… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #081: Create a Custom Default Transition

Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com

One simple keyboard shortcut speeds things along

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You may know that Cmd + T applies the default transition – a cross-dissolve – to any selected edit point or group of edit points. What you may not know is that you can change the transition assigned to this shortcut.

To change the transition, open the Transition Browser and Control-click the transition you want to make the default. Choose Make Default.

Now, when you type Cmd + T, your newly-selected transition magically applies itself in the timeline.

EXTRA CREDIT

You can apply the default transition to multiple edit points. Simply select the clips to which you want to add transition, then type Cmd + T.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #025: Let Final Cut Do the Math

Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com

Final Cut can handle duration arithmetic automatically.

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An earlier tip (#24) showed how to move edit points and clips using timecode. But, did you know that Final Cut can do that timecode math for you? This is especially useful when you are working with different frame rates and need to make changes that don’t translate to whole seconds.

Here’s how.

NOTE: To move a clip, or selected group of clips, you first need to select the Position tool. You don’t need to use the Position tool to move edit points.

With an edit point, points, clip or clips selected in the timeline:

  • Press + [plus] to switch the timecode display into “data entry” mode and tell FCP X you intend to move the selection to the right.
  • Press [minus] to switch the timecode display into “data entry” mode and tell FCP X you intend to move the selection to the left.
  • Then, type the number of frames, seconds or minutes you want the selected objects to move.
  • Finally, press Enter to apply the shift.

For example:

  • Type +10 ENTER to move the selection 10 frames to the right
  • Type -20 ENTER to move the selection 20 frames to the left

Now it gets interesting…

    • Type +48 and, depending upon the frame rate of your project, FCP X will convert this into seconds and frames then move the selection.
    • Type 99, or -120, or 300, or -12345 and watch as FCP X converts the number you type into minutes, seconds and frames – based upon the frame rate of your project.

    Cool.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #013: Adjust Spacing Between Two Letters

Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com

Tweaking letter spacing can make titles easier to read.

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To adjust the spacing between two characters, put your cursor between the letters you want to kern, press Cmd + Option and the left or right square bracket keys to move the two letters on either side of the playhead closer or further apart.

While using the arrow keys won’t work, to kern characters, once you position the cursor, you can step through the text with the arrow keys to move the cursor to a different pair of letters.

NOTE: Most of the time, you won’t need to adjust body text, but adjusting the letter-spacing of titles will often help readability a lot.


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… for Apple Final Cut Pro X

Tip #2: 10 Keyboard Shortcuts To Make You Faster

Larry Jordan – https://LarryJordan.com

These ten shortcuts will help you instantly edit faster.

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When you start doing the same tasks over and over, keyboard shortcuts can make you more efficient. Here are the keyboard shortcuts I use virtually everyday when editing in Final Cut:

  • Control + Cmd + 1 — Toggle Library and Browser display on/off.
  • Shift + Z — Fit image into Viewer or project into Timeline.
  • Cmd + 7 — Show/Hide video scopes.
  • Shift + I — Jump the playhead to the In.
  • Option + X — Delete both the marked In and Out.
  • V — Toggle clip visibility off or on.
  • E — Perform a standard append edit at the end of the timeline.
  • W — Perform a standard insert edit at the position of the skimmer/playhead.
  • Option + W — Insert a gap into the Timeline at the position of the skimmer/playhead.
  • Cmd + B — Cut all selected clip(s) at the position of the skimmer/playhead.

BONUS

  • Shift + comma/period — Move selected edit point or connected clip ten frames left/right.
  • S — Toggle skimming on or off.

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