Video/ Non Liner Editing

Post date: Jan 12, 2016 7:25:21 PM

When I teach an intro to Final Cut, I address the concept of layering video and audio and setting in and out points. First, the timeline: I show them what V1,V2, A1/A2, etc. mean off to the left. Then, I tell them the concept of layering (putting video on top of video). It's like a pizza. What do you always start with when you make a pizza? The crust. V1 is your crust. What's next? The sauce (presumably). Not quite as important as the crust, but still makes the pizza a pizza. You put your "sauce" (aka - b-roll) on V2. What's after that? Cheese? Toppings? Those go on the next few layers. Important, but not crucial (e.g. - lower thirds, motion graphics, etc.). Next, put your pizza on the ground. What do you see first? The cheese. That’s because it’s on the top. Same concept with FCP. If V3 is your top layer, then that’s what you’re going to see over all of your video. I then transition into the importance of setting in and out points. When you slice up a pizza, what do you do? You make the first cut with the pizza cutter. That’s your in-point in FCP. How big of a piece you want is determined by your second cut. If you want the meatiest piece, you cut accordingly. That second cut is your piece of the pizza. By setting an out-point in FCP, that’s your clip that you want to use.