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Getting Started
Getting Started
Welcome to the official Apple Pro Training course for Final Cut Pro X.
This book is a comprehensive guide to editing with Final Cut Pro. It uses exciting real-world footage from the USA Network series Fairly Legal, behind-the-scenes digital effects filmmaking with Silverdraft’s Mobileviz, the award-winning documentary Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean, exciting Zero to Hero racing footage from Pullin TV, and Matthew Modine’s short film, I Think I Thought, all to demonstrate both the features of the application and the practical techniques you’ll use daily in your editing projects.
For those who have edited on earlier versions of Final Cut Pro, or who edit on other NLE (nonlinear editing) platforms, you may ask yourselves: why make the jump to Final Cut Pro X? The answer lies not only in what Final Cut Pro X has the power to do, but what it has eliminated: many of the stumbling blocks that slow down the editing process. So let’s start by taking a closer look at how that power will affect you as an editor.
The Power of “X”
Final Cut Pro X is not an upgrade, but a completely new application integrating some of the best of the latest OS X technologies. What this means for the editor is significantly better performance, workflow improvements, and the ability to perform many tasks simultaneously. For example, gone from Final Cut Pro X is the wait time for rendering and ingest. In the past, these activities halted the editing process. Now, rendering and importing, even analyzing and fixing, go on in the background as you continue to edit.
Another powerful aspect of the Final Cut Pro X technology is the new Magnetic Timeline, which keeps audio and video locked in sync so it’s virtually impossible to separate the two accidentally. The Resolution Independent Playback System allows you to handle and smoothly play all formats, from standard definition to 4K resolutions, regardless of the origin of media. Final Cut Pro X can automatically control the quality, stabilization, and color of images during ingest, while at the same time performing audio cleanup tasks. And you don’t have to wait to begin organizing your footage. Metadata-based Keyword and Smart Collections begin during the import process, organizing files based on people recognition and shot detection. Keywords will help you organize and locate clips within Final Cut Pro X with unprecedented speed, and unlimited undos and never having to save will provide a level of protection you’ve never known.
Bundled together, the many new developments in Final Cut Pro X will make your workflow faster, smoother, and easier so that you can spend more time in the creative decision-making process. And isn’t that what editing is really about? But before you begin to explore the new interface or jump into the editing lessons in this book, let’s take a more detailed look at what’s “under the hood” of Final Cut Pro X to get a better understanding of this powerful and intuitive editing application.
The Technology of “X”
You may have heard some of the geeky buzzwords like 64-bit processing and memory management, Grand Central Dispatch, and OpenCL. But what do those terms mean, and how do these features matter in the day-to-day drama of video editors? Here’s a brief look at these technologies, what they are, and why they make a difference when editing with Final Cut Pro X.
The 64-Bit Question
In order to utilize and support the new 64-bit processing in computer technology, Final Cut Pro X had to be completely re-engineered. You might be asking, “2-bits, 4-bits, 64-bits, a dollar. . . how many bits do I really need?” Typically, more bits means you can crunch bigger numbers—and crunch them faster—with more memory at your service.
Each central processing unit (CPU) is composed of different parts (registers, arithmetic units, controllers) working together to carry out an application’s instructions. CPUs (and their components) are built to handle a specific number of bits (8, 16, 32, 64, and so on), like different cars’ transmissions have different numbers of gears. Just as the number of gears in a transmission determines how fast a car can go, the bit depth—or number of bits the processor can manage—determines the largest number the processor can handle per clock cycle, and the maximum amount of memory that can be accessed.
Speed
The clock rate is how fast a CPU executes instructions. A 64-bit processor can move twice as much data as a 32-bit processor at the same clock rate, significantly improving performance. A 2 GHz processor can perform two billion instructions per second.
More Memory
A 32-bit processor is limited to using 4 GB of RAM, but a 64-bit processor can enable applications to address a theoretical 16 billion gigabytes of memory, or 16 exabytes. The more RAM you have, the faster your applications run because more data is kept in very fast physical RAM instead of on slower hard drives.
