Scripted Editing – Take and Scene Reference in FCP 7

[Shane Ross]

[Graham Fisher] “But after that, is the bin the only place that displays this information?”

You can also see it on the clip in the timeline…if they name the clip with the scene and take, like I prefer. So if it is Scene 7A, take 4…the clip would be called “7A/4.” Simple. So I can see, on the timeline, what take I am using.

[Graham Fisher] “Is there a way to get final cut to display this information in the overlays/timecode overlays? “

Why? I don’t get how seeing that overlaid on the clip helps. I’ve assisted on feature films, episodic TV shows and edited episodic TV shows and short films…and I fail to see the point of seeing that information burned on the image. The only time you need to see it is in the bin when you go, “OK, I need to see take 2…” Or one the timeline when you wonder, “what take am I using,” or when asked, “Hey, what take is this?” Look at the timeline, boom, you know.

Ah…I see, so a producer or someone watching can see what take is used, and wonder why you didn’t use another take. I find this highly distracting and never include that. No producer I have ever worked with has asked for that.

[Graham Fisher] “Better yet, is there a way for final cut to display this information on the monitor, without having to burn in the information to offline QT files?”

Nope. Not in FCP. Avid has a plugin for this though, TIMECODE OVERLAY…has an option that reads the clip name and displays it, so if the clip is named 7A/4, it will show that.

Shane
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[Graham Fisher]

Thank you, Dave and Shane, these answers are spot on.

I get where you are coming from, Shane. First time I saw take numbers on footage was just recently, burned in on a big budget film. Not everyone might see the use of having take numbers included, but personally, I liked the idea. I find take selection to be a really big part of editing scripted film, and would prefer watching the monitor to recall take numbers rather than having to look at my timeline, or worse, the bin! But this is definitely an approach that can bite back if you’ve got a problematic producer on the team.

Thanks again!
Graham