LAFCPUG: Editing FAQs

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==Where's my audio scrubbing?==
==Where's my audio scrubbing?==
   
   
-
 
'''Where's my audio scrubbing gone?'''  
'''Where's my audio scrubbing gone?'''  
Line 121: Line 120:
You accidentaly turned it off yourself. <br>
You accidentaly turned it off yourself. <br>
SHIFT S toggles scrubbing on / off
SHIFT S toggles scrubbing on / off
 +
 +
==Nudging clips on the timeline==
 +
 +
'''Is there a keyboard shortcut to nudge a selection in the timeline forward or backward?'''
 +
 +
Yes, several.
 +
 +
'''From Jude Cotter'''
 +
 +
Just select the clip or group of clips and then type the number of frames you want to move them, prefixed either by a plus to move forwards, or a minus to move backwards. So, +5 will nudge forward 5 frames, and -15 will nudge back 15 frames.
 +
 +
The later versions of FCP don't let you move groups of clips that include transitions, so if you have transitions on any of the selected clips, remove them first, then reapply after the move.
 +
 +
'''From Derek Mok'''
 +
 +
Aside from numbers, you can also select the clip(s), hold down OPTION and press Left and Right Arrow keys to move any number of clips forward or backward by one-frame increments. Very useful for syncing purposes.
 +
 +
'''From Jullemai'''
 +
 +
Select a clip and use [ or ] to nudge 1 frame at a time, or go to User Preferences > Editing tab > Multi-frame Trim Size and insert the number of frames you want to increment by. You can then use shift [ and shift ] to move by the specified number of frames.
 +
 +
'''From Loren Miller'''
 +
 +
You can move whole groups of clips, indeed whole tracks, with your specified Preferences X value with Option-Shift Left/Right Arrows-- and certainly in V 5.1.1 this includes groups tied with transitions.
 +
 +
'''From Martin Baker'''
 +
 +
You can move clips with transitions in certain circumstances:
 +
 +
*If you are moving two or more clips which have transitions directly between them.
 +
*If the transition is at the start of a clip (gap on left) and the alignment is set to "Start on Edit"
 +
*If the transition is at the end of a clip (gap on right) and the alignment is set to "End on Edit"
 +
 +
Other combinations won't work and produce an error beep when you try to nudge the clip(s).
 +
 +
'''From Andy Neil'''
 +
 +
Make sure to select the clip(s) with a single click.
 +
 +
Double-clicking will load the clip into the viewer and make the viewer active. The timeline has to be active for the nudge shortcut to work.
 +
 +
In addition to Option left or right arrow, you can simply hit comma (nudge back one frame), or period (nudge forward one frame). And on all these shortcuts, holding the shift button down as well nudges +/- 5 frames.
 +
 +
==Why are my still picts green?==
 +
 +
'''Why are my still picts green when I drop them in the timeline and view in the canvas?'''
 +
 +
Most likely answer:
 +
 +
It's possible your picts are in CYMK mode. You need to convert your pictures to RGB mode.
 +
 +
==How do I insert or overwrite a sequence into timeline?==
 +
 +
'''How do i insert or overwrite a sequence into timeline?'''
 +
 +
'''From Loren Miller:'''
 +
 +
The Command-F9 and Command-F10 keys work when a sequence is loaded into your Viewer. There you can mark a portion or all of it, and then invoke the commands to insert or overwrite into your timeline at the Playhead position or a marked In point, as though it were a single clip.
 +
 +
If you leave a source sequence unmarked, take care to posititon the Playhead at the beginning of the Viewer scrubline, or it may be interpreted as an In point.
 +
 +
==When to use nesting and how to use it==
 +
 +
'''Nesting: why, when, where, how?'''
 +
 +
'''From Loren Miller:'''
 +
 +
Nesting is a powerful tool for grouping related clips and/or audio tracks into a sequence container, holding a completely cut sequence ready to be added to a master sequence. Also valuable for episode opens, standardized title crawls, or any repeating content. A nest sequence can be also stored in the Browser and reused time and again.
 +
 +
'''Used for:''' <br>
 +
Containing cut sequences; containing elaborate mutli-track effect sections, applying global
 +
effects like a letterbox or shape mask, a Timecode Reader burn-in, color adjust to a cut sequence.
 +
 +
Not used for: <br>
 +
Direct editing. Always step inside the nest to edit contents.
 +
 +
'''How to nest:''' <br>
 +
*1) Select entire timeline contents, video, and/or audio tracks.
 +
*2) Select Nest Items from the Sequence menu, or just press Option-C.
 +
 +
OR
 +
 +
*1) Select sequence portion with IN-OUT marks, allowing handles for overlap.
 +
*2) Press Option-C.
 +
 +
A nest container sequence of one video track and a stereo pair is created. <br>
 +
The audio is mixed down to each channel based upon your project settings.
 +
 +
'''TRIM, DON'T BLADE'''<br>
 +
As long as handles exist at either end, trimming of a nest is allowed. But it is strongly recommended you don't blade or slice into a nest clip-- this duplicates the contents into additional identical containers and if done repeatedly on complex nests may invite "Out of Memory" alerts, (the so-called SAS-- "Sorcerer's Apprentice Syndrome") and other funky behavior.
 +
 +
Step *into* a nest to edit or trim internal contents. Step out and refresh a nest to ripple its length. (Kevin Monahan's tip: lower and raise the nest opacity line to refresh the nest after adjusting contents.)