All this means that Final Cut Pro X runs faster than previous versions, can handle video formats from DV to 4K, can color correct video in an instant, can pitch correct audio on the fly while scrubbing through it, and can handle larger than ever project and sequence sizes.
Core Strengths
The Intel central processing units that Apple currently uses in its desktop and laptop computers are actually made up of multiple processor cores. It’s like a two-for-one deal at your favorite store. In older, single-processor computers, each step of a task had to be performed in sequential order. Consider a task like mailing a letter. You fold the letter, place it in an envelope, address and stamp it, and then drop it in the mailbox. If you’re the only one working on the task, and there are hundreds of letters, it takes some time to complete the task. With modern CPUs that have more cores (current Mac CPUs have between two and six cores), the Mac does more things at the same time, improving overall performance. Looking at that same mailing task, think of it as having one person per stage of the task. So a processor with four cores is like having three more people helping you: one to fold the letter, one to place it in the envelope, one to address and stamp it, and one to drop it in the mailbox. With more help tasks get done more quickly.
Following the Thread
One method applications use to take advantage of multiple processors or cores is through multi-threading, a programming technique allowing processors to work on different parts of a program at the same time. Multiple threads make applications more responsive by allowing them to perform different tasks at the same time, like a mail program being able to send and receive email simultaneously. But threading is complex, and implementing it is difficult to program.
Now Arriving at Grand Central Dispatch Workstation
Grand Central Dispatch (GCD) is the technology Apple has developed to help software developers write programs that let the operating system divide up jobs and schedule them to run on different processor cores as an alternative to application threads. GCD is the system services OS X uses to manage tasks, breaking them up into chunks, assigning the chunks to different processors or cores, and integrating the results. It’s a lot like juggling, but instead of balls or bowling pins, OS X is juggling code, making sure that the right piece gets to the right place at the right time. Programs that support GCD are multi-processor aware and can do more work faster when more cores are available to do the work.
Because Final Cut Pro X supports GCD and is multi-processor aware, functions like background rendering, analyzing and correcting video on ingest, editing while still importing video, and instant color correction are not only possible but fast. Think of more cores as more hamsters spinning those wheels inside your Mac to make it work faster.
Come in, it’s OpenCL
Today’s modern video cards sport powerful graphical processing units (GPUs) capable of performing trillions of calculations per second. But unless you’re running games or high-end 3D software, much of that power languishes, unused. OpenCL (Open Computing Language) is an open standard set of routines, developed in part by Apple, that allows application developers to harness the power of those GPUs. With OpenCL support, Final Cut Pro X can use the video card’s GPU as another processor to analyze or render video, perform instant color correction, or stabilize shaky footage.
Finish with a Cup of Cocoa
The magic behind all these powerful modern new features of both OS X and Final Cut Pro X is the Cocoa application development environment. Cocoa is a suite of object-oriented software libraries, runtime systems, and integrated development environments for creating software for both the OS X operating system and iOS. Originally released as NextStep in the late 1980s, Cocoa is a powerful set of object-oriented tools for creating almost any kind of software for the Mac and iOS devices that can take full advantage of Mac or mobile device hardware.
Together, all these elements form the incredible Power of X.
Downloading Final Cut Pro X
Final Cut Pro X is available as a download from the Mac App Store. Since installation can begin immediately after purchasing, you should read Apple’s best practices (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4722) prior to installing to ensure the best performance. The exercises in this book are based on Final Cut Pro version 10.0.3. If you have an earlier version, you should download this free update or some exercises may not work as described.
The Course Methodology
This is, first and foremost, a hands-on course. Every exercise is designed to enable you to do professional-quality editing in Final Cut Pro as quickly as possible. Each lesson builds on previous lessons to guide you through the program’s functions and capabilities.
If you are new to Final Cut Pro, start at the beginning and progress through each lesson in order. If you are familiar with an earlier version of Final Cut Pro, you can go directly to a specific section and focus on that topic, because every lesson is self-contained.
Note
Due to individual preference settings, your screen may not match all screen shots exactly as they appear in the book.
Course Structure
The book is designed to guide you through the editing process as you learn Final Cut Pro.
You will begin by learning to import and organize media, create metadata in the form of keywords and Smart Collections, edit clips into a project, and then refine your project by trimming and adjusting edit points and clip location.
