Editing with Final Cut Pro 4

Editing with Final Cut Pro 4

by Charles Roberts
Released November 2012
Publisher(s): Routledge
ISBN: 9781136070211

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Book description

Whether you've mastered the basics of Final Cut Pro and want to take your skills to the next level, or if you're a video editor new to Final Cut Pro and looking to put your own system together, this book is for you. Written by "chawla," a Final Cut Pro guru and veteran moderator on 2-Pop/Creative Cow, this book covers the interface basics and workflow but goes beyond to address intermediate techniques and timesaving tips for professional results. Roberts does not assume you have an IT staff on hand and therefore goes into crucial issues of set up, configuration, consumer advice on hardware purchasing, and troubleshooting. Equally valuable is coverage of working with formats such as standard definition, uncompressed, and FireWire DV.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Full Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Chapter 1 Initial Setup: Optimizing the Mac OS and FCP
    1. Macintosh OSX: The System Preferences
      1. The Energy Saver Preference
      2. The Displays Preference
      3. Software Update
      4. Network Issues and AppleTalk
    2. Multi-User and Administrator Issues
    3. Installing FCP Software
    4. Project Setup: Do It Right the First Time and Every Time
      1. Starting up FCP
      2. Saving Your Project Correctly
    5. The Structure of FCP
      1. The Browser Window
      2. The Project Tab
      3. The Effects Tab
      4. Moving a Clip around the Windows
        1. The Color Bars and Tone Generator Clip
        2. Moving the Clip from the Effects Tab to the Project Tab
        3. Creating a Bin and Using It as an Organizing Tool
      5. The Viewer Window
      6. Moving the Clip from the Bin to the Viewer
      7. The Canvas Window
      8. The Timeline Window
      9. Moving the Clip from the Viewer Window to the Sequence
      10. The Audio Meters
      11. The Toolbar
      12. The Tool Bench
  8. Chapter 2 Settings: Are Yours Correct?
    1. The System Settings
      1. The Scratch Disks Tab: The Issues Scratch Disk Assignment
      2. A Note on Partitioning
      3. A Look at the Scratch Disk Preferences Tab
      4. Scratch Disk Assignment: Follow the Next Steps Precisely
      5. Naming Issues
      6. Waveform and Thumbnail Cache
      7. Autosave Vault
      8. Minimum Allowable Free Space on Scratch Disks
      9. Limit Capture/Export File Segment Size
      10. Limit Capture Now
      11. The Memory and Cache Tab
      12. The Playback Control Tab
      13. The External Editors Tab
      14. The Effects Handling Tab
    2. The Audio/Video Settings
      1. The Issues Involved in the Audio/Video Settings
      2. The Summary Tab
      3. The Capture Presets Tab
      4. The Sequence Preset Tab
      5. The Video Processing Tab
      6. The Device Control Presets Tab
      7. The A/V Devices Tab
      8. Back to the Summary Tab
    3. The Easy Setup
    4. The User Preferences
      1. The General Preferences Tab
      2. Real-Time Audio Mixing
      3. Audio Playback Quality
        1. Warn if Visibility Change Deletes Render File
        2. Prompt for Settings on New Sequence
        3. Report Dropped Frames During Playback
        4. Abort Capture on Dropped Frames
        5. On Timecode Break
        6. Autosave Vault
      4. The Audio Outputs Tab
  9. Chapter 3 Media Acquisition: Logging and Capturing
    1. How Do We Get It Inside FCP?
    2. Pre-Log and Capture Techniques: The Paper Log and Timecode Window Burn
    3. Logging and Capturing
      1. Create a Logging Bin
      2. The Log and Capture Window
        1. The Log and Capture Video Preview Window
        2. The Log and Capture Tabs
        3. The Reel Name
        4. The Name, Description, and Marker Fields
        5. The Capture Buttons
        6. Capture Clip
        7. Capture Now
      3. The Process of Capturing
        1. Scratch Disk Info
        2. Current Frame Timecode Field
        3. The Tape Transport Controls and J-K-L Support
        4. The Jog and Shuttle Wheels
        5. Set the In and Out Points for a Clip
        6. The Clip Duration Timecode Field
      4. Capture Using Capture Clip
      5. Capture Now
        1. Capture Now and Its Relationship with DV Timecode
        2. The Capture Now Process
        3. Using DV Start/Stop Detection
      6. Batch Capture
        1. What Is Offline/Online?
        2. The Process
