Final Cut Express Editing Workshop This page intentionally left blank Final Cut Express Editing Workshop Tom Wolsky AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG • LONDON • NEW YORK • OXFORD PARIS • SAN DIEGO • SAN FRANCISCO • SINGAPORE • SYDNEY • TOKYO Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier Senior Acquisitions Editor: Paul Temme Associate Acquisitions Editor: Dennis McGonagle Publishing Services Manager: George Morrison Project Manager: Mónica González de Mendoza Assistant Editor: Chris Simpson Marketing Manager: Amanda Guest Cover Design: Alisa Andreola Cover Image: iStock Focal Press is an imprint of Elsevier 30 Corporate Drive, Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803, USA Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, UK © 2008 Tom Wolsky Published by Elsevier All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier’s Science & Technology Rights Department in Oxford, UK: phone: (ϩ44) 1865 843830, fax: (ϩ44) 1865 853333, E-mail: permissions@elsevier.com You may also complete your request online via the Elsevier homepage (http://elsevier.com), by selecting “Support & Contact” then “Copyright and Permission” and then “Obtaining Permissions.” Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, Elsevier prints its books on acid-free paper whenever possible Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wolsky, Tom Final Cut Express editing workshop / Tom Wolsky p cm Includes index ISBN 978-0-240-81077-5 (pbk : alk paper) Digital video—Editing— Data processing Motion pictures—Editing—Data Processing Final cut (Electronic resource) I Title TR899.W659673 2008 006.6Ј96—dc22 2008007677 British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-240-81077-5 For information on all Focal Press publications visit our website at www.books.elsevier.com 08 09 10 11 12 Typeset by Charon Tec Ltd (A Macmillan Company), Chennai, India www.charontec.com Printed in the United States To all my friends on the Apple Final Cut Express forum: Ian B, Martin R, Alchroma,VJK, Piero F, Michel B, and many more This page intentionally left blank Contents WHAT’S ON THE DVD? xi INTRODUCTION xiii What Is Editing? xiii Why Do I Get to Write This Book? xv Who Should Read This Book? xvi What’s on the DVD? xvi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xvii LESSON Installing Final Cut Express What You Really Need Firing Up the Application 10 Understanding the Interface 13 Summary 16 LESSON The Final Cut Express Interface 17 Loading the Lesson 17 Reconnecting the Media 18 The Browser 20 The Viewer 29 Playing Clips 33 Exploring the Canvas and Timeline .35 Summary 40 LESSON Setting Up Your Application Preferences 41 Setting Up a New Project 41 User Preferences .42 vii CONTENTS General Preferences 42 System Settings 49 Easy Setup 55 Summary .58 LESSON Getting Material into Final Cut Express 59 Capture .59 Strategies for Capturing 62 Log and Transfer 69 Importing Files 73 Importing Music 74 Summary .76 LESSON viii Cutting Up Those Shots 77 Loading the Lesson 77 Marking In and Out Points 78 DV Start/Stop Detect 79 Using Markers 81 Slicing Your Clips 84 Organizing the Clips 93 Look Before You Cut 96 Summary .97 LESSON Editing Basics: Placing Your Shots 99 Loading the Lesson 99 Working with the Clips 101 Summary 113 LESSON Editing Basics: Building Your Sequence 115 Loading the Lesson 115 Making the Sequence 115 Rearranging the Sequence 118 The Trim Tools 125 Summary 131 LESSON Adding Transitions 133 Loading the Lesson 134 Applying Transitions .134 Rendering 140 Controlling Transitions 146 CONTENTS Using Transitions .148 Summary 153 LESSON Advanced Editing: Trim Edit and Splitting Edits 155 Setting Up the Project 155 The Trim Edit Window 156 The Split Edit 160 Summary 165 LESSON 10 Advanced Editing: Using Sound 167 Setting Up the Project 167 Controlling Levels 167 Normalization 177 Finishing Up 178 Voice Over 182 Summary 185 LESSON 11 Adding Titles 187 Setting Up the Project 187 Text Generator 188 Basic Animation .197 Summary 198 LESSON 12 Boris Calligraphy and Advanced Titling 199 Setting Up the Project 199 Title 3D .199 Title Crawl .208 Nesting 209 Still Images 214 Summary 218 LESSON 13 Animating Images .219 Setting Up the Project 219 Keyframing .220 Straight Motion 222 Curved Motion 224 Other Motion Controls 227 Summary 232 ix LESSON 19 Outputting from Final Cut Express EXPORT You can access the different formats and ways of exporting from FCE from the File menu From here you can export to QuickTime Movie or Using QuickTime Conversion QuickTime Movie Let’s start with QuickTime Movie, the first of the two Export options When you export a QuickTime movie, Final Cut is listed as its creator type, so if you launch the resulting movie, it will launch FCE Because Final Cut is a QuickTime-based application, the exported movie will also play using the QuickTime Player and will work in any other QuickTime-based