 +
 +
To transition to or from a nest segment to a normal clip: <br>
 +
Just be certain overlap handles exist before you create the nest. <br>
 +
Reliable dissolves can also be made by fading the nest opacity line in or out.
 +
 +
Also read these articles and useful tips:
 +
 +
[http://www.lafcpug.org/tutorials/basic_nest.html Line your own nest: Basics of Nesting in Final Cut Pro]
 +
 +
[http://www.rippletraining.com/free_tutorials_oldies_but_goodies.html Nesting (QT movie)]
 +
 +
[http://www.geniusdv.com/weblog/archives/nesting_sequences_in_final_cut_pro_5.php Nesting sequences in FCP 5]
 +
 +
==How do I color correct my clips?==
 +
 +
'''How do I color correct my clips?'''
 +
 +
'''From Nick Meyers'''
 +
 +
Nick's short course on colour corecting:
 +
 +
It's easy. Just like your hi-fi amp at home has bass and treble knobs, for adjusting different parts on the sound, the FCP colour corrector has Controls for BLACKS, MIDS, and HIGHS.
 +
 +
If the colour is WAY off, use the eye droppers next to each colour wheel to "normalize": the blacks, grays, and whites.<br>
 +
I find I might only use the eyedropper on the blacks, then save the other colours for later, unless they are way off. <br>
 +
 +
In general, though DON'T mess with the colours first. Adjust the levels first; that's the sliders under the colour wheels. <br>
 +
I do blacks first. <br>
 +
I like a good dynamic range to the levels, with the blacks black and the whites bright. But that's just me, and that's just a look I like. <br>
 +
Pull the slider one way, then another. <br>
 +
See how it affects the DARK areas of the shot, just like the Bass knob on your amp affects the LOW tones in the music. <br>
 +
I then do the whites and mids, or sometimes the mids and whites. <br>
 +
I have the range check on in the canvas so I can see if I need to pull the whites down a bit (red zebra and exclamation point in canvas) <br>
 +
 +
Play with these levels, and see what effect they have.
 +
 +
Once I'm happy with the levels, and the dynamic range of the brightness/contrast I attack the colours. <br>
 +
Again VERY SIMPLE. <br>
 +
I generaly start with the mids (especialy if I eye-dropered the blacks) <br>
 +
Look at the colours. You want more RED, drag the button in the middle of the wheel towards RED. <br>
 +
If you want Less RED drag it away from RED. <br>
 +
See, simple. <br>
 +
 +
(Tip: hold down the Apple or Command key when dragging these buttons, otherwise they will move tooooo slooooow) <br>
 +
See the little line in the orange area of the wheel? <br>
 +
Thats a good place to aim for to warm up skin tones, especially with DV footage. <br>
 +
 +
Look at the blacks.. can you see a bit of blue (for instance) in there? Find the similar blue tone in the black's wheel and pull the button away from it. <br>
 +
 +
Also see: <br>
 +
 +
[http://www.lafcpug.org/basic_color_balancing.html Color Balancing using Match Hue]
 +
 +
[http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/match_hue_fcp_5_balis.html Using Match Hue in FCP 5]
 +
 +
[http://www.lafcpug.org/store_tutorials.html#anchor12201575 Color Correction in FCP Training DVD]
 +
 +
==How do I apply multiple transitions to a track?==
 +
 +
'''From Loren Miller'''
 +
 +
I've borrowed and enhanced this from my 2003 article "The ChangeOver Challenge- From Avid to Final Cut pro" posted in Features here at LAFCPUG.
 +
 +
'''Background''':
 +
 +
In Avid, while Edit mode is active, you can intuitively Shift-select the multiple edit points you wish to dissolve, and then double-click the desired Transition icon in the Effect Editor, or for plain dissolves call up the Quick Dissolve function dialog, to broadcast the effect. I always liked the ability and missed it in FCP. Then someone clued me in (I think Ralph Fairweather), and I share it:
 +
 +
'''Solution:'''
 +
 +
In FCP you first set your desired default transition and duration. You'll kow you've set it when you create say, a dissolve of 15 frames, drag it to you Effects bin, select it, open the contexural menu and choose "Make Default Transition". It'll become underlined.
 +
 +
Activate the Target Track switch for the track you want to effect, because you're essentially performing an overwrite edit. Please note: this technique doesn't work over gaps. All clips must be contiguous. You cannot yet selectively highlight edit points.
 +
 +
Park the Playhead at the head of the group of clips to be dissolved or otherwise effected. Press GG to drag over and highlight the group of clips desired. Press Option while dragging to isolate your selection to only video in the case of linked selections. Then physically drag your highlighted group to the Overwrite with Transition action box which appears in the Canvas when you arrive there. Release the mouse button over that box.
 +
 +
This redeposits the same group right back in the timeline track (assuming you've properly targeted it) with the default transition attached!
 +
 +
If you try this byselecting clips in a gapped track the overwrite will fill them in thinking they're contiguous clips. So don;t include gaps in this technique.
 +
 +
It does have its "Think Different" kind of logic. The keyboard command for this action won't work; you cannot highlight the desired clips and go Shift-F10. Doesn't work. Yet.

