Results tagged “final cut” from Final Cut Studio, Avid, Adobe, and Video Streaming

As an editor I find one of the most useful functions in Final Cut Pro to be the Match Frame function. When you're moving through a sequence, Match Frame can really keep a good flow going. Instead of having to go look for a clip, we can use Match Frame to load a previous reference of the desired clip into the viewer.
 
By parking over a clip in the timeline, and performing a Match Frame, Final Cut will load the original source clip into the viewer. The name Match Frame comes from the fact that Final Cut will match the exact frame the playhead is at in the timeline, to the frame the playhead is at once it is loaded into the Viewer. In addition to matching the frame, Final Cut will also set the in and out point in the Viewer with the corresponding in and out point from the clip in the Timeline. Once the Source Clip is loaded into the Viewer, you can set new in and out points and bring a new reference into the Timeline. In other words if I have a 30 second clip, and I use the first 5 seconds as a clip in my sequence, then load 3 different clips into the Viewer. Now I can Match Frame the 5 second clip into the Viewer, and choose the last 5 seconds as a new clip. This may sound confusing, but it is without a doubt one of the most useful functions in Final Cut Pro. It is not the same as double clicking on a clip in the timeline to load it in the Viewer, because if you set new in and out points in the Viewer it will change the clip in the Timeline.

To perform a Match Frame all you have to do is park over a clip in the Timeline, and hit the "F" key. If you are not using the Match Frame function now try adding it into your workflow, you will be glad you did.

Here is another scenario that the Match Frame function can save you time and frustration. You bring a clip into your sequence without the attached audio. Down the road you decide you need the audio. Instead of trying to figure out the in and out points so the audio you bring in matches up with the video that is already there, you just press one key ("F") and then bring the matching audio right in.

The Mac OS Color Palette is dynamic, and holds preferences across applications. The presets are not always visible, and it is very possible that you don't realize it is there. At the bottom of the Color Palette there is a small dot that can be drug down to expose the Preference Grid. To populate the grid you need only drag from the Color Window to the Preference Grid. These preferences will be available in most Mac applications, including the Final Cut Studio, & iLife. This is very useful when you are attempting to maintain a project color theme across multiple applications.

Adding unique glyphs to your project is quite simple with the Character Palette, but you need to have it set up, to use it easiest. If you do not have an American (or possible other) flag in the menu bar of your Mac, you will need to check a box in the International settings within System Preferences. Under International category of the System Preferences there is a tab named Imput Menu, and within that tab there is a check box next to Character Palette. By checking this box, the flag will appear in the menu bar.

Often when producing for the web sometimes we will encode to a lower frame rate. When choosing the new rate, there is one very important factor to consider. Be sure that the new frame rate will divide evenly into the old frame rate. For example if you have a 30 fps project that you want to encode to 10 fps, that would be okay. On the other hand if you tried to encode your 30 fps to 12 fps, it would appear choppy, because 12 does not go into 30 evenly. 

Assembling clips, even trimming them in iMovie is transferable to Final Cut. By exporting a XML from iMovie, and opening it in Final Cut, will give you an updated sequence that will have the same edits. This is a great tool for a producer to rough in a project, and then bring in a senior editor with a Final Cut system to finalize the project.



If you are doing serious professional editing, you will be using Final Cut. The fact that iMovie integrates with Final Cut is all the more reason to make sure if you are using Final Cut, that you are using it effectively. GeniusDV training is what separates you from everyone else.

Like in any application, from time to time LiveType will act irregular. A good maintenance practice in LiveType is to Clear your settings when experiencing irregularities. This will often fix whatever issue you are experiencing. To do this, go to the LiveType menu, and select Settings/Clear Settings. This will reset your LiveType preferences back to the defaults, and in the process likely correct any irregularities.

If you need to create a stand alone still image file from video in Final Cut Pro, it is an east process. You don't even need to create a Freeze Frame to export a Still Image. Just make sure the quadrant of the Final Cut interface that is displaying the image you wish to export is highlighted, go to the File menu, select Export, and choose Using Quicktime Conversion.

The Track tool is a great way to select an entire track or tracks. There are 5 different combinations of the T key to activate the 5 different states of the Track selection tool. Hitting the T key once thru five times will toggle thru the five tools.

I tend to use the Select All Tracks Forward (pressing the T key four times) most often. Recently I discovered that by activating the Select Track Forward tool, and holding down the shift key, it will do the same thing. This works the same way with the Select Track Backward tool, and is a very useful modifier key to know.

