For the last 6.5 years I have been editing on DPS Velocity (Yes, DPS. The version I'm running pre-dates the Leitch/Harris acquisitions).

I've only recently been learning FCP and un-learning Velocity. One feature I really like on Velocity is the ability to take a clip, add a bunch of stuff to it and render it as a "movie." The result is a brand new media file that has all the compositing I created and exists as its own file even if I delete the original clip.

Does FCP offer a similar feature? It seems like such a simple procedure, but I've spent way too much time consulting the manuals, watching the tutorials and searching forums trying to find the answer. And the terminology is quite different between Velocity and FCP, so trying to figure out what it might even be called before I can do a proper search has been a challenge, too.

Heck, has anyone out there created any kind of Velocity-to-FCP translation dictionary for people in my position?

I would appreciate any help.

Thanks a bunch,
Robert Faust
Faust Productions

> Does FCP offer a similar feature? It seems like such a simple procedure, but I've spent way
> too much time consulting the manuals, watching the tutorials and searching forums trying to
> find the answer.

?????
You couldn't find the answer anywhere? That's bizarre.
Just do a simple Export - QuickTime Movie and make sure it's self-contained. Use the "Current Settings" of the timeline. That will export a self-contained movie file in the same quality as your timeline. Save it to a logical place and re-import into the timeline.


www.derekmok.com

Ahhh. That sounds like a good solution.

In Velocity you set an in/out, tell it to "Create Movie," choose the "save to" location and the type of file you wish to create. When it finishes rendering it adds the clip to your gallery.

It didn't cross my mind to export and then import.

Cool.

Are there any other ways to achieve the same?

Thank you very much.


*** P.S. JUST TRIED IT. WORKED LIKE A CHARM! THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH! I KNEW IT WAS SOMETHING SIMPLE, BUT I GUESS I JUST COULDN'T SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES. NUTS. ***

Are there any other ways to achieve the same?

Why? What is wrong with that one?

Rule #1 when switching platforms. FCP isn't what you worked on before, so don't try to make it work that way. This goes for everything. DOn't try to make the Velocity to work like FCP, FCP to work like Avid, Media 100 to work like Premiere. They are different...get to know the differences.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

It's been my experience in TV that there are usually 10 different ways to do everything, so . . . no, there was nothing wrong with it, I was just curious.

I'm not trying to make it "work the same way" necessarily, but I do produce a weekly program with a lot of redundant editing and I streamlined the way I created things in Velocity. Now I have to figure out how to get similar results with FCP without taking unnecessary steps to get there.

As I said in my original comment, I'm unlearning old habits and terminology. And I'm doing my best to find the answers on my own, but I feel like I've wasted several hours scouring different sources for answers to easily-solved problems because FCP uses different names and labels.

I certainly don't want to be that guy on the forums who says, "How do I . . .?" Only to have frustrated regulars say, "Sheesh, we've already answered that . . ." So I really appreciate the speedy reply.

While I'm on the subject of simple solutions . . . is there an easy way to create a gap? You can just right-click to "close gap," but sometimes I need to insert some space . . .

No problem Robert. I am just used to the frustrated people trying to make FCP into the last system they worked on.

Creating a gap? My favorite tip. Press TTTT (T four times) and you will get a double arrow pointing right. Click on or above the footage you want to move and that clip and ALL the footage after it will highlight. Then you can move it and get the gap. Then press A to get your normal arrow again.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

> is there an easy way to create a gap?

That depends.

If there's nothing overlapping the gap (eg. a music file that you don't want to push ahead along with the second chunk), the press TTTT (Select All Tracks Forward), click on the position where you want the gap, and either drag the whole chunk forward with the mouse, or enter a number on the number pad to push everything ahead in the timeline by a prescribed amount (eg. "+3000" to push everything 30 seconds forward).

If there is a clip overlapping the intended gap, you must be careful. A lot of people lock the track of the overlapping clip, but that can be very dangerous because it may rip the sync decisions of everything else in that track forward. Only do so if you're sure nothing else ahead on that track needs to be in sync with other things in other tracks.