        3. The Idiot Check
  10. Chapter 4 Importing Media
    1. What Importing Is and What It Is Not
    2. Audio CD Import the Right Way: Using QuickTime Pro to Import and Convert Sample Rates
    3. Importing Photoshop Graphics Files
      1. Square vs. Non-Square Pixels
      2. Getting Photoshop Layer Effects into FCP Intact
      3. The Process
        1. The Title-Safe Zone and Overscan
        2. Prepping the Image for FCP
        3. Importing and Using the Photoshop Image
      4. Organize and Backing Up Your Project’s Imported Media
  11. Chapter 5 Editing: the Business and Pleasure of Final Cut Pro
    1. Working in the Viewer Window
      1. The Viewer Window
      2. Match Frame Button
      3. Mark Clip Button
      4. Add Keyframe Button
      5. Add Marker Button
      6. 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 Realtime and Rendering Effects
      2. Refining the Transition
      3. The ‘Oroborous’ Transition Sequence Trick
      4. Creating Customized Transition Favorites
    4. Trimming Those Edits
    5. The Easiest Trimming Technique
  12. Chapter 6 Advanced Editing Tools
    1. More Trimming Precision: The Trim Edit Window
    2. Calling Up the Trim Edit Window
      1. The Track Drop-Down Bar
      2. Navigating the Clips in the Trim Edit Window
      3. Previewing the Trim Before Leaving the Trim Edit Window
    3. The Timeline and the Toolbar
      1. The Timeline Tracks
      2. The Track Routing Selection Area
    4. The Timeline Customization Controls
      1. Audio Controls
      2. Clip Keyframes Button
      3. Clip Overlays Button
      4. Track Height Switch
      5. The Zoom Control Meter
      6. The Time Scale Bar
      7. Playhead Timecode Field
      8. Toggle Snapping Button
      9. Toggle Linking Button
    5. Linking Operations Demonstrated
      1. The Split Edit
      2. Sync Issues With Linking and Unlinking Clips
    6. Button Bars
  13. Chapter 7 Trimming in the Timeline: The Toolbar
    1. Toolbar vs. Keyboard Shortcuts
    2. The General Selection Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-A)
    3. The Selection Toolset and Accessing “Hidden” Toolsets
      1. Edit Selection Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-G)
      2. Group Selection Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-GG)
      3. Range Selection Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-GGG)
    4. The Track Selection Toolset (Keyboard Shortcuts-T, TT, TTT, TTTT, TTTTT)
    5. The Roll and Ripple Edit Toolset
      1. The Roll Edit Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-R)
      2. The Ripple Edit Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-RR)
      3. The Asymmetrical Trim: Split Edit/L-Cut with the Ripple Tool
    6. Gang-Synced Windows
    7. The Slip and Slide Toolset (Keyboard Shortcuts-S, SS)
      1. The Slip Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-S)
      2. The Storyboard Rough Cut Technique
      3. Slipping in the Viewer
      4. Slip into Sync
      5. The Slide Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-SS)
      6. Monitoring the Slip and Slide Tools in the Canvas Window
    8. The Razorblade Toolset (Keyboard Shortcuts-B, BB)
      1. Using the Razorblade Tool
      2. Performing a Ripple Delete
    9. The Zoom Toolset (Keyboard Shortcuts-Z, ZZ, H, HH)
      1. The Zoom In and Out Tools
      2. The Hand Tool (Keyboard Shortcut-H)
      3. The Scrub Video Tool: Scrubbing a Clip’s Thumbnail (Keyboard Shortcut-HH)
      4. Creating Thumbnails in the List View
    10. Master Clips and Affiliates
      1. The Subclip
      2. Dupe Detection
      3. The Sequence Settings Window
    11. The Crop/Distort and Pen Toolsets
  14. Chapter 8 Compositing and Special Effects
    1. Compositing Layers
      1. Setting Up a Sequence for Compositing Layers
      2. Keyframing in the Sequence
      3. Adding Type: The Text Generator
      4. Master/Affiliate Clips and the Viewer
    2. Special Effects: Motion Effects
      1. The Image + Wireframe Viewing Mode
      2. Creating a Motion Path
      3. Setting the Keyframes for Motion
      4. Nonlinear Interpolation—Adding a Curve
      5. Ease In/Ease Out
    3. The Other Motion Tab Tools
      1. The Crop Tool
      2. The Distort Tool
      3. The Drop Shadow
      4. The QuickView Tool and Option-P
      5. Motion Blur
  15. Chapter 9 Effects Filters
    1. Applying Effects: The Color Corrector 3-Way Filter
    2. 1. Picking the Master Shot
      1. The Video Scopes: Luma and Saturation
    3. 2. Correcting the Master Shot