Revision as of 04:18, 11 June 2008

Contents

Video plays in Viewer but stutters in Canvas

Q. My picture is freezing all the time. Video plays OK on the Viewer, but when I try to play it in the canvas or on my external monitor, I only get sound and a frozen picture, or very jagged movement.

Most likely answer
From Jude Cotter
A. It's likely that you have zoomed in on your canvas or viewer. To fix this, go to the small button at the top middle of your canvas and viewer that has a percentage number in it. Click on this to change it to 'fit to view' or smaller.

Other things that it could be:

  • Check that your View > External Video setting is set to 'All Frames' if you are using an external monitor.
  • Sometimes using View > Refresh A/V Devices can also help.
  • If you are using an external drive, ensure that it is connected via Firewire, not USB.
  • If these things don't help, try quitting and restarting FCP.

F9, F10, F11 keys don't work

When I try to insert or overlay or replace footage with F9 or F10 or F11 all my windows go wonky. What's going on?

Most likley answer :

From Jude Cotter
You have your system set to activate 'Expose' when you use these keys. To change this, go to your System Preferences (The grey 'switch' with an apple on it in the Dock) and select 'Dashboard and Expose'. Then find the functions that are being operated by the F keys and change them to something more suitable for you, or turn them off.

Why is my canvas white?

