Final Cut Express: Basic Editing

school of journalism and mass communication

STARTING A NEW PROJECT a. Create a new project folder in your hard drive. b. Single-click on Final Cut Express icon in dock. c. Set Easy SetUp: FCE > Preferences > Easy Setup set USE to: DV-NTSC Anamorphic d. Set Scratch Disk: FCE > Preferences > System Preferences set in four places: Top Row (one with three boxes checked) Waveform Cache Thumbnail Cache Autosave Vault e. Save your project: FCE > File > Save Project As (saves the file in your project folder as a .fcp file) OPEN AN EXISTING PROJECT a. Open the project folder in your hard drive. b. Double-click on .fcp file in the folder. c. Set Easy SetUp: FCE > Preferences > Easy Setup set USE to: DVNTSC Anamorphic Basic d. Set Scratch Disk: FCE > Preferences > System Preferences set in four places: Top Row (one with three boxes checked) Waveform Cache Thumbnail Cache Autosave Vault

FINAL CUT EXPRESS INTERFACE

FINAL CUT EXPRESS: Where you go to System Preferences to set you Scratch Disk FILE: where you create new sequences and new bins and save your project file SEQUENCE: Where you render files when you get a red or green line at top of timeline Wireframe and Title Safe

Effects tab to get to Video Generator for making lower-thirds Turn Tracks On and Off

BROWSER: This is where you store and organize your clips, bins and sequence.

CANVAS: used to view edited clips from the timeline. VIEWER: used to view video and audio clips to to set in and out points.

Destination Tabs

Scrubber Bar: what this is over appears in Canvas

TIMELINE: where your project is assembled. Provides you an overview from start to finish.

Toolbar Linking Snapping

Red lines used to adjust audio levels Selection Tool CLIPS OVERLAY CONTROL: Make active to set pen points to adjust audio levels and video opacity Zoom Slider (or Shift - Z to get all clips to fit in window) Move Tool To capture: Command - 8 j = play reverse k= pause/stop l = play forward Command - S = save i = mark in point o = mark out point

Audio Meters (-6 Full Nat) (-18 Under)

Razor Blade Magnify Crop / Transform Pen Point

2011 Jerry Broeckert

(Rev. 01/07/2011)

Browser,you can sort, rename, and rearrange hundreds of clips in a multitude of ways. You can also customize how the Browser displays information about clips to suit your preferred work habits. You can think of the Browser as a way of viewing and manipulating your clips as if they were in a database or spreadsheet. Each row represents a clip or sequence, and each column represents a property field containing information about that clip or sequence. To make the Browser window active: 1. Click in tbe Browser to make the window active OR 2. Choose File > Apple-4 To create a new sequence: 1. Click in the Browser to make it active. 2. Choose File > New > Sequence (shortcut: Apple-N) To select a single clip: 1. Click an item.. To select a group of adjacent clips, do one of the following: 1. Select an item, press and hold the Shift Key, then click last item. To select multiple, nonadjacent clips: 1. Press and hold down the Apple key while clicking multiple items. To delete a clip, sequence or bin from a project: 1. Select the item, then press Delete. To change the view display in the Browser: 1. Choose View > Browser and change to icons or lists. To arrange order of items in Browser: 1. Choose View > Arrange and then select Name or by Duration Working with the Browser in the Icon View

THE BROWSER The Browser is a powerful tool used to organize your projects clips. In the

2 2

THE VIEWER Use the Viewer to:

1. Define In and Out edit points for clips before editing them into a sequence. 2. Adjust audio levels and panning in the Audio tab. 3. Open clips within sequences to adjust durations, In and Out points, and filter parameters. The Viewer is where you look at source clips from the Browser before editing them into a sequence. You can also open clips that are already in a sequence in order to adjust durations and edit points, or edit filter parameters. There a variety of ways to open clips in the Viewer. You can choose the method that you find most convenient.

HELPFUL HINT You can tell whether a clip in the Viewer has been opened from the Browser or from a sequence in the Timeline. Sprocket holes appear in the scrubber bar for clips opened from a sequence. You can also tell the origin of the clip from the name of the clip in the Viewer title bar. This is what it looks like if you double-click on a clip in the timeline. If you do this, you can only work on that particular clip. If you see sprockets like below, just click on the clip in the Browser to start working again on the master clip source.

a. Tabs: There are five tabs that can be shown in the ViewerVideo, Audio, Filters, Motion, and Controlseach providing certain editing functions. b. Image display area: This is the area of the Viewer where you can see the video from your sequence play back. c. In Point and Out point: In and Out points allow you to define a specific portion of a clip to include in a sequence. A clip In point marks the first frame of a clip to be edited into a sequence. A clip Out point specifies the last frame of the clip to be used. d. Playhead: The position of the playhead corresponds to the currently displayed frame. You can move the playhead to go to different parts of a clip. e. Scrubber bar: The scrubber bar represents the entire duration of a clip. You can click anywhere in the scrubber bar to automatically move the playhead to that location. f. . Transport controls: You use these to play clips and move the playhead within clips and sequences. g. Jog and shuttle controls: You use the jog and shuttle controls to navigate within your clip, much like traditional VTR controls. h. Marking controls: You use these to set edit points (In and Out points) and add markers and keyframes to your clips. i. Zoom pop-up menu: This lets you enlarge or shrink the image that appears in the Viewer. j. View pop-up menu: This allows you to control display options such as timecode and marker overlays, as well as the background color for transparent pixels. k. Generator pop-up menu: You use this to select and open generators in the Viewer for modifying and editing into your sequence. Generators are special clips that can be generated by Final Cut Express; for example, they can be used to create color mattes and text of different types. l. Recent Clips pop-up menu: This allows you to open recently used clips in the Viewer for modifying and editing into your sequence. m. Current Timecode field: This field displays the timecode of the frame at the current position of the playhead. You can enter timecode numbers here to navigate to a new position in the clip. n. Timecode Duration field: This field shows the current duration between the clip In and Out points. You can change the duration here, which automatically adjusts the clip Out point.

