JCM 352: Corporate Video Production. Final Cut Pro HD Overview: Beginning a Project

Transcription

1 JCM 352: Corporate Video Production Final Cut Pro HD Overview: Beginning a Project Final Cut Pro HD from Apple Computers is a tremendously powerful nonlinear editing system. In addition, FCPHD has the capacity for motion effects, video and audio filters, text, and various export options. LiveType, a titling animation program, and SoundTrack, a background music generator, are bundled with FCP4. They operate as independent programs rather than being integrated into FCP4. Attach your Firewire drive before launching FCP. Plug in the Firewire cable to your drive, then to the port extension (dark green). Finally, turn on the power for your drive. NEVER plug or unplug your drive energized. You risk damaging the ports of both your drive and the computer. You start FCP by either going through the Start Folder (labs) or the Dock. When the program launches it reopens any project left open on the screen when the program was last in use. Use File> Close to get rid of all this (are remember to always close your project when your are done after saving it!) When no project is open you are presented with the effects window and the Viewer (or source) window. If you have a number of other programs open, or several folders open, you will have quite a few items visible in the background of FCP. You can go to the FCP Menu and select Hide Others and only FCP will be visible on your screen.

2 Here s what the program looks like when no project was left open: To start a new project, go File > New Project: 2

3 Once a new project loads up, your screen should look something like this: You now have a Browser window (where your assets are organized), a Viewer window (where you can see video clips, audio waveforms, and filter adjustments), a Canvas window (which shows playback of the project), a Sequence window (showing the timeline of your project), and your Tools and Audio Meters. Next you want to verify your settings paying particular attention to your Scratch Disk location. Go to the FCP Menu and select Settings. 3

4 In the window above, FCP has defaulted to the Mac s hard drive a very, very bad thing. NEVER SAVE TO THE DRIVE CONTAINING YOUR SYSTEM SOFTWARE AND YOUR PROGRAM! Ultimately you will have file corruption and data loss often resulting in a computer that will not operate and a project that is lost. Set your scratch disk to your Firewire drive. Click Set and search for your drive. 4

5 Since many of us are using the same brand and model of drive, you might consider giving your drive a unique name so that there s no opportunity for confusion. (Your name would be an excellent choice.) Next, go though your other settings: 5

6 The window seen above is from a computer with no camera or DV deck connected to it; therefore, the warning message about the missing video playback. At this point, you should save your project. This file can be saved anywhere, but I normally save it in my main project folder. It is a small text file (your EDL). 6

7 If you go to your Firewire drive and look inside your project folder you will discover that FCP has created several folders. 7

8 There are folders to hold your captured video (called your Capture Scratch), as well as folders for your audio and video renders. I often create several other folders in this location (for example, Graphics, Animations, and Audio Assets). FCP Overview: Adding Video to Your Project You will now import files and folders through your File Menu, or you will import DV video from a deck or camera. To import a folder of video or graphics, use the File Menu and select Import and choose Files or Folder. Use this when you have video or graphics that have already been created. (For example, a project that is updated each summer might include several Bins from earlier versions.) TAKE NOTE: The actual video is not brought into your project: a link is created to that folder. The material thus sits wherever you ve indicated it is, and if that drive or server is removed, the link is broken. To capture video, select Log and Capture from the File Menu. A new window appears in front of all other FCP windows. I normally log, marking In and Out points for my clip, adding comments in the appropriate fields, and then capturing or batch capturing. (Again, no deck or DV camera is connected so I m only seeing color bars.) You can designate a target Bin for your files, or you can move them to a Bin after the fact. Bins are used to organize your files: All the video you captured from tape is in the Capture Scratch folder on your Firewire drive. You can add and 8

9 name Bins at any time in the editing process. If, for example, three days into your work you discover you need to isolate your interviews (SOT) because you have a number of people and a lot of clips, you can create a new Bin (File > New > New Bin), name it SOT (or whatever makes sense to you), and select and move your file names to it. When you look in that Bin, you will see your clips. (Remember, they really aren t there it s a pointer to the actual file sitting in the Capture Scratch folder.) I have found the same is true for audio files. If I import an audio file from a CD (like our music collection, available in TV Services), the actual file is on the CD. I need to copy the file to my Audio folder and THEN import it into my project. This prevents error messages (and production delays) later on in the process. FCP Overview: Naming & Saving Projects, Bins, & Sequences In this course I want you to use the following naming conventions: Projects: Bins Sequences: jcm352_clientname jcm352_sot_bin jcm352_b-roll_bin jcm352_music_bin jcm352_clientname01 jcm352_clientname02 This way, should any of your material end up in the wrong place (the local hard drive) it s easier to find and identify, and decreases the probability that it will be erased without you or me being contacted by TV Services or a computer lab worker. Still, there is no guarantee that your work will be there when you return. Data management is your responsibility. Always look in your project folder on your Firewire drive and make sure your latest work is there (View > Arrange > By Date Modified). If you don t see files with today s date, and a clock time very close to the current time, your work is not on your drive. I also back up my Project file to my jumpdrive and my network storage after each session. It s a small text EDL file that can help expedite a restore of your work should everything on your drive become lost or corrupt. 9