What that means is that I need something else to do while that computer is tied up, so I guess I will continue to bore muvipix members, using the computer that I use to go online, with various useful techniques that I've recently learned (but that many of you probably already know like the backs of your hands--please forgive me if I am boring you).
So here are some very useful keyboard shortcuts to be used when one is editing on the Timeline, that is, when one needs to move one's CTI, repeatedly, here and there.For these to work, one must be working on the Timeline and nowhere else, in other words, the Timline pane must be the active pane.
Home--instantly moves the CTI to the beginning of the Timeline
End--instantly moves the CTI to the end of the Timeline
Spacebar--stops/starts the movement of the CTI
Page Up--instantly moves the CTI to the previous edit point
Page Down--instantly moves the CTI to the next edit point
j--scrolls the CTI toward the beginning of the Timeline
k--stops the CTI movement
l--scrolls the CTI toward the end of the Timeline
b--"jumps" the CTI back 5 frames
f--"jumps" the CTI forward 5 frames
--` is one that I customized: split the clip (this is the lower-case symbol to the left of the number 1 on the keyboard)
*--if struck while the Timeline is moving, places a marker at that point on the Timeline*
g--this is also one that I customized and that is very helpful if you, like me, are always getting your media from one of your HDDs: it is my shortcut for the Command Get Media from>PC Files and
Folders I(I use HDVSplit to capture all my tapes to my HDD before I begin to edit my videos with PTR7); I also use this shortcut for getting all my other media, including music and HD Motion BGs from my HDDs; it is EXTREMELY helpful when HDVSplit has given one dozens of split clips, all located in the same folder, to bring into a project
Delete--if your scrubbing your Timeline with the CTI, or just scrolling it with the Spacebar, and you see some footage that you want to delete, then Split the clip, go back to click on it to highlight it, then click Delete and--Voila!--the clip is gone AND the resulting gap is instantly closed ("Delete and Close Gap")
For Practice: One has just dragged a clip to the beginning of the Timeline and one wants to move through it to determine whether there is any footage that may be worthy of one's final project:
--press spacebar and your scrub begins
--proceed until you come to a scene that you might want to keep for your final edit, then press spacebar again to stop the scrub
--press j or b until you have returned to a position in front of (just before) the desirable point on the Timeline
--split the clip
--highlight the clip that you wish to discard (the previous clip)
--click Delete and the desirable clip will now instantly appear at the beginning of your Timeline
--click Page Up to bring your CTI also back to the beginning of your Timeline and then begin to scrub forward once again
BTW, when you have a series of clips that you like on the Timeline but you come to a scene that you do not want to keep, do this after splitting it off, deleting it, then hitting Page Up to bring you to the previous edit point: clcik b to bring you 5 frames before the edit point so that you can visualize how the cut appears. If the cut doesn't look smooth--if it looks "jumpy"--then that is a likely place to put a transition like Fade to Black or Fade to White--or any other that you desire.
I use a trackball rather than a mouse for my work but, even so, these keyboard shortcuts move me around the Timeline VASTLY faster than using the cursor.
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*Note: Must be the * in the Numeric Keypad on an Extended Keyboard, NOT the asterisk above the number 8. In the past, I would use this technique to make my slides switch to the beat of the music, however, I've now developed a newer technique that I believe is more effective and that involves tailoring the particular transition to the particular music. I posted this techniqure previously. Additional note: I learned the * shortcut from another member. The others can be found in the Edit>Keyboard Shortcuts dropdown of PRE7.
viewtopic.php?f=57&t=5899
