levels
    2. Using the Audio Filters
      1. The Three Band EQ
      2. The Parametric EQ
      3. The Reverberation Filter
    3. The Voice Over Tool
      1. Setup and Things to Consider
      2. Setting the Offset
      3. The Rest of the Voice Over Window
      4. Using the Voice Over Tool
  13. Chapter 7 Getting Your Project Out of Final Cut Express
    1. Output to Firewire: Print to Video
      1. Customizing Print to Video
      2. Print to Tape
    2. Exporting
      1. Export for Distribution: Optimizing the QuickTime Movie
      2. Export for Lossless Transfer—The Final Cut Movie: Self-contained vs. Reference Option
  14. Appendix A What Is Digital Video, Anyway?
    1. How Video Works
      1. Generation Loss and Digital Video
    2. Where Does Digital Video Originate?
      1. Sampling and Compression
      2. Types of Compression
      3. What About Digital Audio?
      4. Sampling and Digital Audio
      5. Sync Adjust Movies and Sample Rates
    3. What Are Timecode and Device Control?
      1. Timecode: Analog and DV
      2. Device Control
  15. Appendix B DV Formats and Devices
    1. DV Decks and Cameras
    2. DV Formats: The Many Faces of DV
      1. MiniDV
      2. DVCAM
      3. DVCPRO
    3. Features to Consider when Purchasing a DV Device
      1. Cassette Size and DV Format
      2. Analog Video Format Compatibility
      3. Analog/Digital Conversion Boxes
  16. Appendix C The Hardware for Editing with Final Cut Express
    1. What You Need for Final Cut Express: The Basic Firewire Setup
    2. Welcome to the Macintosh
      1. The Four Primary Areas of the Apple Macintosh
    3. The Processor and the Motherboard of the Macintosh Minitower
    4. Data Storage: RAM and Hard Drives
      1. RAM: Random Access Memory
      2. Hard Drives
      3. Types of Drive by Location: Removable Disk
      4. Types of Drive by Location: The Internal Drive
      5. Types of Drive by Location: The External Drive
      6. Types of Drive by Standard: ATA, IDE, or EIDE
      7. Types of Drive by Standard: SCSI
      8. Types of Drive by Standard: Firewire
      9. Types of Drive by Standard: USB
    5. The Input and Output Buses
      1. The AGP Bus
      2. The PCI Bus
      3. The ATA Bus
      4. The Firewire Bus
      5. The USB Bus
      6. Various Other Inputs and Outputs
    6. Checking the Pieces: The Apple System Profiler
  17. Appendix D Assorted Tips and Tricks
    1. Regular Operating System Maintenance
      1. Repair Permissions
      2. Single User Mode
      3. When Single User Mode Doesn’t Fix It
      4. Cleaning House
      5. Backing Up Your System
      6. Conclusion
    2. Backing Up to CD-Rs
      1. Using Apple Disk Copy
      2. Using Roxio Toast
    3. Vectors and Bitmaps: A Primer
    4. Using the Boris Title 3D Text Generator
      1. Arranging the Title 3D Clip Using the Control Tab
    5. Audio Production and GIGO: First Things First.
      1. Use Professional Microphones
      2. Use Decent Headphones
      3. Always Record Room Tone
      4. Plan Ahead
  18. Index

Product information

  • Title: Digital Video Editing with Final Cut Express
  • Author(s): Charles Roberts
  • Release date: January 2013
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136070051