Editing 2: Final Cut Pro X Basics

Battle Creek Area Community Television70 West Michigan Ave., Suite 112 • Battle Creek, MI 49017 • (269) 968-3633 • www.accessvision.tv

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What is editing?Editing is the post-production process, or anything that you do to a video after recording. Raw pieces are assembled into a coherent whole, by arranging them into a context that tells a story. Editing is referred to as the “invisible art”, because when it is done well, the viewer can become so engaged that they’re not even aware of the editor’s work.

What can you do in the process of editing?The majority of editing work consists of trimming clips to remove unwanted sections and arranging the order of scenes. You can also remove/add sound, add narration and music and change the volume and sound mix. You can swap audio for video, apply special effects, add transitions between clips and add titles. Digital or “non-linear” editing is non-destructive; edits are easy to revise and you can assemble a program out of order.

What CAN’T you do in the process of editing?No amount of editing can make bad footage good. Blurry or under-/over-exposed video and audio that is poorly-recorded cannot be fixed.

Process Overview and TermsFinal Cut Pro X is Apple’s professional non-linear editor. The editing workflow usually consists of these steps:

1. Collect source material: Import media (raw footage and any other source files) into Final Cut.2. Organize media: Rename, tag and trim clips in preparation for editing into project.3. Assemble a “rough cut”: Create a new project, add clips in order and work out timing.4. Refine and finish: Continue to trim clips; add transitions, effects, titles and music; mix audio. When finished, share/export the edited project as a movie file.

Import: process of bringing raw materials into Final Cut. Video/audio files and photos show up as Clips in an Event, inside of a Library.

Library: container that holds all media, events, and projects. It is a single package in the Finder, con-taining all of the supporting files used by Final Cut Pro.

Event: similar to a folder that holds your clips after importing. You can organize clips into as many events as you need. Clips are displayed in the Event Browser.

Project (Timeline or Sequence): edited assembly of audio and video clips. The Project is a linear layout of your edited program. You’ll add clips to a Project to assemble your program.

A Library is a self-contained unit of work such as a production or job. It contains multiple Events and Projects in the same location. When you import files, raw footage appears as clips inside an Event in the Library. When you assemble your program, you’ll edit these clips in a Project, which lays out the footage in a timeline.

NOTE: The Library is the only file you’ll see in the Finder. Events, Projects and clips are only visible from within Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro requires a Library to contain at least one Event.

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Camera Archive: a backup copy of an SD card. It’s a bit-for-bit clone containing the card’s entire contents (all video clips, folders, etc.) inside a special folder/package that shows up as a single file in the Finder.

In/Out points: areas of a selection that define where a clip begins (In) and ends (Out).

B-roll: supplemental or alternative footage intercut with the main shot in an interview or documentary.

Getting Started

AccessVision has three Edit Rooms and eight portable laptop editing kits. All computers contain the same software and are interchangable; as long as you save all of your material on an external hard drive, it doesn’t matter which machine you use. Edit rooms may be reserved for a maximum of 4 hours at a time. Once you have completed your first program in an edit room, you may check out a laptop kit for 4 days.

1. Press any key on the keyboard to wake the computer up, or press the power button on laptop.2. Connect your External Drive.3. Copy the SD card as a Camera Archive onto the External Drive (when you return a camera).4. Import footage into Final Cut Pro (when you’re ready to edit).

Creating a new library

1. Connect your External Drive.

2. Launch Final Cut Pro X: hold down the option key while clicking on its icon in the Dock.

3. Select ‘New...’ from the Open Library window. Save your new Library to the External Drive, listed in the left sidebar under DEVICES.

IMPORTANT! Only save Libraries to the External Drive! If you are unsure where you are saving your files, ask for help

before proceeding. ANY WORK SAVED ON THE MAC’S INTERNAL DRIVE WILL BE TRASHED.

Creating a Camera Archive

1. Insert the SD card. Close Photos, if necessary.

2. In Final Cut Pro, click the Import button.

3. Select the SD card (named ‘CAM_SD’ or ‘NO_NAME’) in the left sidebar. In the bottom left corner, click the ‘Create Archive’ button.

4. Be sure to save the archive to your External Drive. When naming the archive, include the date when the footage was recorded.

5. Wait for the archiving process to complete, then click on the EJECT button next to the CAM_SD icon.

DO NOT PULL THE CARD OUT UNTIL IT HAS BEEN EJECTED AND HAS DISAPPEARED FROM THE SIDEBAR!

Importing clips

1. In the Media Import window, choose External Drive from the left sidebar and navigate to the Camera Archive or other folder containing clips.

2. Note the options listed on the right. You can choose to add imported clips to an existing Event, or you can have it create a new Event. All other options may be left unchecked except for ‘Close window after starting import’.

