FINAL CUT EDITING FAQ

Index

1) How do I create a new project?

2) How do I continue working on my project?

3) How do I capture footage?

4) I want to go home! How do I close up?

5) How do I finish my project?

1. How do I create a new project?

1.1) Do you already have a folder on this disk?

If not, create one under your name. Then create a folder for your project.

How to do this:

1) Double-click on the LaCie drive (it should be on the top right of the desktop).

2) Right click in the window that opens up and choose "New Folder" from the menu.

3) Type in your name and hit return.

4) Double-click on the folder you just created. Follow steps 2 and 3 again in order to create another folder inside the first folder. Give this the name of your project.

1.2) Are you starting a new project?

If so, make sure it's saved in your folder.

How to do this:

1) Start up Final Cut - click once on the Final Cut icon on the dock at the bottom of the screen.

2) Click on the "File" menu and choose "New Project."

3) Click on the "File" menu and choose "Save Project As..."

4) In the window that opens, click on the little blue arrow next to the file name.A window with three columns will open.

5) Look at the first column. Find the LaCie disk and click on it once. Look at the second column. Click on the folder that bears your name, then click on the folder that bears the name of the project.

6) Now type the name of your project in the box at the top of the window. Make sure the filename ends with ".fcp", then click "Save" or hit return.

1.3) Have you set up your Scratch disks?

If not, make sure the computer knows to store all your "work in progress" files inside your project folder.

How to do this:

1) Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu at the very top left of the screen and choose "System Settings..."

2) Make sure you're looking at the "Scratch Disks" tab in the System Settings window.

3) Look at the top row of this tab. It should have a row of blue boxes with check marks in them. Click the "Set..." button to the right.

4) Now find your folder you set up in section I. Look at the first column. Find the LaCie disk and click on it once. Look at the second column. Click once on the folder that bears your name, click once on the folder that contains your project, then click on "Choose."

5) Now click on the "Set..." button next to "Waveform Cache" and repeat step 4. Do the same with "Thumbnail Cache" and "Autosave Vault."

6) Once that's done, click "OK." You're now ready to edit!

2. How do I continue working on my project?

2.1) Do you know where your project is stored?

If not, check on the LaCie disk.

How to do this:

1) Double-click on the LaCie drive (it should be on the top right of the desktop).

2) Find the folder that bears your name and double-click on it.

3) Find the folder that bears the name of the project and double-click on it.

4) Find your project and double-click on it. Final Cut will automatically run and open the project. Project filenames always end with ".fcp" If it doesn't end in ".fcp" it's a finished movie file.

2.2) Have you set up your Scratch disks?

If not, make sure the computer knows to store all your "work in progress" files inside your project folder.

How to do this:

1) Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu at the very top left of the screen and choose "System Settings..."

2) Make sure you're looking at the "Scratch Disks" tab in the System Settings window.

3) Look at the top row of this tab. It should have a row of blue boxes with check marks in them. Click the "Set..." button to the right

4) Now find your folder you set up in section I. Look at the first column. Find the LaCie disk and click on it once. Look at the second column. Click once on the folder that bears your name, click once on the folder that contains your project, then click on "Choose."

5) Now click on the "Set..." button next to "Waveform Cache" and repeat step 4. Do the same with "Thumbnail Cache" and "Autosave Vault."

6) Once that's done, click "OK." You're now ready to edit!

2.3) Do you want to see previews on the TV monitor?

Make sure the DV deck and the TV are turned on and then refresh video devices.

How to do this:

1) Make sure the DV deck and TV are turned on!

2) Click on the "View" menu at the top of the screen. Move down to "Video Out" and click on "Refresh Video Devices." You should now be able to preview your movie on the TV screen. If not, check step 3.

3) Click on the "View" menu, move down to "Video Out" and select "Apple Firewire NTSC (720 x 480)."

3. How do I capture footage?

3.1) Do you want to capture from MiniDV?

Pop the DV tape into the deck, and capture using device control.

How to do this:

1) Insert your tape into the DV deck.

2) Click on the "File" menu at the top of the screen and then click on "Capture."

3) Use the controls near the bottom of the capture window to play, fast forward and rewind the tape.

4) Find the clips you want to capture and set in (start) and out (end) points for each individual clip you want to capture. Do this by pressing the "i" key for in points and the "o' key for out points. Alternatively, use the buttons in the window. The in point looks like a triangle pointing right at a vertical line and the out point is a triangle pointing left at a vertical line.

5) Once you've set in and out points click on the "Clip" button in the bottom right of the capture window. You'll be prompted to name your clip. Give it a descriptive name that will help you remember what it is later. The click OK or press return.

6) Continue steps 4 and 5 until you've captured all your clips, then close the capture window with the close button in the top left.

3.2) Do you want to capture from VHS or SVHS?

Make sure both the VHS and DV deck are turned on, and use the "Capture Now" option in Final Cut.

How to do this:

1) Insert your tape into the VHS deck. Make sure the DV deck is also turned on, as this sends the signal from the VHS deck to the computer.

2) Click on the "File" menu at the top of the screen and then click on "Capture."

