Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 User Guide

							 Chapter 7    Edit your project 101
Append clips to your project 
A simple way to add a clip to your project is an append edit, in which you add one or more clips 
to the end of a project or storyline.
Append clips to your project in the Timeline 
 1 Select one or more clips in the Browser.
 2 To add the clips to the Timeline, do one of the following: 
 •Choose Edit > Append to Storyline (or press E).
 •Click the Append button in the toolbar.
If there is no selection, the clip appears at the end of the primary storyline in the Timeline. If a 
storyline is selected, the clip appears at the end of the selected storyline.
Insert clips in your project
An insert edit places the source clip so that all clips after the insertion point are moved forward 
(or rippled) in the Timeline to make room for the clip being added. No clips are removed from 
your project. An insert edit makes the project longer by the duration of the inserted clip. 
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After edit
Before edit
You might use insert edits when you want to add a new shot in the beginning or the middle of 
your project. You can also use an insert edit to interrupt the action in an existing clip with the 
action in the newly inserted clip. The action in the original clip then resumes after the inserted clip.
Note:  You can use three-point editing to make insert edits. For more information, see  Three-point 
editing overview
 on page 287 .
Insert Browser clips in the Timeline
 1 Select one or more clips in the Browser.
 2 Move the playhead to the point in the primary storyline or a selected storyline (or make a range 
selection) where you want to insert the clip.
 3 Do one of the following:
 •Choose Edit > Insert (or press W ).
Note:  If you use the keyboard shortcut and the skimmer is present in the Timeline, the edit 
will occur at the skimmer position.
 •Click the Insert button in the toolbar.
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The clip appears in the Timeline and all clips after the insertion point are rippled forward. If the 
skimmer is not present, the clips are inserted at the playhead position. If you perform an insert 
edit in the middle of an existing Timeline clip, that clip is cut at the insertion point, and the 
second half is moved to the end of the newly inserted clip, along with the rest of the footage to 
the right of the insertion point. 
Insert a gap clip or a placeholder clip in the Timeline
Sometimes you need to reserve space in the Timeline for a clip that you don’t yet have. 
Final Cut Pro provides two possible solutions to this problem: placeholder imagery or a blank 
and silent clip called a gap clip that can be adjusted to any duration.
 1 Move the playhead to the point in the primary storyline or a selected storyline (or make a range 
selection) where you want to insert the gap clip or placeholder clip.
 2 Do any of the following:
 •To insert a placeholder clip: Choose Edit > Insert Generator > Placeholder (or press 
Option-Command-W ). 
Final Cut Pro inserts gray placeholder imagery that you can customize. For more information, 
see Use a placeholder on page 249. You can adjust placeholder clips to any duration.
Placeholder clip
 •To insert a gap clip: Choose Edit > Insert Generator > Gap (or press Option-W ).
Final Cut Pro inserts a blank clip (containing blank video and silent audio) that you can adjust 
to any duration. ( The film industry term for this is slug.)
Gap clip
Note:  Gap clip color is determined by the current background color in Final Cut Pro. To 
adjust the background color, choose a Player Background option in the Playback pane 
of the Final Cut Pro Preferences window. If you want a different color, consider using a 
solid generator.
The clip appears in the Timeline, and all clips after the insertion point are rippled forward (to 
the right).
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Insert clips by dragging them from the Browser, a media browser, or the Finder
You can insert clips between clips in the Timeline by dragging them from the Browser, another 
Final Cut Pro media browser, or the Finder.
 mDrag the clip you want to insert to an edit point (between two clips) in the Timeline.
The clip appears in the Timeline, and all clips after the insertion point are rippled forward (to 
the right).
Connect clips to add cutaway shots, titles, and synchronized sound effects
You can attach clips to other clips in the Timeline. Connected clips remain attached and 
synchronized until you explicitly move or remove them. 
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Some uses for connected clips include:
 •Cutaway shots: Add a cutaway shot by connecting it to a video clip in the Timeline.
 •Superimpose titles: Add a title or a lower third to a video clip or range. 
