Book Image

Final Cut Pro Efficient Editing

By : Iain Anderson
Book Image

Final Cut Pro Efficient Editing

By: Iain Anderson

Overview of this book

Final Cut Pro (also known as FCP, previously Final Cut Pro X) is Apple’s efficient and accessible video editing software for everyone, offering powerful features that experienced editors and novices will find useful. FCP is the quickest way to transform your raw clips into a finished piece, so if speed is important, make this a key tool in your editing arsenal. Final Cut Pro Efficient Editing is a comprehensive best practice guide for all editors. You’ll not only learn how to use the features but also find out which ones are the most important and when you should use them. With the help of practical examples, the book will show you how typical footage can be assembled, trimmed, colored, and finessed to produce a finished edit, exploring a variety of techniques. As you progress through the book, you’ll follow a standard editing workflow to get the feel of working on real-world projects and answer self-assessment questions to make sure that you’re on track. By the end of this Final Cut Pro book, you’ll be well versed with the key features of this app and have all the tools you need to create impressive edits.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Section 1: Importing and Organizing
7
Section 2: Rough Cut to Fine Cut
13
Section 3: Finishing and Exporting

Shooting the right shots

Whatever kind of camera you end up with, you will need to capture a variety of shots to make the edit run smoothly. If you've planned well, you'll go into a shoot with a list of shots that you need to capture, and it's very satisfying to tick them off as you go.

The shots you need will vary from shoot to shoot, but it's rare that you can simply capture a subject once from a single angle and be done. Nearly always, you'll want to capture two different kinds of footage: A-roll and B-roll.

A-roll

This is simply the primary video that you need to capture. If people speak on camera or to a camera, that's A-roll:

Figure 2.14: A subject talking on camera? That's A-roll (from Brad Olsen's Off the Tracks)

Figure 2.14: A subject talking on camera? That's A-roll (from Brad Olsen's Off the Tracks)

In dramas, a scene where people are talking is A-roll, and in a corporate piece, the interviews are A-roll. This is the spine of the story — the driving message keeping the viewer...