Identifying parts of the screen:
Audio Meters: Make sure your volume does NOT go in the RED area! Stay around the -12!
Tools Palette: The tool options are located here.
Timeline: Displays everything contained in your movie. Items on V2 will display on top of items on V1, etc. To get the Timeline back, double-click on “Sequence 1” in the Browser.
Viewer: Double click on a clip to view it here. The Viewer is used to edit clips.
Canvas: Shows what is in the timeline at the playhead. To get the Canvas back, double-click on “Sequence 1” in the Browser.
Browser: Holds all video clips, audio clips, still images, etc. that could be used in the video. The EFFECTS tab is also located here!
Keyboard shortcuts: These are the shortcuts you will use the MOST! Learn them!!
Save =
Undo =
Fit Video to Timeline =
Change Timeline Clip Height =
Hide FCE =
Render Selection =
Render ALL =
Pointer Tool = A
Razor Blade Tool = B
Play Around Current Point = \
Pen = P
Mark In Point = I
Go to In Point =
Mark Out Point = O
Go to Out Point =
Snapping On/Off = N
Capture Video from the camera:
To capture video, first connect the camera to the computer via firewire cable. The cable plugs in to the front or side of the camera. Use the first firewire port on the side of the computer.
Click on “File” then “Capture.” Set the video a couple seconds before you want to begin. Hit play on the camera. Click on “Now” in the Capture window.
Hit the “esc” key to stop the capture.
Log each clip: Use your "in" and "out" markers. Clip "Log Clip." Give clip a title. After you've logged all of your clips, select them all in your viewer. Then go to "File," and select "Batch Capture."
Icons to change view
Change the Browser view:
It’s easier to see everything in “List” view!
Either…
Use the icons on the top right of the Browser.
Or…
Select “View as List” from the menu.
Click on File, Import à Files…
Then brows until you find the files you want to import.
Use the
The selected files will appear in the Browser.
In FCE folders are located in the Browser and are used to help organize your clips.
To get a new folder click on File: New…Folder or use the keyboard shortcut,
If you have many clips, use folders to help organize them!
Double-click on the icon in the Browser. The clip will appear in the Viewer.
Here you can mark In (I) and Out (O) points and apply/edit effects and transitions.
To Add a Clip to the Video:
Drag the clip to the Canvas Edit Overlay (on the Canvas) or directly to the timeline.
Insert / * = Inserts the video on the selected track at the location of the playhead.
Overwrite / , = Replaces the video on the selected track starting at the location of the playhead.
Canvas Edit Overlay
Video in timeline
Video appears on the selected track.
In addition to using In and Out Points to mark the start and end of a video clip, you can use the Razor Blade (keyboard shortcut B) tool to cut clips in the timeline. This is helpful when you want to apply an effect or speed change to one section of the clip.
Levels of Undo – You can undo around 10-20 or so times unless you save! You cannot undo past a save.
Tools Palette:
(A) Selection Tool – select clips
(G) Select Tools – select all clips to the left or right
(C) Crop – Crop the edges of the clip
(D) Distort – Distort the shape of the image/clip
(P) Pen Tools – used to add/ delete pen marks from overlays in timeline
(Z, H) Zoom, Hand Tools – used to zoom or grab and move clips
(R) Ripple, Roll Tools – change the entire length of the sequence
Ripple – changes everything
Roll – edits only the adjacent clips
(B) Razor Blade Tools – cut clip in the timeline
(S) Slip, Slide Tools – edit the length of clips in the timeline
(T) Select Track Tools – select everything to the right/left
Add/Edit Transitions:
Select a Video Transition from the Browser.
Drag it on top of the edit point in the timeline OR place the playhead on the edit point and drag the transition to “Insert” or “Overwrite” in the Canvas.
Both clips must have handles! Handles are the extra footage recorded but not used to show in the video. To make sure you record enough footage to have proper handles the cameraperson needs to hit the record button, and then count down… three, two, one, {point}… before the actors begin acting! Also, at the end, the cameraperson must wait a full 2 seconds after the acting is finished before stopping the camera!
Handle
You can fine-tune the transition in the Viewer by first double-clicking on it in the Timeline!
Adding Effects:
Effects are called “Video Filters” and can be found in the Effects tab in the Browser.
To add a filter to a clip, drag the name of the filter on top of the clip in the Timeline or the Viewer.
To edit the filter, first double-click on the clip in the Timeline to load it in the Viewer. Then click the “filters” tab and change the settings! If your playhead is on the clip in the Timeline, you can see the changes in the Canvas as you make them!
You can add multiple filters to the same clip!
Adding Text:
Titles are called “Video Generators”! They are located in the Effects tab in the Browser.
Crawl: Text crawls across the bottom of the stream. All text will be the same font, size and color.
Lower 3rd: One or two lines of text on the bottom left corner. You can add a line (bar) above the text or a solid bar behind the text. You can also adjust the opacity. Each line can be a different font, size or color!
Outline Text: Text with a cool outline! All text will be the same font, size and color.
Scrolling Text: Text scrolls up/down on the screen. All text will be the same font, size and color.
Text: Plain text. All text will be the same font, size and color.
Typewriter: Text “types” on the screen like a typewriter. All text will be the same font, size and color.
