Apple MA261Z/A User Manual - Page 33

I Step 4: Editing The editing process involves taking the video and audio you've captured, along with any music or graphics you've imported, and arranging these raw materials into a final edited sequence of clips. Most editors start with a rough cut, where they quickly arrange all of the clips for a movie in sequence. Once that's finished, they work on finetuning, subtly adjusting the edit points between clips and refining the pacing of each cut. Basic audio editing and synchronizing are also part of this process, as well as adding transitions, such as fades and dissolves. Often, the type of project you're working on determines your method of editing. For example, documentary editing, in which the script often evolves in parallel with the editing, is quite different from commercial television and film editing, in which there is already a finished script to provide an order for clips. Step 5: Mixing audio Once your movie is edited and the picture is "locked," meaning the duration of the movie is fixed and you no longer intend to change any of the edits, you can begin working more extensively on your audio. This involves:  Cleaning up the dialogue with more detailed audio editing, balance audio levels, and equalization  Adding sound effects, music, and voiceover on additional audio tracks in the sequence  Mixing the levels of all the different clips together to create a balanced sound mix You can use Final Cut Express HD for each of these processes. For more information, see "Overview of Audio Mixing" on page 561. Note: You can also sweeten your audio with another audio application, perhaps even at another facility. To export your movie audio, see "Exporting Audio for Mixing in Other Applications" on page 1015. Step 6: Adding effects Creating effects tends to be more time-consuming than cuts-only editing, so it's good to focus on basic edits first and work on effects when the timing of your project is finalized. Effects are any enhancements you want to make to your footage, such as color correction, special transitions, animation, still or motion graphics, multilayered images (compositing), and titles. Final Cut Express HD has a wide variety of video and audio filters, each with parameters that you can keyframe to adjust over time in your sequence, as described below. Step 7: Outputting Once editing is finished, effects are added, and the final audio mix is complete, you can output your movie to videotape or film. You can also export to a QuickTime format for web delivery or use in a DVD-authoring application. Chapter 1 About the Post-Production Workflow 33