THE VIEWER (continued)

Zoom and View Pop-Up Menus

Note: These menus are also in the Canvas window and work the same way. Best to use Fit to Window. This doesnt change aspect ratio of the clip, just the way it appears in this window. If the video you shot doesnt look right in this window, chances are you just need to change it to Fit to Window. View Pop-Up Window: * Image or Image+Wireframe: Image is the default, and simply shows the video of your clip or sequence as it plays back. Image+Wireframe is useful when youre using motion effects or compositing. Each video layer in the Viewer has a bounding box with handles (or a wireframe) that can be used to adjust that clips size, rotation, and position. * Overlays: Final Cut Express provides translucent visual cues, called overlays, that help you easily recognize certain parts of your edit in the Viewer, such as the markers and In and Out points of clips in your sequence. Note: To view overlays such as title safe and timecode overlays, you need to enable this option. * Title safe overlay: These show you the boundaries within which you need to keep your graphics and text so theyll appear when the sequence is played back on television.

How the Viewer and Canvas Are Different

Although the Viewer and Canvas windows are very similar in appearance and use many of the same controls, the video displayed in the Canvas is not the same as that in the Viewer. In the Viewer, you open and play clips in preparation for editing, while the Canvas shows video from a sequence in the Timeline. You can think of the Viewer as the source monitor and the Canvas as the record monitor from a traditional tape-to-tape editing system.

TABS IN THE VIEWER Each tab in the Viewer provides a specific set of editing functions: Video, Audio, Filters, Motion, and Controls. You can drag tabs out of the Viewer so they appear in a separate window. This is useful, for example, if you want to adjust filter or generator parameters while watching the results in the Video tab. Video Tab The video tab lets you view a clips video media, set In and Out points, and add markers and keyframes. This tab appears when you open a clip that includes video clip items. This tab is shown by default. Audio Tabs Audio tabs display audio waveforms for audio clip items. If your clip has audio items, each audio item opens in its own Audio tab. (If you open an audio-only clip, youll only see Audio tabs with no accompanying Video tab.) Clips in Final Cut Express may have up to 24 audio items. An audio tab may represent a single (mono) audio item or a stereo pair of audio items. Stereo audio items appear together in a single tab, while mono audio items appear separately in individual tabs. Controls in each Audio tab allow you to change the audio level and the stereo panning parameters, creating keyframes if necessary to adjust levels over time. You can also use an Audio tab to set In and Out points, markers, and keyframes for audio clips.

Controls Tab You use the Controls tab to change the parameters for generator clips, such as the font and text size in a Text generator, or the size of a Circle Shape generator. The Controls tab appears only when a generator is open in the Viewer. Transport Controls Transport (or playback) controls let you play clips in the Viewer. These controls play clips at 100 percent (or 1x) speed. There are keyboard shortcuts for each control.

To make the Browser window active: 1. Click in the Viewer. To open a clip in the Viewer: 1. In the Browser, double-click the clip. To play video in Viewer: 1. Hit spacebar or play button on Transport Control. To play In to Out marks: 1. His Play in to Out button on Transport Control. To move playhead to next In or Out Point: 1. Press the Down arrow. To move the playhead to previous In or Out or Media Start: 1. Press the Up arrow. To move the playhead to the beginning of your clip: 1. Press Home on your keyboard.

Filters Tab You use this tab to adjust parameters for any video or audio filters youve applied to a clip. You can also set keyframes to adjust filter parameters over time. Motion Tab Every clip with a video clip item, whether its a video, still image, or generator clip, has the same motion parameters: scale, rotation, center, anchor point, and additional attributes such as crop, distort, opacity, drop shadow, and motion blur. The Motion tab allows you to adjust these parameters of a clip. You can create motion effects by setting keyframes for motion parameters over time.

To move the playhead to the end of your clip: 1. Press End on your keyboard. To move the playhead backward, one frame at a time: 1. Press the Left arrow key. To move the playhead forward, one frame at a time: 1. Press the Right arrow key. To move the playhead one second at a time: 1. Hold down the Shift key and press Left or Right arrow.

THE CANVAS
The Canvas provides an environment for viewing your edited sequence, and works in tandem with the Timeline while you edit. In Final Cut Express, the Canvas is the equivalent of a record monitor in a tape-to-tape editing suite; it displays the video and audio of your edited sequence during playback. When you open a new sequence, it appears simultaneously in tabs in both the Canvas and the Timeline. The Canvas playhead mirrors the position of the Timeline playhead, and the Canvas displays the frame at the playheads current position in an open sequence. If you move the Timelines playhead, the frame displayed in the Canvas changes accordingly. If you make a change in the Canvas, its reflected in the Timeline. The controls in the Canvas are similar to those in the Viewer, but instead of navigating and playing back individual clips, the controls in the Canvas navigate the entire sequence currently open in the Timeline. Opening, Selecting, and Closing Sequences in the Canvas Sequences are represented by tabs in the Canvas and Timeline. All controls and commands in the Canvas affect only the sequence in the foreground. To open a sequence in the Canvas: 1. Double-click a sequence in the Browser. 2. Select the sequence in the Browser, then press Return. 3. Control-click the sequence in the Browser, then choose Open Timeline from the shortcut menu. 4. Select the sequence in the Browser, then choose View > Sequence in Editor. If you have more than one sequence open in the Canvas, the tab in front is the active sequence. To make a sequence active in the Canvas: 1. Click a sequences tab to bring it to the front. To close a sequence in the Canvas, do one of the following: 1. Click a sequences tab to bring it to the front, then choose File > Close Tab. 2. Click a sequences tab to bring it to the front, then press Control-W. 3. Control-click the tab, then choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu. When you close the tab of a sequence in the Canvas, its corresponding tab in the Timeline also closes.

