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Need help with source timecode and workflow
I need some advice from you FCP veterans about how you edit without source timecode. I’m trying to transition from the Avid world and the lack of readily searchable source timecode is a real problem.
Specifically what I’m doing is editing a 30 minute preaching program. When we lay down the sermon to tape (4 cameras switched), we record with time of day timecode. We have a PA who makes timecode notations of the scripture references and sermon points based on the time of day timecode.
When editing the program, I’ve traditionally done a rough cut, making notes of the source time where lower third scripture references are to be added. (There are usually 15-25 lower thirds in the program). On the Avid, I can search by source time to locate the points where these lower thirds should be inserted, regardless of the timeline timecode. But FCP has no facility (that I can find) to search by the source time and seems to rely strictly on editing by the timeline timecode.
I’m really at a loss as to how to insert these lower thirds into the final edit in the proper reference to the original timecode. How would you guys handle something like this?
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8 Replies
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With the timeline active.
Command-F
change Search to Timecode (Source)
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I would simply turn on the tc display in the canvas to view the source tc of all my tracks, navigate to the tc, and insert my graphic.
If it was a real time production, like yours sounds like, I would also make the sequence tc the same as the tod tc so I could type in the tc. But why would you ever type in a tc when you could go there with one click/drag of the mouse.
You can also gang the canvas with the source, which would be another way to view the source tc at all times.
I’ve done a lot of avid editing, and these are the methods I wouldve used on avid as well. Always one click away. Doing a search for source timecode seems like quite a lot of typing when you have a heads up display showing the source tc. Give it a try. Hope that was what you were looking for. Should speed up the process on either system.
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I thought that might work, but all I have in front of me is my iPhone. It has the new FCP nano app on it for doing rough cuts, but it doesn’t have the search for tc feature, so I wasn’t sure if the full app did either.
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Thanks for the ideas.
It would be really easy to navigate to the source TC if you could search by source TC! Mousing around to try and find 25 locations where lower thirds belong is going to be very tedious and inaccurate.
Making the sequence TC the same as the source TC would work until the first edit and then the relationship would be broken between the source and timeline.
Thanks for the idea about ganging. It may be as close as I can get to what I need to do. It’s still a clunky way to handle the situation.
I guess markers might work too…
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Thank you Michael! That’s what I was trying to find. A little clunky, but much better than trying to us a mouse and the heads up display! Thanks again.
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oh, another way that maybe a little quicker.
If you are dealing with a single shot, no stops and starts during the recording. You can match the seq TC to the clip’s TC. Then line them up. Then if you want to go to 4:39:19;00, you just type that into the TC box in the upper left of the timeline pane and hit enter and the play head will jump to that TC in the seq, which will also be the clip’s TC. When you do this you need to make sure nothing is selected on the timeline.
One feature I wish FCP had was a big TC window! (without have to drop a TCR on the clips)
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Seriously? Cmd+F and then typing in 8 digits is faster for you then dragging the mouse? Isn’t your show chronological in that you’ve got 25 lower 3rds in chronological order? So you would simply click and drag through the timeline until you’re at the TC, then paste. I’ll assume you’re going to tweak anyway and that that TC you have written down isn’t really exact, but even so I think I could drag and paste 25 of them without ever moving my hands from the mouse and keyboard vs. cmd+f, enter TC, paste, cmd+f, enter tc, paste etc. But to each his own, we all work different. Glad you got the cmd+F thing. Sounds like that was exactly what you were looking for.
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If you are looking for a big floating tinecode window for Final Cut Pro,
this one is free and works great.
https://e-pocalypse.com/timecode/MacPro dual Quad 2,8 GHz – 16 GB RAM – Decklink Studio – FCP 6.05 – OSX 10.5.6 – G5 dual 2,0 GHz – 4 GB RAM – Decklink Extreme – FCP 6.05 – OSX 10.5.6
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