After working on several projects, you’ll complete them by mixing the audio and adding transitions and titles. Finally, you’ll add effects, color correct your project, and then prepare it for delivery.
The lessons are grouped into the following categories:
In addition to the exercises, each lesson includes “Take 2” scenarios that present real-world challenges for you to practice what you’ve learned before moving on to new material.
At the end of every lesson, you will have an opportunity to hone your skills as you apply your own creative touches to an “Editor’s Cut” project, which is designed to review everything you learned in the lesson.
Using the DVD Book Files
The Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro X DVD (included with the book) contains the project files you will use for each lesson, as well as media files that contain the video and audio content you will need for each exercise. After you transfer the files to your hard disk, each lesson will instruct you in the use of the project and media files.
Note
If you have purchased this as an eBook, you will find the URL to download the files on the “Where are the Lesson Files” page located at the end of the book.
Installing the Final Cut Pro X Lesson Files
On the DVD, you’ll find a file named APTS FCP X.sparseimage. This is a special file that operates like a virtual disk. You will use the contents of this virtual disk for the exercises in the book. Exercise care while installing these files (as with anytime you are performing media management functions) to ensure that the projects and media on the virtual disk are available within Final Cut Pro.
Connecting Media to Project Files
The DVD’s APTS FCP X virtual disk links the projects and media files within itself. If for some reason project clips appear as offline media files, you can reconnect to the Events that contain the media.
1. | In the Project Library, select the project containing the offline clips. |
2. | In the Inspector, select the Properties tab. At the bottom of the Inspector, click the Modify Event References button. |
3. | If the media is available, click the Event referenced on APTS FCP X in the dialog that appears and then click OK. The clips will appear and play back. You may skip the remaining step. |
4. | If the application is unable to find the media, click OK and quit the application by choosing Final Cut Pro > Quit Final Cut Pro. Proceed with the steps in the previous section “Installing the Final Cut Pro X Lesson Files” to reinstall the projects and media files. |
Using Final Cut Pro on a Portable
Some of the keystrokes identified in this book for desktop use work differently if you are using a MacBook Pro. Specifically, you’ll need to hold down the Function key (fn) when using the Left and Right Arrow keys to access the Home and End keys, respectively.
About the Media
Five sets of media are used throughout this book. Together they represent different types of projects and media formats. The exercises instruct you to edit the media in a particular way, but you can use any part of this footage to practice editing methods. Techniques you learn using one set of media in a lesson can be practiced with a different set of clips to create a new project. Due to copyright restrictions, however, you cannot use this footage for any purpose outside this book.
The media, as it appears in the book, includes the following:
Delicious Peace Grows in a Ugandan Coffee Bean— An award-winning documentary narrated by actor Ed O’Neill, produced by Ellen Friedland and directed by Curt Fissel. This documentary film tells the uplifting and inspiring story of how a group of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Ugandan coffee farmers overcame historical and economic hurdles to build harmonious relationships and increase economic development. The footage was shot as HDV 1080i60.
Fairly Legal— This footage is from the USA Network television series starring Sarah Shahi as Kate Reed. In this episode, “Bridges,” which was directed by Peter Markle, veteran actor Gerald McRaney guests stars as Judge Nicastro. Thanks to her innate understanding of human nature, thorough legal knowledge, and wry sense of humor, Kate is a natural when it comes to dispute resolution. Except, it seems, when it comes to conflicts in her personal life. This episode was shot using the RED MX camera at 1920 x 1080 and 23.98 fps.
Mobileviz Minutes— This promotional video documents the collaboration of an international team of visual effects artists and technicians to test Silverdraft Mobileviz, the first visual effects studio on wheels. The promotional video footage was directed by Lisa Hendricks and was shot using a Canon 5D camera at 1920 x 1080 and 23.98 fps. The virtual production itself was shot using the ARRI ALEXA camera.