application on the Mac, such as iMovie or iDVD You can export a sequence as a digital file in several ways: ■ ■ ■ 312 From the active Timeline window directly from the sequence you’re working in From an active Viewer From the Browser by exporting a sequence or clip Click on the item, and go to ExportϾQuickTime Movie This brings up the dialog box in Figure 19.2 Here you can rename your sequence, and you can select whether you want to export Audio and Video or Audio Only or Video Only from the Include pop-up menu Here you also have the option to export Markers through a pop-up menu (see Figure 19.3) To export chapter markers to iDVD, select Chapter Markers from the pop-up menu The check box at the bottom of the dialog box, Make Movie Self-Contained, is an important one This check box defaults to being on, but if you uncheck it, FCE will generate a reference movie This is a relatively small file that points back to the original media source files It will play the contents of the sequence as you laid them out FIGURE 19.2 QuickTime Movie export dialog box FIGURE 19.3 Exporting Markers pop-up menu Export The reference movie will play back from the QT player, and it can also be imported into other applications such as iDVD or compression programs such as Episode The reference movie is treated just like any other QT clip inside these other applications FCE and the importing application not need to be open at the same time for this to work The advantages of making reference movies are the speed in generating the file and the comparatively small file size If anything in the FCE sequence needs to be rendered, it will still have to be rendered for the reference movie, and the audio files will also be duplicated as a mixdown of your tracks You need to have access to all of the source media included in the sequence because a reference movie only points to existing media source files on your hard drives It’s not a complete video clip in itself Be warned: If you delete any of the media needed for the reference movie, it will not play It will be a broken QuickTime file If you send it to somebody on a CD, they won’t be able to play it It will play only on a machine that has access to the media Export to QuickTime Movie is an important tool because it is the only way to export a sequence from FCE without recompressing the video All other exports, including Export Using QuickTime Conversion, will recompress the frames, producing some degradation of the video image, albeit very slight 313 TIP Anamorphic Material: iDVD still does not support the use of anamorphic material from DV, only native widescreen HDV To get around this problem, you need to use software like Anamorphicizer or the excellent myDVDedit You can also use the QuickTime Pro player or export to QuickTime Conversion and set the frame size to a 16:9 aspect like 854ϫ480 for DV With this last method you will not be able to export chapter markers however Making Chapter Markers The last thing you should to a project before exporting is set up chapter markers to use in iDVD It could not be simpler to create them TIP Export for Live Type: This function is the same as exporting to QuickTime Movie The only difference is that exporting to LiveType defaults to make a reference movie It is also preset to export all markers LESSON 19 Outputting from Final Cut Express First, you need to ensure that the marker is in the correct location It must be placed on the Timeline Ruler, not on a clip To put a marker in the Timeline, make sure nothing is selected in the sequence Use Command-Shift-A to De-select All Add the marker by pressing the M key Press it again to call up the Edit Marker dialog box (see Figure 19.4) To create the chapter marker, click the Add Chapter Marker button will appear in the Comment field Do not alter this FIGURE 19.4 Edit Marker dialog box If you want to give the chapter a name that will carry over to iDVD, enter it in the Name field That’s it! Close the dialog box, and you’re done You should bear in mind a few rules about chapter markers: ■ ■ ■ 314 ■ FIGURE 19.5 QuickTime Conversion export DVDs will accept no more than 99 chapter markers Chapter markers cannot be closer than one second from each other You can’t have a chapter marker within one second of the start or end of the sequence A chapter marker is automatically created for the beginning of the exported material It’s probably a good idea not to put in chapter markers until after you have completely, positively, and finally finished editing your show Otherwise, you may have to redo or at least reposition all your chapter markers to get them into the right place QuickTime Conversion ExportϾUsing QuickTime Conversion is the catch-all for every form of file conversion from FCE I would have liked for Still Image export to be separate, but it’s hidden in here as well (see Figure 19.5) Video Export Final Cut Express has