THE CANVAS (continued)

Click, hold and drag a clip to the image display area of the CANVAS. The Edit Overlay appears.

Edit Overlay in the Canvas The Canvas can perform five basic types of edits to place a clip in the Viewer into the current sequence. The clip is placed in the Timeline according to the In and Out points set in the clip and the sequence, following the rules of three-point editing. To place a clip, you can drag it from the Viewer into the Canvas, which then displays editing overlays. You then drag the clip to the overlay section you want. The basic edit types are: * Overwrite: Replaces the clip items in the destination sequence track with the clip in the Viewer. * Insert: Pushes clip items in the sequence forward to accommodate the clip from the Viewer. * Replace: Replaces the clip item beneath the Canvas/Timeline playhead with the clip in the Viewer, using the playhead position in both windows as a synchronization point. * Fit to Fill: Speeds up or slows down the clip in the Viewer to fit between the In and Out points set in the Canvas and Timeline. * Superimpose: Edits the clip in the Viewer into a track above the sequence clip that intersects the playhead.

THE TIMELINE

Destination Tabs Toggle Clips Overlay: Lets call it the mountainsclicking on this puts the green lines in the audio in the Timeline so we can adjust Audio levels.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR MAKING A PACKAGE, VOSOT AND VO ON THE SAME STORY
When you do a story and have to write and produce a package and a VOSOT and/or a VO, you should do it from the same project folder. Youll be using the same video, right? So, why should you have create a new project? You dont. After you capture your video, all you have to do is create new sequences. Lets say you produce your package first. Thats sequence one. Right? Now to produce your VOSOT or VO all you need to do is click in the BROWSER to be active there, then FILE > New > Sequence. A Sequence 2 will appear in the BROWSER. Re-name it Sequence 2 VOSOT then just double-click on the icon and start editing. Youll notice two tabs in the Timeline.

EDITING A PACKAGE
ORDER FOR LAYING TRACKS 1. 2. 3. 4. REPORTERS TRACK: Put on A3 (Audio Track 3) SOTS (Interviews): Put on V1 (Video Track 1) and A1 & A2 (Audio Track 1 and Audio Track 2) B-ROLL / NAT SOUND POPS & BREAKS: Put on V1 (Video Track 1) and A1 & A2 (Audio Track 1 and Audio Track 2) GRAPHICS

After laying the tracks, well 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. TIMING & PACING: Edit clips and set for timing and pacing SET AUDIO LEVELS: -6 for full nat sound; -18 for under CHECK FOR MARKERS: Make sure we dont have markers or in and out points in our timeline CHECK FOR FLASH FRAMES: Black frames between edit points that appear in the Canvas when playing. EXPORT AS QUICKTIME MOVIE

1. Laying Reporters Track

(Placed on track A3)

1. After recording the reporters track, place the audio files in the project folder in your hard drive. 2. In FCE, active in the Browser then control-click and IMPORT the audio file/folder into your Browser. 3. Double-click on the audio file, the file will appear in the Viewer. 4. Move the Destination Tab in the audio tracks of the Timeline to A3 (all reporters track clips will be in A3). If its an audio file you will only audio destination tabs showing. The number of tabs depends on single or multiple track recordings. 5. Active in the Viewer: using your script, play the track and using i and o on the keyboard, put in in and out points. 6. After selecting the clip: in the controller to the left of play in the viewer, click on the play in to out button. 7. If clip is correct, make sure scrubber bar is at beginning of timeline and then click, hold and drag the megaphone icon in the upper right corner of the Viewer across into the Canvas and over the Overwrite box and release. 8. The clip you selected should now be the first clip in the timeline. 9. Continue until you have placed all the reporters track clips in the Timeline. Helpful Hints:

a. You can get the entire audio clip to appear in the Viewer by: active in the Viewer > Shift-Z. b. Clips will be placed in the Timeline forward of where you have the Scrubber Bar. Usually want Scrubber Bar at the end of the last clip. c. If you missed placing a clip when putting in the reporters track, put the Scrubber Bar between the clips where you want to place the new clip and then, in the Viewer, click, hold and drag on the megaphone icon over to the Canvas and release in the Insert box. d. To remove a clip from the Timeline, select it by clicking on it and then hit the Delete key. e. You can play the clips in the Timeline by using the spacebar; the j-k-l keys, or the play button in the bottom of the Canvas window. f. To get to the beginning of the clips in the Timeline: active in the Timeline and then hit the Home key on the keyboard; to go to the end of the clips in the timeline, hit the End key on the keyboard. h. To expand the audio waveforms in the Viewer: active in the Viewer; select the Magnifying Glass in the Tool Bar, and click in the area where you are working. You can also use Command - + (Plus) or Command - - (Minus) to expand or shorten the appearance of the waveform files. i. Move one frame (1/30 sec) by using the left and right arrows on the keyboard. j. Cant hear audio: check headphones plugged in; check audio level on computer, in FCE: View > Video Out > Canvas Playback.

