Working With Final Cut

If you are working on a video project in the IDEA Center, you have 2 options: iMovie and Final Cut . If you are not enrolled in a Video, Graphic Design or Music Technology class that gives you specific instructions on using these two programs, you should choose iMovie. It is specifically made for the novice user and is VERY intuitive and user friendly. That said, it also lacks the editing and post production capabilities of Final Cut. We suggest you enroll in a course that addresses the use of these programs before beginning in any case. Also, please ask an IDEA Center monitor if you are unsure about how to use any of the stations!

Final Cut, unlike Pro Tools, assumes you will always use the same computer for video production. Musicians tend to take a project to many different places to work (collaborate) in every phase of production - it's just the nature of the art. Thus, Pro Tools automatically makes a folder that contains all of the audio, edits, fades and the project file itself that can be copied whole and then moved with a storage device like a hard drive, CD ROM or DVD ROM. With Final Cut, you have to change a few settings.

Starting A Project

Pro Tools calls a new song, or composition, a session. Final Cut calls it a project. They're the same thing, really.
  1. Make a new folder on the desktop, and name it. (if you don't know how to make a folder, you should NOT be using Final Cut!)
  2. Make sure all other applications are OFF (that don't mean this browser, it means Photoshop, Pro Tools, Illustrator, etc.)
  3. Open Final Cut.
  4. DO NOT START WATCHING THE MOVIE, do not freak out. Remain calm. It's just a computer, not a hit man from the Corleone Family.
  5. If the user before you has followed these directions, you will see a pop-up window that asks you to "reset scratch disks". That's a good thing! Set them all to your new desktop folder. You still have to go through the rest of these steps, though.
  6. If not, click on the Final Cut menu>system settings.
  7. You will see this:
  8. system settings
  9. On the top line (the one with the checked boxes) click on "set" and select your new desktop folder.
  10. Now, set the "Waveform Cache", "Thumbnail Cache" and "Autosave Vault" to your new desktop folder as well.
  11. Press "OK" (on the bottom right).
  12. Quit Final Cut, then restart Final Cut.
  13. Now just start a new project, or open your old project that's in your folder.
  14. project
  15. When you are finished working be sure to save your folder to your own storage device, or to the server. This is the most important step, because it has all of your work in it.
  16. When your folder has been saved (and your are sure you have saved it!) delete your folder from the desktop, or one of the lab monitors will. Saving is VERY important! I save a copy to the server, and to my own storage device.

Do this every time you work on your Final Cut project, and you will have great success, be happy, and go on to fame and fortune.

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