Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 User Guide

							 Chapter 7    Edit your project 121
The result is effectively an insert edit: the former connected clips are inserted in the primary 
storyline and subsequent clips ripple right to make room for the new clips.
Note:  You can drag clips from and to the primary storyline as long as there are no clips 
connected to them. If there is a connected clip, you must first move or remove the connected 
clip or use the Lift from Primary Storyline or Overwrite to Primary Storyline command.
Move clips from and to the primary storyline without rippling the project
You can move clips from and to the primary storyline without affecting the total duration of 
your project.
 1 Select the clips you want to move.
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 2 Do any of the following:
 •To move selected clips from the primary storyline to connected clips at the same Timeline position: 
Choose Edit > Lift from Primary Storyline (or press Option–Command–Up Arrow). 
New connected clip at the same Timeline position
A gap clip fills in the vacated 
part of the primary storyline.
Gap clips fill in the vacated parts of the primary storyline, as needed. 
 •To move selected connected clips to the primary storyline: Choose Edit > Overwrite to Primary 
Storyline (or press Option–Command–Down Arrow). 
Depending on the amount of overlap on the connected clip, the Overwrite to Primary 
Storyline command either creates a split edit or overwrites any video clips at the new location 
and converts the audio portion of the overwritten clip to a connected clip. The Overwrite to 
Primary Storyline command is not available for audio-only clips.
Note:  The Overwrite to Primary Storyline command works on individual connected clips only. To  
use this command on a clip in a connected storyline, first move the clip out of the storyline. 
You can achieve the same results by dragging clips with the Position tool.
Cut and trim clips
Trimming overview
After you’ve roughly assembled your clips in chronological order in the Timeline, you begin to 
fine-tune the cut point (or edit point) between each pair of contiguous clips. Any time you make 
a clip in a project longer or shorter, you’re trimming that clip. However, trimming generally refers 
to precision adjustments of anywhere from one frame to several seconds. If you’re adjusting clip 
durations by much larger amounts, you’re still trimming, but you may not be in the fine-tuning 
phase of editing yet.
In Final Cut Pro, you can use a variety of techniques to trim Timeline clips and edit points, 
including ripple edits, roll edits, slip edits, and slide edits.
No matter how you trim or make other edits in Final Cut Pro, the underlying media is never 
touched. Trimmed or deleted pieces of clips are removed from your project only, not from the 
source clips in your library or from the source media files on your hard disk.
Tip:  You can see a “two-up” display in the Viewer as you trim edit points in the Timeline. For more 
information, see Show detailed trimming feedback
 on page 13 7 .
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Cut clips with the Blade tool
Once you’ve added clips to the Timeline, you can easily cut them to adjust their durations or to 
remove unwanted sections.
The most basic edit is a straight cut. The term comes from the film editing process of cutting a 
filmstrip with a razor and attaching a new “clip” with glue.
Each time you cut a clip in your project, it is split into two clips. You can cut one clip at a time or 
multiple clips at a time. 
Cut a clip in the Timeline
 1 Choose the Blade tool from the Tools pop-up menu in the toolbar (or press B).
The pointer changes to the Blade tool icon .
Tip:  To switch to the Blade tool temporarily, hold down the B key. When you release the B key, 
the tool reverts to the previously active tool.
 2 Move the skimmer to the frame in the clip where you want to cut, and click.
Blade tool
Tip:  You can also cut clips while playing back your project. To cut clips on the fly, press 
Command-B at any time while your project plays back.
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An edit point appears as a dotted line where you clicked, and the clip is divided into two clips. 
The dotted line indicates a through edit, in which the media content on either side of the edit 
point is continuous.
Dotted line indicates 
through edit point.
To remove a through edit, do one of the following:
 •Select either or both sides of the through edit point, and choose Trim > Join Clips (or press Delete).
 •Select the clips on both sides of the through edit, and choose Trim > Join Clips.
Cut all clips at once
You can use the Blade All command to cut all primary storyline clips and connected clips at the 
skimmer or playhead location simultaneously.
 1 In the Timeline, move the skimmer to the frame where you want to cut.
 2 Choose Trim > B lade All (or press Shift-Command-B).
All clips at the skimmer position are cut.
Cut multiple selected clips at once
You can use the Blade command to cut selected primary storyline clips and connected 
clips simultaneously.
 1 In the Timeline, select the clips you want to cut.
 2 Move the skimmer to the frame where you want to cut.
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 3 Choose Trim > Blade (or press Command-B).
The selected clips are cut at the skimmer position.
Note:  If you don’t make a selection, this command acts only on the clip in the primary storyline.
Extend or shorten a clip
You can trim a clip in your project by adjusting the start point or end point of the clip. 
The default type of trim in Final Cut Pro is a ripple trim, which adjusts a clip’s start point or end 
point without leaving a gap in the Timeline. The change in the clip’s duration ripples outward, 
moving all subsequent clips earlier or later in the Timeline. 
A BC
A B C
Before edit
After edit
Similarly, if you delete a clip from the Timeline, subsequent clips ripple earlier to close the gap. 
Ripple edits affect the trimmed clip, the position of all subsequent clips in the Timeline, and the 
total duration of your project. 
