Variable Speed, or Time Remapping
Applying variable speed to a clip (also referred to as time remapping) allows you to
dynamically alter the speed of a clip over time, in forward or reverse motion. Variable
speed allows you to create sophisticated effects in which subjects appear to smoothly
shift across a variety of different speeds, with hard or gradual transitions between
each change.
Variable speed also allows you to create a smooth transition when going from normal
speed to fast or slow motion. These types of effects can be seen in many music videos
and broadcast commercials, and the effects can be created directly within your edited
sequences without your having to resort to an external compositing application.
The best way to understand the essence of time remapping in Final Cut Pro is to ask
yourself the following questions:
 At what point in time should this media frame occur?
 What media file frame should this clip start or end on?
For more information on applying variable speed settings, see “
Making Variable Speed
Changes
” on page 345.