Markers can be extremely helpful – but haven’t been very versatile. Final Cut 7 includes an update on the markers that provides all kinds of goodies. There are new colors for the markers. You can easily move them- and not just awkwardly to the right. You can edit them without stopping playback. You can export them. Ripple Training has a good overview of all the new features with markers.

Find the tutorial here – under Final Cut Pro 7, click on the link under “Improved Markers.”

Applying Transitions wasn’t difficult- it just wasn’t always the easiest thing to do for multiple clips. Final Cut 7 introduced Global Transitions which allow you to add multiple transtions- easily and quickly. The new methods of applying transitions promise to speed up your workflow by shaving off those extra seconds of option dragging transitions or hitting CMD-T over and over.

Find the tutorial here – under Final Cut Pro 7, click on the link under “Global Transitions”.

Up through Final Cut 6, the speed tools were rather annoying. You could get what you need, but there was usually some kind of work around necessary. Now, in Final Cut 7, the speed tools have been revamped. Things like rippling the sequence are possible, and easy feathering. Ripple Training has a tutorial on the new speed tools.

Find the tutorial here – under Final Cut Pro 7, click on the link under “New Speed Tools.”

Transitions are a crucial tool for effective story telling (when used in moderation, and after you get those star wipes out of your system). This tutorial from FCPTips shows you how to apply transtions, change your default transition, and a very handy way to apply multiple transitions at once.

Watch the video tutorial here.

Multicam editing is a very useful feature in Final Cut, but it can be kind of tricky to get things set up right. Richard Harrington over at Creative Cow walks you through basic set up in an ideal situation in this tutorial, and throws in a couple great shortcuts along the way.

Watch the video tutorial here.

Depending on your editing style, you may end up with a timeline full of gaps. Clicking and dragging each individual clip to close those gaps is time consuming and potentially messy. Final Cut King has a tutorial on how to find and fix those gaps cleanly.

Watch the video tutorial here.

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, I promise you: it will. You go out and shoot a couple of tapes, and when you digitize it, you find that some of the tapes are anamorphic, and some aren’t. Or maybe you’re using 4:3 stock footage in a 16:9 timeline. CaptMench has some tricks on dealing with this problem and gives you some options on what to do.

Watch the video tutorial here.

Cutting to the beat is important in music-driven edits. CaptMench shares his technique for doing this quickly, using matte colors, a couple shortcuts and replace edit. You’ll definitely speed up with this technique.

Watch the video tutorial here.

When I first read about the match frame, I couldn’t figure out what it was for. Now, I can’t figure out how I would work without it. Match framing is the easiest way to get back to an unadulterated version of the clip you’re working on. This tutorial from The Final Cut Pro.com walks you through the uses and caveats of match framing.

Read the tutorial here.

As an editor, you will do well to learn the trimming tools. GeniusDV has a good overview of each of the tools- roll, ripple, slide, and slip. It also talks about the importance of handles and how to use the Trim Edit window. Seriously- these tools are your friends. Take a moment to learn them, get comfortable using them, and your editing will definitely speed up.

Read the tutorial here.