Lesson1.Introduction to Online and Offline Editing

Lesson 1. Introduction to Online and Offline Editing

Lesson Files	None
Media	None
Time	This lesson takes approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Goals	Understand the principles of online editing
	Understand the principles of offline editing
	Choose an editing method for your project

There are many ways to approach editing your project in Final Cut Pro. Choosing your method early will help you understand the scope of your project. By taking these first steps, you will lay down a foundation for equipment requirements and make an outline of where your project will begin and end.

The versatility of Final Cut Pro allows a variety of editing approaches. Projects can originate and end in either film or video; they can involve multiple formats, such as tapes, DVDs, or film negative. However, despite the myriad ways you can approach a project, the basic methods of editing break down into just two categories: online editing and offline editing.

Each of these methods has a direct impact on the many choices you will have to make when determining how to complete your project. In this lesson, we will focus on defining the two editing workflow approaches: offline and online. You'll learn the basic principles of each method, and their advantages and disadvantages, as well as the possibility of switching between methods if your situation demands it. You can then decide which workflow works best for each of your projects.

In Lesson 2, we will look at determining storage and hardware components based on your online or offline workflow. In Lessons 3 through 6, you will complete exercises based on editing and finishing either video or film. During this process, you will acquire a general idea of what each workflow entails.

After these lessons, we'll delve into terminology, with a hardware and video standards primer in order to prepare for configuring and integrating a system. Video cards, monitors, decks, and all the flexibility that a Final Cut Pro system offers is explained and examined prior to the system setup. We will then examine how the system is configured and integrated into a working environment. And finally, we'll discuss troubleshooting the most common problems that Final Cut Pro users encounter.