Final Cut X layout guide

Okay so Final Cut X has been out for a good few weeks now and this has given people plenty of time to work out weather to buy it or not, I am not going to explain the pros and cons about the programme as it has been explained many times throughout the Internet within its first week! And well i personally think a lot of peoples reviews about the software were slightly narrow minded and i felt they didn’t really give it a good enough chance to breath, but that is just my opinion.

So why your really here is to learn some of the basics about the Final Cut X layout, This guide will help you understand the key elements in using the program and i hope it will give you a better understanding to editing with Final Cut X.

So heres the layout that shows mainly all the key tools you need in final cut X, if you are already accustomed to earlier version of final cut and have moved onto this version, you will understand the main elements easier, but in this guide i will be explaining it for the masses. 

When you first open the program you will be seeing this:

Looks a bit like imovie 11 Ahh? Trust me its ALOT better.

Lets edit the layout to give us a bit more dynamic and professional feel towards it.

1. Layout

First go to ‘window’ at the top of the screen and click:

-Show audio metres
-Show Inspector
-Show timeline index (You must have a project at least created) 

So now we’ve done all the boring stuff and we have a more professional looking layout that is giving us a better view of whats going, Im jumping into the layout bit by bit.

2. Event library.

The event library is the area where you can organise raw imported footage into events(Folders) and arrange them by date and disc location. Basically this saves having different projects saved in different locations on your computer, cause now its all in one place which makes it easy to grab footage from previous projects.

3. Clip/Footage area. 

There are two views to this section, First is the film strip view which you can see here:The Clip/Footage area is pretty self explanatory from the title, this is the place where all your clips are organised and where you can skim across and drag to get your down into the timeline because of course we need to view the raw footage before editing. This section is basically a more in depth view of the event library but it is also the main area to view and select your footage.

This gives you a greater overview of particular clips and allows you to do more in depth skimming across your footage.

The second view is the ‘list view’:

This gives you a more traditional way of looking at your footage which will help for people who really do prefer the old layout of final cut. I personally like the filmstrip way as it is easier to visually skim through the footage, its quicker and more efficient.

You can swap between these two views using this little switch just below the event library:

6. The Viewer

This is most important thing you need when using final cut as it will be the part of the final cut X software you will be looking at the most, basically this box is the area your footage will appear when being played from the timeline or being played from the Clips/footage area.

7. The Timeline

Ahh the timeline, this is where we get creative with our footage. This area is the key place to be in editing, its the place you will be making cuts and chopping together your raw footage, you can layer your footage on top of each other, put titles on top or before/after clips, put multiple effects on clips, This area really is where you get down and creative with your video.

8. Timeline index

The timeline index works very well with the timeline its self, when you have an advanced editing going on in the timeline and you look at it thinking “WHERE THE HELLS THAT TITLE!” or something along those lines… The timeline index will help, it allows you to view every element of your timeline in a list view so you can scroll down and look for a certain title or clip rather then over looking the whole edit in the timeline. It comes with some great filter options for Video, Audio and titles which really makes things quicker…Oh and you can use the search bar as well.

9. Audio bars

Audio bars are basically the way you can view the audio levels to keep track of the volume visually, this is handy to have open so you can keep audio levels consistant.

10. Inspector

The inspector is a very handy tool to help you get creative, its basically the area where you can edit all of your clip, text and effects attributes in the timeline, its divided into these tabs: colour, audio, titles and info

11. Effects, content and title bar

This is where you will find your effects library, transitions library, audio library, text library, themes library and more… Just simple click on the boxes and the relevant content will show. To know what each one is just hold your mouse over the top and it will tell you.

 

I hope you enjoyed learning the basics of the Final Cut X layout, I know its all quite basic but this is just a starting point to learn the main areas of the program.

Final cut X it a mix of previous final cuts and iMovie 11. Its taken the best features of both and did i mention this program is lightning fast? I love it!

 

Leave any questions in the comments below!

Written by Jason King.