several video export choices for QuickTime Conversion The Format pop-up allows you to choose from a variety of formats, including the following: ■ ■ ■ 3G, a format used by handheld devices such as cell phones FLC, an 8-bit format used for computer animations Apple TV, for sending to your Apple TV for television display Export ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ iPhone and iPod, for podcasting size and format for display on those devices or on the Web QuickTime Movie AVI, a PC video format DV Stream, DV audio and video encoded into a single track for use with iMovie MPEG-4, a format designed primarily for cross-platform Web compression These are the video formats You will also have other formats such as Flash and Windows Media Video if you have third-party resources such as Flash encoder, Flip4Mac, or WMV installed on your system Some of the available formats such as AVI and QuickTime allow you to use several different codecs DV Stream is used by iMovie, not by FCE Do not export to DV Stream if you’re going to a video-editing application other than iMovie In QuickTime Conversion, the User pop-up is contextual—that is, what is offered here is determined by what’s selected in the Format pop-up If you select QuickTime in the Format pop-up menu, the User popup menu offers common Internet settings (see Figure 19.6) based on QuickTime using H.264 as the codec This is a good place to start if you want to create a video to show on the Internet or put on your dotmac homepage FIGURE 19.6 QuickTime Conversion User pop-up menu NOTE Codec is a shorthand way of saying compression/decompression, defining the mathematical algorithm that’s used to compress and play back your media H.264 is a specific codec that became available in QuickTime This is now the default compressor, and an outstanding codec, used by iPod video and one that will be used for high-definition DVD creation It’s highly scalable, while preserving image quality, and excellent for Web use in particular It’s not a production format and cannot be used in video-editing applications, but it’s great for content delivery The only problem is that it requires the user to have QuickTime or later installed, which may limit its availability, particularly for PC users, who may not have the latest versions of QuickTime If you want more control, click on the Options button to bring up the Settings window (see Figure 19.7) The Video and Audio tabs give you full control over your media It takes a great deal of practice and testing to become proficient at 315 LESSON 19 Outputting from Final Cut Express FIGURE 19.8 Standard Export settings FIGURE 19.7 QuickTime Settings window compression for the Web Try various data rates, frame sizes, and frame rates, and compare them to the default Web settings that come with selecting QuickTime in the Format pop-up menu Exporting with QuickTime Conversion allows you to use a variety of different codecs for compression in addition to H.264, including the following: 316 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ Animation Cinepak DV-NTSC MPEG-4 Settings window Motion-JPEGA Photo-JPEG To export to other QuickTime codecs, use the Options button and then click on Settings to select the correct video and audio settings (see Figure 19.8) Try various data rate settings: 800 kbps will give good results Set the frame rate to 15 fps Size should be set to 320ϫ240 You should also compress the audio IMA 4:1 at 22,050 works well for most material For music you might use a music compressor such as QDesign Music and a sample rate of 44.1 K, the audio CD standard These settings will produce a fairly large file, suitable for use on high-speed connections Photo-JPEG is an excellent codec used for file-size reduction Another important codec is Animation, which has a high data rate Animation is a lossless compression codec often used to transfer material between various applications One advantage of the Animation codec is that it can carry alpha-channel information Export with the video This allows you to create a sequence in one application and bring it into FCE without loss and with its transparency information Or you could export an FCE sequence that has transparency and bring it into another application such as After Effects, keeping the transparency you created in FCE When you export with the Animation codec with an alpha channel, make sure that for Colors you select Millionsϩ The plus is the alpha channel Also make sure that your program that has transparency is not rendered, or the render file will get exported If it’s not rendered, the Animation codec will render the file with the transparency you want The Sound dialog box allows you to set an audio compression scheme as well as setting the sampling rate you want to use To create video CDs, you’ll need an application such as Roxio’s Toast that allows compression to the MPEG-1 codec This is a