Final Cut Pro X: Setup, Plus Importing & Organizing Footage

DMN by Heath McKnight

It's been close to three months since Final Cut Pro X came out, and I've been posting some initial thoughts on my blog (http://heathmcknight.com), and I wanted to write up some first impressions here regarding the setup of Final Cut Pro X, plus importing and organizing footage. I'll do another article on my first impressions of editing and exporting in the very near future.

Right off the bat, I will say that this is a journey where Final Cut Pro (FCP) hasn't gone down before, and I'm actually excited about this new way of thinking when it comes to non-linear editing (NLE).

When I first opened FCP X, I felt that little bit of, "Whoa, this is very different." It's a little intimidating if you've been cutting on FCP 1 - 7 for years, but I was determined to get started on learning FCP X. I turned to some free training videos online, but I've found Larry Jordan's to be very helpful.

One of the first things I did, before importing footage, was to check the preferences, and take a look at the three primary items, Editing, Playback and Import. It's more streamlined and easier to use, and the three images below are how I decided to set up my preferences, based on suggestions from my colleague and friend Kevin P. McAuliffe. read more...