FCP X: Join Clips and Trim Audio [Video]

Posted on by Larry

[This is an excerpt from our latest webinar: New Features in Final Cut Pro X v10.1, which you can download from our store. You can also access all our Final Cut Pro X training by becoming a subscriber.]

Several new features in the 10.1 update to Final Cut Pro X relate to trimming; that is, adjusting where two clips touch. In this short video tutorial, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to remove a cut in the middle of a clip. (This is called “joining a through edit.”) Then, discover new audio clip trimming techniques, as well as an explanation of how to separate audio from video for editing.


Join Clips and Trim Audio

TRT: 3:12 — MPEG-4 HD movie

NOTE: This video may not play inside FireFox, please use a different browser.

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9 Responses to FCP X: Join Clips and Trim Audio [Video]

  1. Dave says:

    Hi Larry,

    I’m trying to join two clips in the timeline but the Trim > Join Clips option is greyed out. Why is that?
    Thank you for your work and reply!

    Dave

    • LarryJ says:

      Dave:

      Joining clips ONLY works when both sides of the cut are from the same clip and there is no material removed in the cut. (What we used to call “no breaks in the timecode.”)

      you can’t join two different clips.

      Larry

  2. Andrew D. says:

    Hey, Larry. What if you have edited out a portion of a clip and come back later and decide you want to reinsert the previously deleted portion and rejoin the clip? Is there an easy way to put them back together so they are one clip again? I’d rather not have to find the exact out and in points manually so I can stitch the clip back together. Thanks very much.

    • Larry says:

      Andrew:

      Well…. You can undo till you restore the clip. Or, you can delete the right-hand section and drag the Out of the first clip to the right until you’ve reset the clip; but there’s no easy way to “find the missing section” unless you find the correct In and Out. You can use the “Match Frame” function (Shift+F) to get close, but, then you’d need to manually set the In and Out.

      Larry

  3. Dave Moog says:

    Hi Larry,

    I’m using FCP X 10.4, and I’ve noticed that the join clips command only seems to work on the primary timeline. If I try to rejoin a connected clip that has been cut in two, the join clips command is greyed out. What am I doing wrong? Thanks,

    Dave.

    • Larry says:

      Dave:

      You can’t “join” two connected clips. However, select them and convert them into a connected storyline (CMD+G) and the Join clips function works.

      Larry

  4. Hi Larry

    When we cut a clip using blade it still shows the full clip when I pull the yellow mark at the edit point. And because I have used the blade many times on the same clip the size of the file has increased a lot. Is there any way I can get rid of the trimmed parts permanently wherever I have used the blade?

    • Larry says:

      Lochana:

      You are misunderstanding what the Cut tool does. It doesn’t really cut the clip. It simply puts a “marker” in the timeline file saying “end playback of this clip at this timecode.” No media is actually cut. It’s like setting the Out. The Out is a marker, but all rest of your media remains untouched after it.

      Files won’t get bigger or smaller the more you cut them. If something is increasing in size, it will be due to render files, not cutting.

      And, the only way to get rid of media you aren’t using is to create a copy containing just the media you want to keep. At this point, Final Cut does not provide a way to create those extracts automatically.

      Larry

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