heavily compressed codec but a remarkable one in that it can play back off the very low output of a CD and still produce a full-screen, full-motion image To create a DVD, you need another application such as iDVD When exporting to iDVD, you should use either a self-contained or a reference QuickTime Movie, and iDVD will the compression to MPEG-2 for you To export to Flash, which is the most widely available video format on the Web, you’ll either need to get the On2 Technologies export module, software like Episode that comes with it, or have Flash installed Exporting to QuickTime Conversion allows you to add filters to your clips or sequences Most of the QuickTime filters are available directly within FCE, with one notable exception, Film Noise, which is under the Special Effects submenu (see Figure 19.9) This filter adds an oldtime film look to your video, as if it were scratched and dirty A small QT movie runs in the bottom left corner, showing how much schmutz you’ve added to the picture Here you can set amounts of Hair that appear on your video, from very low to quite furry Notice the buttons that allow you to Save and Load, letting you create favorite preferences for the filter that you can access again and again In addition to Hair, the pop-up at the top 317 FIGURE 19.9 Film Noise Hairs panel LESSON 19 Outputting from Final Cut Express will take you to another panel to set Scratches, where you can set the amount of damage on your video, and another to set Dust and Film Fading, which allows you to tint the film The sepia is quite subtle, and the 1930s’ color film is suitably garish Still Image Export Two other types of QuickTime Conversion export are often used: Image Sequence and Still Image Image sequences are useful for rotoscoping, frameby-frame painting on the video image, and other animation work, and they provide high-quality output without loss You can set any frame rate, and exporting will create one picture for every frame you specify Make sure you first create a folder in which to put your image sequence because this can easily generate a huge number of files Finally, QuickTime Conversion allows you to export still images This is how you get frames of video out to your computer for Web or print use Your stills will only be 72 dpi—probably not good enough for fine printing Scaling up the image in Photoshop to achieve higher resolution will improve your print capability The Options button for Still Image export, which uses the same dialog box as Image Sequence, includes a Frame Rate box Don’t be confused; leave the Frame Rate blank if you want only one frame 318 If you’re going to export stills for Web or print work that come from video, especially video with a lot of motion in it, you’ll probably want to deinterlace it You can this either in FCE or before you export the frame As we saw in Lesson 15, you select Video FiltersϾVideoϾDeinterlace from the Effects menu Or you can deinterlace in Photoshop as well It’s in the Filters menu under VideoϾDeinterlace I normally it in Photoshop because I think its Deinterlace feature works better than FCE’s built-in one, which simply drops one of the fields In the Photoshop Deinterlace filter, you have an interpolation option, which works very well Audio Export FCE can export to several different audio formats, including AIFF, AU, and Wave It cannot export to MP3 If you select AIFF in the Use pop-up, you’ll get common audio file settings (see Figure 19.10) FIGURE 19.10 AIFF Export Use pop-up menu Notice that the selection does not include any of the DV sampling rates, although AIFF is the most commonly used format for audio files with Archiving Final Cut Instead of the Use pop-up, use the Options button, which is also context-sensitive and offers a wider range of options, including 32,000 and 48,000, the DV sampling rates AIFF export options also offer a large number of compressors to reduce the file size of the audio Generally, audio for video is not compressed, except for Web use or in DVD creation HD Export So you’ve shot your movie on HDV or on AVCHD, and now you want to show it on an HD display With HDV you can go back to tape and play your program back from tape, but with AVCHD, unless you also have an HDV device, you don’t have that option There are a few ways around this problem One option, if you have it, is to export to Apple TV, which will create an HD format program that you can send to your Apple TV and put it on your HD screen Another option is to burn your program onto a Blu-ray disc, but you must have a Blu-ray burner and Toast to this A third option, suggested by Dan Hawkins in the Apple FCE discussion forum, is to export an MPEG-4 file that is 1920ϫ1080 with a high data rate like 18,000 Mbps and take that to a Sony PlayStation for playback ARCHIVING Now that you’ve finished your project, you should think about archiving your material The original videotapes on