Deleting Clips and Gaps


Deleting clips is an important part of the editing process. When you remove or delete material from a sequence, you create a space called a gap. When the playhead plays over a gap in the sequence, you see black in the Canvas and hear no sound. There are different ways to delete clips and gaps in a sequence.

Deleting Clips

When you delete a clip in a Timeline, you have two choices. You can delete the clip and leave a gap the length of the clip behind. Or you can delete a clip along with the space it occupied, which leaves no gap. Deleting a clip this way creates a rippling effect and pulls up all the following clips in the sequence to the point where the deleted clip originally began. Let's delete a clip you no longer need for this sequence.

1.

In the current Jimbo Tracks Replace sequence, click the leash clip to select it.

2.

Choose Sequence > Lift, or just press Delete.

The clip is removed, or lifted, from the sequence, but the space it occupied remains, creating a gap.

3.

Move the playhead to before the gap and play through the gap.

You see black in the Canvas for the duration of the gap.

4.

Press Cmd-Z to undo the delete.

5.

Now delete this clip by choosing Sequence > Ripple Delete, or pressing Shift-Delete.

The clip, along with the gap, is removed, and all the clips that follow are moved up in its place creating a "rippling" effect.

As a general editing rule, when you decide against a shot, you will usually want to remove the clip along with its gap by using Shift-Delete. But if you need to hold the place for sequence timing purposes, you lift the clip by using just Delete.

Deleting Between Edit Points

You can apply the same deleting techniques described in the preceding section to a group of clips or a marked portion of the sequence. In this exercise, you will delete just a portion of a clip.

1.

In the current Jimbo Tracks Replace sequence, play the catch a wave clip and mark an In point after Jimbo says, "... too fast or too slow."

2.

Mark an Out point at the end of this clip.

3.

Press Delete to lift the material and leave a gap.

4.

Press Cmd-Z to undo the delete.

5.

Press Shift-Delete to remove the material along with the gap.

This pulls the following clip up to the new last frame of the clip you changed.

6.

Play this area of the sequence.

Selecting and Deleting Gaps

Gaps are not clips, but they can be selected and deleted as you would a clip. For this exercise, you will duplicate the original Jimbo Tracks sequence and create a shorter version by deleting certain clips and gaps. As you have seen already, you can delete clips and gaps at one time, but leaving the gaps here will create an opportunity to learn more about them in the next exercise.

1.

In the Browser, locate and duplicate the Jimbo Tracks sequence, and name the copy Jimbo Tracks Short. Double-click to open the new sequence in the Timeline.

Note

As you continue to open new sequences in the Timeline, additional sequence tabs appear. To go to any open sequence, select its tab. To close any of the open sequences you've already worked with, Ctrl-click their tabs and choose Close Tab from the shortcut menu.

2.

In the Jimbo Tracks Short sequence, press Option-X to remove any edit points that may be left over from previous exercises.

3.

Click the carry head clip and press Delete.

4.

Click in the gap area to select the gap. Deselect it the way you deselect a clip, and select it again.

5.

Press Delete.

Note

Unlike what happens when you delete a clip, pressing Delete alone will remove the gap and pull up the following clips.

6.

Press Cmd-Z to undo that delete, then Cmd-click the catch a wave and leash clips to select them both.

7.

Press Delete to delete them and leave gaps in their places.

Moving to Gaps

Wherever you are parked in the sequence, you can always find a gap by moving to it. You may think you will always notice a gap, but sometimes you may be zoomed in to a clip and not be aware of a gap elsewhere in your sequence. Checking for gaps before you output to tape is a good idea so you don't accidentally leave any black spaces in your sequence. There are menu selections and shortcuts to help you locate sequence gaps.

1.

Park your playhead at the head of your sequence.

2.

Choose Mark > Next > Gap, or press Shift-G.

The playhead jumps to the first frame of the next gap in the sequence.

3.

Continue to press Shift-G until you reach the end of the sequence.

4.

Choose Mark > Previous > Gap, or press Option-G, to go back to the previous gap in the sequence. Press Option-G again and again until the playhead is on the first gap.

Tip

In Final Cut Express, the Shift key is often used to move forward to a specific point in the sequence, and the Option key is used to move backward.

5.

To remove this gap, you can use a menu option, Sequence > Close Gap, or a keyboard shortcut, Ctrl-G. Or you can just select the gap and press Delete as you did before.

6.

Remove the other gaps in the sequence.

Tip

Remember that the fastest way to delete clips along with their gaps is to use Shift-Delete.

7.

Play this shorter version of the sound track.

8.

Press Cmd-S to save project changes.

9.

Close all open Jimbo sequences in the Timeline, and remember that the Timeline and Canvas windows will disappear.




Apple Pro Training Series Final Cut Express HD
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express HD
ISBN: 0321335333
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 174
Authors: Diana Weynand

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