3. Shift-click or command-click to select the files to import and press Import Selected button.

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If you’re not using a Camera Archive, you can also import clips directly from an SD card or another folder on the External Drive by using the same process.

Imported clips appear in an Event in the Library in the top left corner. To double-check where a clip is located in the Finder, right-click on it and choose Reveal In Finder.

Organizing clips and preparing for edit

Displaying event data:• You can show or hide the Libraries list• You can change views to show clips as a list or as filmstrips. Use the slider to zoom in/out.

Taking time up front to prep footage will help later in the the process: • To rename a clip: click on the name once to highlight, then type a new name• To review footage: press the spacebar to play/stop playing clips. Use J, K, L to fast forward/rewind.

Add Keyword

Event

SmartCollections

Resize ClipsThe Event Browser displays the clips and projects in the selected event

Choose Filmstrip or List view

LibraryProject

Clips

IMPORTANT! If you are importing clips from a folder, note the checkbox in the import window’s right sidebar:

• If ‘Copy to library’ is checked: Imported files will be COPIED (duplicated) into the Library.

• If ‘Copy to library’ is unchecked: Final Cut Pro will LINK to the original files on your hard drive. If these original files are later trashed, moved or renamed, they may go offline!

Making selections to trim clips: • Mark an IN point by pressing I; press O to mark an OUT point. • You can also click and drag on the clip’s icon to make a selection. • Selections are indicated by a yellow box on the clip’s icon. To play only the footage included in the selection: press the / key.

Ratings: you can rate whole clips, selections or even multiple sections of the same clip: 1. To Favorite a clip: make a selection, then press F 2. To Reject a clip: make a selection, then press Delete.

Clip status display: Green = Favorite; Red = Rejected; Orange = Used in a project. To remove a clip from the Event Library, right-click on it and select Move to Trash. This moves it to the Finder’s Trash.

Basic Editing: Assembling The Timeline

Create a New Project (timeline): Go to the File menu > New Project or right-click on the Library and select New Project. Name it and select which event to save it in.

Final Cut Pro’s timeline uses Lanes instead of tracks. The main lane of video is called the Primary Storyline.

There are four ways to add clips to the timeline.

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Append Edit: (keyboard shortcut: E) Always puts the clip at the end of the timeline. Useful for adding clips one after another, without having to worry if the playhead is in the right spot.

Insert Edit: (W) It puts the clip wherever the playhead is:• If it is between two clips, the new clip is inserted between them.• If it is in the middle of a clip, the clip will be split and the new clip inserted at the split.

Connect Edit: (Q) Used to add cutaway shots, titles, music and sound effects. Connected video clips are placed above the primary storyline, and connected sound clips are usually placed below it.

Overwrite Edit: (Shift-R) Used to replace a clip in the timeline with a new clip. If the source clip selection and the target clip have different durations, the subsequent clips ripple. There are also other replacement options.

To swap shots: Drag clips left/right to swap order: hover and wait for the clip to get out of the way.Adding video- or audio-only clips: Choose Video Only or Audio Only from the Edit pop-up menu in the toolbar.

TrimmingYou can continue to trim clips after adding them to the Timeline by clicking on the edge of a clip and dragging left/right to shorten/lengthen. Notice how the cursor changes to show you which side of the edit you will trim. When you trim clips in the Timeline, all of the clips following the trim ripple with it.

Skimming, Snapping and Zooming • Skimming (S): video updates as you move your mouse over it.• Audio Skimming (Shift-S): scrubs the audio while skimming• Snapping (N): makes the playhead “magnetically” stick.• To adjust the size of the timeline view: Shift-Z fits everything in the timeline to the window; command= or command- to zoom in/out.

Removing material from the primary storyline:• To remove a clip, click on it and press Delete. The clip is removed and downstream clips move in to fill the gap, which shortens the total length of the timeline.• To lift a clip and leave a gap: click it and press Shift-Delete. • You can remove just a portion of a clip by setting In and Out points (I, O) to mark parts to remove.

Connected Clips• To add B-roll or cutaways: drag & drop the clip above the primary storyline, or press Q, to create a Connected Clip. • You can also add audio tracks (like music) as connected clips, with anchor points. • Connected video clips are blue; connected audio clips are green• The topmost video clips block out any video clips below them.

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Basic Audio Editing

Importing music and sound effects:• Go to the Photos and Audio sidebar to access Final Cut Pro’s built-in sound effects. Effects are categorized by groups on the left. You can also find stock music from AccessVision’s music library in the Music section. To use a sound clip, drag it from the list into your Timeline.

• AccessVision also has a large library of music CDs to choose from. Use iTunes to play/demo songs. Tracks can then be imported to Final Cut Pro using the Finder to copy them onto your hard drive.

