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Editing with Final Cut Pro

Six ways you can improve your editing using Final Cut Pro.

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1. Use the 'command' key

Manuals talk a lot about using the 'command' key, so where is it? It's the key with an apple symbol on your keyboard. Not surprisingly it is also known as the apple key - hence the confusion. Now you’ve found the near-mystical 'command' key you need to use it when editing one sequence into another. Hold it down when you perform your edit otherwise you'll create a nested clip of typically one video and two audio tracks.

2. Duplicate sequences

Quick and easy shortcut to duplicate your sequences is by pressing 'Option' D.

3. Peel off the tab

When adding effects/motion to a clip you need to peel off the 'Filters Tab' from the viewer so you can see the changes you are making on the clip. Peel off the Tab by clicking on and dragging it onto free screen space.

4. Create gaps in your timeline

Use the 'Select All Tracks Forward' tool and drag it down onto the timeline where you want the gap to occur. Use the same tool to drag the timeline back together.

5. Leave the tracks

You don’t need to switch off tracks if overwriting new clips in a sequence. It only sees tracks with source connected and ignores all other tracks regardless of track lights.

6. Capture material

There is a fundamental difference in the way Avid captures material compared to FCP. An editor colleague described it very succinctly "Avid is designed to Capture and Log and FCP is designed to Log and Capture". Meaning that it's vital that you name your material as you capture because if you change the names within FCP the source material does not also change name and hence trouble.


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These tips are from Alison Hunter, a BBC Desktop Consultant, working to introduce innovative production techniques across the BBC and give day-to-day support to programme makers using cutting-edge technology.