which you shot the project should be your primary archive Using the Project feature that we saw in the Capture window in Lesson 4, you can recapture all the video for your project You need to store the project file This is most important because it allows you to recapture your material and rebuild your project The best way to this is to burn it onto a CD You should also put on the CD whatever graphics files you created for the project You should not this with the FCE titles, which are retained in the project file, but with any Photoshop or other images you may have used You should also save any music or separate sound you used in the project And don’t forget to save any Voice Over tracks you created Everything other than the video clips that made up your movie should be burned onto your archive CD To restore the project, copy all the material back from the CD onto your computer Open the project file, and reconnect the existing files Next, run the capture process, clicking on Project in the Capture window to bring your video material onto the computer The Capture window will prompt you for each 319 LESSON 19 Outputting from Final Cut Express tape it needs in turn When all the material is back on your computer, your project will be restored and ready to be reedited Recapturing with Capture Project only works for DV material If you’re working in HDV material you will have to manually capture and reconnect your media If you’re working in AVCHD you can re-ingest your media from your archive DVD (see the Tip on page 72) SUMMARY We’ve now gone through the whole cycle of work in Final Cut Express Version 4, including setting up your computer, working with the interface, capturing your tape raw material, either analog or digital, editing, transitions, titling, special effects, and compositing Now, finally, we have returned our finished project to tape or outputted it for everyone to see and enjoy It’s been a long road, but I hope you found it an exciting, interesting, and rewarding one Good luck with all your future video projects and with your work in Final Cut Express! 320 Index A Add Clip to Queue button, 72 Add Edit function, 121–122 Add Noise filter, 261 Add Selection to Queue button, 72 Affiliate clips, 78 Alpha, noise exercise, 286 Alpha matte, 299 Anamorphic definition, 57 iDVD incompatibility, 313 Anchor Point, image animation, 227 Animation animated text composite, 284–285 effects Brady Bunch sequence, 239–249 motion control, 233–238 project setup, 233 split screen, 238–239 highlight matte, 296–297 images Anchor Point, 227 Crop tool, 227–228 curved motion approaches, 224–225 speed changing, 225–227 Distort tool, 229–230 Drop Shadow controls, 230–231 keyframing Center, 222 Rotation, 222 Scale, 221–222 setup, 220–221 Motion Blur settings, 232 Opacity, 230 project setup, 219–220 straight motion, 222–224 text, 197–198 Title 3D, 207 video in text animation of nest, 305–306 edging, 304–305 letter separation, 302–303 nesting, 301–302 text creation, 300–301 video adding, 303–304 Apple Intermediate Codec, 4, 11–15, 56, 301 AppleTalk, preference settings, Audibility button, 38 Audio CD materials, 181–182 clip slicing, 84–86 cross fade, 163, 173 end of sequence, 179–180 exporting, 318–319 level control Timeline window, 168–174 Viewer window, 174–177 metering, 181 Mute/Solo buttons, 184 normalization, 177–178 panning, 180 project setup, 167 single-track audio, 162 split edits, 163–164 tweaking, 178–179 Voice Over Recording, 182–185 Audio Playback Quality, preferences, 44 Auto Conform Sequence, preferences, 47 Auto Render, preferences, 45 Auto Select, 38, 92 Autosave Vault, preferences, 44 AVCHD, 1, 3–4, 7, 12, 68–72, 310, 319 B Backup, media, 72 Bad TV filter, 261 Beeping in the Timeline, 53 Bevel Border, 256–257 Bezier handles, adjustment, 226 Bins Capture, 61 opening, 23–24 moving shots out of, 81 using, 93 Bitmapped text, 203–204, 221 Blade tool, 88–89 Blur, effects filters, 255–256 Boris Calligraphy, see Titles Bow tie filter, 259 Brady Bunch sequence creation extending, 243–244 headshots adding, 244–245 fade to black, 249 final headshots, 246–247 fixing, 240–241 middle headshot, 242–243 new headshots, 245–246 polishing, 248–249 titles, 247–248 opening, 239 sliding white bar, 240 321 INDEX Broadcast Safe filter, 266 Browser facade, 27 Item Properties, 28–29 List view, 24–26 overview, 13 renaming items, 21–22 views and button, 22–24 Bug compositing, 288–291 definition, 288 design, 291 Button list, 22–23, 172 C 322 Canon cameras, FireWire caveats, 10, 56 Canvas window Edit Overlay and transitions, 139–140 edit buttons, 102 overview, 13, 35–36 Capture Capture Scratch, 42, 49–50, 64, 71 command, 59–60 Log and Transfer, 69–73 strategies Capture Now, 62–65 clip capture, 65–67 project capture, 67–69 window size, 60–62 CD, importing, 181–182 Center, keyframing in image animation, 222 Channel Blur, 255 Channel Mixer, 257 Channel Offset, 257 