FCP editing tips

When capturing HDV, try using the HDV to ProRes through firewire settings as these will cause much less problems later on with the Media Manager and integration with other applications in Final Cut Studio 2. The footage becomes frames based rather than GOP based; basically it plays a lot better.

XML is your friend. Always take an XML copy of a project when trying to open a Final Cut Project from one version to another as the translation is more likely to work. To make an XML file, control click in a blank space in the browser and ask to export XML and choose the most up to date version.

Rather than use the voice over tool in Final Cut Pro consider using Soundtrack Pro to record voiceovers as it is able save the captured audio to a useful location.

Whilst in the timeline, press Shift/I and it will take you to the In Point.

When working with complex subtitles or lower thirds it is a very good idea to use the Motion templates feature of Final Cut Studio.

Motion projects imported into FCP sequences can sometimes take a long time to render. If this is the case, just use Apple Motion to lay out titling elements accurately and then render these out into a still image format which FCP can import. These can include transparency if needed, by including the alpha channel. Once in FCP just insert into a sequence and render quickly as a normal still.