Raising Awareness Productions Blog

Traditionally, film and television editors were using Avid, but over the last couple of years Final Cut Pro has started to become the popular choice amongst filmmakers and TV broadcast facilities, including the BBC.

This means there are great opportunities for skilled Final Cut Pro editors around.  Furthermore, with the web becoming the place to host video at a much lower cost than TV or satellite TV, it is a good time to be a professional Final Cut Pro editor.  However, Final Cut Pro editors starting out need to focus on long-term goals as Final Cut Pro editors, because editing with Final Cut requires a lot of skill, creativity and technical knowledge.

So, what will help you to become the best you can be?  You will need lots of technical knowledge, not only of the Final Cut Studio, but also video formats.  Owning the Final Cut Studio is the first step, then, if you want to make it as a Final Cut Pro editor you will need to adopt the attitude of a sculpture with your editing.  If your editing is a work of art… people are going to want to see it and you will get recognition and paid as a Final Cut Pro editor!

We have been sent far too many flashy and messy show reels that quite honestly are just not professional.  What we look for when we employ a Final Cut Pro Editor in London or abroad is:

1. The ability to edit smooth clean cuts.
2. The ability to create simple but effective graphics.
3. The ability to work on their own initiative.
4. A creative mind.
5. A ‘winning attitude’!

Try to avoid using cuts that you are not skilled to deliver, at the same time try to push the limits of your work to another level of creativity always.

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Have you ever come across this issue… you are trying to add a cross dissolve between 2 clips and Final Cut Pro just won’t give you the option?  I experienced this many times before I realized what the issue was!  The issue is handles.

You need to always have an extra 1-2 seconds each side of your clip footage on the timeline to allow for transitions.  If you cut when you are filming without giving room in editing, you lose handle time.

Final Cut Pro cannot put transitions from one cut to the next if the footage has ended, so you must either allow for this when you are capturing footage, and of course when you are shooting footage!

Basically, handles are extra footage before the In and after the Out points.  And they are really relevant for Timeline clips.  If you do not have the extra 1-2 seconds of footage Final Cut Pro will not let you add a transition and this is NOT a bug!

Transitions and handles are important to remember when building title sequences in Livetype or Motion.  In these software programs it is easy to build a sequence of graphics that are set to finish at an exact point in time on the timeline, but it is better to create these with handles and cut to the exact point needed on the timeline.  This will give you the handles and gives you the opportunity for creative Transitions should you need them in editing.

Remember those handles for ease with adding Transitions later on!

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Final Cut Pro does not like MP3 files at all!  MP3 is a compressed audio format and Final Cut Pro expects to be working with uncompressed audio formats.  An MP3 file is an iTunes file and so is compressed by default.  MP3 files need to be converted to AIF or WAV files before they are imported into Final Cut Pro.

Occasionally converted MP3 files still do not play well after rendering in the Final Cut Pro timeline.  When this happens reconvert the file again using different software: iTunes, quicktime or garageband are fine!

Converting Your MP3 Audio in iTunes

Open iTunes and Control-click on any column header and select kind. This shows you the compression format of each audio file.

Next, go to iTunes > Preferences

Next, Click the Advanced tab.

Now, select the Import Using pop-up menu.

Next change the pop-up menu to AIF.

Now select the file/tune you want to convert to AIF in iTunes.

Lastly go to the Advanced menu and select Convert Selection to AIF.

A duplicate of your tune will appear in the iTunes window.  Place this in your FCP project file and then Import it into Final Cut.

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Today, more and more eye-catching video can be seen on the web, and so learning to use Final Cut in non-standard ways is well the investment of time!

An experienced Final Cut Pro editor can customize sequences solely for the web, but do note… this technique should not be used to play footage on a DVD, or to record onto a tape deck/video tape.

Remember, videos that are on the web need to be compressed using the H.264 codec.

Start by going to Sequence > Settings.

Next, change the Aspect Ratio to Custom (not Custom 3:2).

Now, change the image size to something unusual – in this case, try 640 x 200.  That crops the horizontal part of the image, and severely crops the vertical.

Now, change the Compressor to Animation.  This codec is the highest quality codec you can use in Final Cut.

Click OK to save your changes.

Cool Image Size!  If you experience an issue here in the Viewer with the image not fitting to the Aspect Ratio size, go to the Motion tab and check the scale is set to 100%.  While you are here it is also an idea to check the Centre settings in the Motion tab.  This should be set to 0.

In my experience when working with different SD and HD footage, the scale often shifts to something like 33.3 and so the image does not fit to the window.  Check the Distort settings with these issues too.

You can export files are whatever Aspect Ratio size you desire, so you can create some pretty cool effects with videos on the web!

Export with compressor as a QuickTime file using the H.264 codec.

Enjoy!

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At Raising Awareness Productions we believe editing lies at the very heart of TV, film, documentary and web video production.  But today it is not enough for a Final Cut Pro Editor to be able to just edit digital video footage or film, an experienced final cut pro editor can dramatically enhance a Directors vision to tell a story or cut a commercial with motion graphics.  Today, a skilled final cut pro editor should be competent with the entire final cut studio: Motion, Livetype, Soundtrack Pro, Colour, Compressor and DVD Studio Pro software.

Our Final Cut Pro broadcast editing facilities in London can handle all post-production needs and this is a need for any serious final cut pro editor.  Technology is moving incredibly fast, and with it are client expectations, so a skilled final cut pro editor should be able to edit all formats of SD & HD, 2K, 4K and provide animation, graphics, music and sound dubbing.

Our freelance final cut pro editor in London can edit at another post-production facility, or Raising Awareness Productions has broadcast final cut pro editing facilities in London and in West Sussex.  Do not hesitate to contact us for technical assistance because we LOVE what we do!

Tips for a successful career as a final cut pro editor:

1. Purchase your own version of final cut studio, start editing and learn from your mistakes.
2. Get some experience from sitting in on edits with an experienced final cut pro editor.
3. Build a network of final cut pro editors around you so you can support each other with technical issues.
4. Do not expect to master the software in 6 months… it will take you several years.
5. Enjoy being a final cut pro editor in London… it is a highly creative and rewarding job in a cool city!

We hope this information helps you!