FCP X: Trimming The Edit

Did you know that Final Cut Pro X supports real-time trimming? Or that you can select and trim audio separately from the video using the keyboard? Or, how about trimming a clip to a selection range?

Well, you can. This article showcases some trimming techniques that you may not know.

NOTE: There are two additional trimming techniques: slip and slide. I cover them in a separate article. Read it here.

BACKGROUND

Trimming is the process of adjusting where two clips touch. That “touch-point” is called the edit point and it has three sides:

• The Out, or last frame of the out-going clip (a “single-sided” trim)
• The In, or first frame of the in-coming clip (another “single-sided” trim)
• Both the In and the Out (a “double-sided” trim)

In past versions, specifically in Final Cut Pro 7, we used different trimming tools when trimming one side of an edit (the Ripple tool) versus both sides of an edit (the Roll tool). FCP X changed this. Now, the Arrow (Selection) tool does all single-sided trims, while the Trim tool handles double-sided trims.

Trimming where two clips touch is critical for several reasons. First, it gets rid of audio or video portions of a clip that we don’t want. Second, it helps to match the action between two shots. Third, it helps the action flow smoothly from one shot to another, which is not the same as matching the action. Fourth, and both important and not obvious, the timing of an edit changes the emotional response of the viewer.

NOTE: Discussing trimming to alter emotions is worthy of its own article; in fact, probably a book. For this article, I will concentrate on “how” to do trimming and save the “why” until later.

THE PRECISION EDITOR

(Footage courtesy:  John Putch “Route 30, Too!” – www.route30trilogy.com)

I love the Precision Editor, which is a new feature in Final Cut Pro X. Not because it is great at trimming, because it isn’t. But because it enables new editors to understand what trimming is doing. I find it an incredibly useful teaching tool. However, many experienced editors see the Precision Editor and reject it for its limitations, rather than applaud it for explaining an incredibly difficult subject very easily.

To open the Precision Editor, double-click any edit point (or type: Control+E).

If you are new to the Precision Editor, the out-going clip is on the top. That portion of the clip that is bright is included in the Timeline. That which is dark are called “handles,” which is extra video after the Out and, on the lower level, before the In. Handles are essential for trimming and transitions.

The edge at the border between the bright and dark portions at the top level is the Out (the end of the first clip). The edge at the border of the bottom layer is the In (the beginning of the second clip).

You can adjust the Out or the In by dragging the yellow edge; this is called a “Ripple trim” because it only affects one side of the edit.

You can adjust both the In and the Out by dragging the thumb between the two clips; this called a “Roll trim.”

NOTE: If an edge turns red, it means that there are no more handles at that end of the clip. A lack of handles means you can make a clip shorter, but can’t make it longer.

To close the Precision Editor, press the Return or Enter key. While the Precision Editor is great for teaching trimming, it is less helpful in the hurly-burly of trimming real-life projects.

DRAGGING

You can trim one side of an edit point by dragging an edge with the Arrow tool.

• Using the Arrow tool, click near an edit point. Clicking just to the left of an edit selects the Out. Clicking just to the right of an edit selects the In.

NOTE: Don’t click directly on the edit point, just really, really close to it. (You won’t hurt anything if you do, but you may not select the edge you want.)

• With one side of the edit point selected, drag the edge the amount you want. If you drag left, all clips to the right are automatically pulled up. If you drag to the right, all clips to the right are pushed down. As you drag, two small windows show up in the Viewer. The left image shows the Out, while the right image shows the In. Since you are dragging only one edge, only one of these images will change as you drag.

NOTE: No clips to the left of an edit point are affected by trimming. Only the edit point itself and any clips to the right are moved.

To trim both the In and the Out at the same time, use the Trim tool.

• Select the Trim tool from the Toolbar, or type T.

• Click directly on an edit point to select both sides.
• Drag the edit point. Again, as you drag two small windows show up in the Viewer. The left image shows the Out, while the right image shows the In. Since you are changing both sides of the edit, both images will change as you drag.

Trimming via dragging works great and most of us use it a lot. But, sometimes, you need something faster, or more specialized. Here are a variety of other techniques that you can use to speed your trimming.

There are only three edges we can adjust during trimming: the In, the Out or both. That doesn’t change. What does change are the techniques we use to adjust them.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Let’s see how we can use the keyboard to trim, instead of the mouse.

NOTE: You don’t need to select the clip prior to trimming, just the edit point you want to adjust.

• Use the Up/Down Arrow keys to jump to the edit point you want to adjust
• Type [ to select the Out — type ] to select the In — or type to select both
• Type comma to move the selected edit point one frame left
• – Or – type Shift+comma to move the selected edit point ten frames left
• – Or – type period to move the selected edit point one frame right
• – Or – type Shift+period to move the selected edit point ten frames right

When I am in a hurry and need to trim something in small amounts, I find myself using comma/period a lot. When I want to make big adjustments, I’ll use timecode, which I will explain shortly.

NOTE: You can always select an edit point using the mouse, but this section was talking about keyboard shortcuts.

TRIMMING THE TOP, TAIL AND SELECTION

When you are in a hurry, and who isn’t?, here’s a very fast way to trim the top and tail of a clip.

• Put the playhead (or the skimmer, but I find the playhead to be easier to position) at the position you want to trim the clip.

