Category Archives: Tips & Tricks
Difference between frame rate and timecode.
There are lots of head-scratchers in the world of video and I don’t think many are more perplexing than fractional frame rates and drop frame vs non-drop timecode. I won’t get into the technical history of why frame rates like 29.97, 23.98, … Continue reading
FCP 7 Media Manager and custom sequence settings
Although FCP’s Media Manager function was pretty dicey in the past (it was commonly called the “Media Mangler”) it achieved ‘reliable’ status by the time FCP 7 came out. It does still have some limitations though. For one, you can’t … Continue reading
Rolling with the punches and doing your home work
A large part of workflow development is adapting to new problems as they come up. Even the best made plans can quickly spiral towards catastrophe if just a single link in the chain breaks. This happened to me not too … Continue reading
Don’t up-rez footage in FCP
On a number of occasions I’ve seen, or read about, people dropping SD clips into HD timelines in FCP and just letting the program automatically scale the SD footage up to HD. While quick and convenient it doesn’t generate very … Continue reading
DIY widescreen mask
On a surprisingly regular basis I see people asking for help with making widescreen masks in FCP. I dislike using the widescreen filter in FCP for a few reasons. First, you have to apply it to each clip which is … Continue reading
Final Cut Pro & Reel Numbers
When you are using the Media Manager in FCP 7 and earlier to consolidate a project make sure each piece of media has a Reel number. FCP uses this metadata to help differentiate between clips. If a clip does not … Continue reading
FCP Batch Export quirk
Have you ever used the Batch Export feature in FCP and then couldn’t find your exports? Did you look in your Renders folder? On more than one occasion FCP dumped my exports there even though I set the destination someplace … Continue reading