Channel Swap, 257 Chapter markers, 312 Chroma Keyer, 272–274 Circles filter, 261 Clip Overlay button, 38, 168, 218 Clips capture, 65–67 ordering, 26 organization, 93–95 playing in viewer, 33–35 renaming, 21–23, 28, 67 slicing conforming sequences, 86–87 Range clipping, 92 sequence creation, 96–97 Timeline window, 88–91 Viewer window, 84–86 Codecs Final Cut Express, 11–12 QuickTime, 315 Color correction Broadcast Safe filter, 266 Color Corrector controls, 266–269 image control Desaturate filter, 270 Gradient Colorize, 271 Sepia filters, 271 Threshold, 271 keying Chroma Keyer, 272–274 Color Smoothing, 272 Matte Choker, 274–275 overview, 272 Spill Suppressor, 274 Limit Effect Controls, 269–270 Matte boundaries, 279 Eight-Point Garbage Matte, 275–277 Extract filter, 277 Mask Shape filter, 277–279 Widescreen filter, 279–280 overview, 265 Color Smoothing, 272 Compositing, see also Travel mattes Generators menu Render, 282 Shape, 282 Transparency, 282–283 modes animated text, 284–285 bug creation, 288–291 drop shadow exercise, 288 exercise, 283–284 Instant Sex, 285–286 Mode menu, 283 noise exercise and toning down, 286–287 Screen, 284 text, 287 project setup, 281–282 Compound Blur, 255–256 Computer, see Hardware Crop tool image animation, 227–228 travel mattes, 294 Cross fade, 163, 173 Crystallize filter, 261 Cutaway shot, bridging of edits, 96 D Day for night, travel matte, 306–307 Dazzle filter, 258 De-interlace filter, 263–264 Decibel Indicator, 175 Desaturate filter, 270 Destination tracks, 36–37, 102 DF, see Drop frame Diffuse filter, 261 Digital Cinema Desktop, 141 Display Final Cut Express requirements, 7–9 preference settings, Distort, filters, 257 Distort tool, image animation, 229–230 Drives Final Cut Express requirements, 3–4 reformatting, Drop frame (DF), 33–34 Dropped frames, causes, 103 Drop shadow compositing exercise, 288 Drop Shadow image animation controls, 230–231 text, 196–197, 205 DV converter, 56, 63 DV Start/Stop Detect, 79–81 DVD back-up, 72 camera, 59 converting from, 73 exporting to, 309 E Earthquake filter, 257 Easing, 225 Easy Setup, preferences, 55–57 Edit Heading, 29 Edit Marker, 83 Edit Overlay, transitions, 139–140 Editing, see Audio; Sequence building; Shot placement; Split edit; Transitions; Trim edit Effects filters applying, 254 availability, 252–253 Bevel Border, 256–257 blur, 255–256 Channel filters, 257 INDEX Distort effects, 257 favorites, 255 Glow filters, 258–259 Perspective filters, 259–260 project setup, 251–252 QuickTime filters, 260–261 selective filtering, 256 Stylize filters, 261–262 Tiling filters, 262 Time filters, 263 Video filters, 263–264 Effects window, 134–135 Eight-Point Garbage Matte, 275–277 Energy Saver, preference settings, 6–7 Export, see Output Exposé and Spaces, preference settings, Extend Edit, roll edit, 127 External A/V Warning, 11–13 External Editors, preferences, 53 Extract filter, matte, 277 Extrude filter, 261 F Favorites, 134, 152–153 File import approaches, 73 converting files, 73–74 File name, changing, 23 File size, management, 72 Film Noise filter, 317 Filters, see Effects filters Find Edges filter, 261 Find tools, 95 FireWire Canon cameras, 10, 56 hard drives, video output configurations, 9–10 Fit to Fill command, 110–111 Fit to Window, 32 Flicker filter, 263 Flop filter, 260 Frame size, capture considerations, 70 G Gaps, closing, 121 Gaussian Blur, 255 Generators menu Render, 282 Shape, 282 Transparency, 282–283 Glint, creation in highlight matte, 297–300 Glow, effects filters, 258–259 Gradient Colorize, 271 Gradient Wipe transition, 151–152 Graphics, see Still images H Hand tool, 28, 227 Hardware computer requirements, 1–3 drives, 3–5 memory, monitors, 7–9 optimization for Final Cut Express, 4–7 speakers, 9–10 HD, see High definition Help resources, Final Cut Express, 40 High definition (HD) capture window, 61 exporting, 319 monitoring, Highlight matte animation, 296–297 creation, 295–296 glints, 297–300 I iDVD anamorphic material incompatibility, 313 chapter marker setup, 313–314 Image animation, see Animation iMovie, niche, Importing, see Capture; File import; Music In point cut point, 89 defining in Timeline, 103 marking, 78–79, 86 removal, 71, 85 Superimpose command, 113 Insect Eye filter, 257 Insert commands, 104–108 Instant Sex, composite mode effects, 285–286 Interface, Final Cut Express lesson loading, 17–18 primary windows browser, 13, 20–29 canvas, 13, 35 overview, 13–14 timeline, 14, 35–38 viewer, 13, 29–32 reconnecting media, 18 tabbed palettes, 15–16 window arrangements, 14–15 Interlace flickering, reduction, 209 Item Properties, 28–29 iTunes Digital Rights Management, 76 file conversion, 74–75 J Jump cut, sequence arrangement, 122–123 K Kaleidoscope filter, 262 Kaleidotile filter, 262 Ken Burns effect, duplication in Final Cut Express, 233–235 Kerning, Title 3D, 202 Keyboard shortcuts, see Shortcuts Keyframe Anchor Point, 227 definition, 168 