Q. Why is my canvas white?

Most likely answer;
From Jude Cotter
You may have your channels set to ‘Alpha’. To return to normal, select View > Channels > RGB.
SHIFT W toggles between "Alpha", "Alpha & RGB" and "RGB" modes. You may have hit this key combo by accident.

Why is my canvas red?

Q. Why is my canvas red?

From Jude Cotter
You may have your channels set to ‘Alpha and RGB’. To return to normal, select View > Channels > RGB. SHIFT W toggles between "Alpha", "Alpha & RGB" and "RGB" modes. You may have hit this key combo by accident.

What's that green checkmark/yellow triangle?

Q. What's with the green checkmark and/or the yellow triangle in the canvas?

Most likely answer :
From Jude Cotttr""
These are Luma and Chroma range check alerts. They tell you if the colour and brightness levels of your video are ‘safe’ for broadcast. You may also notice red or green ‘zebra’ stripes on your picture. These are the areas that are close to unsafe, or are in the unsafe region.

If you don’t work as a professional, your work is not broadcast, or you just plain don’t want to see them, you can turn them off by selecting View > Range Check > Off.

Why do I have to render?

Q. Why is it that when I play my footage in the viewer it plays fine but when I drag it to the timeline it has to be rendered to play back?

Most likely answer:
From Jude Cotter
If your sequence settings do not match your clip settings, you will have to render every clip in the timeline. This can be useful if you want to make several different kinds of clips into a single type, but not so useful if all you want to do is edit a single format.

To make the nasty render bar go away, create a new sequence and match the sequence settings to your clip settings before dragging your clips to the timeline.

So, if your clips are DV PAL (PAL CCIR 601), 25 fps, with audio at 48.0 khz, you need to make sure that your sequence settings are too.

Also read this article:

Understanding Real-Time And Rendering in FCP 4

Despite the version number in the title it is still relevant to FCP 5 and beyond

Scaling stills causes strobing

Q. Why are the lines all strobey when I scale the pictures in FCP?


From Loren Miller
Most likely answer:
You have a lot of fine detail or closely spaced halftone dots in your photo, which are colliding with scanlines which make up the video field.

Symptoms:
You'll see this clearly on an NTSC or PAL interlaced video monitor, especially on zooms. You get line twitter, shimmering dots and vibrating moire effects. These all represent photo details less than 1 scanline wide.

Solution:
The common cure is to add Gaussian Blur, either in Photoshop before the import, or as a filter in FCP, with less than 1 pixel Blur setting. Experiment using a real TV monitor, not your computer screen.

By blurring, you spread the trouble areas big enough to be handled by more than one scanline. Appearance after blur may actually improve!

This also works for crawl titling.

Also read this article on prepping photos for FCP

Sizing and Scanning Photographs in PS for import into FCP

No image in Canvas

Why can't I see an image in the Canvas or Viewer, even though I can hear audio?

Most Likely answer:
From Nick Meyers
You've accidentally changed the view mode of the viewer or canvas. Look under the viewer or Canvas "View Menu". That's a pull down menu at the top of the viewer or Canvas, just right of centre. The icon looks like a little view finder. Under there are all sorts of options for the display of the viewer and canvas, including: Image

  • Image & Wireframe
  • Wireframe

There's a good chance you've switched over to "Wireframe".

It's easy to do: the W key toggles between these 3 modes.

From Jude Cotter

Also, if you did have the view mode of the viewer set to 'Image and Wireframe', it's possible that you've accidentally dragged the picture 'offscreen' when trying to drag the clip to the timeline. To fix this, load the clip into the viewer, select the 'Motion' tab at the top of the viewer, and then click all the small red crosses to reset any motion changes.

Where's my audio scrubbing?

Where's my audio scrubbing gone?

Most likely answer:
From Nick Meyers

You accidentaly turned it off yourself.
SHIFT S toggles scrubbing on / off

Nudging clips on the timeline

Is there a keyboard shortcut to nudge a selection in the timeline forward or backward?

Yes, several.

