Using Markers To Save Time In Final Cut Pro

Whether you're an Avid Xpress Pro or Final Cut Pro editor, time can either be your best friend or your worst enemy and unfortuneately, it is usually the latter of the two. With this being said, there are some things you can do within FCP that can make your effort spent more productive. For instance, how about during the capture process, you ingest the entire tape instead of reviewing it first then logging.

Ok, I know that you are probably saying that ingesting all of that footage takes a ton of space and that's true but, l if you were working with a limited number of tapes it could save you a lot of time. When you figure that one gig of space can hold five minutes of video, the price of storage is quickly becoming more economical than the purchase of tapes.

The next question you probably have is, after you have captured such a large file, how do you break it up into usable segments that you want?

Tip
Note: This method would only work if you have recorded your footage on a DV camera and pressed the record stop and start button in-between takes.

- After you have captured the entire tape, select that one large file in the browser window > choose mark from the main menu > select DV Start/Stop Detect. Your captured file would then be broken up into segments that signify the record stops and starts between takes. If you shoot with this methodology in mind, it can save you a lot of time.

- If your media was captured with something other than a DV camera, as you are reviewing the footage of the large file in the viewer, press M to place markers at the points you think you may want to use.

- Click on the arrow icon next to the large file in the browser window and your marked clips will show.

- Select all of those marked clips and drag them to the Name tab in the Browser.

- Give your individual marked clips descriptive names.

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