      1. Master Shot Correction: Set Contrast
      2. Master Shot Correction: Pick Up the Blacks
      3. Master Shot Correction: Set the Whites
      4. Master Shot Correction: Set the Mids and Gamma
      5. Master Shot Correction: Correct Color for White Balance
      6. The Frame Viewer
    4. 3. Matching Shots to the Master Shot
      1. Shot to Shot Copying
      2. Paste Attributes
      3. Match to Master Shots
      4. Match Hue
    5. Secondary Color Correction
      1. Limit Effect
      2. Setting the Matte
      3. Edge Thin and Softening
      4. Using the Limit Effect Matte
    6. Teamwork Equals Fast Work
    7. Composite Modes
      1. Mattes, Masks, and Stencils
      2. Setting the Travel Matte-Luma
      3. The Travel Matte-Alpha: What Is an Alpha Channel?
    8. Speed and Duration
    9. Nesting and Effects, the FCP Way
      1. Why Nest?
      2. The Render Manager
  16. Chapter 10 The Audio Tools
    1. Fixing Audio Levels
      1. Keyframing Audio Levels
      2. The Audio Mixer Tool
    2. Using the Audio Filters
      1. The Three Band EQ
      2. The Parametric EQ
    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
  17. Chapter 11 Getting Your Project Out of Final Cut Pro
    1. Output to Video Tape
    2. 1. Output to Tape: Print to Video
      1. Customizing Your Print to Video
      2. Color Bars and Audio Test Tone
      3. Slate
      4. Countdown
      5. Media
      6. Trailer
      7. Duration Calculator
      8. Print to Tape
    3. 2. Output to Tape: Edit to Tape
      1. The Issues for Edit to Tape
      2. Performing the Edit to Tape
    4. Exporting
    5. Exporting for Distribution: Optimizing the QuickTime Movie
      1. Choosing the File Format
      2. QuickTime Standalones
      3. Choosing and Setting the Compression
      4. Quality or Spatial Compression
      5. Keyframe Every or Temporal Compression
      6. Other Factors: Frame Size, Audio, etc
      7. MPEG-4, MPEG-2, and You
      8. Exporting with MPEG-4
    6. Exporting for Loss-Less Transfer: The QuickTime Reference Movie
      1. Special Limitations
      2. The QuickTime Movie Dialog Box
    7. Export for Metadata
      1. The Edit Decision List
      2. The Batch List
    8. Media Manager
      1. The Other Offline/Online Process
      2. How It Works
      3. The Offline/Online Process
  18. Appendix A What is Digital Video Anyway?
    1. How Video Works: Analog and Digital Video
    2. Generation Loss and Digital Video
    3. Analog Video Formats
    4. Where Does Digital Video Originate?
      1. How Light Becomes Numbers
      2. Sampling and Compression
      3. The Firewire DV System
    5. What Is a Codec?
    6. 8-bit and 10-bit Uncompressed
    7. What about Digital Audio?
      1. Sampling and Digital Audio
      2. Analog Audio Recording and Double System Sound
      3. SDI Digital Audio
    8. What About Timecode?
      1. Firewire DV: Video, Audio, Timecode, and Device Control in One Cable
      2. Timecode: Analog and DV
      3. Why Use Non-Drop Frame?: Pulldown Issues
      4. Panasonic AG-DVX100: The 24P DV Camera
    9. Device Control
  19. Appendix B Storage: RAM and Drive Solutions
    1. RAM: Random Access Memory
      1. How Much RAM?
    2. Hard Drives
      1. Issues: Storage Space
      2. Issues: Drive Speed
        1. Types of Drive by Location: Removable Disk
        2. Types of Drive by Location: The Internal Drive
        3. Types of Drive by Location: The External Drive
      3. Types of Drive by Standard
        1. Types of Drive by Standard: ATA
        2. Types of Drive by Standard: SCSI
        3. Types of Drive by Standard: Firewire
        4. Types of Drive by Standard: USB
    3. The Input and Output Buses
      1. The AGP-Accelerated Graphics Port
      2. The PCI-Peripheral Component Interconnect
    4. RAIDs and You
      1. RAID-0
      2. RAID-1
      3. RAID-10 or RAID 1/0
    5. Checking the Pieces: The Apple System Profiler
    6. Regular Operating System Maintenance: The Care and Feeding of a Jungle Cat
      1. Repair Permissions
      2. Jaguar 10.2 and Single User Mode
      3. Panther 10.3 and Safe Mode
      4. When Single User or Safe Mode Doesn’t Fix It
      5. Cleaning House
      6. Backing Up Your System
      7. Conclusion
    7. Backing Up to CD-Rs
      1. Using Apple’s Disk Copy
      2. Using Roxio Toast
  20. Index

Product information

  • Title: Editing with Final Cut Pro 4
  • Author(s): Charles Roberts
  • Release date: November 2012
  • Publisher(s): Routledge
  • ISBN: 9781136070211