Reveal if a clip is used or not in the timeline?

Hi guys

simple question...don't know if fcp can do this.

so i am working on a doc with like 1400 clips, and we want to make sure b-roll is not repeated in the cut

anyway to know, by clicking on a clip in the browser, if it is already used in the timeline? and if so, can it tell you where in the timeline it is being used?

thanks

jph

Find match-frame and see if there are IN/OUT points.
Or create an EDL instead,by reel-number..

Select the clip, then cmd + opt + 2-5 will highlight the clip with various colors. (cmd + opt + 1 will cancel)

This only works if each shot is its own clip. In other words, if you have three useful shots within the same clip and you have only used one so far, the whole clip will be highlighted. So you won't know which portion of the clip was used, just the clip itself.

> Find match-frame and see if there are IN/OUT points.

That's not a viable method. Match Frame only works from the timeline, and it only shows the In-Out points of the clip being Match Framed. If a clip is used 100 times in the timeline, you'll still only see one.

> Select the clip, then cmd + opt + 2-5 will highlight the clip with various colors. (cmd + opt +
> 1 will cancel)

That works only if you still have Master-Affiliate relationships intact. Also, the colours aren't all that easy to see in the timeline especially if your timeline is big. And it still won't tell you if a certain part of a clip is being used.

I'd say the best way is to use Find (APPLE-F in the timeline), then enter the clip's name and select Find All. That will highlight all instances of that clip in a certain timeline. You can also try Find, and then choose Timecode and enter the timecode of the section you're looking at. If that timecode is on a clip in the timeline, it will find it. The flaw with that is that if you have multiple clips, all of them will pop up.

You could try combining the two methods by first using Find All - Clip Name to locate and select all instances of a clip. Copy them and paste onto a new timeline. Now use Find - Timecode to see if a specific segment is being used. Since one clip can't have one timecode in more than one place, this should zero in on what you need. I haven't actually used this method, but theoretically speaking it should work.


www.derekmok.com

This is a feature that FCP needs desperately in the browser, IMHO = a column to designate whether or not a clip has been used in the timeline & how many times...like After Effects - each clip states in the Project Window how many times it was used in the project.

FEATURE REQUEST, ANYONE???

- Joey

When life gives you dilemmas...make dilemmanade.

Which sequence? Any sequence? Lot of people use sequences for clip organization and viewing. All the clips would be used. Any clip or any piece of media?

This is a big problem for FCP because it doesn't track clips only media. For instance, use the Find function to search for unused clips and it won't find any if any piece from any single media file is used, regardless of clips or subclips. It's the old, old problem. There's no project database for clips and media. The problem ripples through the whole application and ends up with issues that Media Manager can't cope with.

All the best,

Tom

I'm not in FCP right now, but there is a function you can turn on for the sequence which will show a red bar under any portion of a clip which is duplicated elsewhere in the sequence. I assume it's in prefs, I keep it on all the time. Maybe this will jog somebody's memory.

It's more useful than what you're asking for because it looks at the actual frames used, not just the clip name.

> I'm not in FCP right now, but there is a function you can turn on for the sequence which will
> show a red bar under any portion of a clip which is duplicated elsewhere in the sequence.

Yeah, it's called "Show Duplicate Frames" and it's in Sequence Settings - Timeline Options. Unfortunately, this option has literally never worked for me despite multiple tests. Jude Cotter, I think, recommended it once so she might be able to tell you how to get it to work.

This option still won't help you if you only used a clip once, though. And it doesn't work across multiple Sequences, either.


www.derekmok.com

You just turn it on under User Preferences > Timeline Options > Show Duplicate Frames. The problem is that it's hard to see (and also it doesn't tell you what has been used in the browser, only on each timeline.) Have a look in the LAFCPUG Glossary in the FAQ under "duplicate frames indicator" to see what it looks like. Apparently it can do up to six different colours for different instances of duplication.

Also, it did used to cause problems in a previous version of FCP. Some kind of 4.x, I think.

And another thing. I just tried to set this up in CP 6 to check my workflow and I can't get it to work.
I'll check on my old system tomorrow.

So Jude - How to pro's track clips used?

Frank

To tell you the truth, Frank, we do it by memory. Most pros know what clips they have already used the second they see them - or at least they are suspicious that they have used them, and they check. It's like ... how does an accountant remember the cut off thresholds of all the tax brackets, and all the benefits available to each profession? He just does.

The main reason for the inclusion of the 'Show Duplicate frames" option is for Film Out projects, where you can't duplicate even a few frames without having to physically make more film.

There are of course situations where you can't possibly recall all the clips you've used - like something very repetitive like ... let's see .. OK - I did some Offroad racing stuff recently. This consists of about 19 hours of footage of $100k offroad buggies flying around the desert. Say there's one hundred cars, all passing the same cameramen at fifteen or so different points of the race. THAT can get hard to keep in memory. In that situation, I would move any clip I had used to a bin called "USED CLIPS". Easy.