Zero to Hero— This exciting racing footage was produced by Pullin Television, in partnership with the National Hot Rod Association. The series, which was produced and directed by Stephen Pullin, highlights different drag car racing stars and showcases their backgrounds, their passions, and their commitment to racing. Broadcast on Fox Television as well as distributed over the Internet, each episode was created using a variety of camera sources, including Sony EX3, Panasonic P2, and GoPro for live events, interviews, and field production, as well as additional footage from ESPN broadcasts that was mastered on DVC Pro.
I Think I Thought— Matthew Modine wrote, directed, and stars in this sardonically humorous short film about Joe—a thinker in a world that no longer tolerates analytical thinking. The film was co-produced and shot by Adam McClelland and edited by Terence Ziegler. It was released in 2008 and is available to download from the iTunes Store. It was shot on the Panasonic AG–HVX200 camera.
System Requirements
Before using Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro X, you should have a working knowledge of your Macintosh and the OS X operating system. Make sure that you know how to use the mouse and standard menus and commands and also how to open, save, and close files. If you need to review these techniques, see the printed or online documentation included with your system.
For the basic system requirements for Final Cut Pro X, refer to the technical specifications at www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/.
About the Apple Pro Training Series
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro X is both a self-paced learning tool and the official curriculum of the Apple Pro Training and Certification Program.
Developed by experts in the field and certified by Apple, the series is used by Apple Authorized Training Centers worldwide and offers complete training in all Apple Pro products. The lessons are designed to let you learn at your own pace. Each lesson concludes with review questions and answers summarizing what you’ve learned, which you can use to help prepare for the Apple Pro Certification Exam.
For a complete list of Apple Pro Training Series books, see the ad page at the back of this book, or visit www.peachpit.com/apts.
Apple Pro Certification Programs
The Apple Pro Training and Certification Programs are designed to keep you at the forefront of Apple’s digital media technology while giving you a competitive edge in today’s ever-changing job market. Whether you’re an editor, graphic designer, sound designer, special effects artist, student or teacher, these training tools are meant to help you expand your skills.
Upon completing the course material in this book, you can earn Apple certification. Certification is offered in all Pro Applications, including Aperture, Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Logic Pro. Certification gives you official recognition of your knowledge of Apple’s professional applications while allowing you to market yourself to employers and clients as a skilled user of Apple products.
Apple offers three levels of certification, Apple Certified Associate, Apple Certified Pro - Level One, and Apple Certified Pro - Level Two. Certification exams do not require class attendance. Students who prefer to learn on their own or who already have the necessary skill set in the chosen application may take an exam for a fee.
Apple Certified Associate status validates entry-level skills in a specific application. Unlike an Apple Certified Pro exam, you can take Associate exams online from the comfort of your own home or office. Apple Certified Associate status is appropriate for students, for someone who is preparing for a first job out of school or a college-level program, or for anyone is interested in validating entry-level credentials. Instructions on how to take the exam are included later in this book. For details on what the exam covers, please visit training.apple.com/certification/proapps.
An Apple Certified Pro is a user who has reached the highest skill level in the use and operation of Apple’s Pro Applications as attested to by Apple. Students earn certification by passing the online certification exam administered only at Apple Authorized Training Centers (AATCs). Apple Certified Pro status is appropriate for industry professionals.
For those who prefer to learn in an instructor-led setting, training courses are taught by Apple Certified Trainers at AATCs worldwide. The courses use the Apple Pro Training Series books as their curriculum and balance concepts and lectures with hands-on labs and exercises. AATCs are carefully selected to meet Apple’s highest standards in all areas, including facilities, instructors, course delivery, and infrastructure. The goal of the program is to offer Apple customers, from beginners to the most seasoned professionals, the highest-quality training experience.
For more information, please see the page at the back of this book, or to find an Authorized Training Center near you, visit training.apple.com.
Resources
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro X is not intended as a comprehensive reference manual, nor does it replace the documentation that comes with the application. For comprehensive information about program features, refer to these resources:
Final Cut Pro Help: Accessed through the Final Cut Pro Help menu, the Reference Guide contains a complete description of all features. You can also access the help at help.apple.com/helplibrary/.
For a list of other resources, please visit the Apple website at www.apple.com/finalcutpro/resources/.
For details on the Apple Training and Certification programs, please visit training.apple.com.
