Ultimate Guide to Final Cut Pro Tutorials

Time to Learn

Final Cut Pro has skyrocketed quickly to the top of the non-linear video editing world, dominating the software fields both in the professional and home digital video world. Part of this is because it mixes the raw power and range of detailed tools with an interface that is logical and easier to pick up than many of its competitors. This being said, it is still a professional-level program that requires users to take quite a bit of time to learn. For this, there are a number of places that they have to concentrate on - from the beginning of using the basic features to the more advanced elements that make it a film industry favorite. Here is the ultimate guide to Final Cut Pro tutorials, teaching you how to begin, how to run imports and exports for your project, how to use video effects and transitions, and even how to use some of the more advanced options.

Starting Out

For those who are just getting their feet wet with Final Cut Pro, they will have to be able to really navigate the basic interface and

functionality. The program essentially allows you to use video files to cut up, rearrange, alter, and re-export in a new fashion. Actually doing real video editing in it requires an intimate knowledge of the tools, but for you to even begin a project you need to know what you are looking at and how to get things moving.

• Basics of Learning the Program
• How Final Cut Pro Began and Gained Popularity
• Organizing Your Video Editing Project Quickly
• How to Set Markers in Your Project
• How to Label Your Video Clips
• The Most Important Final Cut Pro Keyboard Shortcuts
• Getting Your Official Certification In This Software
• Sharing Clip Attributes Between Clips
• How to Scrub Through Your Audio
• Using Undo and Redo in Your Project
• How to Render Your Project

Import / Export

Final Cut Pro is only an intermediary program where you take existing media, alter it, and rearrange it. The media are not meant to stay in this program, and so the process of bringing it in and out of the software is called importing and exporting. Importing will bring the footage into the program to be worked on. Once the project is finished, it is exported to a format where it can be watched by the intended audience. There are a number of different ways that this can happen for both, and here is a breakdown of some of the specific things you may need to look at in this process.

• Basics on Importing and Capturing Video
• Adjusting the Capture Settings
• Importing a DVD Into Your Project
• How to Import WMV Files
• Organizing Your Imported Media
• Import and Export With Apple Color
• Exporting Project Over to Soundtrack Pro
• Exporting Your Project for DVD Authoring
• Exporting to a QuickTime File
• Exporting for the Internet

Video Effects and Transitions

Though it may not be known as a special effects program, Final Cut Pro has a range of video effects and transitions that you can use. These

can be as simple as adjusting the position of the image in the frame or the color of the stock, or as advanced as compositing images together. Here are some of the basic things that you should know about applying both the effects and the transitions that allow one clip to stylistically move into another.

• The Basics of Using Video Effects
• How to Use a Time Based Effect
• Making Your Clips Black and White
• Applying the Sparkle Effect
• How to Change the Aspect Ratio
• Using Basic 3-Way Color Correction
• Making Your Footage Look Like Old Video
• Adding Zoom to Your FCP Clips
• Changing the Tint of the Color in the Clips
• How to Make Your Clips Glow
• Your Different Video Transition Options
• How to Set the Iris Transition
• Troubleshooting Common Problems With Using Transitions

More Advanced

Since Final Cut Pro is a professional level program, the number of advanced tools that you will have can overwhelm you. Once you have begun working on regular projects, bringing them to completion, it may be time to integrate some of these advanced tools to ensure that you have the same creative outlet that professional video editors have.

• How to Nest in Final Cut Pro
• Creating Map Motion In Your Project
• How to Flip Images
• How to Store Your Project Files
• Dealing With Your Final Cut Pro Serial Number
• How to Export Your Project to an Actual Tape
• The Match Frame Feature
• Dealing With Movie Rushes
• Altering the Appearance of Things in the Timeline
• Uninstalling Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro has remained one of the most consistent of all the non-linear video editing program, but it is up for some changes as well. Final Cut Pro X is changing the game, and it is not long before the structure of format of this software becomes somewhat different from what it has been for the majority of its history. This just goes to show you how software will always change, but the principles of strong edting remain much the same.

References

• All Images from Shane Burley
• Source: Author’s Own Experience