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

1.

Set the sequence In point by positioning the Timeline (or Canvas) playhead where you want the edit to occur (Figure 9.16 ).

2.

Drag the source clip from the Viewer to the Insert edit area in the Canvas overlay (Figure 9.17 ); or press F9.

The source clip is inserted into the sequence (Figure 9.18 ).

1.

Set the sequence In point by positioning the Timeline (or Canvas) playhead where you want the edit to occur (Figure 9.19 ).

2.

Drag the source clip from the Viewer to the Overwrite edit area in the Canvas overlay (Figure 9.20 ); or press F10.

The source clip is added to the sequence, overwriting any existing sequence material on the targeted tracks that falls between the sequence In and Out points (Figure 9.21 ).

Hate Your Edit? Do Undo

Undo is one of the great technological contributions to civilization. Especially when you're editing.

As you build your edited sequence, keep in mind that the fastest way to repair your sequence after you've done something brilliant but basically bad is to use the Undo feature. You can set your FCE user preferences to allow up to 99 Undos; 10 is the default.

Undo is particularly useful when you've just performed an unsuccessful (or accidental) Overwrite edit and replaced some clips in your sequence. Deleting the clips that wiped out part of your sequence won't restore your original footage, but if you undo (Command-Z) your Overwrite edit, your sequence footage will be restored.

So go forth and be bold. Experiment with your edit. You can always Undo.

1.

Position the Viewer playhead on the frame you want to match with a frame in the Canvas (Figure 9.22 ).

2.

Position the Canvas playhead on the frame you want to match with the one selected in the Viewer. If you want to specify the duration of the replacement clip, set sequence In and Out points (Figure 9.23 ).

3.

Drag the source clip from the Viewer to the Replace edit area in the Canvas overlay; or press F11.

Figure 9.24 shows the Timeline before the Replace edit;

Figure 9.25 shows the Timeline after the Replace edit.

• Use the Replace edit technique to replace a clip with an offset copy of itself. This is a shortcut to adjust the timing of action in a clip or to sync action to music.

What's a Backtime Edit?

Say you're filling a gap in your edited music video sequence. The In point of the clip you want to use is not critical, but you know exactly where you want this clip to endand you want the clip to fit your gap exactly. In this case, set up a backtime edit by marking the gap as your sequence In and Out points, along with the source Out point you identified in your source clip. FCE will calculate the other In point and back in your clip so it fits the gap perfectly.

1.

In the Timeline, set sequence In and Out points to define the sequence section you want to fill (Figure 9.26 ).

2.

In the Viewer, set source In and Out points to define the part of the source clip you want to speed-modify so it fits between your edit points in the sequence (Figure 9.27 ).

3.

Drag the source clip in the Viewer to the Fit to Fill edit area in the Canvas overlay; or press Shift-F11.

The source clip is speed-modified to fit between the sequence In and Out points (Figure 9.28 ).

• You've just added a clip to your sequencebut it's too short to fill the gap you're trying to fill. Here's a slick trick: Perform Fit to Fill on a clip that's already edited into your sequence by double-clicking the clip to open it in the Viewer and then dragging it to the Fit to Fill edit area. Voilà! Perfect fit.

1.

Position the Canvas playhead or set a sequence In point where you want the source clip to start (Figure 9.29 ).

2.

In the Viewer, set a source In or Out point to define the part of the source clip you want to add to the sequence (Figure 9.30 ).

3.

Drag the source clip from the Viewer to the Superimpose edit area in the Canvas overlay (Figure 9.31 ); or press F12.

The source clip is placed on a new track above the target track, starting at the sequence In point (Figure 9.32 ).

1.

Set the sequence In point by positioning the Timeline (or Canvas) playhead where you want the edit to occur (Figure 9.33 ).

2.

In the Viewer, set source In and Out points to define the part of the source clip you want to add to the sequence (Figure 9.34 ).

3.

Drag the source clip from the Viewer to either the Insert with Transition or the Overwrite with Transition edit area in the Canvas overlay (Figure 9.35 ).

The source clip is inserted in the sequence with the default transition applied at the sequence In point (Figure 9.36 ).

• You'll find a few transitions that will play in real time, but you must render most Transition edits before you can play them back. Real-time transitions appear in the Effects menu with their names in bold type.

• If you've customized a transition in your sequence that you want to reuse, you can select it in the Timeline and drag it to your Favorites folder on the Effects tab in the Browser. You can copy a Favorite transition from the folder and paste it into a sequence wherever you want it. Setting up a customized Favorite transition is easy, so it's worth doing even if you're building a fairly short sequence.

• You can delete a precisely defined section of a sequence by setting sequence In and Out points to mark the section you want to remove and then pressing Delete to lift the section or pressing Shift-Delete to ripple delete it.