 •Spot sound effects and background music: Synchronize audio clips to clips in the primary 
storyline. The clips will remain synchronized even if you move the primary storyline clips.
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When you use the Connect menu command, keyboard shortcut, or toolbar button, video clips 
(blue) are connected above the primary storyline and audio clips (green) are connected below 
the primary storyline:
Connected clip
Connected 
audio-only clipPrimary storyline
Note:  You can use three-point editing to make connect edits. For more information, see  Three-
point editing overview
 on page 287 .
Connect clips in the Timeline 
 1 If your project is empty, add clips to the dark gray primary storyline area in the Timeline to build 
your initial sequence.
 The clips in the primary storyline serve as a foundation on which you connect (attach) clips to 
further build your project. Connect edits are slightly different than the other edit types in that 
they never add clips to the primary storyline. If you perform a connect edit in an empty Timeline, 
Final Cut Pro first adds a gap clip to the primary storyline and attaches the new connected clip 
to it.
 2 Select one or more clips or a range in the Browser.
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 3 Do one of the following to indicate where you want to connect the selected source clip:
 •Position the playhead over the frame of the clip in the primary storyline.
 •Make a range selection in the primary storyline.
 4 To connect the selected clips to the clips in the primary storyline, do one of the following:
 •Choose Edit > Connect to Primary Storyline (or press Q).
Note:  If you use the keyboard shortcut and the skimmer is present in the Timeline, the clip will 
be connected at the skimmer position.
 •Click the Connect button in the toolbar.
 •Drag the clips to the gray area above or below the primary storyline.
The first frame of the source selection is connected to the clip in the primary storyline at the 
playhead or skimmer position. If you dragged the selection to the Timeline, the first frame of 
the source selection is connected to the primary storyline at the point where you released the 
mouse button.
Connection point
Connected clip
Primary storyline
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When you rearrange, move, ripple, or remove clips in the primary storyline, any clips connected 
to them will move (or be deleted) along with the primary storyline clips. 
When you connect clips by dragging them, you have the option to put video clips below the 
primary storyline or put audio clips above  the primary storyline.
Connected audio-only clip
Connected 
audio/video clip
Title
Note:  In Final Cut Pro, if you connect clips, the topmost video clips block out any video clips 
below them. Exceptions to this rule are clips with some type of transparency, keying, or 
compositing settings. For more information, see Compositing overview
 on page 372. Audio clips 
never affect video output, even when they are placed above video clips in the Timeline.
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Adjust the connection point of a connected clip
By default, connected clips and storylines are connected to the primary storyline at their first 
frame, but you can move the “connection point” of a connected clip or storyline. This is useful 
when you want to connect a specific frame or audio sample in the connected clip or storyline 
with a specific frame or audio sample in the primary storyline.
 mHold down the Command and Option keys, and click the connected clip (or the gray border of 
the storyline) at the point where you want to position the connection point.
The connection point is moved to the point where you clicked.
Default 
connection pointNew connection 
point position
Move, trim, or delete clips in the primary storyline without affecting connected clips
If you need to move or trim clips in the primary storyline but want to keep any connected clips 
where they are, you can hold down the Grave Accent (`) key while editing to preserve the timing 
and position of connected clips.
 mTo move a clip without affecting connected clips: While holding down the Grave Accent (`) key, dr ag 
the clip to another location in the Timeline (using either the Select tool or the Position tool).
Hold down the Grave Accent (`) 
key and drag the clip.
The connected clip 
remains in place.
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 mTo trim a clip without affecting connected clips: While holding down the Grave Accent (`) key, tr im 
the clip using any method, including ripple edits, roll edits, slip edits, and slide edits.
 mTo delete a clip without affecting connected clips: While holding down the Grave Accent (`) key, 
select the clip and press Delete (or press Option-Command-Delete).
For more information about removing clips or ranges that have connected clips, see  Remove 
clips from your project
 on page 11 4 .
 mTo switch to an alternate clip in an audition without affecting connected clips:  While holding down 
the Grave Accent (`) key, select the pick in the Audition window.
