splice/razor/cut??

I think it's time to crack open that manual and have a good read.

Sheesh.

That said, the first thing you have to wrap your head around is that fce and fcp do non0destructive editing. Once a clip is captured, there it is and there it will stay, unchanged. What you do in the timeline is create a set of instructions for fce to play back the clips.

double click a clip in the browser. That loads it into the biewer. find the place you want the clip to start. Mark an inpoint. find the end, mark out. Press f9 to add it to the timeline.

That's enough hand-holding. Read tfm now.

As Jim as already said, FCE is non destructive in it's approach. The iMovie way of doing things must be thrown out and expect an initial learning curve that may take several weeks or months.
Post your questions here if you get stuck, that's what the forum is for.
Remember that there are many posts already here covering most things you will come across, so a search should be the first place to get answers.

Al

As a newbie to FCE, sometimes trying to read through the manual get be a little hard, especially if you have no background in video editing. I have tried to RTFM as some of the geniuses at the Apple store have told me, but as I point out to them, it would help if it was printed in plain English. Still can't figure out exactly how to put in a transition. Thank goodness for pro care!

Hello Sarah.

I will hold your hand and guide you through this wicked editing world!

There are numerous ways of cutting up clips in FCE (as indeed there are in iMovie).

To get you started try this:-

1. Drag the clip from the Browser and drop it into the Timeline.

2. Drag the Playhead to the point where you want to make the cut.

3. At the right side of the timeline is the Tool Palette. Select the Razor Tool (shaped like a razor blade) and position it over the Playhead and click.

4. The video track will now be cut. Depending on how you have FCE configured you may need to also cut the audio clip below it.

When you have finished cutting remember to switch back to the normal selection tool (the arrow shaped one at the top of the Tool Palette).

Good luck!

Ian.

PS. One further thing. Are you missing iMovie's Auto Scene Detection? If so read the information on this link (it is by Tom Wolsky - the "Godfather of Final Cut"!)

http://www.fcpbook.com/Video5.html

Also try these links to FAQ sites:-

http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutexpress/index.html

http://www.fcpbook.com/FAQ.html

Everything Ian told you is great. Another approach, and there are many, is to drag your captured video from the browser into the viewer. In the view set In and Out points. This will be where you want your clip to start and end. It's a good practice to leave a minimum of about 1/2 second (15 frames)on before the In point and after the Out point. This gives the application some video to work with transitions. Then drag your edited clip from the Viewer either into the canvas or directly to the Timeline.

Don't get into the sloppy habit of dragging things around. Learn the keyboard, you'll be glad you did.

I remember the days when all we had to cut up the film was a pair of scissors or a razor blade - I'm too set in my ways to learn these newfangled In and Out points........must go and chop some more wood for the fire!

Ian.

Sarah - I would like to see your work. I have just tried to get through to the website you listed but can't. Is there an error?

Could you post a hotlink like the ones I gave you?

To do it you open the website and click on the address at the top to highlight it.

Then go to Edit and click Copy.

Return to this forum. Next write a reply and go back to Edit and click Paste.

When you Post the Message the hotlink will appear in blue and clicking on it will get straight through to the site.

Ian

I still have a film splicer in what I call "The Museum", along with other stuff that USED to be the latest and greatest.
Won't be that long down the track and we'll be laughing and whispering "how did they get along using those Mac quad 4s".

Al

wow. The rights to that Queen song must have cost as much as your parents mortgage balance.

If you aren't careful, the rights to that Queen song could cost you your parents house.

And I am NOT kidding.

You might just google up the copyright laws and check them out, especially the damages part.

I know a company who used a Who tune without permission. The rights, after the fact, were $10,000. The damages were $75,000.

But hey, what the heck, right?

Sheesh.

Absolutely. Within the terms of copyright law it's a public display, not personal use. Any one can access it at any time. You are distributing the music without license, and you are synchronizing it with pictures without license. Both require separate license agreements. That everyone else on YouTube is doing it is no defense. The more popular it gets the more likely a record label or BMI or ASCAP will come down on it.

All the best,

Tom