image animation Center, 222 Rotation, 222 Scale, 221–222 setup, 220–221 range changing, 171 Keying, color correction Chroma Keyer, 272–274 Color Smoothing, 272 Matte Choker, 274–275 overview, 272 Spill Suppressor, 274 L Launching, Final Cut Express, 10–11, 13 Lens Flare transition, 152 Leopard, installation, Lessons, loading animation, 219, 233 compositing, 281–282 effects filters, 251–252 media and projects folders, 17–18 sequence building, 115 shot cutting, 77–78 shot placement, 99–100 sound, 167 titles, 187, 199 transitions, 134 travel mattes, 293 trim edit, 155–156 323 INDEX Level slider, 175 Light Rays filter, 258–259 Limit Effect Controls, 269–270 Line Art filter, 261 Linked Selection button, 39, 40 List of Recent Clips, preferences, 43 LiveType, upgrading, Log and Transfer, see Capture Lower Third, 195–196 Luma matte, 299 M 324 Magic Frame, 105 Markers Edit Marker, 83 lesson, 81–84 shortcuts, 80 Marquee, zooming, 176 Mask Shape filter, 277–279 Match Frame tools, 31, 36, 111 Matte boundaries, 279 Eight-Point Garbage Matte, 275–277 Extract filter, 277 Mask Shape filter, 277–279 Widescreen filter, 279–280 Matte Choker, 274–275 Memory Final Cut Express requirements, high definition video requirements, 302 Voice Over Recording and RAM requirements, 183 Memory & Cache, preferences, 51–52 Memory card, copying, 70 Monitor, video, 7–9 Motion Blur, image animation settings, 232 Motion tab, 16, 220–231 Multi-Frame Trim Size, preferences, 46–47 Music importing, 74–76 iTunes, 74–76 Mute/Solo buttons, 184 N NDF, see Non-drop frame Nesting background, 211 color mattes, 212–213 combining, 213 overview, 209–210 reusing title blocks, 214 text, 210–211 video in text animation of nest, 305–306 edging, 304–305 letter separation, 302–303 nesting, 301–302 text creation, 300–301 video adding, 303–304 Night-scope, simulation, 278 Non-drop frame (NDF), 33–34 Normalization, audio, 177–178 O Opacity, image animation, 230 Operating system, Final Cut Express requirements, Out point cut point, 89 marking, 78–79, 86 removal, 71, 85 Output archiving, 319–320 exporting audio, 318–319 chapter marker creation, 313–314 high definition video, 319 QuickTime Conversion video export, 314–318 QuickTime movie, 312–313 still images, 318 print to video, 310–311 record to tape, 309–310 Overwrite commands, 102–103, 106–108 P Page Peel transition, 149–150 Pan and scan, motion control, 235–238 Panning, audio, 180 Paste Insert command, 120 Patch panel, 37, 102–103 Pen tools, 169, 179 Perspective, effects filters, 259–260 Photoshop, 24–25, compositing effect, 288–291 file limitations in video, 214–215 reconnection of files, 54 Picture in picture (PIP), creation, 239 PIP, see Picture in picture Playback Control, preferences, 52–53 Playhead, moving, 121 Posterize filter, 261 Postroll, presets, 66 Preferences Easy Setup, 55–57 folder, 58 General Preferences settings, 42–47 Render Control, 48–49 System Settings preferences, 49–54 system preference optimization, 6–7 Timeline Options, 47–48 User Preferences access, 42 Preroll, presets, 66 Print to Video, 310–311 Prism filter, 256 Push Slide transition, 150–151 Q QuickTime effects filters, 260–261 exporting QuickTime Conversion video export, 314–318 QuickTime Movie export, 312–313 R Range, clipping, 92, 122 Real-time Audio Mixing, preferences, 43 Reconnect, media, 18–19, 54 Record Audio Keyframes, preferences, 47, 176 Red transition, playing through, 143 Registration, Final Cut Express, 11 Remove Subclip Limits, 94, 137 Renaming, 21–22, 67 Render, Generators menu, 282 Render Control, preferences, 48–49 Rendering text, 192 transitions commands, 143–144 overview, 140–141 real-time preview, 141–142 Render Control tab, 144–145 render file management, 145–146 Replace command, 108–109 INDEX Replicate filter, 261–262 Revert Project, 45 Right-clicking, Macs, 18 Ripple Cut command, 120 Ripple tool, 126–127 Roll tool, 127 Room tone, 161 Rotation, keyframing in image animation, 222 RT pop-up, 40 S Safe Tile Area, 193 Sample rate, principles, 12 Scale, keyframing in image animation, 221–222 Scale Attributes Over Time, 171 Scratch Disk preferences, 49–50 warning, 51 Screen, composite mode, 284 Scroll wheel, mouse, 82, 192 Scrolling text see Titles:Title Crawl Scrubbing, 26–28 Search Folders, preferences, 51 Sepia filters, 271 Sequence building bookends, 117–118 edit point marking, 116 ins and outs, 117 lesson loading, 115 rearrangements Add Edit function, 121–122 jump cuts, 122–123 Paste Insert command, 120 Range clipping, 122 Ripple Cut command, 120 Shuffle Edit function, 119–120 storyboarding, 124 shot duration guidelines, 131 trim tools overview, 125–126 Ripple tool, 126–127 Roll tool, 127 shortcuts, 128 Slide tool, 129–131 Slip tool, 128–129 Sequence creation, 25 opening, 15 SequenceϾTrim edit, see Trim edit Shape, Generators menu, 282 Shortcuts audio level control, 177 Auto Select, 92 clip playing in viewer, 34–35 Exposé, importance, 