From Jude Cotter

Just select the clip or group of clips and then type the number of frames you want to move them, prefixed either by a plus to move forwards, or a minus to move backwards. So, +5 will nudge forward 5 frames, and -15 will nudge back 15 frames.

The later versions of FCP don't let you move groups of clips that include transitions, so if you have transitions on any of the selected clips, remove them first, then reapply after the move.

From Derek Mok

Aside from numbers, you can also select the clip(s), hold down OPTION and press Left and Right Arrow keys to move any number of clips forward or backward by one-frame increments. Very useful for syncing purposes.

From Jullemai

Select a clip and use [ or ] to nudge 1 frame at a time, or go to User Preferences > Editing tab > Multi-frame Trim Size and insert the number of frames you want to increment by. You can then use shift [ and shift ] to move by the specified number of frames.

From Loren Miller

You can move whole groups of clips, indeed whole tracks, with your specified Preferences X value with Option-Shift Left/Right Arrows-- and certainly in V 5.1.1 this includes groups tied with transitions.

From Martin Baker

You can move clips with transitions in certain circumstances:

  • If you are moving two or more clips which have transitions directly between them.
  • If the transition is at the start of a clip (gap on left) and the alignment is set to "Start on Edit"
  • If the transition is at the end of a clip (gap on right) and the alignment is set to "End on Edit"

Other combinations won't work and produce an error beep when you try to nudge the clip(s).

From Andy Neil

Make sure to select the clip(s) with a single click.

Double-clicking will load the clip into the viewer and make the viewer active. The timeline has to be active for the nudge shortcut to work.

In addition to Option left or right arrow, you can simply hit comma (nudge back one frame), or period (nudge forward one frame). And on all these shortcuts, holding the shift button down as well nudges +/- 5 frames.

Why are my still picts green?

Why are my still picts green when I drop them in the timeline and view in the canvas?

Most likely answer:

It's possible your picts are in CYMK mode. You need to convert your pictures to RGB mode.

How do I insert or overwrite a sequence into timeline?

How do i insert or overwrite a sequence into timeline?

From Loren Miller:

The Command-F9 and Command-F10 keys work when a sequence is loaded into your Viewer. There you can mark a portion or all of it, and then invoke the commands to insert or overwrite into your timeline at the Playhead position or a marked In point, as though it were a single clip.

If you leave a source sequence unmarked, take care to posititon the Playhead at the beginning of the Viewer scrubline, or it may be interpreted as an In point.

When to use nesting and how to use it

Nesting: why, when, where, how?

From Loren Miller:

Nesting is a powerful tool for grouping related clips and/or audio tracks into a sequence container, holding a completely cut sequence ready to be added to a master sequence. Also valuable for episode opens, standardized title crawls, or any repeating content. A nest sequence can be also stored in the Browser and reused time and again.

Used for:
Containing cut sequences; containing elaborate mutli-track effect sections, applying global effects like a letterbox or shape mask, a Timecode Reader burn-in, color adjust to a cut sequence.

Not used for:
Direct editing. Always step inside the nest to edit contents.

How to nest:

  • 1) Select entire timeline contents, video, and/or audio tracks.
  • 2) Select Nest Items from the Sequence menu, or just press Option-C.

OR

  • 1) Select sequence portion with IN-OUT marks, allowing handles for overlap.
  • 2) Press Option-C.

A nest container sequence of one video track and a stereo pair is created.
The audio is mixed down to each channel based upon your project settings.

TRIM, DON'T BLADE
As long as handles exist at either end, trimming of a nest is allowed. But it is strongly recommended you don't blade or slice into a nest clip-- this duplicates the contents into additional identical containers and if done repeatedly on complex nests may invite "Out of Memory" alerts, (the so-called SAS-- "Sorcerer's Apprentice Syndrome") and other funky behavior.

Step *into* a nest to edit or trim internal contents. Step out and refresh a nest to ripple its length. (Kevin Monahan's tip: lower and raise the nest opacity line to refresh the nest after adjusting contents.)

