The Secrets of Final Cut Pro

Chris Phrommayon

Sessions devoted to this popular application offer tips and
tricks on video editing, audio production, and media management

When Apple's Final Cut Pro first hit the market in 1999, its low
price quickly made it a favorite among video editors, and its user base
grew rapidly. But because many FCP users have tried to learn the
program on their own, they often aren't fully aware of all the
program's capabilities.

"When you teach yourself a program like Final Cut Pro, inevitably
you aren't going to learn everything it can do, or you may teach
yourself how to do things inefficiently," says Chris Phrommayon,
Technical Chair of the "Final Cut Pro Editing" track at the NAB
Post|Production World Conference. "What we try and do is teach people a
better way to do things."

Several sessions will focus on FCP’s new audio production tools.

The FCP track features 14 different sessions that will be offered
over the course of four days. Phrommayon says many of those sessions
deal with techniques and topics that aren't documented or aren't
documented very well. "Oftentimes, the manual will tell you that a
certain button performs a certain function, but it doesn't tell you why
you'd want to use it. That's what these sessions do."

In addition, a number of sessions are devoted to some of the new
features that were added last summer to version 4.0 of the software.
According to Phrommayon, the newest version of FCP makes it easier for
users to customize the software with their own keyboard shortcuts.
Apple also added a significant number of new audio mixing capabilities
to the program, and it bundled with the software new applications for
text animation and audio production. All of those topics will be
covered extensively.

One session that Phrommayon expects will be particularly popular is
"Advanced Motion Graphics in Final Cut Pro," which will be offered on
Saturday, April 17, at 10:15 a.m. Although FCP's motion graphics
capabilities aren't well documented, Phrommayon says the program's
advanced keyframing of filters and motion parameters gives users the
power to design exciting effects without having to depend on
third-party compositing products. In this session, he says, attendees
will learn how to enhance their videos through creative use of nesting,
and they'll learn how distortion techniques can add new dimension to
images. They'll also find out about helpful timesaving tricks and
shortcuts for applying multiple transitions and saving animated filter
combinations.

"One example I show," says Phrommayon, "is how to create a wiggle
effect. This effect makes text or graphics jitter on the screen. Most
editors don't realize that such an effect is possible to create in
Final Cut Pro and would most likely use something like After Effects.
But by combining various techniques that are usually unrelated, the
same visual effect can be achieved without having to depend on other
products."

Similarly useful tips will be shared in such sessions as "Power
Trimming Techniques in Final Cut Pro," "Color Correction in Final Cut
Pro," and "Master the Media Manager in Final Cut Pro."

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