Monitoring levels: • Open the audio meters by clicking on the right side of the time display, at the bottom of the vewer window.• Normal sounds should peak between -6 and -12; nothing should go above 0 or it will be distorted.• See the audio waveform in timeline: anything red is over 0 (distorted). Adjusting overall levels of whole clips:• Drag volume lines on clips in timeline up/down.• Adjust the main audio (voice track) first, then adjust everything else relative to that.• Music and background sound should not distract from dialogue, but still be audible.

Adjusting portions of clips:To fade audio at the beginning or ending of a clip: 1. Hover the cursor at the edge of a clip; 2. Wait for the cursor to turn into a double-sided arrow; 3. Drag inwards to create audio ramp.

To change the volume in the middle of a clip, use Keyframes to mark the portion to change:

• Option-click on the volume line to create a keyframe; use 2 on each side to fade up/down• Drag keyframes closer/further apart to change speed of fade.

• Use Range Selection tool [R] to change range of audio without having to manually add a lot of keyframes.• To delete a keyframe, click on it and press Delete.

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Splitting audio/video edits:•To extend or shorten the audio portion of a video clip in the Timeline: Right-click on it > Expand Audio / Video. Drag to change its length, then right-click > Collapse Audio / Video when done.• To disconnect audio from a video clip: go to the Clip menu > Detach audio

Working With Effects

Transitions are used in between clips, controlling how the first image exits and how the second image enters. These are normally used to signify a change in time or place.

• The default transition is a 1:00 Dissolve. • To add a Dissolve: click on an edit point and press Command-T.• To change its duration: click transition, press Ctrl+D, and type new duration. Or, zoom in on Timeline and drag on the edge of the transition.• To delete a transition, click on it and press Delete.• You can apply a dissolve to both sides of a clip at once by selecting the whole clip and pressing Command-T. • Transitions also apply a cross-fade to attached audio.

Use the Transitions Browser to choose other transitions: • The left side contains categories, right side contains effects within those categories.• Move scrubber over transitions’ icons for a preview• Drag and drop a transition from the Browser to the Timeline• Click on the transition in the timeline, then open the Inspector to change its parameters.

Shot Handle: unused portion of clips used to create the overlap necessary for a transiton. If you don’t have enough handle, FCP X will warn you; it gives you the option of automatically trimming shots to Create Transition.

Transitions Browser

Effects Browser

IMPORTANT!

* There is no Save command; Final Cut Pro X automatically saves every move.

* If you make a mistake, go to the Edit menu > Undo (command-Z).

* See page 13 for general guidelines and tips for editing.

Video Effects• The Effects Browser lists categories on the left and effects on the right, just like the Transitions Browser.• It contains both Video and Audio effects.• Click on a clip, then hover over an effect to see how it will look in the Viewer.• To apply an effect: with a clip selected, double- click the effect to apply it. You can also drag and drop.

• To change an effect’s parameters: open the Inspector and make adjustments.• To remove an effect: in the Inspector, uncheck blue box or press Delete.• Click the blue box on/off to compare changes before/after adding the effect.

Audio effects work just like video effects:• Drag & drop or double-click to apply.• To preview an effect: select a clip and then click on the effect. Press the spacebar or / to play it.• To adjust parameters: make changes in the Audio section of the Inspector. Press Shift-? to play and hear changes live.

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Creating and adjusting titlesTitles are used to communicate information, whether to identify who is speaking, end credits, a program’s title, etc.

• Click the T button to access the Titles Browser.• The Browser has Categories on the left and Titles on the right, just like the other browsers.• To preview a title: hover your cursor over it.• Use templates or create your own from scratch or from a template.• To add a title to the Timeline as a Connected Clip: drag & drop from the Titles Browser, or press Q. Or, to add a Basic Title without using the Titles Browser, press control-T.

• In the Inspector, go to the Text section and type your text.• You can change the text’s Alignment, Size, Font, Line Spacing, Tracking, Face, Opacity, Outline, Glow, Drop Shadow, etc. • To reposition a title: simply drag on it in the Viewer screen. To ensure titles don’t get cropped off the edge for the TV frame, go to the Window menu > Viewer Display > Show Title/Action Safe Zones to display guide lines on the frame. Keep titles inside these lines.• In the Title section of the Inspector, you can change animating properties such as Build In/Build Out.

• Once you get your first title created and adjusted, simply copy/paste it in the timeline and modify the copy to easily make more titles with the same formatting.

* See the last page of this handout for guidelines and tips on creating graphics for video *

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Titles Browser

Finishing Your Program and Preparing It To Air

When you are finishing up editing, keep in mind:• Do not use copyrighted material (music, photos, etc.) if you do not have written permission to use it.• Programs may air 4 times, and you choose the air times.• Programs can be produced as a one-time “Special” or a regularly-scheduled series.• Specials can be any length, but shorter is usually better. Series can be a maximum of 90 minutes.• Programs must be submitted one week in advance of its first air date. Your program MUST contain a disclaimer: “The views and comments expressed on this program are those of the producer and not those of AccessVision, its staff and board of directors.”The disclaimer must last a minimum of 10 seconds, and must be readable. You can type this into your credits, or import the Disclaimer movie from inside the Shared Documents folder on the Desktop.

