flash frame from hell, cannot edit out

g4, OSX-10.2, 2-1.25s, >FCP3<!!

I have been attempting some very precision sync edits, and some how acquired a frame where doesn't belong, can see it as a stop-frame in canvas but not in timeline, and as a flash frame and cannot edit it out.

When I have tl so enlarged that I click on it, cut it, to move it to V2, and look at V2, what I thought I grabbed and moved up, it is the frame next to it, and not the one I need out, did this a couple times, on it, ahead of it and behind it.

Because there is a sound track bridging this scene, I cannot delete it.

Either this is a nightmare, or someone can help me.

Thanks

That's a kind of corruption. A few things to try:

1. Ditch your render files and re-render;

2. Select all your clips, press SHIFT-D to take them offline (choose "Leave media on disk", then reconnect them;

3. Re-edit the problematic clip into the timeline;

4. Copy and paste all your clips to a brand-new timeline;

5. Copy and paste everything in your project file to a new project file;

6. Dump preferences.

Just a thought, perhaps. Be sure that flash frame is not a poorly placed incoming clip that leaves just a small one frame opening on the timeline. At the point of the problem do you use the left-right arrow keys to move the playhead one frame and check each frame over a period of time to make sure that they all fit properly?

does you clip have cuts within it?
like a film telecine?
or an existing program you've captured from tape?

if you cut right on what sees to be the frame in FCP,
you could still have a field of the incoming shot left there.
that'll flash on your external monitor.

i'm betting derek's list will fix this,
but i;d leave the make-offline/reconect trick till last
as it involves the most amount of work, and reconnecting can be scary.


cheers,
nick

<<<that'll flash on your external monitor.>>>

You can tell when this is the problem because the error frame will vibrate at you on an external glass monitor. It won't be a straight, normal frame in the wrong place.

Koz

Please remember this is still just FCP3. [This project is taking a very long time to complete]

Dereck; as far as I know, these files are not rendered, this is all cuts, no effects, haven?t gotten into, or learned rendering yet. Just need a succinct sense cut for now. The timeline render bars are a darkish gray.

John F; this single frame was not moved with arrow keys, still use only JKL keys.

Nick; film dailies are from a telecine, dailies captured from the visible time coded video tape of that telecine. No digital tape origin here.

Kos; ?error? frame in FCP canvas is sharp and clear, do not have an external monitor other than the one FCP is on to check in canvas.


More questions;
Forgot to mention some other adjoining frames have a full white X through the pix, with number 1 and 2 at the intersection, what would this be important to mention? Cannot find a reference or know what this means.

The ?frame from hell?, has, on both lower corners, has an L or light gray rt angle on ll, and a reverse L on lr, not sure what this means, unless it is first and last frame. It is in a TL gray area, and not in pix timeline content color. It is a frame I think I wanted to trim or get rid of, and do not want it where it is now?

If this timeline frame is, in fact corrupt, might I simply move all my edited work on this chapter to another later area in this same timeline and continue editing. I have been working on doing some precision re-edits on 5 so far, ?chapters? of this program, that are now separated/segregated by gray spaces in this timeline, {to prevent editing train wrecks later, and to be re-connected later} and to continue working on fine tuning this AV track work? Or is this whole specific timeline now ?corrupted?? Or just this frame or part?

Can I just strand or leave this ?frame from hell? in the gray space that already separates my other ?chapters?, where it won?t matter? And continue editing?

My plan is to get all these ?chapters? to each satisfaction, and make a new project that in fact, becomes my finished connected project.

You people have all helped me, immeasurably in the past, I continue to be very grateful and I thank you again.

<<< ?error? frame in FCP canvas is sharp and clear>>>

Doesn't count.

The Canvas View takes a lot of shortcuts with the video signal. One of the shortcuts is that it deletes every other television field.

There is one way to get a hint.

Force the canvas to be 100% instead of Fit To Frame with the little tab on top. Pull the Canvas window larger and larger until there is a little gray all around the picture. *Now* it's showing you both fields. Normally, pictures don't change very much when you do this. If your picture suddenly got darker or is now half one picture and half something else, then you have a split frame and you will never be able to edit it out since Final Cut only edits in single, whole frame increments.

Get a glass television monitor.

