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

Correcting white balance, exposure, and saturation

Before you can get creative you have to normalize, and that's what this section is all about. Fixing any issues with white balance, exposure, and saturation is the first step in basic correction, and you've got options. There are several ways to approach this, and there's no right or wrong way. But here's a rough guide to your options, for each clip in your timeline:

  • Balance Color to automatically correct brightness and white balance. This sometimes works well, but the fully automatic option often fails, either going too far or being fooled by the image content. There is a manual override, but no way to turn it down; this is on, or off.
  • Match Color to make one clip look like another. This can work well when two shots have very similar content, but otherwise it's not very useful.
  • Color Board to adjust the exposure, saturation, and color of different parts of the image, adjusting the shadows,...