This set of shortcuts, which all work together, is pretty basic, but if you’re not using them for some reason, you absolutley need to start and if you’re an FCP newbie, this is probably one of the most important habits to form early on. Learn it, live it.
The proper workflow for setting up a rough cut is to select a clip in the Browser, open it up in the Viewer (which you can simply do by hitting RETURN with the clip selected) and then “trim” it, which means you set the in and out-points. From there, you should use F10 (or maybe F9) to send it to to the timeline (we’ll discuss these keys in a future post). The fast and efficient way to trim the clip in the Viewer is to use two simple shortcuts:
Use JK and L to scrub your clip and when you find the perfect in-point, simply hit I. Scrub on down to the end point and hit O. That’s all there is to it. If you’re using the GUI buttons on the Viewer, you’re wasting time and breaking the smooth flow of your ideas to the timeline.
If you hit X, you essentially mark the entire clip (sets in-point on first frame and out-point on last frame), but since that works the same as setting no in or out-points (you don’t have to have ‘em), there’s rarely a need to use X (we will however, cover its powerful usage on the timeline in a later post). If you want the whole clip sent to the timeline, just send it without trimming at all.
Change your mind about the in or out points? Just hit I or O again and they’re replaced. No need to delete the previous in or out as there can only be one and every time you hit I or O, the edit point updates.
OK, so you’ve trimmed your clip. What to snap your playhead to the in-point to play forward from there to see if you got it right? Hit SHIFT I. Want to snap to the out-point? SHIFT O.
Want to clear the in or out-point? Hit OPT I or OPT O to clear them:
Want to clear both the in-point and the out-point at one time (I use this one quite frequently)? Use the OPT X shortcut:
These shortcuts are easy to remember as a group because they are all I and O. Add SHIFT to “go to” and OPT to delete.
Once you’ve mastered this and want to take your trimming operations in the Viewer up a serious notch, read this post.
This shortcut was previously discussed on 3/19/2010
If You’re Not Using I and O, Start Today!
This set of shortcuts, which all work together, is pretty basic, but if you’re not using them for some reason, you absolutley need to start and if you’re an FCP newbie, this is probably one of the most important habits to form early on. Learn it, live it.
The proper workflow for setting up a rough cut is to select a clip in the Browser, open it up in the Viewer (which you can simply do by hitting RETURN with the clip selected) and then “trim” it, which means you set the in and out-points. From there, you should use F10 (or maybe F9) to send it to to the timeline (we’ll discuss these keys in a future post). The fast and efficient way to trim the clip in the Viewer is to use two simple shortcuts:
Use JK and L to scrub your clip and when you find the perfect in-point, simply hit I. Scrub on down to the end point and hit O. That’s all there is to it. If you’re using the GUI buttons on the Viewer, you’re wasting time and breaking the smooth flow of your ideas to the timeline.
If you hit X, you essentially mark the entire clip (sets in-point on first frame and out-point on last frame), but since that works the same as setting no in or out-points (you don’t have to have ‘em), there’s rarely a need to use X (we will however, cover its powerful usage on the timeline in a later post). If you want the whole clip sent to the timeline, just send it without trimming at all.
Change your mind about the in or out points? Just hit I or O again and they’re replaced. No need to delete the previous in or out as there can only be one and every time you hit I or O, the edit point updates.
OK, so you’ve trimmed your clip. What to snap your playhead to the in-point to play forward from there to see if you got it right? Hit SHIFT I. Want to snap to the out-point? SHIFT O.
Want to clear the in or out-point? Hit OPT I or OPT O to clear them:
Want to clear both the in-point and the out-point at one time (I use this one quite frequently)? Use the OPT X shortcut:
These shortcuts are easy to remember as a group because they are all I and O. Add SHIFT to “go to” and OPT to delete.
Once you’ve mastered this and want to take your trimming operations in the Viewer up a serious notch, read this post.
This shortcut was previously discussed on 3/19/2010