Final Cut Pro 6 - Trimming with the Selection Tool

background image

Trimming with the Selection Tool

You can use the Selection tool to change the In or Out point of a single sequence clip,
leaving a gap. Because a gap is left, the total duration of your edited sequence is not
changed. This is important because it means this kind of trim edit doesn’t ripple clip
items out of sync with each other.

Note: If you want to extend a clip’s In or Out point so that it overwrites an adjacent clip,
you can’t do this with the Selection tool. Instead, you can use the Roll tool, or select the
clip and drag it with the Selection or Slide tool.

Performing edits using the Selection tool is useful for filling in gaps between two clips
and for creating gaps in preparation for another editorial operation. When you trim an
edit point with the Selection tool, the Selection tool appears as a trimming tool.

To trim a clip’s edit point in the Timeline using the Selection tool:

1

Select the Selection tool in the Tool palette (or press the A key).

2

Move the pointer to the In or Out point of a clip in the Timeline.

The pointer changes to a Resize pointer.

A

B

C

A

B

C

Before edit

After edit

Gap

Before

background image

348

Part III

Fine-Tuning Your Edit

3

Drag to the left to create a gap in your sequence (by making the clip shorter) or to the
right to cover an existing gap (by making the clip longer).

You can also achieve the same results by opening a sequence clip in the Viewer and
setting a new In or Out point. The clip changes duration in the Timeline, as long as the
new In or Out point doesn’t cause an adjacent clip to be overwritten.