3) Click on the "Now" button in the bottom right of the capture window and press play on the VHS deck. If the computer gives you an error, go to step 4, otherwise continue to step 5.

4) If you have problems capturing from a VHS tape you need to change the way the computer interacts with the video deck, a process called "Device Control." Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu, then click on "Easy Setup..." In the window that opens choose setup for "DV-NTSC DV Converter" and then click on the "Setup" button.

5) Once you've captured all the footage on the tape press Escape to stop capturing.

6) Close the capture window with the close button in the top left.

7) If you needed to follow step 4 then you should change the device control settings back to what they were. Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu and then on the "Easy Setup" option. Choose "DV-NTSC Firewire Basic" from the menu and click on "Setup..."

3.3) Do you want to capture from your own camera?

Hook up your camera to a free firewire port and capture using either device control (if your camera supports it) or capture now (if it doesn't).

How to do this:

1) Make sure your tape is in your camera. Hook up your camera using a firewire cable into the back of the LaCie hard drive. There is one socket for a Firewire 400 cable and one for a Firewire 800 cable. Make sure your camera is running on mains power. It'll be really irritating if you run out of batteries midway through a capture!

2) Click on the "File" menu at the top of the screen and then click on "Capture."

3) Click on the "Now" button in the bottom right of the capture window and press play on the VHS deck. If the computer gives you an error, go to step 4, otherwise continue to step 5.

4) If you have problems capturing from a VHS tape you need to change the way the computer interacts with the video deck, a process called "Device Control." Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu, then click on "Easy Setup..." In the window that opens choose setup for "DV-NTSC DV Converter" and then click on the "Setup" button.

5) Once you've captured all the footage on the tape press Escape to stop capturing.

6) Close the capture window with the close button in the top left.

7) If you needed to follow step 4 then you should change the device control settings back to what they were. Click on the "Final Cut Express HD" menu and then on the "Easy Setup" option. Choose "DV-NTSC Firewire Basic" from the menu and click on "Setup..."

8) You should now be able to disconnect your camera.

4. I want to go home! How do I close up?

4.1) Have you closed your project?

If not, make sure you do before you leave.

How to do this:

1) Look in the Browser window, which is normally located in the top left of the screen.

2) Find the tab which bears the name of your project. Hold down the control key and click on the tab.

3) Click on "Close Tab."

4) Now you can quite Final Cut Express and the next person to use the program won't see your work.

5. How do I finish my project?

5.1) Do you want to burn your movie onto DVD?

If so, you'll need to export your movie and then use iDVD to burn it. It takes twice as long as the total run time of your movie. Make sure you have enough time to do this before the next person is scheduled to use the edit suite!

How to do this:

1) Make sure you've set in and out points on your timeline. Put the playhead at the point you want your movie to start and press "i". Now put the playhead where you want the movie to stop and press "o."

2) Make sure the Timeline is the active window. To be sure, click once somewhere in the Timeline window.

3) Click on the "File" menu at the top left of the screen. Move down to "Export," but don't click. Move the mouse to the right and click on "Quicktime Movie."

4) In the window that opens, click on the little blue arrow next to the file name. Three columns will open.

5) Look at the first column. Find the LaCie disk and click on it once. Look at the second column. Click on the folder that bears your name.

6) Now type the name of your finished movie in the box at the top of the window, then click "Save" or hit return.

7) Start up iDVD. Click once on the iDVD icon at the bottom of the screen.

8) Find your movie. Click once on the LaCie disk in the left column, now click on your folder, now click on the movie you just saved. Now click on "Import."

9) Now insert a blank DVD, and iDVD will do the rest. It'll take about twice as long as the total run time of your movie.

5.2) Do you want to master to MiniDV?

If so, you'll need to export your movie and then use iDVD. This process takes as long as the total run time of your movie. Make sure you have enough time to do this before the next person is scheduled to use the edit suite!

How to do this:

1) Make sure you've set in and out points on your timeline. Put the playhead at the point you want your movie to start and press "i." Now put the playhead where you want the movie to stop and press "o."

2) Make sure the Timeline is the active window. To be sure, click once somewhere in the Timeline window.

3) Check that the video deck(s) is turned on and Final Cut is talking to it. Click on the "View" menu at the top of the screen and move down to "Video Out" at the bottom of the menu. The option "Apple Firewire NTSC (720 x 480) should be checked. If it is, skip to step 5, if not follow step 4.

4) Click on "Refresh Video Devices" in the "View > Video Out" menu. Return to step 3.

5) Click on the "File" menu, then click on "Print to Video" at the bottom of the menu.

6) In the "Print to Video" window, make sure the "Color Bars," "Black," "Slate," "Black" and "Countdown" boxes are all checked. Make sure you have a blank tape in the DV deck and click "OK."

5.3) Do you want to master to VHS or SVHS?

You'll need to make sure you're in an edit suite equipped with a VHS deck.

How to do this:

1) Follow all the steps in Section 5.2.

2) Insert a blank VHS in the VHS deck and rewind your MiniDV master.

3) Press record on the VHS deck and play on the MiniDV deck. Wait...