Tutorial: Using Connected Storylines in Final Cut Pro X
In this tutorial, we'll look at several ways you can use connected storylines to enhance your FCP X edits and mix in cutaways and creative shots in a quick and efficient way.
Removing Clips and Deleting the Storyline
Likewise, you can remove clips from your connected storyline but just by grabbing them and tearing them out of there. Or simply hit the Delete key, and FCP X will remove the clip and close the gap.
Other keyboard shortcuts that work on the Primary Storyline that will also work with the connected storyline include Option+Command+Up Arrow, which will let you lift a clip from the connected storyline and leave a gap in its place. That's actually the traditional method of getting rid of a connected storyline--if you want to keep the clips but you don't want them to be in a storyline any longer, highlight all the clips in the connected storyline, press Command+Option+Up Arrow to lift them from the storyline. Then you highlight the shelf and delete, and the clips will revert to standard, connected clips set apart from the Primary Storyline.
Recently, I found an alternate method of removing clips from a connected storyline. Again, the traditional method is to highlight the clips, then press Command+Option+Up Arrow. So it’s a few steps. My method is actually one step: Select all the clips, drag up, and let go, and FCP X removes the connected storyline. I use that all the time when I'm editing.
Using Connected Storylines for Trimming and Clip Selection in the Timeline
Connected storylines are so versatile, I’ve actually find myself using them in non-traditional ways. Occasionally, I’ll do some trimming directly on the timeline. I’ll take a long clip, scrub through it, and pull out some shots that I know I’m going to want to use. Connected storylines make it easy to consolidate them. I can highlight them all, hit Command+G, turn them into a connected storyline, and delete the gaps, and FCP X nudges them all together.
Likewise, I can make a connected storyline of creative shots. For example, say I'm doing a highlight clip, a very creative edit. I'll grab some of the really cool, creative shots that I’ve collected and make a little connected storyline of them. They’re not really in the order I’m going to use them in the edit, and maybe I don’t even know how or where I’m going to use them yet, but I can use the connected storyline as a kind of floating bin of usable creative shots. This little bin can slide around in my edit, and as I'm editing and I see a spot and think, “This would be a great time for the shot,” I can just tear it out and drop it in (Figure 10, below).
Figure 10. Dropping a shot from a connected storyline into the Primary Storyline at an opportune spot.
Examples: Connected Storylines in a Completed Project
In the video clip below, skip ahead to the 8:16 mark to see several examples of how I’ve used connected storylines in finished projects.
I hope that helps shed some light on connected storylines and how to use them. It’s an extremely powerful tool in Final Cut Pro X, and it’s one that I use constantly. I love connected storylines and I think that once you give them a try, you’ll love them too.
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