• Type Option + [ to trim the beginning of the clip to the position of the playhead.
• – Or – Type Option + ] to trim the end of the clip to the position of the playhead.

You do NOT need to select the clip prior to trimming, simply put the playhead inside the clip at the location you want.

NOTE: If the skimmer is turned on, all trimming will be set to the position of the skimmer. If the skimmer is turned off, all trimming is set to the position of the playhead. Because I never remember to check the skimmer position in the Timeline, I always turn skimming off when trimming.

You can also use the Range tool (type R) to select a range within a single clip (not across multiple clips).

Then, type Option + to trim to the selection.

UPDATE – Sept. 22, 2014

A reader sent me the following, which makes a good point.

There is one big benefit to using the skimmer: Trimming the start and end of a clip. Using Trim Start and Trim End with the skimmer is a really fast way to edit under pressure. Getting used to the skimmer takes some practice and doesn’t really have an exact match in any other NLE — some come close, but are not as fast and fluid — so it is really worth the effort to learn. I think this is one of the reasons many internationally-well-known news teams like Final Cut Pro X so much.

You are right that when you are playing the clip and just hit Stop, the playhead provides a very concrete way to find the trim. But if you are cutting visually, like to the beginning or end of an action or soundbite, then the skimmer is the way to go.

Larry adds: I have a love/hate relationship with the skimmer: I love it in the Browser but hate it in the Timeline. However, my editing doesn’t generally involve trimming the heads and tails of a clip. This approach is much faster than using the playhead.

TRIMMING USING TIMECODE

All trimming starts by selecting the edit point we want to adjust. Whether you select the edit point using the mouse or the keyboard, choose the In, Out, or both.

Then, using either the keypad or the numbers on your keyboard type:

• The Plus key ( + ) followed by the number of frames you want to move the edit point, followed by typing the Return or Enter key.
• – Or – The Minus key ( – ) followed by the number of frames you want to move the edit point, followed by typing the Return or Enter key.

Plus followed by a number moves the selected edit point that many frames to the right. Minus followed by a number moves the selected edit point that many frames to the left.

NOTE: You don’t need to use punctuation. Type “10” moves the selected edit point ten frames. Type “110” moves it one second and ten frames. Type “10110” moves it one minute one second and ten frames.

Also, FCP can do the math for you. If your project is 30 frames per second, typing “40” moves the selected edit point one second and ten frames. If your project is 60 frames per second, typing “40” moves it 40 frames.

TRIMMING AUDIO SEPARATELY FROM VIDEO

So far, all the trimming we’ve been doing trims both the video and audio equally. But, many times, we want to trim audio and video different amounts. We can and here’s how.

To separate the audio from the video, either double-click the audio waveforms in the Timeline or select the clips you want to separate and type Control + S (or choose Clip > Expand Audio / Video).

Just as you can drag the combined audio and video edit point, you can drag either the audio or video edit point individually. It works the same way.

Just as you can use keyboard shortcuts to select and trim an edit point, you can use different keyboard shortcuts to select the audio and video sides of an edit point:

• To select different sides of the video edit, type [ – or – ] – or –  — that’s square bracket left, right and backslash
• To select different sides of the audio edit, type Shift + [ – or – Shift + ] – or – Shift +

NOTE: If the two audio edges are not touching when you type Shift + , FCP selects one audio edge and the opposite video edge to enable the Roll trim.

Once you have the appropriate edge selected (audio, video or both), you trim using the same keyboard shortcuts we covered earlier: variations on comma/period or timecode.

TRIMMING IN REAL-TIME

Another very cool feature is the ability to trim in real-time; that is, while watching playback.

NOTE: You can also do this by stopping playback and positioning the playhead and it works great. But doing it in real-time is more fun and, many times, yields smoother results in action sequences.

Again, this starts by selecting the edit point you want to trim.

NOTE: I find I am more accurate trimming audio by watching waveforms and trimming by dragging while watching waveforms. This allows me to take advantage of sub-frame trimming in FCP X. While I get smoother video edits during action by trimming in real-time using the technique I am describing here.

Begin playback and, when you reach the point you want to edit, type Shift + X. This instantly jumps the selected edit point to the position of the playhead. This keyboard shortcut works whether you are playing the project or have positioned the playhead exactly where you want the new edit to be placed.

NOTE: In Final Cut Pro 7, we could only use an Extend Edit (which is what this technique is called) when doing a Roll trim. In FCP X, we can do an Extend Edit on any selected edit point: audio, video or both; ripple or roll trim. I find myself using this technique a lot.

CONTINUOUS PLAYBACK

Trimming in real-time is even better if you choose View > Playback > Loop Playback (shortcut: Cmd+L).  This will continuously loop playback of your project.

Next, select the edit point you want to trim in real-time and choose View > Playback > Play Around (shortcut: Shift+?)

This starts a continuous playback around your selected edit point. You can now watch, and listen, to your edit, while using Shift+X to trim the selected edit point in real-time. No worrying about frames, or dragging; just you and the edit.

Very cool.

SUMMARY

Trimming is essential to creating a smooth story. And Final Cut Pro X provides a variety of ways to trim our clips accurately and quickly. If I missed a favorite of yours, please let me know in the comments below.

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