Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Final Cut Express HD for Mac OS X نسخه متنی

Touring Your Desktop Post-Production Facility

Four program windows form the heart of the Final Cut Express interface: the

Browser, the

Viewer, the

Canvas, and the

Timeline (Figure 1.1 ).

Figure 1.1. The four main program windows in Final Cut Express.

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Because the program combines so many editing and effects-creation capabilities in a single application, each of these windows performs multiple functions. Final Cut Express''s elegant use of tabbed windows to stack multiple functions in a single window makes maximum use of your screen real estate.

A small, floating Tool palette contains tools you can use to make selections, navigate, and perform edits in the Timeline and the Canvas.

Useful features

Creating Custom Screen Layouts" in Chapter 3.

Menus, shortcuts, and controls

Final Cut Express offers several methods for performing video editing tasks. Some people work fastest using keyboard shortcuts; others prefer to use the menu bar or shortcut menus as much as possible. Apart from the menu bar and window buttons, you can use several other means to access Final Cut Express''s functions; experiment to find out which control methods work best for you:

• Shortcut menus: Shortcut menus can speed your work and help you learn Final Cut Express. Control-click an item in one of the four main interface windows and select from a list of common functions specific to that item (Figure 1.5 ). Control-click often as you learn your way around the program just to see your options in a particular area of the FCE interface.

  
  

  Figure 1.5. Control-clicking a sequence clip in the Timeline calls up a shortcut menu with a list of functions related to that clip.

  
  

• Keyboard shortcuts: You''ll find a complete list of keyboard shortcuts in Appendix B. You may find that these shortcut keys help you work more efficiently.

• Timecode entry shortcuts: Final Cut Express provides a number of timesaving shortcuts for timecode entry. See "FCE Protocol: Entering Timecode Numbers" in Chapter 8.

Customizable interface

FCE''s flexible interface can be custom-tailored to suit your needs. You can create and save custom screen layout configurations to facilitate different editing and effects-creation tasks. Personalize and save anything from a single custom shortcut button to an entire screen layout for a multi-monitor setup.

See "Customizing Final Cut Express" in Chapter 3.

Onscreen help

Onscreen help for FCE is a 980-page PDF file,

Final Cut Express Help . The PDF has a couple of advantages over the printed manual. The PDF index entries are hyperlinked; you can jump to a listing by clicking its page number. The PDF is also illustrated in full color.

To access onscreen help:

Tip

The Documentation folder on the Final Cut Express HD application disk contains additional reference materials that will help you master the program: a quick reference guide to keyboard shortcuts and interface parts, a FAQ, and a PDF version of the printed FCE manual.