Tutorial: Using Apple Final Cut Pro X Timeline Index and Markers
In this video tutorial Glen Elliott of Cord3Films looks at FCP X's Timeline Index which provides innovative options for viewing, navigating, and searching your projects, including three different types of timeline markers and the ability to create a navigable To Do list of editing notes that's indispensable for collaborative workflows.
Working With Chapter Markers
The final option, moving right to left, in the Tags tab is chapter markers. This is pretty self-explanatory; it’s for adding chapter markers when you’re exporting to DVD or even QuickTime files, which retain any chapter marker information you put into them in FCP X.
To create a chapter marker in your timeline, press M twice or Option+M to open the Marker dialog, click the icon on the far right of the panel at the top of the dialog, and click done. You’ll notice that the color changes to orange to indicate that it’s a chapter marker (Figure 21, below).
Figure 21. A chapter marker in the timeline
You’ll also see that in addition to the orange chapter marker icon, a chapter marker also puts an orange pin in the timeline (Figure 22, below) that you can drag left and right. The pin is essentially a thumbnail. Wherever the pin lands, it’s going to denote the thumbnail frame for that particular chapter. So if you had a chapter marker where the video from the previous scene had faded to black, rather than have the thumbnail be black, it will be something more representative of the chapter that you select by moving the pin.
Figure 22. Choosing a chapter thumbnail frame by scrubbing through the timeline with the orange pin
Over on the left in the Timeline Index, and in the timeline to the right, you can see all the chapter markers (Figure 23, below) in this project. Just like every other tab, the timeline cursor will jump as you click on each marker. And you can always rename your chapter markers in the Timeline Index if need be. So it’s a very efficient way to jump around and make sure all your chapter points are in the right spots and so forth.
Figure 23. Chapter Markers shown in the Timeline and appearing along with other markers in the Timeline Index
Working in the Roles Tab
So now we’re going to step into the final tab in the Timeline Index: Roles (Figure 24, below). Essentially, Roles are categories of your footage. For example, there are several different types of audio you’ll be using. Some is video, some is dialogue, some might be narration. You assign it a role to denote what its function is.
Figure 24. The Roles tab
It’s a way of organizing your project even further. The Roles allows you to isolate certain parts of the project. Say you just want to work on the video. You can click on Video in the Roles tab in the Timeline Index and FCP X will highlight all the video and ignore all the audio in the project. Likewise, click on Dialogue, and anything that’s marked with dialogue will light up as well. Same with titles and so on.
Every single piece of media has a role by default. You can go in and alter the roles, rename them, make up your own roles. This tab allows you to change the visual representation of clips that have roles assigned to allow them to stand out if you want to focus on a particular type of role while you’re working.
So that’s a good overview of Final Cut Pro X’s Timeline Index and markers. The Timeline Index--its To Do elements in particular--is a lesser-known feature of Final Cut Pro X that has a lot of power once you start to use it.
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