Another simple way to handle the overlapping clip is to just razor it temporarily. Perform the All Tracks Forward as described above. When so desired, drag the second part of the overlapping clip back together with the first, click on the Through Edit and delete it to reunite the two razored halves.


www.derekmok.com

Who got through first? Who got through first? Shane did. I gotta hit the treadmill.


www.derekmok.com

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the insights.

My first two weeks using FCP I kept thinking, "Arrgh. This is not like the Velocity." But after that I haven't made the comparison since. Everyday I learn a little something new that makes me appreciate FCP more and more.

And in a matter of moments you guys have taken two things that were driving me crazy and got them to make sense to me. (I just tried Select All Tracks Forward and it works great.) I also just learned how to update my keyboard shortcuts to make them fit my needs better. (In fact, I made "Select All Tracks Forward" a single T stroke instead of 4)

There are only a few more little things left that I haven't found the FCP approximation for. One is highlighting used clips in the bin.

Robert Faust
Faust Productions

Power Mac G5 10.4.9
Machine Model: PowerMac 7,3
2 CPU - 2.7 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory 6.5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Scratch Drive: 1TB
FCP 5.0.4
DVD SP 4.0.3

welcome on board, Robert.

RENDER / CREATE NEW MEDIA:
Export as QuickTime movie is the best way to do what you were doing before.
Export as QuickTime Movie automatically exports using your clip's settings 9If you export from the viewer) or your sequence settings (if you export from a sequence.)
Export using QuickTime conversion is not necessary unless you want to change the settings, and if you were to use exactly the same settings, anyway, it would re-comppress your media, if it is a compressed codec.

but i would question this approach.

what's wrong with a simple render?
the render actually *does* create a new media file, or files.
it;s just that they're not directly accessible (they don't appear in the browser as a matter of course)
also they are slightly volatile.
but if you ever need to revise / update the image all the elements are at your fingertips.

you may want to read up on NESTING in the manual.
or here:
[www.lafcpug.org]

this is where you "enclose", or "nest" a number of elements in a sequence that you use in other sequences.
don't know if Velocity had anything like that

a side note:
when you export the new file wont have a reel#.
Files without a reel# will not be trimmed in a Media Manager operation, which is generally a GOOD THING.
MM is assuming (in this case correctly) that the file is a new creation, not from tape, and may be the only copy in the universe
however, adding a Reel# is a piece of cake, if you want to.
just double click in the reel column in the browser, and add one


CREATE GAP:
rather than TTTT, i just use one simple T for track tool, then hold SHIFT to turn it into the "All Tracks" tool.
simpler, IMO


USED CLIPS:
one trick that might help with marking used clip in the bin is to colour your timeline clips.
if a Master/Affiliate relationship still exists between timeline and browser c.ips, the browser version will go the same colour.

Shortcuts for the 5 colours are Option Apple 2 thru 6, with Option Apple 1 being no colour.
(i move them all across, so colours 1-5 are Option Apple 1-5, and no colour is Option Apple `)


all the best,
nick

> rather than TTTT, i just use one simple T for track tool, then hold SHIFT to turn it into the
> "All Tracks" tool.
> simpler, IMO

Just one catch: TTTT allows you to then hold SHIFT so that you can prevent the clips from moving vertically (up/down tracks). T + SHIFT doesn't. And if your SHIFT isn't accurate (eg. if you click on the clips before you hold SHIFT), you could accidentally rip one entire track out of sync with everything else.

But to be honest, any method you get used to will probably be fine. These commands become second nature; with many of the shortcuts these days, I do them without even thinking about what they are. So physiological mistakes are not commonplace once you've got them committed to muscle memory.

Nesting is good for consolidating media and cleaning up your timeline if you have a complex effect involving a lot of clips, but I don't like it because it discourages (though it doesn't prevent) changes. And it doesn't offer the benefit of "no more rendering". I myself use a combination of techniques -- when I have a complex effect and want to only render it very sporadically, I put it into its own Sequence, only instead of cutting that Sequence into the main editing Sequence as a nested clip, I export it using the method above and re-import into the timeline. If I need changes made, I go back to the Sequence, make the changes, and re-export. Nesting, when overdone, can confuse a timeline rather than help clean it up.


www.derekmok.com

> I also just learned how to update my keyboard shortcuts to make them fit my needs better.
> (In fact, I made "Select All Tracks Forward" a single T stroke instead of 4)

