Zooming and Positioning the Timeline

Except for minor differences in terminology, you’ll find many similarities in how Avid and Final Cut Pro let you size and position the Timeline. Both use a combination of sliders and keyboard shortcuts. Although FCP does not have a specific focus button or zoom section function, there are several ways to zoom and position a sequence in the Timeline.

FCP’s zoom slider, which looks a lot like Avid’s position slider, can both zoom and position. Zooming in or out of the FCP Timeline always occurs around the playhead (position indicator) position.

To zoom and position the Timeline:

Do any of the following:

• Move the zoom control to the left to zoom in (expand) or to the right to zoom out the sequence view in the Timeline.

• Move the zoom slider left or right to move the sequence left or right, respectively.

• Drag either end tab of the zoom slider to expand or contract the sequence.

• To zoom in where the playhead is parked, press Option-+ (plus sign). To zoom out from where the playhead is parked, press Option-– (minus sign). If a clip is selected, you will zoom into the selected clip or clips, because FCP prioritizes selection over playhead position.

• If the playhead has moved out of view, click the thin purple line in the zoom slider area until the playhead comes back into view. The thin purple line indicates where the playhead is parked in relationship to the entire sequence.

• To magnify an area, select the Zoom In tool from the Tool palette, or press Z. Then either click directly on a clip or drag a marquee across several clips in the sequence (as you would using Cmd-M in Avid). To zoom out, press Option as you click the Zoom In tool.

TIP To zoom into a particular clip or clips, select the clips and press Shift-Option-Z.

• In addition to using the zoom slider to move the sequence left or right, you can use a mouse scroll button or track ball to scroll through the sequence. You can also use the Hand tool, which shares position in the Tool palette with the Zoom tool.

• To display the entire sequence in the Timeline, press Shift-Z.

• The pointer, or default Selection tool, is the tool you will use for all basic editing functions. To get back to it, press A.

NOTE Some zoom options can also be selected from the View menu.

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Controlling Timeline Tracks

Like Avid, Final Cut Pro gives you certain controls over your Timeline tracks. However, there are some minor differences. For example, Avid lets you assign different colors to each track, whereas FCP lets you assign a color to a clip as discussed in a previous article. You enter timecode numbers and durations in FCP using the same protocol as Avid. Instead of pressing F at the end of a number entry for frames, however, you right-click in the Timeline location field or ruler area to change the display to frames or feet and frames. In FCP, as in Media Composer, controls to lock tracks, patch tracks, turn tracks off or on so they won’t be seen or heard, and change track height all appear in the Timeline track area, in the left side of the Timeline.

To control Timeline tracks:

Most of the Timeline track controls toggle a function off or on, just as they do in Avid.

Do one of the following:

• To lock a track, click the Lock Track control for that track.

• To turn the sound of an entire track off or on, toggle the Audible control for that track.

• To turn video of a track off or on, toggle the Visible control for that track.

NOTE When a Timeline track is not currently audible or visible, it appears dark.

• To change track height, click the Track Height control in the Timeline. You can also press Shift-T to toggle the options. (Chapter 3 in "Final Cut Pro for Avid Editors" covers more ways to change Timeline tracks dynamically.)

• To go to a timecode location, click and type the timecode in the Timecode Location field, in the upper left of the Timeline beneath the sequence name tab. If nothing is selected in the Timeline, simply typing a timecode number enters it into this field automatically.

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Working with Tools and Audio Meters

You select Avid tools by using the keyboard, pressing command buttons, or selecting an option from the Fast menu. Final Cut Pro follows the design of certain desktop graphics programs (such as Adobe Photoshop) by placing editing tools in a Tool palette. This is like tearing off the Fast menu of functions in Avid. The FCP Tool palette provides a convenient way to select many editing operations. In addition, each of the four primary FCP interface windows has its own button bar that you can customize with your personal set of command buttons. This will be discussed more in new book in Lesson 3.

Tool Palette

When working within FCP, the default tool is the Selection tool, which is a black arrow. Its shortcut key is the letter A. You use this tool to select clips, transitions, and groups of clips; it’s the tool you will work with most of the time. The FCP Tool palette contains editing, selection, and trim tools, as well as other tools, which are covered in upcoming lessons.

Final Cut Pro's Tool Palette

Applying Color to Clips, Bins, and Sequences

In Avid, you can choose from an extensive color palette to colorize Timeline tracks. In FCP, however, you apply color not to individual Timeline tracks but to bins, clips, and sequences. Once you give an item a color label, that color will follow it into other windows. For example, a sequence with a color label will display a sequence tab with that color in the Canvas and Timeline windows. A clip with a color label will display colored tabs in the Viewer, and so on. In FCP's User Preferences, you can rename the color labels, but you can't change the existing colors.

Working with the Timeline

The Timeline windows in Avid and Final Cut Pro are very similar in function and track layout. While you may be more familiar with making an edit to begin a sequence, FCP Timeline tracks appear in any new sequence based upon defaults you set in your User Preferences. In fact, the FCP Timeline window opens with an empty sequence, containing the “factory default” of one video and four audio tracks, whenever you create a new project.