-
FCP7 Best strategy for creating subclips with head/tail
Apologies in advance for what well may be a noob question, but I’ve spent several hours researching this and cannot find an answer that seems rational.
I tend to digitize entire tapes or use a hard disk recorder and in both cases therefore, I get long clips.
Then I need to slice and dice the long clips into dozens of subclips and, as I would like to use transitions, ensure that each subclip that is created has (where it is not the first or the last subclip) a suitable head and tail for dissolves, etc.
So what I normally do is watch the long clips in the Viewer, inserting clip markers at obvious subclip In and Out points, then, in the Browser, select the markers and use Modify > Make Subclip. This then creates subclips for Start of clip to Marker1, Marker1 to Marker2, and so on.
But, unfortunately, there are no heads nor tails on each of the resulting subclips — and therefore you cannot use transitions on the resulting subclips.
One strategy, of course, is to deliberately set the markers earlier and later, deliberately providing head and tail space, and then opening each subclip in the Viewer and using In/Out points to thereby create the head and tail space for transitions.
But, of course, this strategy cannot work if you want to use contiguous video and make two clips from it as shown in this simplistic example:
(Start) ———-M1———(End)If you move Marker1 to the right to provide a tail for the first subclip you destroy the ability to create a head for the second clip as Marker1 is too late on the timeline.
The real world situation seems a bit more complex — for example consider this and imagine (just for this hypothetical, that I *really* want to end subclip Start/M1 at M1, and start M1/M2 at M1:
(Start)——M1——M2———-M3——M4——M5—-(End)How can one arrange the markers to provide head and tail? Clearly for the Start/M1 and M5/End subclips, there can be no head and tail respectively…there’s no additional material.
But for the other subclips it would solve the problem if there was a way of telling FCP, “Please add X frames before each starting Marker and X frames after each ending Marker for each subclip you make.” I have tried asking FCP very nicely to do this. I even tried speaking to it sternly, but that didn’t work either.
I realize that if shooting under directorial control, you can start and stop the action and avoid the problem above by having the camera rolling before and after what will end up as a subclip — but I make long form educational videos of demonstrators and it’s not possible to slice the action into discrete scenes without the talent having a hissy and departing the set.
Can any FCP gurus suggest workable strategies, or slap me up the side of the head so I can get over this and do it the hard way?
Thanks in advance
AndyForensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon -
14 Replies
-
First of all, what version of the software are you using? Second, what format are you working in?
These two questions will effect how you can work with the media. There is no one answer. You might also want to look at the extend marker function to create a head an tail for your subclips. Make subclips as loose as you can, usually simply from the beginning to the end of the shot. Making subclips is really an organizational function and not an editing function per se.
All the best,
Tom
Class on Demand DVDs “Complete Training for FCP7,” “Basic Training for FCS” and “Final Cut Express Made Easy”
Author: “Final Cut Pro 5 Editing Essentials” and “Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop” -
If you need more head or tail, after you’ve thrown your clip on the timeline, use option command f where your cursor is and it will take you to the source clip and then you can recut it with the source clip.
Alot of times I’m working with media that’s already been logged and sub clipped by others and have gotten slammed, and found that to be a quick work around.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
Rebecca Gillaspie
Producer, Editor
rgillaspie@gmail.com -
Placing markers on the master clip is a great under-utilized technique, which works better than subclips for some people. Placing markers on the master clip opens a twirldown with each marker listed separately below, and each can be labeled, much like subclip. I use both techniques depending on the material.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
-
That’s what I use with multicam clips with multiple takes.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
Rebecca Gillaspie
Producer, Editor
rgillaspie@gmail.com -
First of all, what version of the software are you using? Second, what format are you working in?
Oh…sorry, Tom. I should have called that out better: FCP7.0 (it was in the subject line).
I’m using HDV format.These two questions will effect how you can work with the media. There is no one answer. You might also want to look at the extend marker function to create a head an tail for your subclips. Make subclips as loose as you can, usually simply from the beginning to the end of the shot. Making subclips is really an organizational function and not an editing function per se.
I understand. The real trouble comes when I need to make a series of subclips from a contiguous chunk of a clip — the marker at the end of one clip becomes the marker at the start of the next clip and therefore, there’s no apparent way to get any tail on the first clip and head on the second.
Regards
AndyForensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon -
Hi Rebecca:
Thanks! That’s an idea I hadn’t thought of it and, at first blush, it’s certainly a good workaround — albeit one that one has to be done on a subclip by subclip basisAs you could probably tell, using clip markers is tantalizingly close to what I need to do if only FCP7 could be persuaded to add head and tail material to marker-delineated subclips where such material is available (which is everywhere other than at the start and end of the main clip).
Thanks for the idea. I’ll try it.
Regards
AndyForensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon -
Placing markers on the master clip opens a twirldown with each marker listed separately below, and each can be labeled, much like subclip.
Oh…now there’s a thought. So, if I understand you correctly David, you do NOT do the “Make Subclip” step after you have added clip markers to the master clip….
I infer that in the VIewer, you set your In/Out points *based* on the clip markers — but leaving a bit of head and tail either side of where the markers are located, and then bringing the resulting clip from the Viewer down into the timeline? Then you repeat the process with the same master clip, setting the In/Out points on the next pair of clip markers?
Being an indolent computer geek, I wonder whether there is a means of getting the Mac and FCP to do the grunt work of making 50 or so such “subclips.”
Thanks for responding though.
Regards
AndyForensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon -
That’s what I use with multicam clips with multiple takes.
I only wish I had the option for getting multiple takes, Rebecca.
I am typically doing a three camera shoot with three XLH1a, using a single camera remote control to sync the timecodes on all three cameras before the shoot (using timecode, free run from preset). So all three cameras are then frame accurate in timecode sync.
After the shoot, I then drag all the clips from all three cameras’ FS-CV disk recorders into the timeline on the appropriate Vn/An channels, I then use sequenceLiner to arrange up all the clips on the timeline according to the embedded/synced time code. Then I export the entire sequence as three separate QT movies and reimport them into a new FCP sequence.
Then I select all three clips and make them a multiclip and do the editing by playing back, cutting to each camera as required. I can use the Blade tool to remove unwanted material from the multiclip. It’s the NLE version of meatball surgery.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
“Until it comes to making FCP do what I want it to. Then it’s just knowledge I need.” Me. 🙂Regards
AndyForensic Software/Internet/Image Analyst
Portland, Oregon -
Check out Singular Softwares Pluraleyes. It syncs everything up like magic!
https://www.singularsoftware.com/autosync/
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein
Rebecca Gillaspie
Producer, Editor
rgillaspie@gmail.com -
all seems straight forward enough Andy …
3 cams … throw all clips in timeline … use sequenceLiner to sync on timecode … make movie for each angle … edit using multiclip
but where does the subclipping you originally described come into this workflow?
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up