Whatever works for you. However, I'd recommend that if you're still gaining experience with FCP, don't start remapping the keyboard yet. If you change too many commands, you may find yourself at a loss when you dump preferences or switch stations. Learning as many default shortcuts as possible gets you lightning fast on any FCP station. I started using shortcuts to change tools in 2002 and resisted the urge to change all the commands, and now even longer commands like TTTT, GG or SS are very easy for me. And I don't get nasty surprises just because I hadn't remembered to remap a certain command after switching stations. But several months ago, I had the opposite experience on Avid: Because I had customized so many commands when I'd learned it in 2002, I couldn't remember what they were anymore and I had to learn from zero again. I really think learning the defaults (unless it's a function for which no default shortcut exists) is a major asset.


www.derekmok.com

" one catch: TTTT allows you to then hold SHIFT so that you can prevent the clips from moving vertically (up/down tracks). T + SHIFT doesn't. And if your SHIFT isn't accurate (eg. if you click on the clips before you hold SHIFT), you could accidentally rip one entire track out of sync with everything else. "

hmmm...
i didnt know that.
but i guess it never came up
it's not a scalpel type operation.
just a big fat move.
and there's always Apple Z!

oh, another thought springs to mind...
i said "it's not a scalpel type operation. just a big fat move."
not entirely true!
you could *TRY* a scalpel operation....
you could select all forward, and TYPE IN a number of frames to move the lot.
and it *MIGHT* work
problem is there;s a silly restraint (bug) where if a transition hangs off a clip and into empty track space, FCP wont move the selection.


nick

> you could *TRY* a scalpel operation....
> you could select all forward, and TYPE IN a number of frames to move the lot.

I agree with that all the way...in fact, I suggested it above! |}
The number approach actually has the same limitations as TTTT/drag or T/SHIFT/drag. Those operations are also limited if the arrow happens to grab a transition but not its accompanying clip. The number operation wouldn't work either in that case. So the real issue is what's overlapping your click point and how to get around it. Shane's right...I'd rather have an option to override that particular collision alert. That's why lately I've been fond of the "temporary Razor All/delete Through Edit later" approach. Much faster than sailing down your timeline looking for the end of a clip, and safer than doing a Lock Track which causes problems later.


www.derekmok.com

.

This is awesome! Thanks to all who contributed!

If I am creating a scene that I will probably update I have simply been using a sequence and then using the sequence like a clip. But if I create say, a commercial, that's going to air for a year or so I want a way to keep the finished spot and delete all the original media, the export/import approach seems to be just what I was looking for.

Now I'll have to play around with the "colour/master/affiliate" option that Nick described.

Also great advice about changing the shortcuts. FCP is such a powerful program that I kind of lazily decided "how am I ever going to use all its features, I might as well customize it as simply as possible."

It's breakthroughs like these that keep me excited about what I do for a living. Thank you all very much!

Robert Faust
Faust Productions

Power Mac G5 10.4.9
Machine Model: PowerMac 7,3
2 CPU - 2.7 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory 6.5 GB
Bus Speed: 1.35 GHz
Scratch Drive: 1TB
FCP 5.0.4
DVD SP 4.0.3

the number approach has the extra limitation i mentioned.
try it.
add a clip to the timeline,
add a transition to the clip,
make the transition "hang into space" (change it's alignment)
now select clip & trans, and type some numbers in...
error! error!
wont do it.
gotta move it.

i really wish they'd fix this

another simple approach would be to INSERT some slug (set any duration you want on the slug before insert)
then delete it.

I didn't realize you could choose a duration and then insert a slug. I've added slugs between existing clips where the duration was determined by the amount of space between those existing clips.

That also sounds like a pretty good option. Thanks.

>>really wish they'd fix this<<

Totally seconded. I'vre almost got to the point where the workaround of laboriously dragging an hour of clips forward a few frames by hand has become normal. It used to work fine in previous versions.

worst is when it's a big timeline, and it cant even re-draw itself, so you have no idea where you;re dropping it.
you could have moved it backwards!

guess we should have re-nmedd the thread

I like to add a slug of a certain length. You can then delete it: control > cut, and you have your gap.