In Final Cut -- in a lot of different video applications, for that matter -- you may have wondered about Import/Export functions based on XML.  In fact, Apple made a big deal about Final Cut's XML Interchange Format when it first released, and for good reason.

As studios and production houses and newsrooms shift to a digital workflow, more and more pieces of the production process have to "talk about" the same footage.  At one broadcast network where we recently conducted training, the entire workflow -- from ingest to scriptwriting, roughing, package editing, promos, and output -- relied on a central media repository. 

Needless to say, that's a whole lot of pieces of software that need to talk to each other -- and making a separate copy of the source media for every step in the process is inefficient (imagine the extra disk space to hold 6 different copies of the same full HD footage for a 24/7 broadcast), not to mention confusing.

It's been a few years since we covered Final Cut's text features, and -- while everything we said then is still true -- it's time to update our advice.  If you just want simple text for credits, burned-in subtitles, or simple credit rolls, the text generators we described in that article are your ticket. 

But now that Final Cut Studio ships with LiveType, you'd be foolish not to investigate LiveType's incredibly easy-to-use interface for creating visually stunning titles and supers.  We've got a tutorial on matteing video to your titles in LiveType, and working through that tutorial will give you a feel for how the LiveType interface works.  Once you've got your title the way you like it, simply save, and follow our quick tip to bring it back into Final Cut (or Avid, if you prefer).

If you're interested in further tutorials on LiveType, drop me an email, and we'll get some in the pipeline.  And of course, we offer full instruction on LiveType as part of our Final Cut training.

Final Cut has a lot of strengths, but it also has some awfully confusing error messages.  Luckily, the "Insufficient Content for Edit" error is pretty straightforward: you're trying to use more source clip than you have available.

This can occur in a few circumstances: adding a transition, making a 3-point edit, or performing a replace edit.  Read on for specific details about each situation.

As you may be able to tell from my short and hurried posts of the past few days, I'm on the road on a tight schedule.  Today's tip is actually pretty cool, so I'll write it up in more detail and with screenshots sometime in the next few days -- in the meantime, here's a summary that might be enough for an "aha!" moment if it sounds familiar.

During one of our on-site Final Cut training courses today, an editor migrating from Avid asked whether you could add whole sets of filters to your "Favorite Filters" bin.  For example, say you like to get your trademark "Film Look" effect by combining a film grain filter, some kind of ragged-border matte, a levels adjustment and some kind of 3:2 pulldown thing.  You can't drag that "stack" of filters directly into your "Favorite Filters" bin, right?

You may be familiar with the Match Frame command -- it looks at the clip under your playhead, and loads the corresponding original source clip into your viewer.  If you're not familiar, you can get a quick idea by playing around with in it Final Cut (the keyboard shortcut is simply the letter "F"). 

This function can be useful in an incredible number of situations: for a quick example, if you place only the video track of a clip, then later decide that you need the audio too, you could go the intuitive way or the easy way.  You could dig for the original source, then spend 5 minutes trying to line up the audio tracks with your video ... or you could use Match Frame to bring up the original source clip, already marked with in and out points corresponding to the clip in your timeline. 

By default, Match Frame applies to the top layer of video in your timeline.  But what if you wanted to match to a clip lower in your stack of video clips -- or to an audio track?  The answer is simple, if a little unobvious: after you place your playhead, simply use the arrow tool to select the track you want to target.  The Match Frame command will give priority to your selection, and match to that track's original source.

Although most Final Cut users are familiar with the "Video Filters" that they can apply to their clips, fewer are comfortable working with the keyframes used to animate those filters over time.  For example, what if you wanted a clip to fade from color to black and white -- or to gradually blur (or unblur)?  Normally, you would either use keyframes or a duplicate copy of your source clip.  You can accomplish the same thing, though, with less mess by using familiar through edits and transitions.

A friend of mine asked me the best way to get his Final Cut sequence on a DVD - and I was surprised to see that we didn't have a GeniusDV tutorial for that!  So here goes:

The textbook "easiest way," of course, is to export your sequence as a Quicktime movie, then drag the Quicktime movie into iDVD.  But that process degrades the quality of your video -- and it wastes the excellent tools that come with Final Cut Studio.

The "right way" doesn't take much more effort -- read on for a step-by-step!