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

Lisa Brenneis

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  • Navigating in the Timeline

    Appendix B. Before you flip to the back of the book, though, consider the alternatives in this section. You keyboard diehards might find something here you actually like.

    Tip

    • You can use the playhead's locator line to help identify the exact timecode location of an item way down at the bottom of the Timeline window. Set the playhead's locator line on the point you want to identify, and the Current Timecode display will give you its exact timecode location.

    Positioning the playhead in a sequence

    The playhead in the Timeline can be positioned by the same methods as those used for the Canvas and the Viewer playheads.

    The playhead sits on the Timeline ruler and has a vertical locator line that extends down through the Timeline track display.

    To scrub through a sequence in the Timeline:

    • Drag the playhead along the Timeline ruler.

    To jump the playhead to a new location:

    • Click the location on the Timeline ruler to move the playhead to that location (Figure 10.41 ).

      Figure 10.41. Click a point in the Timeline ruler to jump the playhead to that location.

    To jump the playhead from edit to edit:

    Do one of the following:

      Figure 10.42 ).

      Figure 10.42. An L-shaped icon in the lower left of the Canvas indicates the first frame of a clip after an edit point.

      Navigating with timecode in the Timeline

      FCE Protocol: Entering Timecode Numbers" in Chapter 8 for protocol and entry shortcuts).

      To navigate using timecode values:

      1.

      Start in the Timeline. Make sure all clips are deselected, or you'll move the selected clip and not the playhead.

      2.

      Enter a new timecode number, or use the shorthand methods noted in Chapter 8. You don't need to click in the field to begin entering a new timecode; just type the numbers (Figure 10.43 ).

      Figure 10.43. Type +4.00 to move the playhead 4 seconds later in the sequence.

      3.

      Press Enter.

      The playhead moves to the new timecode value, and the new timecode position appears in the Current Timecode field at the upper left of the Timeline (Figure 10.44 ).

      Figure 10.44. The playhead is repositioned 4 seconds later in the sequence.

      Tip

      • Deselecting everything in the Timeline can be trickyunless you know the keyboard shortcut. Press Shift-Command-A and you're completely deselected.

      About snapping in the Timeline

      Snapping is an interface state that makes certain points in the Timeline "sticky." With snapping turned on, the edges of clips will snap together, or a clip will snap to an edit point on an adjacent track when dragged close to it. The playhead snaps to edits, clip and sequence markers, and keyframes (if displayed) on all visible tracks. If you drag the playhead across the Timeline ruler, it snaps to items in the Timeline when it encounters them. Small triangles flanking the playhead locator line appear above or below the edit, marker, or keyframe, showing you what the playhead has snapped to (Figure 10.45 ).

      Figure 10.45. The Timeline with snapping turned on. The playhead's locator line displays small triangles to show that it has snapped to an edit.

      To turn snapping on or off:

      Do one of the following:

        Figure 10.46 ).

        Figure 10.46. You can activate Timeline snapping by clicking the Snapping control on the right side of the Timeline. The control turns green when snapping is enabled.

    • To toggle snapping on or off on the fly:

    • Press N; then drag the playhead, or your selected clip, to the new location (Figure 10.47 ).

      Figure 10.47. Snapping a clip to an edit point. You can toggle Timeline snapping even in mid-edit by pressing N at any time.

      Snapping remains in the toggled state until you press the N key again. Snapping can be toggled at any time, even in mid-edit.

    Tip

    • Use the "gear-down dragging" option to make precision adjustments to clips, levels, or edits in the Timelinehold down the Command key while dragging an item.

    Using markers in the Timeline and the Canvas

    Final Cut Express has two types of markers (Figure 10.48 ):

    • Sequence markers appear on the Timeline ruler.

    • Clip markers appear on individual clips in the Timeline.

      Figure 10.48. Sequence markers appear on the Timeline's ruler; sequence marker data is stored with the sequence. Clip markers appear on individual clips, and clip marker information is stored with the clip.

    If you open a Timeline clip in the Viewer, the clip markers appear in the Viewer Scrubber bar.

    You can learn more about working with markers in Chapter 8, "Working with Clips in the Viewer."

    To set a sequence marker:

    1.

    In the Timeline, position the playhead at the point where you want to set the marker. Make sure no clips are selected at the playhead's location.

    2.

    Press M.

    A sequence marker appears in the Canvas scrubber and on the Timeline ruler. Press M a second time to open the Edit Marker dialog box.

    Tips

    • You can set a sequence marker only if no clips are selected at the playhead position in the Timeline. With a selected Timeline clip under the playhead, your marker will be set as a clip marker on that clip.

    • You can delete sequence markers only if no clips are selected in the Timeline.

    • Any two adjacent sequence markers can be used to set sequence In and Out points. Just position your Timeline playhead anywhere between the two markers you want to use; then choose Mark > Mark to Markers, or press Control-A.

    To position the playhead on a specific sequence marker:

    • Control-click the Timeline ruler; then choose a marker from the list of sequence markers in the shortcut menu (Figure 10.49 ).

      Figure 10.49. Choosing a marker from the Timeline ruler's shortcut menu.

      The playhead jumps to the selected marker's position (Figure 10.50 ).

      Figure 10.50. Selecting the marker jumps the playhead to that marker's location.

    To jump the playhead to the next or the previous sequence marker:

    Do one of the following:

      To position the playhead on a specific Timeline clip marker:

      • In the Timeline, Control-click the clip; then choose a marker from the list of clip markers in the shortcut menu (Figure 10.51 ).

        Figure 10.51. Selecting a clip marker from a Timeline clip's shortcut menu jumps the playhead to that marker's location.

        The playhead jumps to the selected marker's position.

      Tip

      • Say you have a specific phrase in the middle of a narration track that you'd like to align with an action in your video track. You can place a clip marker in the audio track and a sequence marker in the video clip at a key point and then grab the audio clip by its marker and drag it to align it to your video clip marker (Figure 10.52 ). This procedure works best with snapping enabled.

        Figure 10.52. You can grab a Timeline clip by its marker and drag it to align it to another marker or to an edit point.