2. Laying SOTs (Interviews)

(Placed on tracks V1, A1, A2)

1. Active in the Browser: using the timecode from your script, double-click on the icon for the video clip youll be using. 2. Move the Destination Tab in the video and audio tracks of the Timeline to V1, A1, A2. (If you recorded audio on only one channel of your interview, you may only have one audio track, in that case use A1.) 3. Locate the video clip you want: one of two ways a. can type min and sec of timecode in the timecode box in the upper right hand corner of the Viewer window and then hit RETURN on the keyboard and go that spot; then hit i on your keyboard to set an in point; can adjust from there; or b. use the Scrubber Bar in the Viewer and move it close to the timecode in the timecode box in the upper right hand corner of the Viewer. 4. Now you need to set in and out points precisely for the SOT. For more precision than you can usually get just using the video, click on the Stereo (1)(2) tab in the upper left hand corner of the Viewer window and the audio waveforms will appear. You can now edit similarly to what you did in laying the reporters track. Use i for in and o for out; remember you can use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to move one frame (or 1/30 sec) at a time for better precision. 5. Check SOT clip before moving: with in and out points set, click on the play in to out button in the controller at the bottom of the Viewer window; its the first button to the left of the middle play button. 6. If youve got the bite you want, click Video tab in the upper left corner of the Viewer window. 6. Check your script to see where this clip goes then place the Scrubber Bar in the Timeline where you want to place the SOT. Usually done between two audio tracks. 7. In the Viewer: click and hold anywhere in the video; drag the video across to the Canvas window and release in the Insert box. If done correctly, the video and audio clips will be in the Timeline between the two reporters track clips. Video will be on V1 and audio on A1 and A2. If you got an error that the operation could not be completed, check to make sure the Destination Tabs are closed (no space between tab and track name). Helpful Hints: a. Clips will be placed in the Timeline forward of where you have the Scrubber Bar. Usually want Scrubber Bar between reporters track clips when placing them in the Timeline. b. To remove a clip from the Timeline, select it by clicking on it and then hit the Delete key. c. You can play the clips in the Timeline by using the spacebar; the j-k-l keys, or the play button in the bottom of the Canvas window. d. To get to the beginning of the clips in the Timeline: active in the Timeline and then hit the Home key on the keyboard; to go to the end of the clips in the timeline, hit the End key on the keyboard. e. To expand the audio waveforms in the Viewer: active in the Viewer; select the Magnifying Glass in the Tool Bar, and click in the area where you are working. You can also use Command - + (Plus) or Command - - (Minus) to expand or shorten the appearance of the waveform files. f. Move one frame (1/30 sec) by using the left and right arrows on the keyboard. g. Cant hear audio: check headphones plugged in; check audio level on computer, in FCE: View > Video Out > Canvas Playback.

3. B-ROLL / NAT SOUND POPS AND BREAKS

(Placed on tracks V1, A1, A2)

To place the B-Roll, well use three-point editing. Well put an in and out point in the Timeline above the reporters track where we want to place b-roll or in the area where we want to place a nat sound pop or break. Well put an in OR out point in the Viewer as the third point for our three-point editing; if we use an in point, well be using video forward to fill the area identified in the Timeline; if we use an out point, that will be at the out point in the Timeline and back into the area identified in the Timeline. 1. Active in the Browser: using the timecode from your script, double-click on the icon for the video clip youll be using. 2. Move the Destination Tab in the video and audio tracks of the Timeline to V1, A1, A2. (If you recorded audio on only one channel of your interview, you may only have one audio track, in that case use A1.) 3. In the Timeline, put an in point for where you want the video to start; you can then use the quotation mark to move forward to the edit point to where you want the video to end. If the end point is up against another clip, use the arrow key to back up one space before you put the out point in the Timeline. 4. Double-click on the icon in the Browser for the video clip you want to select a clip from. 5. In the Viewer, find the in OR the out point for the video clip you want to use as b-roll or the nat sound pop or break. (You can delete in and out points in the Viewer by going to the FCE menu > Mark > Clear In and Out (or you can clear just one or the other.) 6. After youve put the in or out point in the Viewer: click, hold and drag the video from the Viewer to the right to the Canvas and over OVERWRITE and release the mouse. If done correctly, a video clip or the nat sound pop or break video clip should appear in the Timeline. 7. Continue until youve placed B-roll and your nat sound pop and breaks in the Timeline. Helpful Hints: a. Insert in points using i on your keyboard; insert out points using o on your keyboard. b. You can remove in and out points in the FCE menu: Mark > Clear In and Out or you can clear one or the other. c. To remove a clip from the Timeline, select it by clicking on it and then hit the Delete key. i d. You can play the clips in the Timeline by using the spacebar; the j-k-l keys, or the play button in the bottom of the Canvas window. e. To get to the beginning of the clips in the Timeline: active in the Timeline and then hit the Home key on the keyboard; to go to the end of the clips in the timeline, hit the End key on the keyboard. f. Move one frame (1/30 sec) by using the left and right arrows on the keyboard. g. Cant hear audio: check headphones plugged in; check audio level on computer, in FCE: View > Video Out > Canvas Playback.

