FINAL CUT PRO - basics

The Final Cut Pro interface consists of three main areas: the Browser (where the clips are stored), Viewers (where edited video is displayed) and the Timeline (where you cut the video). Each area is discussed below.

THE BROWSER

Located in the upper left part of the interface, this is the area where all video and audio clips are stored. You can also create Bins - (folders) used to organise your media files better.

Every time you capture video, the clips are stored in the Browser. Also, you can import additional audio or video clips as well as static images (TIFF, JPG, etc). In addition, it it possible to insert audio tracks directly from a cd, but keep in mind that you will need the cd each time you reopen the project file.

THE TIMELINE

The Timeline is where you edit you video and audio. Video clips are displayed as blue bars and audio tracks are shown as green bars.

To insert a video clip onto the timeline, select it in the browser and simply drag on one of the tracks on the timeline.

Just above the top video track in the Timeline is the playhead: a small yellow triangle and vertical line. You can click on it and drag it to the left or right to scrub or preview the video and audio sequence. Press the spacebar to start playing the video sequence on the timeline. Press it again to stop.

Saving your projects

Always save your project before starting to capture and edit.

For GH317 users: you must save your project on the SCRATCH drive. The filename must contain your name and the date when the project can be safely deleted. All other project files will be deleted!

Back to Top