Create your video sequence

Production Testing Plan

Record footage in line with the planned pre-

production

Importing and checking footage

To import my footage at the start I made a new project in final cut so that I new where all my work was saving to. Afterwards I created a new event so that I had a place where I could upload all my footage to and I knew where everything was. By making a new project and event it ensured that that I didn’t get my work up with any other users on Final Cut.

I used Final Cut Pro’s ‘KeyWord’ feature to clearly label my work once I had imported my footage into the media library. Using the KeyWord feature helped me to organise my imports so that they didn’t get lost or mixed up with any other footage I had already uploaded. I then split the groups into 7 and named them based on what I had most of. I used: Good shot, bad shot, poor quality sound, good quality sound, close ups, long shots and tracking shots. By using these key words and then putting the footage that corresponds to the title (e.g. I’d put all the close up shots in the ‘close up’ folder etc) I can quickly find a shot that I might want to find when editing instead of having to search through lots of random footage.

Transitions and titles

I used Final Cuts Titles feature to use for my opening title ‘delivery boy’. I used the font ‘American Type’ with a font size or 143.0, regular. I set the effect to give the impression that the words were being typed on the screen and synced it so they appeared in line with the background music. The titles feature allows you to drag the effect onto any piece of footage and then using the title editor, you can edit font, size and colour. However, I stuck to a basic font with a white to correspond to my ‘comedy’ genre.

Next I added a transition after my intro so that it smoothly entered the next scene. I used fade to black so the shot nicely dissolved and then slowly faded into the next piece of footage on the timeline. Final Cut has a range of transitions you can use but for I a professional feel I used the fade to back which worked best within the film. To put the transition onto my footage, I just simply dragged and dropped it between the to pieces of footage I wanted the transition to happen between. From there you can easily edit the length of the transition but just dragging the grey box.

Synchronising music

When I imported my time lapse footage into Final Cut I had to edit the shot by speeding it up to get the desired effect. However, before I edited the footage I detached the audio from the shot so that the audio was not effected but this meant I had to resize the audio to correspond with the new edit I made. To achieve this, I simply resized the audio so that it started and finished at my new edit. Although the footage was sped up the audio stayed the same giving it a nice realistic atmosphere which is the effect I as looking for. I also faded out the audio at that the end so that it didn’t abruptly stop and make a ‘pop’ sound. By hovering the audio at the bottom right and dragging the small arrow to the left, you can create a fade which means the audio’s volume slowly cuts out rather than straight away. You can tell the audio has a fade out if you see a shaded arch at the end of the event.

Also, I added a back tracking to the video to play in the background to give the film a happy bouncy mood which ties in well with my comedy theme. As my film has no dialogue, this backing track needed to be at a good level so that it was dominant through out. To raise the volume of the audio event I simply dragged the black line up that runs through the even, this then raises the decibels which then overall raises the volume.

Tool How it’s used Why I used it/how it helped

Select The Select tool is used to select events so that you can arrange them in the order that you want them to be. You can use the select tool on footage, audio and titles. You know when you’ve selected an event when the event has been highlighted in yellow.

I used this tool at the start of my piece to arrange where I wanted the titles to start, where I wanted the audio to start and where I wanted all the clips to be on my timeline.

Trim The trim tool has 4 functions, it can be used to Ripple (lengthens and shortens), Roll (Making to of the same clips have different lengths), Slip (changes the proportion you’re trimming) and Slide (Moving the position on a clip between two others)1

The trim tool was helpful when I was editing my time lapse, I trimmed the end of the footage so that I my intro wasn't too long.

Position The Position tool is similar to the Select tool in the fact that it is used to arrange your events in the order you would like them to be. However, when using this tool it leaves a gap

The position tool allowed me to arrange my clips so I had room to add text in between on a plain background, this was useful in the intro when it fades to the alarm clock.

Blade The blade tool is used to cut up pieces of clips so only the parts that you want enter your final edit. The blade tool slices the event along the line you asked it to and splits into two halves. You then decide which bit you keep and then which bit you delete or save for another edit.

I used the Blade tool to quick cut the sequence of the character brushing his teeth and washing his face. The Blade tool helped me to get a precise cut and helped to achieve the effect I was looking for.

Range Selection

The range selection tool is used to select a specific part of the existing event. Once selected you can delete, arrange or edit the selection. You know have selected the piece when the box appears highlighted in yellow.

The range selection tool was used again in the sequence when the character was interacting in front of the camera. Because the original edit was quite long, the range selection tool helped to select the specific part I needed.

Transition The transition tool is simply used to add transitions to your piece. You select the transition from the presets and then drag it to where you would like it in your event.

The transition tool was useful for the opening sequence when I faded to black after the time lapse. The tool allowed me to edit the length of the transition easily by just dragging the highlighted box.

Title The Title tool is used to select what title you want in your edit, this can either be for title intros, credits or text through the clips. Similar the transitions tool, you simply drag and drop the chosen preset onto the selected clip.

I used the title tool’s presets to select what title sequence I wanted on my intro. After I selected the motion I wanted the text go at, I used the titles editing tools to select font, colour and weight of the text.

Audio The audio tool is where you select what music or sound effects you want in your piece. Once chosen, you drag and drop the audio onto where you want it in the timeline.

I used the audio tool to edit the fade outs and levels on each audio event. For example I used the fade out tool so that the audio of the busy market slowly went out before the first scene started.

References1Conor Crosby. (2013). Final Cut Pro Trim Tool.

Available: http://finalcutbasix.com/2013/04/16/fcpx-trim-tool/. Last accessed 18th Dec 2013.