4. GRAPHICS
A. TO PUT IN A COLOR BACKGROUND 1. Move the Destination Tab to the video track in the Timeline where you want to insert the color background. 2. Move to the edit point in the Timeline where you want to insert it; put i for your in point; hit the quotation mark on your keyboard to move to the edit point where you want to end, hit the o on the keyboard to insert the out point. 3. Click on the Effects tab in the top left corner of the Browser window. (If the Effects tab isnt showing, go to Windows in the menu bar at the top of Final Cut Express and click on Effects. 4. Click on arrow for Video Generators > Matte > Color and the Color window will open in the Viewer. 5. Click on the color square (usually grey unless youve already changed the color) and the color palette opens; click on the crayon box. 6. In the upper left corner of the crayon box, choose Cayenne (the closest thing to Maroon). 7. Click on the Video tab in the top left corner of the Viewer, should be full screen color of Cayenne. 8. Click and hold in the Cayenne color and drag it to the Canvas and release it over Overwrite. 9. Look in the Timeline; the color background should now be in the space between the in and out points. B. TO PUT IN TEXT ON THE COLOR BACKGROUND 1. Move the Destination Tab to the video track in the Timeline where you want to insert the text. 2. Move to the edit point in the Timeline where you want to insert the text; put i for your in point; hit the quotation mark on your keyboard to move to the edit point where you want it to end; hit the o on the keyboard to insert the out point. 3. Click on the Effects tab in the top left corner of the Browser window. (If the Effects isnt showing, go to Windows in the menu bar at the top of Final Cut Express and click on Effects. 4. Click on arrow for Video Generators > Text > Text and the Text window will open. Window will open in the Viewer. Should be a black window with white text saying Sample Text. 5. In the upper left corner of the Canvas window, click on Controls. A window opens that allow you input your text. 6. Type in the text you want; remember to use the return key on your keyboard to text to next line otherwise all the text you type in will be in a single line. 6. Recommend: Font: ARIAL Style: Bold Size: 18 is the smallest you want to use; depending on what youve got; maybe 24. Tracking: 1 Font Color: Click on the color box, use crayon box to select color (we used Banana in class; second in, second row) 7. Check your spelling. 8. Click on the Video tab in the top left corner of the Viewer, should see the text you just entered. 9. Click and hold in the Viewer window with the text and drag it to the Canvas and release it over Overwrite. 10. The text box should appear as a clip in the Timeline on the track you selected with the Destination tab between you in and out points. 11. In the Canvas window at the tope between the time code on the left and right you see two tabs; click on the one on the right (the one with the percentage number). 12. Click on Image and Wire Frame in the top section; and click on Title Safe in the bottom section. 13. Select (click on to highlight) the text clip in the Timeline you just created. 14. In the Canvas, you should see a Wire Frame over the text, make sure your Tool Bar is on the Move Tool (the top tool on your tool bar) and click and hold in the center of the Wire Frame in the Canvas and move the text to where you want it to be. 15. To change the size of the font, double-click on the text clip in the Timeline and the Controls window will open in the viewer, go ahead and change the size and then hit the Return key to see it apply in the Canvas. 16. To put a cross dissolve effect on the text, click on (select) the edit point at the beginning of the clip; then Command-T for the effect. Continue creating the text that you need. Remember to: a. Move the Destination Tab each time to the track where you want to place the text clip. b. Add more Video tracks by being active in the Timeline, go to Sequence in the menu bar at the top of the window > then Insert Tracks and insert after last track. c. To create another clip, make sure you DOUBLE-CLICK on the Text icon in the Video Generators > Text > Text in the Browser.

4. GRAPHICS
C. TO PUT IN IMAGES ON THE COLOR BACKGROUND 1. Move the Destination Tab to the video track in the Timeline where you want to insert the image. 2. Move to the edit point in the Timeline where you want to insert the text; put i for you in point, hit the quotation mark key on your keyboard to the to the edit point where you want it to end, hit o on the keyboard to insert the out point. 3. Double-click on the icon for the image in the Browser window; the image will appear in the Viewer. 4. Click and hold in the Viewer window on the image and drag it to the Canvas and release it over Overwrite. 5. In the Canvas window at the top between the time code on the left and right you see two tabs, click on the one on left and change the percentage to 50%. Click on the tab to the right and make sure youve selected Image and Wire Frame and Title Safe. 6. Select (click on to highlight) the image clip in the Timeline that you just created. 7. In the Canvas, you should see a Wire Frame over the image; making sure your Tool Bar is on the Move Tool (the top tool on your tool bar) click and hold on the small white square in any corner and move it in and size the image to the size you want. 8. Click and hold in the center of the image and you can move it to where you want it in the window. 9. When youre done sizing and moving all your images and text, in the tab in the top center of the Canvas window that says 50%, click on that and scroll to the top and click on Fit to Window (Dont ever want to choose 100%). 10. Continue to place and size all the images you want to include in the graphic putting each new one on a new video track. Remember, you can do this with images or video. Same process to place and size either. Continue inserting the images that you need. Remember to: a. Move the Destination Tab each time to the track where you want to place the image. b. Add move Video tracks by being active in the Timeline, go to Sequence in the menu bar at the top of the window and then its Insert Tracks > Insert after last track. D. TO PUT IN LOWER THIRDS ON SOTS (PEOPLE YOU WANT TO IDENTIFY WITH NAME AND TITLE) 1. There is a handout in the booklet that gives you detailed instructions on placing lower thirds. 2. You generally only need to do it once per person. The exception is that if there are several people in the story and it gets confusing or if you see the person early in the story and then dont seem them again until the end and you feel it would benefit the viewer to identify them again. 3. The lower third normally runs on screen about three seconds; depends on length of name and title. E. TIMING IMAGES, TEXT AND LOWER THIRDS. 1. Play your reporters track to lister to when you want to see the image and/or text appear. You can grab the edit point at the beginning or end of the clip and move it in or out. Easiest way is to play the reporters track, then pull the beginning or end of the clip toward the Scrubber Bar and it should snap to the Scrubber Bar. 2. Remember if you have text at the beginning and you want to see it still at the end of the clip that the clip has to be extended to have it play to the end of the reporters track. 3. You may find you have greater ease in moving the edit points on the text and image clips by turning Snapping off. If you do, remember to turn Snapping back on after you finish performing that function.

