Video Arts: Notes on: Final Cut Pro X Essential Training

Ch 1 - Taking a tour of the FCP X Interface

Really, it's essential to name the folders 'Final Cut Events' and 'Final Cut Projects', elsewise the program will not be able to locate them.
The extent to which one can seed their files within each other is an impressive organizational feat. This makes sense in the context that some entire feature-length movies will be edited with Final Cut.
Audio skimming is helpful if you do or do not want to hear the sounds of the clips w/o using the mute button.
You can go to 'Window', then 'Show Event Viewer' to have both the Event and Project video playing.
To go frame by frame, use the left arrow and right arrow.

Ch 2 - Creating and organizing events from scratch

Make sure you create events based out of the Hard Drive, makes things easier to organize and ensures we'll take up less space.
In Organizing, when you're creating an event (importing media), if you select the first box that says Copy files to the Final Cut Events folder, this means that new media will actually be created and placed in the Final Cut Events folder.
Keyword selection is there as well, and this ensures the organizational format (naming of files/embedding in folders) used before.

Ch 3 - Playing and Marking Clips in preparation for editing,

A much more efficient way to utilize editing keystrokes: JKL is a three-button play tool, whereby J plays in reverse, L plays forward, and K pauses. Wow, I had no idea.
To mark an Out point, which is where I want my edited shot to end, press the O key.
To play the selection, press the / key. [Wow, this info is so great, I just learned through trial and error, and never picked up how to do these quick tricks!]
To trim up the ends of select clips, put it in slow motion. This is done by holding down the K button and then rocking forward with either J or L. [ohmygod so much easier].
Favorite sections by pressing f. (This stars them).
You can place markers (like digital bookmarks!)

Ch 3 - Understanding different types of editing tools

Using 'e' to add clips from events to the project is a much faster way to add them (to the end of the storyline)
General overwrites take the clip you selected to be cut from in the project, and replaces (based on how many frames the cut clip was) it with the clip from the event at its selected start point.
To replace a section in a project, drag the clip from the event and hover over the clip in the project--right click and select replacement options. Different from overwrite, because it doesn't matter how many frames are there.

Video Arts