You can see a “two-up” display in the Viewer as you trim edit points in the Timeline. This display 
shows a more detailed view of each side of an edit point. For more information, see 
Show 
detailed trimming feedback
 on page 13 7 .
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Drag edit points with the Select tool
 1 In the Timeline, move the pointer to the start point or the end point of the clip you want to trim.
The pointer changes from an arrow icon  to a trim icon. The look of the trim icon changes to 
indicate whether the trim will affect the end point of the left clip or the start point of the right clip.
Trim the left 
clip’s end point.Trim the right 
clip’s start point.
 2 Drag the start point or the end point in the direction you want to trim the clip.
As you drag, the clip shortens or lengthens. Numerical timecode fields indicate the duration of 
the clip and the amount of time you are moving the edit point.
Any clips to the right of the edit point are rippled accordingly. 
When you extend a clip to its maximum length in either direction, the clip edge turns red. 
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Enter a new duration for a clip using timecode
You can change the total duration of one or more selected clips by entering a timecode value. 
 1 Select one or more clips in the Timeline.
 2 Do one of the following:
 •Choose Modify > Change Duration (or press Control-D).
 •Double-click in the center of the Dashboard in the toolbar. 
The timecode entry field appears in the Dashboard.
 3 Enter a new duration for the selected clip.
Final Cut Pro moves the end point of the clip to the duration you entered, and any subsequent 
Timeline clips ripple accordingly. 
For more information about entering timecode values, see Navigate using timecode
 on page 14 3 .
Note:  If you enter a duration longer than the available media in the clip, Final Cut Pro extends 
the duration to the maximum length of the clip.
Trim to a selection
 1 In the Timeline, select the part of a clip that you want to keep.
Original clip
Range selection
For information about making range selections, see Select a range on page 94.
 2 Choose Trim > T rim Selection.
Final Cut Pro trims the clip start and end points to the range selection.
Trimmed clip
The unwanted sections are removed from the clip and the project, and the subsequent clips in 
the project ripple accordingly.
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Nudge edit points with keyboard shortcuts
You can fine-tune the start or end point of a clip using keyboard shortcuts. You can move the 
edit point by one or more video frames, and you can also move the edit points of connected 
audio clips (those not in the primary storyline) by subframes.
 1 In the Timeline, select the start or end point of the clip you want to trim.
 2 To move the edit point, do any of the following:
 •To move the edit point left by one frame: Press Comma (,).
 •To move the edit point left by 10 frames: Press Shift-Comma (,).
 •To move the edit point right by one frame: Press Period (.).
 •To move the edit point right by 10 frames: Press Shift-Period (.).
 3 If you want to move the edit point of connected audio clips by one or more subframes, do any of 
the following:
 •To move the edit point left by one subframe: Press Option-Comma (,).
 •To move the edit point left by 10 subframes: Press Option-Shift-Comma (,).
 •To move the edit point right by one subframe: Press Option-Period (.).
 •To move the edit point right by 10 subframes: Press Option-Shift-Period (.).
For more information about subframes, see  View audio waveforms at the audio sample level
 on 
page 16 2.
The clip is trimmed and the Timeline updates accordingly.
Move edit points to the playhead
You can adjust selected edit points in the Timeline, either as a ripple edit or a roll edit, using 
keyboard shortcuts. 
 1 In the Timeline, select the edit point you want to adjust.
Selected end point
Note:  For a roll edit, select both sides of the edit point with the Trim tool.
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 2 Position the playhead or the skimmer at the point in the Timeline to which you want to move 
the edit point.
Skimmer
 3  Choose Trim > Extend Edit (or press Shift-X).
The edit point is extended (or shortened) to the playhead or skimmer position.
The clip’s end point is extended 
to the skimmer position, and 
subsequent clips ripple right.
In the example above, if you selected the end point of the clip, subsequent clips in the Timeline 
are rippled accordingly. If you selected both sides of the edit point with the Trim tool, the right 
clip is shortened (with a roll edit) and no clips ripple.
Trim edit points using timecode
You can trim clips numerically by entering timecode values.
 1 If the Select tool is not the active tool, choose it from the Tools pop-up menu in the toolbar (or 
press A).
 2 In the Timeline, select the start point or the end point of the clip you want to trim.
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 3 To trim the edit point, do one of the following:
 •To move the edit point forward: Press the Plus Sign (+) key, type a timecode duration for the 
trim, and press Enter.
 •To move the edit point back: Press the Minus Sign (–) key, type a timecode duration for the trim, 
and press Enter.
The timecode entry field (with blue numbers and the plus or minus sign) appears in the 
Dashboard in the toolbar as you type.
Timecode entry field
The clip is shortened or extended by the amount of time you entered, and subsequent clips in 
the Timeline are rippled accordingly.
Note:  You cannot use this feature to extend a clip beyond its maximum duration.
For more information and tips on entering timecode, see Navigate using timecode
 on page 14 3 .
Cut the start or end of a clip at the playhead
Some of your video clips may have sections at the beginning or the end that you don’t want to 
include in your project. You can easily trim off these ranges with a single command, even while 
playing back the project. No selections are required. This type of edit is sometimes called a  top 
and tail edit.
 1 In the Timeline, position the playhead or the skimmer on the frame at which you want to trim 
the clip.
Skimmer
Original clip
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