5. TIMING AND PACING

6. SETTING AUDIO LEVELS

1. Active in the Timeline, COMMAND-A to select all tracks, then in the Final Cut Express menu bar at the top of the page: Modify > Audio > Pan to Center. 2. Click on the green speakers on the left side of the Timeline for A1 and A2 to turn off audio for those tracks. 3. Click on the Toggle Clips Overlay (the mountains) in the lower left corner of the Timeline to display the red lines that well use in the audio tracks to adjust levels. 4. Play the reporters track and adjust audio levels moving those red lines up or down until the audio peaks at -6 using the Audio Tool Bar (usually to the right of the Timeline). Remember-dont use the audio readings that appear when moving the red lines; use the readings on the Audio Tool Bar. 5. After doing all the clips in the reporters track, click on the green speaker on A3 to run off audio level for reporters track and click on A1 and A2 to turn those tracks back on. 6. No go through and adjust those audio tracks. For everything that is full nat sound (SOTs from interviews, Nat Sound Pop and Nat Sound Break) and everything thats under the reporters track, set at -18 (remember the concept-we want to be able to hear the reporter or the SOT). 7. When youve finished, make sure to click on the green speakers on the left of the Timeline to make sure ALL your audio tracks are back on.

7. CHECK FOR MARKERS OR IN AND OUT POINTS IN THE TIMELINE

We want to remove any markers or in and out points in the Timeline before we make our movie unless they are there for a specific reason. If you have in and out points and go to export the project as a movie, those in and out points will be used to determine what part of the project is exported as a movie. To remove markers and in and out points... in the menu bar at the top of the Final Cut Express window: For the marker: Mark > Markers > Delete All For the in and out points: Mark > Clear in and out

8. CHECK FOR FLASH FRAMES

1. Active in the Timeline, hit the Home key on the keyboard to move the Scrubber Bar to the start of the project, then, use the quotation mark on the keyboard to move from edit point to edit point. Watch the project in the Timeline. If you have a black frame you have a flash frame and need to remove it.--can do by extending the clip before or after the black frame. Use the Magnifying Glass in the Tool Bar to enlarge the area where the flash frame is. Remember to return to the Move Tool when youre done. Go through and correct as you go; if you found any flash frames and corrected them, then hit the home key again and repeat the process for checking. 2. As a double-check, when youre at the end of the project in the Timeline, use the colon on the keyboard and move backward edit point to edit point again checking for flash frames.

9. EXPORT AS QUICKTIME MOVIE AND SET MOVIE PROPERTIES

1. There is a handout in the booklet that gives you detailed instructions for exporting your project as a Quicktime movie.

THE AUDIOoutput levels of the ViewerFinalTimeline with uses floatingstereo METERS or Cut Express a simplified audio meters that display the
display. The highest signal of any odd-numbered track is displayed in the left meter, and the highest signal of any even-numbered track is displayed in the right meter. When we set audio levels for, well use -6 for full nat sound and -18 for audio that is under a full nat sound audio clip. Setting Proper Audio Levels When you work with audio, you need to make sure you set proper levels at each stage of your production: * Production: During this phase, you record the elements used in your movie: actors voices, ambient location sound, music, and so on. This is the first and most critical step in any audio production process. Any audio recorded poorly at this phase will be difficult to fix later in the process.

There is no match for properly recorded sound, no matter how good your audio cleanup tools are.
* Capture: Transferring your production audio to Final Cut Express should be a transparent process that affects your audio as little as possible. The audio levels of your source footage and captured media files should match exactly.

THE TOOL BAR

THE KEYBOARD
Tapping J or L multiple times will increase the speed up to 8x actual speed of the clip.

Capturing Video in the DMS

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1. a. b. c. d.

STARTING A NEW PROJECT Create a Project Folder in your hard drive. Open Final Cut Express In the FCE Menu: File > Save Project As Set Scratch Disk to the Project Folder

or

1. OPENING AN EXISTING PROJECT a. Open the Project Folder b. Double-click on the .fcp file c. Final Cut Express will open c. Set Scratch Disk to the Project Folder

2. SET PREFERENCE TO CAPTURE 16:9

If you shot your video in 16:9 aspect ratio make sure you set your preferences in Final Cut Express to capture in 16:9 aspect ratio: a. Menu at top of window: FINAL CUT EXPRESS > EASY SET UP b. Then, using the drop down menus, set preference to: Format: NTSC Use: DV-NTSC-Anamorphic 2b c. Then, click SetUp

HELPFUL HINT: 1. Its important--particularly when capturing video--that you set your scratch disk to the project folder on your external hard drive... if you dont you could be capturing on the server and slowing down all the computers in the lab for your classmates. 2. Its important to File > Save Project As before you capture... if you dont your video will be saved to an untitled folder.

2c

3. SET THE VIDEO DECK AND SWITCHER

a. Check the number of your computer. (It the computer at your right knee or, on the iMacs, its the number in the right hand corner of the monitor.) b. Set the switcher to the number of your computer. c. Turn the Sony DVCAM deck on. When on, the light will be green.

3a 3b 3c

4. INSERT YOUR TAPE INTO THE SONY DECK

a. When putting the tape in the deck, the four white squares on the back of the tape will be in the lower right corner as you insert the tape. b. Push it gently with your finger until the machine grabs it and feeds it into the deck.