For more information, see Use auditions to try out clips in your project on page 297.
In all of these cases, the connected clip (or clips) remains exactly in the same position, with its 
timing preserved.
If you remove clips or ranges involved with connected clips and storylines without holding down 
the Grave Accent (`) key, special rules apply. For more information, see Remove clips from your 
project
 on page 11 4 .
Overwrite parts of your project
In an overwrite edit, one or more source clips overwrite any clips in the primary storyline or 
a selected storyline, starting at a range selection start point or at the playhead or skimmer 
position. No clip items are rippled forward, so the duration of your project remains the same.
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Overwriting media is different from replacing it. Overwriting works with range selections only, 
not entire clips, and it is not constrained by clip boundaries. Use an overwrite edit when you 
want to edit media for a specific span of time, rather than specific shots.
Note:  You can use three-point editing to make overwrite edits. For more information, see 
Three-
point editing overview
 on page 287 .
Overwrite clips in the Timeline with clips from the Browser
 1 Select one or more clips in the Browser.
If there are multiple source clips in the selection, the clips will appear in the Timeline in the order 
in which they were selected.
 2 To define where you want the overwrite clip to start in the Timeline, do one of the following in 
the primary storyline or a selected storyline:
 •Position the playhead.
 •Select a range involving one or more clips in the Timeline.
Note:  The overwrite command ignores whole clip selections in the Timeline. If you don’t select 
a range in the Timeline, Final Cut Pro positions the start of the overwrite clip at the playhead or 
skimmer position.
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 3 Choose Edit > Overwrite (or press D).
The source clip appears in the primary storyline and overwrites any clips for the duration of the 
source clip. 
Note:  If you use the keyboard shortcut and the skimmer is present in the Timeline, the edit will 
occur at the skimmer position.
To overwrite from the playhead back, so that the overwrite clip’s end point (rather than its start 
point) is aligned at the target position, press Shift-D.
Replace a clip in your project with another clip
You can replace clips in your project with clips from the Browser, other Final Cut Pro media 
browsers, or the Finder. In contrast to overwrite edits, replacing works on whole Timeline clips 
only and can change the duration of your project.
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Replace options include using the start or end of the source clip, retiming the source clip to fit 
the duration of the Timeline clip, as well as automatically creating or adding to auditions.
Replace a clip in the Timeline with one or more clips by dragging
 1 Do one of the following to make a source selection:
 •Select a clip or range in the Browser.
 •Select a media item in one of the Final Cut Pro media browsers or in the Finder.
 2 Drag the source selection over the clip in the Timeline you want to replace.
The target clip in the Timeline is highlighted with a white outline.
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 3 Release the mouse button and choose an option from the shortcut menu:
 •Replace: The target clip is replaced with the source clip selection. The duration is determined 
by the duration of the source clip selection. If the source clip selection and the target clip have 
different durations, the subsequent clips ripple.
 •Replace from Start: The target clip is replaced with the source clip selection, starting from 
the beginning of the source selection. The duration is determined by the duration of the 
Timeline clip.
 •Replace from End: The target clip is replaced with the source clip selection, starting from the 
end of the source selection. The duration is determined by the duration of the Timeline clip.
 •Replace with Retime to Fit: The target clip is replaced with the entire source clip selection, 
retimed to fit the duration of the Timeline clip.
 •Replace and add to Audition: The target clip is replaced with an audition that has the source 
clip selection as the pick and the target clip as an alternate. The duration is determined by 
the source clip selection. If the source clip and the target clip have different durations, the 
subsequent clips ripple.
 •Add to Audition: The target clip is replaced with an audition that has the target clip as the pick 
and the source clip selection as an alternate.
 •Cancel: The replace edit is canceled.
The source clip selection appears in the Timeline, in place of the original clip.
The source clip selection 
appears in the Timeline.
Note:  In the case of Replace from Start and Replace from End, if the source clip selection is a 
range selection with a shorter duration than that of the target clip and there is sufficient extra 
media, Final Cut Pro extends the duration of the source selection to match the target clip 
duration. The resulting storyline duration does not change.
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