Title 3D: Super cool text! You can make every word or letter a different font, size or color!
Title Crawl: Like Title 3D but the text crawls across the screen.
Make sure TITLE SAFE is turned on!!!
Drag the title from the Viewer directly to the Timeline OR to “Superimpose” in the Canvas. Superimpose will put a title of matching length on the track above of the clip with the playhead on the selected track.
Editing Text:
Double-click on the text type in the Browser. In the Viewer, click on the “Controls” tab. Here you can change the text, font, color, size, alignment, etc.
After you put the text in the video, you MUST double-click on it before you can edit!
Editing Title 3D and Title Crawl:
Double-click on the text type in the Browser. The first time you open it, it will open directly in the editing window. Here you can change the text, font, color, size, alignment, etc.
You must highlight the text you want to edit! If it’s not highlighted, it won’t change!
To add an outline or shadow, make sure you check a box on the left first! Each box checked will add another outline or shadow!
For shadows our outlines, make sure a box is checked!
To edit the title after it’s in the video, double-click on the title to open it in the Viewer. Click on the “Controls” tab, then on the “Title 3D” icon.
Click here to open the options and edit the text!
Speed Change:
First, select the clip. Then click on “Modify” or
You can change it by percentage or to an exact length. You can also reverse the clip.
If it does not let you change the speed, drag the clip to the end of the timeline and try again.
Change the Zoom Level on the Timeline:
Slider
Click and drag the end of the scroll bar.You can either click and drag the end of the scroll bar or use the slider on the left side of the scroll bar.
Use the keyboard shortcut,
Drag the overlay up or down. To make the clip more/less see-through, make sure the overlays are visible by clicking the icon on the bottom left corner of the timeline. Then drag the overlay on the video clip up or down!
Keyframing (Animation):
1st: Turn on the wireframe in the Canvas and make sure the clip you want to animate is in the Timeline with the playhead on it!
2nd: Put the playhead and video clip in the location where you want the motion to begin.
3rd: Click on the Keyframe icon (small diamond) in the Canvas. The wireframe will turn green! If it doesn’t turn green, then you don’t have the correct clip selected in the Timeline.
4th: Move the playhead FIRST and then the clip/image SECOND!
Each time you put the playhead in a new location and then move the video clip, it sets a new keyframe point. You do NOT need to click the keyframe icon again.
As you move the clip/image a purple line will appear. You can click and drag the line around to change the clip/image path. Each green dot represents a new set keyframe.
The clip/image should be in place and no longer moving at least 1 full second before it ends!
Picture in Picture:
You can resize a video clip and move it around the screen!
Make sure the wireframe is turned ON.
Use the mouse to grab the corners of the video to resize it.
You can also grab the middle of the clip and move it around the screen!
The clip on V2 will show in the Canvas on top of the clip in V1!
Crop and Distort Tools:
Crop: You can crop the edge off of your video clip. This is very handy when using the green screen and a table corner or something else is on the edge of the frame.
Make sure the wireframe is turned ON.
Select the Crop tool (C).
Use the mouse to crop the edges of the frame.
Distort: You can also distort the shape of the video clip.
Make sure the wireframe is turned ON.
Select the Distort tool (D).
Use the mouse to grab the corners of the video and reshape it!
Clear Motion:
If you want to delete the keyframing, crop or distort from a clip/image/title, double-click on the clip in the Timeline to put it in the Viewer. Then select the “Motion” tab. Click on the little red X on the right side to clear the motion, crop, distort, opacity, drop shadow or motion blur.
Inserting Music:
Open the song you want to use in iTunes. If you created a song in GarageBand, you must export it to iTunes before you can use it!
Then drag the song from iTunes to the desktop.
Next, import the song from the desktop into your project.
If the song will not import, then go back to iTunes and Convert to AIFF. Drag this new song file to the desktop and import it into the project.
Adjust Volume Levels:
The volume on each clip will be different. You must adjust the levels on everything so it is around the -12 in the audio meter! Otherwise it can sound distorted or too loud on playback!
Click the Show Overlay icon on the bottom left corner of the timeline.
Use the Selection Tool (A) and Pen (P) to adjust the levels. You can also add Audio Filters to fade between audio clips if the audio clips have handles!
Zooming in the Canvas or Viewer:
While viewing your video in the Canvas or Viewer, you can change the zoom level for what you see.
Click on the icon on the top of the window that has a percentage in it, and then select “Fit to Window”, “Fit All” or any of the percentages to change the zoom level. This is very handy when you’ve changed the size of a clip/image to be larger than the window or when adding keyframes!
Posting your Video!
To post your video you must turn it into a self-contained movie!
Make sure nothing is selected in the Timeline!
Select “File,” “Export,” “QuickTime Movie…”
Save the file to your desktop!
You will be creating a Self-Contained FCE movie. You can open it with QuickTime if you control-click on the icon on the desktop and select “Open with…” then “QuickTime.”
If you want to save the movie to take home as a real QuickTime movie…
Select “File,” “Export,” “Using QuickTime Conversion…”
You’ll have to select a compression mode that will work for you. I use “Streaming – Medium” for the file I put online.
A seven minute video will take approximately two hours to convert! So you’ll need to come in after school to start the conversion and come in the next morning to save it to your CD or flash drive!