4b

4a

2011 Jerry Broeckert

(Rev. 01/07/2011)

5. REFRESHING VIDEO DEVICES

We Refresh Video Devices to ensure that our computer is reading the devices that we set up to the computer. To do this, a. In FCE Menu: View > Video Out > Refresh Video Devices

5a

6. OPENING THE CAPTURE WINDOW IN FINAL CUT EXPRESS

Now were actually ready to start the capturing process. We now need to open the Capture window in Final Cut Express. a. There are two ways to open the Capture window. (1) The shortcut is Apple - 8. (2) The menu is: File > Capture b. When we use either technique, the Capture window will open. c. The first thing to do when the window opens is to check and make sure the Sony deck and the computer are connected. If they are, the status will read VTR OK If it reads UNTHREADED TAPE thats ok... that just means there is not a tape in the deck or its in and at the beginning. If theres not one in, put one in and youll be ok. If it reads No Communication that means the computer and the deck arent reading each other. First thing to do is to check make sure the switcher is set to your computer, if it isnt, fix it and then Refresh Video Devices following instructions in paragraph 5 above.

6a

7a 6b

6c

7. NAMING THE TAPE

a. The first thing we want to do when the Capture window opens is to name the tape. We do this in the upper right corner of the Capture window. IF YOU DONT DO THIS, ALL YOUR TAPES WILL BE NAMED UNTITLED -- and that is poor files management!!! To identify your tape: b. Fill in a reel number. This is # what of how many tapes youre capturing from. Probably easiest just to always use 001 for this class. c. Fill in the Description. This is a description of what is on the tape and the name that will appear for the clip when it is saved in the Capture Folder in your project folder. Enter a name in Description. When you click Return on the keyboard, the name you typed in will appear in the Name window.

8. CAPTURING THE VIDEO

Now were set to capture our video. There are different ways to do it, were going to first learn the CAPTURE NOW technique. a. Controlling the Video. We can control the playing of the video from the capture window in Final Cut Express. Theres a PLAY, PAUSE and FAST FORWARD and REVERSE button. We can cue the tape to start capturing what we want. We always want to add about two seconds before and two seconds after what we want to capture. Even a couple seconds more isnt a bad thing. This extra tape we capture is what is known as handles. Go ahead and use play, pause, etc. with controlling the tape to see what you can do. b. Capturing the Video. To capture the video, cue the tape with the handles to where you want to start. Then, click PLAY to start the video, and c. Then, click CAPTURE NOW. A slight delay and then the capturing window will open. d. Let the tape capture until all the video you want captured is captured. e. When youve captured all you want or the tape comes to the end, hit the ESC key on the computer. f. When you do this, the capturing window closes and an icon opens in your BROWSER with the name of the video you just captured. When youre done capturing, rewind your tape and dont forget to take it out of the SONY device. You want to take it out when youre done as a courtesy to the next student that may want to capture. And, dont forget to now plug your headphones into the computer.

3a

The Controller

3b
Video in Capture window

3c

3d

3e 3f

Now you can go ahead and start editing your project!

HELPFUL HINT: TO LISTEN TO AUDIO WHILE CAPTURING...

1. You can listen to you the audio in your video as its being captured. a. DELL MONITORS: (Center and South Labs) Under the monitor there is a female connector to plug in your headphones. b. iMAC: (North Lab): Theres a pigtail connector on the back of the Sony deck that you can plug into (its the black female connector that comes out of the red and white cables plugged into the Sony deck). 2. Important: After you finish capturing, youll need to plug your headphones into the computer to listen to the audio.

Creating Lower Thirds in Final Cut Express

school of journalism and mass communication

1 Open EFFECTS in the Browser window.

If the EFFECTS tab isnt there, go to WINDOWS and click on EFFECTSonce its checked itll appear.

SETTINGS TO USE FOR LOWER THIRDS in CONTROL Panel Text 1 Font Style Size Tracking Font Color Text 2 Font Style Size Tracking Font Color Background Opacity Color Auto Kerning Type name here Change to Arial Change to Bold Change to 24 Leave at 1 Click on Gray box. Open crayon box, select BANANA Type title here Change to Arial Change to Italic Change to 18 Leave at 1 Click on Gray box. Open crayon box, select BANANA Change to Solid Change to 50 Click on Gray box. Open crayon box, select CAYENNE Leave unchecked

2 Open the VIDEO GENERATORS (click on arrow) > 3 In the VIEWER youll see SAMPLE TEXT.

TEXT folder (click on arrow) > double-click on Lower 3rd. Click on the CONTROLS tab in the VIEWER window. The data window will open. Enter the data for your project using the settings to the right. the VIEWER and youll see what the lower third you created will look like.

4 After youve entered the data, click on the VIDEO tab in 5 To place it in the TIMELINE:

(a) Move destination tab to track above clip track where you want to place the lower third. (b) In the TIMELINE, put an in point where you want the lower third to start, and then about three seconds later, place the out point where you want it to end.

6 In the VIEWER, click, hold and drag to the CANVAS and

release over OVERWRITE. The lower third should now be placed in your TIMELINE and can be seen in the CANVAS.

3
HELPFUL HINT: 1. To change the information in a lower third just double-click on the lower third clip in the timeline and the control panel will open. 2. To add another lower third for another person, make sure you double-click on the Lower third icon in EFFECTS and then change the data.