36 markers, 80 menu, 29 principal window access, 37 Title 3D, 201 track locking and unlocking, 107 Trim edit window, 158 trim tools, 128 version changes, 54 Shot placement clip moving in Timeline, 101–102 Fit to Fill command, 110–111 Insert commands, 104–108 lesson loading, 99–100 Overwrite commands, 102–103, 106–108 project setup, 100 Replace command, 108–109 Superimpose command, 112–113 Shuffle Edit function, 119–120 Slide tool, 129–131 Slip tool, 128–129 Slit Scan filter, 262 Snapping button, 39, 161 Soft Focus filter, 256 Software Update, preference settings, 5, 10 Sound, see Audio; Music Speakers, recommendations, 9–10 Special effects filters, see Effects filters Speed, 111 Spill Suppressor, 274 Split edit audio transition adding, 163 lesson loading, 155–156 Timeline window, 160–163 Viewer window, 163–164 Split screen, creation, 238–239 Static Display Line, 39 Stereo, single-track audio, 162 Still/Freeze Duration, preferences, 46 Still images exporting, 318 fading, 218 importing, 215–216 Photoshop file limitations in video, 214–215 resolution, 216–217 Storyboarding, 124 Strobe filter, 263 Style controls, Title 3D, 302–303 Stylize, effects filters, 261–262 Superimpose command, 112–113 Swap edit, see Shuffle edit T Tape, recording from Final Cut Express, 309–310 Text, see Titles Threshold, color correction, 271 Tiling, effects filters, 262 Time, effects filters, 263 Timecode breaks, 64–65 overview, 33 Timeline Options, preferences, 47–48 Timeline window audio level control, 168–174 buttons, 38–40 clip slicing, 88–91 overview, 14, 36–37 patch panel, 37 scaling, 124 shot placement, see Shot placement split edits, 160–163 waveform display, 172 Titles alignment of text, 192 animated text composite, 284–285 animation, 197–198 aspect, 194 backgrounds, 190 Boris Calligraphy project setup, 199 Title Crawl controls, 208–209 launching, 208 Title 3D animation, 207 controls, 201–206 interface, 200 Type On, 207–208 wrapping, 201 Brady Bunch sequence creation, 247–248 compositing, 287 drop shadowing, 196–197, 205 flickering text, 196 font and size selection, 194 leading, 194, 198 lower third text, 195–196 325 INDEX 326 Titles (Continued) nesting background, 211 color mattes, 212–213 combining, 213 overview, 209–210 reusing title blocks, 214 text, 210–211 origin, 193 project setup, 187 rendering, 192 safe area, 193 sliders, 192 still images, see Graphics text generator controls, 188–195 launching, 188 Title Crawl, 191 tracking, 194 video in text animation of nest, 305–306 edging, 304–305 letter separation, 302–303 nesting, 301–302 text creation, 300–301 video adding, 303–304 wrapping, 192 Toggle Audio Clip Names, 172 Tools palette, 14 Track Mover tool, 39 Track tools, 170–171 Trails filter, 263 Transitions applying alignment of transitions, 138–139 Edit Overlay in Canvas, 139–140 media checking, 135–138 strategies, 135 audio transition adding in split edits, 163 favorites, 152–153 Gradient Wipe transition, 151–152 importance, 133 Lens Flare transition, 152 lesson loading, 134 modification, 146–148 Page Peel transition, 149–150 Push Slide transition, 150–151 rendering commands, 143–144 overview, 140–141 real-time preview, 141–142 Render Control tab, 144–145 render file management, 145–146 sources, 133 Transparency, Generators menu, 282–283 Travel mattes day for night effect, 306–307 highlight matte animation, 296–297 creation, 295–296 glints, 297–300 overview, 293 project setup, 293 soft-edged split screen, 294–295 video in text animation of nest, 305–306 edging, 304–305 letter separation, 302–303 nesting, 301–302 text creation, 300–301 video adding, 303–304 Trim edit lesson loading, 155–156 window dynamic trimming, 159 moving slowly, 159 opening, 156 ripple edit, 157 roll edit, 157 shortcuts, 158 Trim tools overview, 125–126 Ripple tool, 126–127 Roll tool, 127 shortcuts, 128 Slide tool, 129–131 Slip tool, 128–129 V Viewer window buttons, 30–32 clip loading, 30 clip playing, 33–35 overview, 13 render modification, 147–148 time displays, 32 top, 32 Vignette filter, 262 Visibility button, 38 Voice Over Recording Discard button, 182 DV input, 183 Input slider, 183 launching, 182 RAM requirements, 183 Record button, 182 track management, 184–185 W Waveform display, Timeline window, 172 Widescreen filter, 279–280 WindowϾArrange menu, 14–15 X XML files, management, 20 Z Zoom tool, 176 .. .Final Cut Express Editing Workshop This page intentionally left blank Final Cut Express Editing Workshop Tom Wolsky AMSTERDAM • BOSTON • HEIDELBERG... Tom Final Cut Express editing workshop / Tom Wolsky p cm Includes index ISBN 978-0- 240 -81077-5 (pbk : alk paper) Digital video? ?Editing? ?? Data processing Motion pictures? ?Editing? ??Data Processing Final. .. Understanding the Interface 13 LESSON Installing Final Cut Express Summary .16 Welcome to Final Cut Express, version 4? ??the newest version of Apple’s video editing software for DV and HDV users, and