This one simple technique in FCPX will save you so much time!

There is a great technique in FCPX that, if done on a regular basis, will save you tons of time as your projects get bigger and more complicated.
As you may know, I am a big fan of organization, and logging favorites is a big part of that. The great part of this is that it is incredibly easy to do.
While in the event browser window select your desired clip.
You can either favorite a whole clip or just a part of the clip. It works for video, stills, and audio.
Optional: Select the best parts of the clip by setting your in and out points.

To set an in point press “i” on your keyboard.  To set the out press “o”.

Press “f” on your keyboard.

This step sets your clip or portion of a clip as a favorite.

Repeat this process until you have selected all of your desired clips.

You may notice that it adds the word “Favorite” annotation to the clip.

Now go to the top of the event browser window and select “Favorites” 

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See where it says “All Clips” in this photo?  Click on that bad-boy in Final Cut Pro and switch it to “Favorites.”  You can also press “control + f” to switch to a favorites only view.  Pretty cool, huh?

Now only your favorites are visible.  And if you logged your clips with in and out points, only those parts made it into the favorites.  Don’t worry, this is a non-destructive “edit.”  The original file is unchanged and once you put the clip into the timeline you can expand it and the rest of the clip is still there.  This view is especially rockin’ if you’ve favorited two different parts of one clip.  It will show up in this view as two different clips.  So by following this simple step, you can get rid of all the clutter and see only the clips that are your best clips.  To log more clips and get back to the original view just repeat the same process or press “control + c” (or “control + h” to see all but your rejected clips).

Let me know if you have a topic that you would like to see a tutorial on.

 

Adding Organization to Your Libraries in Final Cut Pro X

Hello there!

Let’s talk about organizing our files within the library viewer in Final Cut Pro X.

This tutorial assumes that you have created a library,  imported your footage, and that you are ready to start organizing your clips.  The most basic level of organization begins with keyword collections.  Keywords is like having a soft folder- nothing changes to the file structure to your files outside of Final Cut-the files are categorized and still available in the top folder.

Adding Keywords is easy!  Check out the video above or read on.

Click on the keyword collection icon. 

The icon looks like a key and is found directly below the event browser.  A window pops up on your screen.

Click on a clip and then start typing into the keyword collection window.  Hit “return” to add the keyword.

When you first start adding keywords it will start adding them to your quick keywords.  These can be added to additional clips by clicking on the up arrow and number icon next to the keyword.  You can also push “control + the number associated with the keyword” to add the keyword to the desired clip.

Now your clips are categorized!

Check them out, click on the different keyword collections and you can see just the desired clips that you set for each keyword.

For an advanced tip, you can select an in and out point of your clip (keyboard shortcut of “i” or “o,” respectively) and set those as a keyword collection.

FCPX will add just that selected section into the keyword collection.  You could use this to your advantage by setting a keyword of “Best of” and put in just the good clips.

OK, you’ve organized your clips, but what if you want a further level of organization?  That’s where folders come in!

First click File>New>Folder

A folder is added to your library under your event.  The only thing that can be put into the folders is keyword collections or smart collections.  You cannot individually put clips into the folder.

Drag and drop a keyword collection or smart collection into the folder.

You’ve just organized your files!  Wasn’t that easy?  These few simple steps can save you many minutes down the road of your edit.

As a review, the file organization structure looks like this:

Hard Drive>Libraries>Events>Clips

You can organize it into:

Hard Drive>Libraries>Events>Keyword or Smart Collections>Clips

You can organize it even deeper into:

Hard Drive>Libraries>Events>Folders >Keyword or Smart Collections>Clips

Collections can not exist without Clips.  Folders can only organize Collections.  Clips can not be placed directly into Folders.

While Folders and Collections are optional they can add much more organization to your workflow.

 

Lightbulb-transparent-colorBright Idea!

Use a folder to organize your audio keywords!

Name your folder “Audio Files” and underneath it have the keyword collections of “Music” and “Sound FX.”

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