To transition to or from a nest segment to a normal clip:
Just be certain overlap handles exist before you create the nest.
Reliable dissolves can also be made by fading the nest opacity line in or out.

Also read these articles and useful tips:

Line your own nest: Basics of Nesting in Final Cut Pro

Nesting (QT movie)

Nesting sequences in FCP 5

How do I color correct my clips?

How do I color correct my clips?

From Nick Meyers

Nick's short course on colour corecting:

It's easy. Just like your hi-fi amp at home has bass and treble knobs, for adjusting different parts on the sound, the FCP colour corrector has Controls for BLACKS, MIDS, and HIGHS.

If the colour is WAY off, use the eye droppers next to each colour wheel to "normalize": the blacks, grays, and whites.
I find I might only use the eyedropper on the blacks, then save the other colours for later, unless they are way off.

In general, though DON'T mess with the colours first. Adjust the levels first; that's the sliders under the colour wheels.
I do blacks first.
I like a good dynamic range to the levels, with the blacks black and the whites bright. But that's just me, and that's just a look I like.
Pull the slider one way, then another.
See how it affects the DARK areas of the shot, just like the Bass knob on your amp affects the LOW tones in the music.
I then do the whites and mids, or sometimes the mids and whites.
I have the range check on in the canvas so I can see if I need to pull the whites down a bit (red zebra and exclamation point in canvas)

Play with these levels, and see what effect they have.

Once I'm happy with the levels, and the dynamic range of the brightness/contrast I attack the colours.
Again VERY SIMPLE.
I generaly start with the mids (especialy if I eye-dropered the blacks)
Look at the colours. You want more RED, drag the button in the middle of the wheel towards RED.
If you want Less RED drag it away from RED.
See, simple.

(Tip: hold down the Apple or Command key when dragging these buttons, otherwise they will move tooooo slooooow)
See the little line in the orange area of the wheel?
Thats a good place to aim for to warm up skin tones, especially with DV footage.

Look at the blacks.. can you see a bit of blue (for instance) in there? Find the similar blue tone in the black's wheel and pull the button away from it.

Also see:

Color Balancing using Match Hue

Using Match Hue in FCP 5

Color Correction in FCP Training DVD

How do I apply multiple transitions to a track?

From Loren Miller

I've borrowed and enhanced this from my 2003 article "The ChangeOver Challenge- From Avid to Final Cut pro" posted in Features here at LAFCPUG.

Background:

In Avid, while Edit mode is active, you can intuitively Shift-select the multiple edit points you wish to dissolve, and then double-click the desired Transition icon in the Effect Editor, or for plain dissolves call up the Quick Dissolve function dialog, to broadcast the effect. I always liked the ability and missed it in FCP. Then someone clued me in (I think Ralph Fairweather), and I share it:

Solution:

In FCP you first set your desired default transition and duration. You'll kow you've set it when you create say, a dissolve of 15 frames, drag it to you Effects bin, select it, open the contexural menu and choose "Make Default Transition". It'll become underlined.

Activate the Target Track switch for the track you want to effect, because you're essentially performing an overwrite edit. Please note: this technique doesn't work over gaps. All clips must be contiguous. You cannot yet selectively highlight edit points.

Park the Playhead at the head of the group of clips to be dissolved or otherwise effected. Press GG to drag over and highlight the group of clips desired. Press Option while dragging to isolate your selection to only video in the case of linked selections. Then physically drag your highlighted group to the Overwrite with Transition action box which appears in the Canvas when you arrive there. Release the mouse button over that box.

This redeposits the same group right back in the timeline track (assuming you've properly targeted it) with the default transition attached!

If you try this byselecting clips in a gapped track the overwrite will fill them in thinking they're contiguous clips. So don;t include gaps in this technique.

It does have its "Think Different" kind of logic. The keyboard command for this action won't work; you cannot highlight the desired clips and go Shift-F10. Doesn't work. Yet.

Retrieved from "http://lafcpug.org/faqwiki/index.php?title=LAFCPUG:_Editing_FAQs"
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