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MARCH 19, 2003 Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #17 When you mark a clip in your Timeline for replacement or removal, how are you setting those In and Out points? If you are doing it by pressing the I and O keys, you could be doing more damage than you think. The navigation and intuitiveness of Apple’s Final Cut Pro 3.0 is great. So many keyboard shortcuts to get you around and allow you to perform tasks without having to use the mouse. One of the easiest ways to jump from edit point to edit point is to use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard. The Up Arrow moves you back one edit, while the Down Arrow moves you forward to the next edit. [an error occurred while processing this directive]When marking a clip for replacement, many might just use the Down Arrow to move to the beginning of the clip, press the I key to set and In point, then press the Down Arrow again to move to the end of the clip and press the O key to set an Out point. The thinking behind that process is good, and would work if only you weren’t including a portion of your next clip in the selection.  If we zoom into a marked region of the Timeline, we can see that the Out point actually includes the first frame of our next shot. In this world of frame accurate editing where being off by one frame could make your director break down in fits is really not acceptable.
One solution would be to use the same arrow technique outlined above, but instead of pressing the O key after moving to the next edit point, you would press the Backward Arrow key once to move back one frame in the Timeline and then press the O key to set the Out point. Following this suggestion will allow you to retain the first frame of your next clip, but to be honest, I think that the steps involved take too long. Being one for brevity, there is a faster solution. Move the Timeline Indicator anywhere over the clip you want to replace. Then press the X key on the keyboard. This will select the clip and set In and Out points automatically (and correctly). You can then use the Overwrite, Replace, or Super Impose tools to add in the new clip.
There are a great number of super useful keyboard shortcuts found in Final Cut Pro 3. Learn what they can do and they can improve your speed considerably.  Here is a current list of the Final Cut Pro Quick Tips to date: Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #1: Texture Treatments to Enhance Video Productions Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #2: Using Markers to Quickly Edit a Music Video Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #3: Import Your Music the Right Way Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #4: Nesting Helps Manage Longer Projects Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #5: Keying Explained Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #6: Configuring Your Scratch Disk Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #7: My Favorite Effects Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #8: De-Interlacing Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #9: Color Correction workflow tips Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #10: Locating files in the Timeline Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #11: Backing up at project end Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #12: Exporting to After Effects Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #13: When is title safe, not title safe? Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #14: Storyboard your edits and then edit in an instant Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #15: Join Through Edits Final Cut Pro Quick Tip #16: Exporting to Pinnacle Thunder XL When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products Stephen Schleicher can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at schleicher@mindspring.com. You can also visit him on the web at www.mindspring.com/~schleicher
Related sites: • AV Video • Content Mastering • Corporate Media News • Creative Mac • Digital Post Production • Digital Producer • Digital Video Editing • The WWUG Related forums: [an error occurred while processing this directive] 
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