Overview of the Three-Point Editing Process
To edit content into a sequence using three-point editing, you first set edit points in
your source clip and sequence, and then you perform the edit. Three-point editing gets
its name from the fact that Final Cut Pro needs no more than three In and Out points
(in the Viewer and in the Timeline or Canvas) to determine what part of the source clip
to place in a sequence. The result of the edit is dependent on which three points are
set in the clip and in the sequence.
Note: If you set fewer than three edit points, Final Cut Pro infers In or Out points using
the playhead in the sequence and the Media Start or End times in the source clip.
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Part II
Rough Editing
Basic three-point editing follows several main steps:
Step 1:
Set clip In and Out points in the Viewer
Specify which part of a source clip you want to place in your sequence. You do this by
opening it in the Viewer and setting the In and Out points (where the clip should start
and end). If you only set an In point, the Out point will be determined by the sequence
In and Out points or the Media End time of the clip.
Step 2:
Set sequence In and Out points in the Timeline or Canvas
Specify where you want the clip to appear in your sequence by setting In and Out
points in the Canvas or Timeline. If the sequence has both In and Out points set, these
determine the edit duration, regardless of the duration set in the source clip. If no In or
Out points are set, the playhead is assumed to be the In point of the edit.
For information about setting In and Out points, see the sections that follow and
Chapter 7, “
Setting Edit Points for Clips and Sequences
,” on page 99.
Step 3:
Specify destination tracks
Choose the tracks in the Timeline where the video and audio items from your source
clip should appear.
Step 4:
Add the clip to the Timeline
Edit the clip into the Timeline by dragging it to the Edit Overlay in the Canvas, clicking
a Canvas edit button, or using a keyboard shortcut.
Important:
Sequence In and Out points always take precedence over source clip In and
Out points. This means that if you set both In and Out points in a sequence, the
duration of the edit is determined by the In and Out points of the sequence, regardless
of the In and Out points of the source clip. This allows you to restrict the portion of
your sequence affected by your edit.