Keyboard Shortcuts

Every Final Cut Pro editor knows there are multiple ways to accomplish the same result.  Keyboard shortcuts allow me to edit quicker and more efficiently.  Here are a few of my favorites:

F shows the match frame in the viewer.  Ex: I will open a new sequence and drop in my EX-3 footage.  This allows me to scroll through all the footage without opening each individual clip.  I place my playhead over the shot, press F and proceed to mark an in and an out in the viewer workspace.

BB or B twice will switch over to my razorblade tool and slice through not one but all layers at a specific point in the timeline.

Shift Z lets me see my entire timeline sequence, fitting it into the size of my sequence space.

Command Z is my savior, the undo command.  I have the maximum number of undos set in my preferences.

Command U allows me to reset my layout to the default layout.  I’ll almost always start a session by using this command on a workstation that is host to multiple users/editors.

N is the snapping tool.

X will mark the in and out of a clip.  I use it when I want to replace that clip or locate the original source material with an in and out by combining the X key with the F key.

Command + and command – allows me to zoom in or out within the timeline, viewer or canvas.

Command C will not only copy a clip but it will also copy its attributes.  If I wish to apply a clip’s attributes to a series of clips I will use this command in conjunction with the paste attributes command.  Magic!

This is just a few of the Key Stokes I use day in and day out.  Happy FCP Editing!!!!!

Bio: Co-Founder of BigfhootHD, as a director/producer Daniel Duncan has won many major awards including twenty-four Rocky Mountain Emmy awards in directing, cinematography, editing, documentary, and feature categories. Currently, Daniel is director, video photographer and editor of The Desert Speaks, a nationally distributed high definition series on PBS about the Sonoran Desert and deserts throughout the world. (This series airs on over 100 PBS stations, is carried by seven of the top ten U.S. markets and is cablecast on the HD Discovery Channel.) He has also been honored with four Arizona Press Club awards, an Associated Press International award, a Best of the West award and a gold Addy.