Exporting A Finished Project

1. Click on the Project (timeline) to make it active in the foreground.

2. Go to the File menu and Share your project as an mp4 file: File > Share > AV Playback

3. Click the Next... button. Give the file an appropriate name* and save it to your External Drive. You can view the sharing progress by clicking on the Background Tasks button.

4. Once the mp4 file is done exporting, drag and drop it to Media (on the Desktop of Edit Room computers) to copy it into the playback system.

PLEASE NAME YOUR FILES CORRECTLY:

* File names should contain the program’s title and episode number (only if your show is one

episode of a series. One-time specials DO NOT need an episode number).

* File names should NOT contain punctuation characters, such as . : ; /

At The End of Your Edit Session

Close Final Cut Pro and Eject your Firewire Drive so that it disappears from the Desktop by clicking the eject button next to it in the Finder window, or by dragging it to the Trash. Once the drive no longer appears on the Desktop, it is safe to unplug and return it to the Equipment Room. DO NOT UNPLUG YOUR HARD DRIVE IF IT STILL APPEARS ON THE DESKTOP!

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IMPORTANT! You have 60 days to complete a project. After that, your hard drive may be erased without notice

Dos & Don’tsBest Pract ices for Edit ing Video

DO4 Be creative - think visually!

4 Edit on paper first: log footage, transcribe interviews, write a script and follow it.

4 Start with a rough cut by getting all shots trimmed and sequenced in the right order.

4 Edit the sound track together first, then add cutaways, etc. to match the audio.

4 Begin scenes with a wide shot to establish the setting, then cut in closer.

4 Use pacing. Cut to a new shot every 3-4 seconds. Slower cutting creates a more relaxed pace; faster cutting creates more tension and excitement.

4 Cut on the action when possible.

4 Use B-roll/cutaways to cover up jump-cuts in interviews.

4 Use editing to condense time.

4 Use graphics to reinforce important facts or to cover statistical info.

4 Steal ideas from things you see on TV/movies.

DON’t4 Don’t start editing until all material has been shot.

4 Don’t try to make an epic production for your first project. Start small and work your way up.

4 Don’t bore your audience by making the video too long. Shorter is usually better.

4 Don’t be afraid to cut parts out. You do not have to use every single thing that was shot.

4 Don’t cut from a moving shot to a static one, or vice-versa.

4 Don’t linger on a shot longer than necessary.

4 Don’t overuse transitions or special effects. Edits work best when they are motivated.

4 Don’t try to use slide presentation software to create video graphics. Use the right tool for the job.

4 Don’t make graphics/titles too small or too thin.

4 Don’t strictly adhere to all of these rules. Rules are meant to be broken!

Do’s and DOH!’s of Creating Graphics for Video

Homer says...

• DON’T make lettering too small. Even though it may be readable on the computer monitor, quality is degraded when going to video tape.

• DO use contrast in lettering. Light text on a dark background or dark text on a light background will work best. Avoid using text that is similar in value/color to the background.

• DON’T use too many fonts. One or two fonts is plenty, anything more runs the risk of appearing disorganized and competing for attention. For more variety, use variations on a font: extended, condensed, bold, italics, ALL CAPS, lower case.

• DO use drop shadows and outlines to make text stand out from the background.

• DON’T place items too close to the edge of the frame. Remember to leave about 10% - 15% of empty space around the edges for the TV safe area.

• DO paraphrase or abbreviate text for the screen when appropriate. Unless you are close-captioning a program, graphical information should supplement what is being heard, not dictate it word-for-word.

• DON’T use too much color in text. Black, white or yellow is best.

• DO leave titles up on screen long enough for viewers to read. A good rule of thumb is that a title should appear for the amount of time it takes to read it out loud twice.

• DON’T use hard to read fonts. Avoid any typeface that is too thin, too fancy or too small. Bold typefaces without serifs work best.

• DO use a shape behind titles if the background is too busy. A black rectangle behind a title can help it be more readable.

• DON’T overuse capitals. TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS THE VISUAL EQUIVALENT OF YELLING AT THE VIEWER.

• DO be consistent with your design. Once you develop a “look”, use the same treatment for all graphics throughout the program. Save time by creating one graphic with the look you want, then copying that page for the rest of the graphics.

• DON’T cover someone’s face with titles. Position the title in the lower third of the screen, or in empty areas of the frame. Keep this composition in mind when shooting, to leave enough room for titles.

• DO steal design ideas from other shows you see on TV, especially news.

• DON’T use heavily-saturated colors, especially reds. Saturated colors will bleed on video.