Final Cut Pro X Essential Techniques

Combining our one day Introduction to Final Cut Pro X course with a second day of deeper exploration, our two day Final Cut Pro X essentials course is designed to assist those both entirely new to the software, as well as users familiar with previous versions, to make the leap into editing video footage like the professionals do.

Colour correction, transitions, titles, trimming, markers and exporting are all covered in detail, as well as how best to prepare and modify clips in the timeline using a variety of the new tools on offer.

Our second day also gives you the opportunity to practice your editing skills with the expert guidance of a experienced tutor who ensures that you will attain a confident and concise understanding of the software’s power, and how best to master it within your production workflow.

Duration: 2 days.

Price: £375.

Location: 21st Century Studios, St Albans, Hertfordshire. For security reasons, further details are only provided upon booking.

Times: 10.00am to 4.30pm.

Equipment: Our fully featured training room includes six top-of-the-range iMac computers configured to work in both Macintosh (OSX) and PC (Windows) modes, ensuring you the maximum familiarity with your chosen operating system.

Further assistance: Our FAQ page contains the answers to many common questions. Alternatively please call 07543 403616 to arrange to speak to our training manager.

COURSE CONTENT

DAY ONE

Introducing FCP X

• Welcome
• About the tutor
• Introducing FCP X

FCP X Vs FCP 7

• Streamlined editing interface
• 64-bit processing abilities, background rendering
• Smart and keyword collections
• 3rd party plug-ins
• EDL/XML, network support
• Background rendering
• Missing applications of the FCP Studio and their replacements

Installing FCP X

• Location of program files
• Avoiding conflicts and potential problems

FCP X Interface: Event Library / Media Browser

• Organising media
• Viewer / Inspector
• Viewing media
• Project Library / Timeline
• Editing and creating media

FCP X Interface: Toolbar

• Importing/keywording media buttons
• Editing buttons
• Trimming tools menu
• Enhancements menu
• Retiming menu
• Content libraries

FCP X Interface: Dashboard

• Timecode indicator
• Audio meters
• Background tasks window

FCP X Interface: Commands

• Understanding keyboard shortcuts
• Quickly viewing keyboard shortcuts
• Contextual menus
• Customising commands and keyboard layout
• Searching for commands
• Command groups

FCP X Interface: Other general interface features

• Resizing windows and returning to defaults
• Saving and undo levels
• Help menu

FCP X Preferences: Editing

• Time display
• Timeline preferences
• Audio
• Still images
• Transitions
• Dialog warnings

FCP X Preferences: Playback

• Rendering
• Playback
• Pre-roll
• Player background

Import preferences: Organising

• Copying files to events folders
• Importing folders as keyword collections

Import preferences: Transcoding

• Creating optimised media
• Creating proxy media

Import preferences: Video

• Analyse for stabilisation and rolling shutter
• Analyse for balance colour
• Automatically keyboarding the composition of clips
• Creating smart collections after analysis

Import preferences: Audio

• Analysing and fixing audio problems
• Separating mono and group stereo audio
• Removing silent channels

Importing media from a disk drive

• FCPX’s events metaphor
• Where to store your events
• Creating and naming a new event
• Importing files into events
• Smart collections and keywords

Importing from solid state media

• Connecting card reader or camera
• Using the camera import window
• Skimming and marking media to import
• Choosing to optimise media and to which drive

Import media from tape

• Connecting the camera
• Choosing media to import
• Importing from camera

Importing from iMovie

• Importing iMovie projects
• Importing iMovie event library

Creating and opening archives

• Benefits of using archives

Using the event library (organising media)

• Explanation of event metaphor
• Hide/show button
• Duration slider
• Clip appearance switch
• List/filmstrip view toggle

Events/clips grouping drop down

• Group events by disk
• Group events by date
• Show date ranges in event library
• Arrange events by most recent
• Group clips by
• Arrange clips by
• Merging events, creating events, copying events

Keywording

• Bar color labeling system
• Keywording HUD
• Adding/removing keywords
• Drag and drop
• Typing manually
• Keywording shortcuts
• Keywording selections

Filter HUD

• Searching by text
• Searching by other parameters
• Creating smart collections

Rating clips

• Clip view pull down
• Applying rejected and favourite ratings
• Applying smart collections based on ratings

Moving events and clips

• Deleting events and clips
• Transcoding clips after imported
• Where the clips reside in the Finder

Using the project library

• Explanation of project metaphor
• Location of projects in Finder
• Navigating between project library and timeline
• Creating folders and organising projects
• Creating projects
• Default event
• Video properties
• Audio and render properties
• Using the inspector to reveal/modify project settings
• Duplicating / moving projects

DAY TWO

Preparing clips

• Skimming and playhead basics
• Making selection ranges on clips
• Playback options menu
• View menu options relevant to preparing clips
• Keyboard shortcuts relevant to preparing clips

Inserting clips into the timeline

• Drag and drop method
• Append edits
• Insert edits
• Overwrite edits
• Connect edits
• Creating and moving connect edits
• Overwriting to primary storyline
• Replace edits
• From start
• From end
• Auditioning clips
• 3 point editing
• Using skimmer/keyboard versus playhead to identify edit points
• Working with just audio or just video

Navigating the timeline

• Skimming and on/off toggles
• Snapping
• Soloing button
• Keyboard shortcuts
• By timecode
• Modifying clip appearance
• Disabling/enabling clips
• Moving, copying, nudging, and editing clips in the timeline
• Timeline index
• Collapsing and expanding clips

Trimming (refining the rough cut)

• Edit menu
• Selection tool trimming options
• Timecode trimming options
• Range selection tool (move,remove,effect)
• Rimming tool (ripple, rolling, slip, slide)
• Blade tool
• Trimming audio and video independently
• Precision editor

Markers

• Uses of markers
• Inserting and customising markers
• Working with ‘to do’ markers
• Navigating markers via timeline index

Storylines

• Explanation of the storyline metaphor
• Primary and secondary storylines
• Gap clips
• Position tool
• Replacing gap clips
• Compound clips (nesting)

Audio editing

• Setting up timeline for audio editing
• Fading audio options
• Identifying and adjusting for audio clipping
• Copying and pasting audio parameters
• Ideal levels for audio
• Using keyframes to precisely control audio
• Auditioning audio clips
• Choosing preferred audio channels
• Adding music to video
• Surround sound mixing
• Audio enhancements to clean audio
• Automatically synchronising clips

Retiming clips

• Constant speed retiming
• Preserving pitch
• Variable speed retiming
• Speed ramping
• Reversing
• Rewinds
• hold frames
• Rendering options

Adding transitions

• Full overlap vs available media
• Decorative transitions
• Customising transitions
• Customising audio transitions

Adding titles, effects, and motion

• Transforming clips and images
• Transform, crop, and distort tools
• Ken burns effect
• Customising effects and looks
• Animating effects
• Video generators
• Text generators
• Themes
• Placeholders

Color Correction

• Automatic colour balance
• Using the colour board
• Matching colour
• Using the colour board for primary and secondary colour correction
• Broadcast safe

Exporting from FCP

• Exporting stills
• Share command
• Export command
• Web, archival, Apple devices, and disc media

Forthcoming Courses…

Schedule your own training course

Please tell us where and when YOU would like to attend this course.
If we are able to schedule the course, we will contact you.