Apple Final Cut Express 4 - Manual (Page 32)

32 Part I An Introduction to Final Cut Express
Step 2: Setting up
In this phase, you set up your editing system by installing and connecting the hardware
you need, as well as configuring your software. For example, before capturing, you need
to connect the video and audio from your camcorder or VTR (video tape recorder) to your
computer. You also need to make sure that the correct presets are chosen within
Final Cut Express, so that Final Cut Express knows what video and audio formats you are
capturing and what kind of device control you’re using. (Device control allows
Final Cut Express to remotely control video and audio devices.)
Step 3: Capturing and importing
Once you’ve set up your editing system, you need to sort through your raw footage
and then transfer it to your computer’s hard disk for editing.
Capturing is the process of getting source media from your video camcorder or deck onto
your computer’s hard disk. You can use the device control capabilities of Final Cut Express
and your DV camcorder to do this. (Device control allows Final Cut Express to control a
DV camcorder through a FireWire connection.) Final Cut Express allows you the flexibility
of capturing individual clips or an entire tape.
You can also import QuickTime, audio, and graphics files, such as a music track from a
CD, a still image, or a layered Photoshop file. You can import files at any time during
your project. For example, if someone is creating an elaborate graphics file for an
opening sequence, you may be in the midst of editing before the finished file is ready
to import.
Step 4: Editing
The editing process involves taking the video and audio you’ve captured, along with
any music or graphics you’ve imported, and arranging these raw materials into a final
edited sequence of clips. Most editors start with a rough cut, where they quickly
arrange all of the clips for a movie in sequence. Once that’s finished, they work on
fine-tuning, subtly adjusting the edit points between clips and refining the pacing of
each cut. Basic audio editing and synchronizing are also part of this process, as well as
adding transitions, such as fades and dissolves.
Often, the type of project you’re working on determines your method of editing. For
example, documentary editing, in which the script often evolves in parallel with the
editing, is quite different from commercial television and film editing, in which there is
already a finished script to provide an order for clips.