Importing Still Images
The default format for imported still images is a clip containing 2 minutes of identical video frames, with a duration of 10 seconds between In and Out points (Figure 6.4 ). If you edit still images into a sequence, they won't be visible on your NTSC external monitor until they are rendered.
Figure 6.4. Imported still images have a default length of 2 minutes of identical video frames, with a duration of 10 seconds between In and Out points. The source media files for still-image clips don't occupy 2 minutes' worth of drive space; you generate media only for the portions you render.
Final Cut Express supports all QuickTime- compatible graphics file formats. Check the QuickTime readme file or Apple's QuickTime web site for a complete list of compatible file formats.
Tips | Final Cut Express does not import EPS files. Large images take longer to insert and longer to open in projects because FCE must scale them before displaying them. Really large images should be scaled in a graphics program prior to importing.
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FCE Protocol: File Location Is Critical
When you import a file into a Final Cut Express project, that file is not copied into the FCE project file. Importing a file places a clip in your Browser, but that clip is a reference to the current hard disk location of your imported media file at the time you import it. In Final Cut Express, any clip's link to its underlying media file is entirely location based. If you move media files to another disk location after you've used them in a project, you break their links to the clip references in your FCE projects. You can use the Reconnect Media command to restore those clip-to-media file links, but a little forethought before you import files can save you a lot of hassle later. (The Reconnect Media function is discussed in Chapter 4, "Projects, Sequences, and Clips.") Before you import a file into FCE, be sure to copy it to its permanent folder location in your project's media assets directory structure. Importing files directly from a removable media storage device (such as a Zip disk) will cause your file to be marked "Offline" in your project once you remove that disk from your system. The same principle applies to audio imported from a CD. |
Setting the default duration for stills
Still images and generators are assigned a duration at the time they're imported into Final Cut Express. You specify the default duration for still images on the Editing tab of the User Preferences window. No matter what duration you set, your Final Cut Express clip references a single still image, so you won't create large, full-length video files until you render or export your stills at their edited lengths. The default still duration is applied at the time you import the still into Final Cut Express. If you have imported a still image and want the duration to be longer, you must modify the preference setting and then re-import the still. To change the default still duration:
1. | Choose Final Cut Express > User Preferences; or press Option-Q. | 2. | On the Editing tab of the User Preferences window, enter a new default duration in the Still/Freeze Duration field (Figure 6.5 ).
Figure 6.5. On the Editing tab of the User Preferences window, type a new default duration in the Still/Freeze Duration field.
| 3. | Click OK. |
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