Koz

did you try derek;s other points?

in particular:

4. Copy and paste all your clips to a brand-new timeline;
5. Copy and paste everything in your project file to a new project file;
6. Dump preferences.


nick

I expanded canvas to the full monitor frame, and the single frame didn?t change, it even compared well to the adjoining frames. Working on getting another monitor.

The reason I haven?t done the ?computer stuff? yet is that working there ?spooks? me, and will have to read up on how to do it. But am very willing to learn. Know how to edit though.

Have a lot of respect for you people, but don?t understand how copying and pasting everything to another timeline and project file and ?dumping or trashing? will make anything better, won?t I also be copying whatever problem I have? Would love to understand how this works.

Also, cannot understand how my trying to eliminate a single frame by cutting, somehow gets me into seeing ?wireframe-image? on the adjoining frames? Was just cutting, haven?t learned effects yet. Not interested in effects just yet, this is supposed to be a simple, clean, in sync rough-cut for now.

I wasn?t any where near clicking on the canvas View selector to select ?wire-frame- image? in canvas, as I found out it is called.

I get confused by all the many names that seem to mean the same thing. The jargon. I assume ?dump? means same as ?trash? your preferences? The word ?clip? will really throw a film person. I have since found the glossary.

Also, the way I have accommodated and adapted to using this system is; it still is a rough-cut that I need. The first attempted rough was brutalized by me not fully understand FCP instructions and tools, I had scenes knocked out of sync and frames missing from trying to do many inserts, Nick, you called it ?tidying up?.

This time, each of my 11 chapters is isolated by a timeline space and now being cut cleanly and manageably to be cut into order later into a completed program. It is kinda working for me, have 5 chapters done well so far, until this surprise.

And I?d rather be cutting than fixing the computer program. If I am misinformed here, please let me know. I am willing to accommodate the computer if it keeps me cutting.

And I ultimately need a no hassle dvd, and heard cuts only or simplicity is best for that.

Thank you

> Have a lot of respect for you people, but don?t understand how copying and
> pasting everything to another timeline and project file and ?dumping or
> trashing? will make anything better, won?t I also be copying whatever
> problem I have?

No, not necessarily. You have to understand that a computer isn't looking at pictures, colours, images. It's dealing with strings of ones and zeroes. And two clips with the exact same timing, imagery and quality settings are not identical files -- the various information relevant to the clip would be stored in different sectors of that file. That's why when you lose an AIFF imported from a CD, when you re-import it, it will often reconnect in the wrong way and change your edits.

And that's the same for project files.

> Also, cannot understand how my trying to eliminate a single frame by
> cutting, somehow gets me into seeing ?wireframe-image? on the adjoining
> frames?

Wireframe is simply a display option. Select the Viewer or Canvas and press W twice to go back to seeing the image without the Wireframe.

> I get confused by all the many names that seem to mean the same thing.
> The jargon. I assume ?dump? means same as ?trash? your preferences? The
> word ?clip? will really throw a film person.

It shouldn't. Every editor uses that term.

Were you taught by a Final Cut Pro instructor? Having common terminology, as well as strict, field-tested work habits, are keys to learning editing properly. You can self-teach this stuff, but you'll never be as good as a properly trained student who has the basics down.

> This time, each of my 11 chapters is isolated by a timeline space and now
> being cut cleanly and manageably to be cut into order later into a completed
> program. It is kinda working for me, have 5 chapters done well so far, until
> this surprise.

"Chapters" is a DVD term. Avoid using it in an editing context. If you want to separate your complete show/film into manageable chunks, which most of us do, use multiple Sequences. You can assemble them into a master sequence for outputting and exports later.

<<< ?trash? your preferences?>>>

Yes. Final Cut (and other programs) keep lists of instructions and assumptions in preference files. It refers to these files while you're editing to greatly smooth the workflow.

These files can get damaged and in some cases, Final Cut will seem to be going insane. "I selected the main video track and one audio track vanished and my cut points are now in a different place."

If you delete the preference files--or push them somewhere Final Cut can't find them--Final Cut will build new ones when it restarts based on factory fresh assumptions. Many times this will solve "crazy" problems. It will not damage your show, but it will reset, for example, where on the hard drives data is to be placed and your timeline specifications. Most times, returning these settings to normal is far better and easier than trying to get a crazy Mac to behave.

As an aside, the other thing that will cause a Mac to go insane is filling up the System Drive. Always keep all the disk drives on a video system below 90% capacity.

Oh, and yes, Final Cut got the idea of "clips" from the film people.

Koz