Automatic Set Ups in Final Cut Pro 7

by Diana Weynand

In Final Cut Pro there is an automatic way to choose sequence settings. For purposes of demonstration, let’s go to the easy set up dialogue window under the Final Cut Pro menu. I’m going to choose PAL as my format type, 25 fps as my frame rate, and DV-PAL as my format selection.

In the Browser, I’m going to create a new sequence, and name it PAL 25.

Notice that the Canvas is currently displaying a 16x9 aspect ratio of the current sequence.

When I double-click to open the PAL sequence in the Timeline window, the Canvas displays a 4x3 aspect ratio to display PAL footage.

To show you how Final Cut can automatically change your sequence settings, let’s edit a clip we know to be something other than PAL footage. I have a group of clips in this project from my Final Cut Pro 6 book. To view this clip’s properties, you access the Item Properties window, from the Edit menu.

You can also Control-click or right-click the clip in the Browser to bring up this window as well. Notice in the Item Properties window that this clip was shot using the HDV format, 1080i 60. This is a long way from PAL 25 fps.

In previous versions of Final Cut Pro (FCP 5 and earlier), I would have to go back to my Easy Setup dialog window, and change the preset to HDV 1080i 60, create a new sequence and edit to that. As you know, if the settings for your sequence don’t match your footage, you get a render line in the Timeline when you make your first edit. But now, all you have to do is attempt to make the edit. You’ll see when you try to edit this HDV clip into this PAL sequence Final Cut immediately detects that the clip settings don’t match the sequence settings, and offers to change the sequence settings for you.

When you click Yes, the sequence settings are changed, the clip is edited, and no render bars appear in the Timeline.

When you look at the Sequence Settings, you see they’ve been changed to HDV 1080i 60

and the Canvas display has changed to accommodate the HDV 16x9 aspect ratio.

So you’re ready now to continue editing your source footage. This is the automatic approach to choosing settings in Final Cut Pro.

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