| Now that you have marked a source clip, you are ready to log information about that clip. If you look at the Logging tab of the Log And Capture window, you will recognize some of the topics you saw as Browser columns in the previous lesson, such as Name, Description, Scene, Angle, Log Note, and so on. Information you log at the capture stage appears in the Browser columns for reference later as you edit. Notice too there is an area where you can add markers during the logging process. But before you log a clip, you must determine the best approach to organizing the logged clips in the project.
Setting a Log Bin When you capture a clip, Final Cut Pro needs to know where to place the new clip icons. The actual media files will be saved to your hard drive, but the clip icon linking you to that media will be saved to the current project in the Browser. If you want to move quickly, you can capture all your clips into the project tab area in the Browser and organize them later. If you want to organize as you capture, you can create a new bin for each category, such as reel/tape number or type of footage. In either case, Final Cut Pro needs to know where to place the clip icons. This destination is called the log bin. You can have only one log bin active at any given time, no matter how many projects you have open. 1. | Position the Browser so you can see both the Capture and Browser windows at the same time while doing these steps. In the Logging tab of the Log And Capture window, the project name, Lesson 9 Project, appears on the long, oval Log Bin button.
In the Browser window at the far left of the Name column heading, a slate icon appears, indicating that this project is the current logging bin.
At this point, you can capture all your clips into your project and organize the clips into bins after you've captured them. However, if you want to explore the other option of capturing to a new bin, continue with the following steps. | 2. | On the far right of the Log Bin button, click the New Bin button.
When you click this button, a new bin is created in the current project with the default name, Bin 1. The slate icon now appears next to this bin in the Browser to identify it as the target location for your new clips.
| 3. | In the Logging tab, click the large Log Bin button with the new bin name on it. The new bin opens as a separate window, which allows you to view just the new clips you are capturing without mixing them up with other clips already in your project. | 4. | Close this window by clicking its Close button. | 5. | In the Logging tab, click the Up button.
This takes the Log Bin destination up to a higher level, in this case back to the project level. | 6. | In the Browser, rename the new bin Test Capture. The slate icon is now attached to the project, not to the Test Capture bin. However, you can assign the slate to the new bin. | 7. | To assign the Test Capture bin as the log bin, select it in the Browser, and choose File > Set Logging Bin.
The slate icon now appears to the left of the Test Capture bin. |
NOTE You can also Ctrl-click the bin in the Browser and choose Set Logging Bin from the shortcut menu.
Logging Clip Information Certain logging information is required, such as reel number and clip name, or Final Cut Pro will not capture the clip. For reel numbers, you can use a simple numbering system or enter a reel name. The clip name is derived from any or all of the entry fields: Description, Scene, Shot/Take, and Angle. You can also add additional logging information any time after you have already captured the clip, as you learned in the preceding lesson. When you work with many clips on a complex project, you will appreciate the extra time you spent logging. 1. | Enter an appropriate reel number or name for your source tape, or if you have just one tape, you can leave the default 001 reel number. TIP Ideally, you should use the same reel name or number that you used when labeling your tapes. That way you will always know from what source tape your clips were captured. | 2. | Try to click in the Name field. The Name field is not for entering information, just displaying it. The name is actually compiled from any combination of the four descriptive fields below it that have an active checkmark. | 3. | Enter a description of the clip in the Description field, such as dog runs to cam. Use a name that will help you distinguish between that clip and another while you are editing. | 4. | Make sure the Description check box next to the slate button is checked, and press Tab or Return.
When checked, the information in the Description field automatically becomes part of the name. | 5. | If you're working with a script, enter the Scene information (such as 98), and press Tab or Return. TIP To use the scene and take numbers as the sole name, check those boxes, and deselect the Description and Angle check boxes. | 6. | Enter 1 as a Shot/Take number and 3 as the Angle. | 7. | Click on and off the check boxes next to each line to see how the name changes in the Name area.
Any one, or all four, of the descriptive entries can be included in the full clip name. TIP Long clip names may be difficult to read when displayed on the clip in the Timeline. You might find it more useful to enter the information but not check the boxes to include it in the name. The information will still be attached to the clip, and you will have access to it in the Browser columns and through the Find function. | 8. | Next to the Angle entry, click the slate button.
Every time you click one of the slates, the next consecutive number is added to the descriptive entry. This is true even if no number was originally entered. To change to another number, click the number to highlight it, and type the new number. | 9. | Click the Prompt check box on and off. Leave the box selected.
With the Prompt box selected, Final Cut Pro will display the information you've entered before logging the clip so you can check it, change it, or add to it before you complete the logging process. | 10. | Enter a log note about the clip, such as pretty sunset, and click the Good check box.
After you capture this clip, the log note will appear in the Log Note Browser column, and a checkmark will appear in the Good column |
TIP A naming system can be a useful visual aid when working with different elements in the Browser. For example, for the lessons in this book, all clips are labeled with lowercase words and names, and sequences are in upper- and lowercase. Adding Markers While Logging In Lesson 7, you used markers to identify a specific location on a clip. You also used markers to create subclips of a longer clip. Depending on your project, you might want to add markers to a clip for these same purposes during the logging process. When you open the clip after capturing it, it will already have a marker identifying specific locations in the clip. 1. | On the Logging tab, click the disclosure triangle next to Markers to expand the marker information pane.
| 2. | With an In point selected on your source tape, play the tape from the In point, and click the Set Marker In button wherever you want to place a marker on the clip you are capturing. Then stop the tape.
NOTE Clicking the Set Marker Out button will give the marker a duration. | 3. | Enter a name for the marker in the Marker field. | 4. | Click Set Marker.
The timecode designating the marker location appears in the information fields. You are clear to add a new marker in this clip.
|
|