Final Cut keyframes

[TexasDave]

Can someone explain what keyframes are in basic terms? I'm reading up on it, but can't quite grasp what they are and what they do.

I'm trying to edit end credits on a project and I want to use the Borris effect tool to have a line scroll from bottom to center of screen, pause, and continue rolling off screen. From what I've read, I need to use keyframes to do so.

I'm somewhat new to Final Cut, and I have the editing down. Just trying to learn some of the other tools to enhance my product.

I could just scroll my text all the way through, but this is a "special thanks to" line that I think would look nicer to pause at the center of the screen.

Thanks.

 

[long521]

In the context of an effect, a key frame is simply a point of reference.
You want a line to move, pause, and then move again. Let's say you want it to take 5 seconds to get to the center, pause for five seconds, and then take five seconds to get off the screen again. With the line in the start position, you insert a key frame at the beginning. You then go forward five seconds, place the line where you want it to be at that position, and add a key frame. You then go forward 5 seconds, and with the line in the same position add another key frame. Then move to the end, place the line in the ending position, and add another key frame.
Final Cut will look at the difference between successive keyframes and create the motion between them.

 

[Canonman]

Dave,

Keyframes have been around for quite some time. Here is the basic thing to know regardless of what software or process you are running.

As long said, a keyframe is a point of reference. Anything that happens between two keyframes is an interpolated value. Normally, this is a straight line linear interpolation (think back to your high school algebra classes). However, for animating over time, we don't always want the straightest line between two points. That's where terms like 'ease in' and 'ease out' come from. They mean gradually accelerate at the beginning, and decelerate at the end respectively. It's not unlike how a graph of your car's speed would appear as you drove from one stoplight to the next.

Anyway, you place one keyframe at say... 2 seconds into your timeline and assign the scrolling text a positional value within the frame. Then go to a point say, 5 seconds into your timeline, reposition your text where you want it to be at that point and set another keyframe. The computer will then interpolate where the text should be at any given point during the 3 seconds between those two points as you play it back.

And as I said earlier Dave, this concept applies to many different software applications, not just FCP. It doesn't have to be just images either, you can keyframe volume points for your audio as well. Or pan position, or reverb amount, etc.

If you have ever used the pen tool in FCP to change the opacity or volume level, you'll notice that little diamonds show up where you make the changes and yep... those are keyframes.

Between long's explanation and mine, I hope this helps,

cm

 

[TexasDave]

I read a helpful article on Ken Stone, and realized I knew more about keyframes then I thought, although I am more familar with the audio keyframes.

Thanks for the heads up.