5b i & o 5a

2011 Jerry Broeckert

(Rev. 01/07/2011)

Exporting as 16:9 Quicktime Movies

school of journalism and mass communication

Final Steps Before Making Movie

1. 2. 3. 4. Pan Audio to Center (in Timeline: Apple-A select all > Modify > Audio > Pan to Center) Set audio levels (-6 full nat sound; -18 under). Check for flash frames. Render: keyboard Option-R

FULL SIZE MOVIE

1 In FCE, active in the TIMELINE and then : FILE > EXPORT > Quicktime Movie Conversion (make sure you select CONVERSION)
1 2a

2b

a. Name your full size movie with your user500-slug and save it in your project folder. b. Then, click Options. DONT CLICK SAVE YET!!

The Movie Settings window opens.

a. Check the boxes for Video, Sound and Prepare for Internet Streaming. b.Then, click VIDEO - SETTINGS. 3b 3a

4 Using the drop-down menus, a. Compression Type:DV/DVCPRO - NTSC b. Quality to Best c. Aspect Ratio to 16:9 d. And then, click OK
4a

4b 4c 4d
2011 Jerry Broeckert (Rev. 01/07/2011)

Now, click Size.

Using the drop-down menu, a. Dimension: NTSC 720x480 16:9 b. Check the box Deinterlace Source Video. c. Then, click OK

6a 6b

6c

7 click Sound - Settings

a. Format: Linear PCM b. Channels: Stereo (L R) c. Rate: 48.000 d. Then, click OK

8a

8 Using the drop-down menu,

8b 8c

8d

9 Movie Settings window opens.

a. Check to see that your settings match these settings. If not, go back in and correct. b. Then, click OK.

9a

a. named the movie correctly, and b. saving it to your project folder. c. Then, click Save. 10a 10b

10 Last check to make sure

11 Window opens showing that the movie is being made. It should take about 1-2 minutes... if more than that, cancel and go back and check settings.
user500-slug.mov 11

12 10c

12 When movie is done being made, window in step 11 disappears. Then, open the movie in your project folder from your hard drive and play it -- watch to make sure no flash frames and listen to make sure that you have audio. Setting Movie Properties in Quicktime 7
1. Open the movie. 2. In the Quicktime Movie at the top of the monitor, click on: Window > Show Movie Properties. 3. When window opens, click on Video Track; 4. Window opens; if not showing, click on Visual Settings 5. Check the box High Quality in lower right corner Quality of movie will change. When you close the movie, make sure to click Save to save for high quality. 5 4 3

In Quicktime 7 we can change the movie quality to High Quality.

WEB SIZE MOVIE

A web size movie will make your package a smaller file size; the normal 1m30sec package is about 350MB-400MB file size; compressing it with the settings below will change the file size to about 3MB-4MB. The compressed file size is small enough to put on a blog on the web or small enough to email. The numbers below correspond to the numbers and images for the full size movie. The setting have been changed below to compress the movie file size. In FCE, active in the TIMELINE and then : FILE > EXPORT > Quicktime Movie Conversion (make sure you select CONVERSION) a. Name your full size movie with your user500-slug and save it in your project folder. b. Then, click Options. DONT CLICK SAVE YET!!

9 Movie Settings window opens.

a. Check to see that your settings match the settings in 4, 6, and 8. If not, go back in and correct. b. Then, click OK. a. named the movie correctly, and b. saving it to your project folder. c. Then, click Save. being made. It should take about 1-2 minutes... if more than that, cancel and go back and check settings. step 11 disappears. Then, open the movie in your project folder from your hard drive and play it -watch to make sure no flash frames and listen to make sure that you have audio.

The Movie Settings window opens.

10 Last check to make sure

a. Check the boxes for Video, Sound and Prepare for Internet Streaming. b. Then, click VIDEO - SETTINGS. a. Compression Type: H.264 b. Frame Rate: 15 c. Quality: Medium d. And then, click OK

11 Window opens showing that the movie is

4 Using the drop-down menus,

12 When movie is done being made, window in

5 Now, click Size. 6 Using the drop-down menu, 7 click Sound - Settings 8 Using the drop-down menu, a. Format: AAC b. Channels: Mono c. Rate: 48.000 d. Target Bit Rate: 48 d. Then, click OK

a. Dimension: Custom 428 x 240 b. Check the box Deinterlace Source Video. c. Then, click OK

You can also change the quality settings in Quicktime 7 to improve the quality of the movie when it plays using the information on the preceding page.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS a i j k l o Command - Z Shift - Z Command - Shift - 3 Command - Shift - 4 Command - 8 (quotation mark) : (colon) spacebar Command - T Option - R Command - S makes Selection Tool in Tool Bar active mark in point reverse pause or stop forward mark out point undo fits all clips in window (timeline or audio tracks in viewer) screen capture (everything on your desktop) screen grab (click hold drag cross hair over what you want then release) capture window to capture video move to last edit point move to next edit point play or stop on an edit point will insert cross dissolve transition effect render all save all

OPERATIONS Pan Audio to Center Turn Audio Level on in Timeline Add a Sequence in Browser Active in Timeline, Apple-A to select all; then in menu Modify > Audio > Pan to Center Click on Mountain in lower left corner bottom of Timeline Active in Browser; Control-click mouse, then select New Sequence

TROUBLESHOOTING No audio in headphones Timeline disappeared Tool Bar missing Viewer or Canvas window disappeared Red line missing to adjust audio level Cant see video track in Timeline Cant move audio track to Timeline Cant see video from Timeline in Canvas Check headphones plugged in; check audio level on computer; in FCE: View > Video Out > Canvas Playback Click on icon for sequence in the Browser in FCE: Window > Arrange > Standard Click on icon for sequence in the Browser Click on Clips Overlay Control (mountain) in lower left of FCE interface below the Timeline Move blue bubble bar on right of Timeline up or down Make sure youre using the megaphone icon in the Viewer window Make sure the Scrubber Bar is over the clip you want to view