Preview, Review and the Timeline

File DSCN0515 has my interview, so I drag and drop the filename into the preview panel from the bin. Now, the preview window looks like this:

I use the play/pause button to play the clip for myself.

I don't want to use the entire clip, so I let it play to where I want it to start in my video, and hit "i", for in. My preview window now looks like this:

I play the clip to where I want it to end in my final video, and hit "o", for out. My preview window now looks like this:

I then drag the image of the video from the preview pane to the timeline, below. The timeline now looks like this:

I can zoom in on the timeline by sliding the slider with the mountains on it to the right.

The timeline itself has a little red line above it because the video has not yet rendered. It isn't a big problem, but if your playback looks choppy or the audio and video don't seem to be lining up, always check to see if your video has been rendered. You can use Sequence > Render Entire Work Area, if this is bothering you, but I tend to wait until the end or until it bothers me.

Oh yeah. Now is when I save. I like to save whenever I've added a clip to the timeline. It keeps me from having to do too much over again if the system crashes and I lose my changes.

Next Post: The Razor Tool, jump cuts and why you REALLY need b-roll.