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The Timeline view is the center hub of Liquid. Once the media clips have been digi-tized or imported, organized into Racks and folders, and, perhaps, roughly assembledin Liquid’s Storyboard mode, it’s time to fine-tune the edit and prepare it for any spe-cial effects you might want to add.
In the previous chapter, you learned how to use the Storyboard mode to create a basicsequence that you then arranged into the rough order you needed. Then, in the laststep, you sent this sequence to the Timeline for further editing. This chapter coversthe various techniques you’ll need to accomplish this fine-tuning and also those tech-niques you’ll need to get the most from the interface, thus increasing your workflowand productivity.
Here you will learn how to navigate the Timeline and insert media clips, but one gen-eral tip that you should learn now is that a single right-click can go a long way inLiquid, on whichever interface you are working. A simple right-click can expose amyriad of shortcut menus, allowing you to burrow quickly and deeply into the corepower of Liquid.
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Working with the TimelineThe default Timeline view in Liquid is thetwin inlays (Source and Master) over theTimeline. New to Liquid 7 is the Studio view,specifically aimed at users upgrading fromPinnacle Studio and those with single-screensetups, such as laptop users or 21-inch TFT users.
The mechanics of editing in either interfaceare similar, with only a few minor differencesthat are explained in the next two sections.
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n If you are using a dual-screen setup, the newStudio view will not be available to you.
New in Liquid 7—The Studio View
The Studio view (see Figure 6.3) is similarto the Pinnacle Studio interface used bymillions of Studio users. It has just oneinlay that can be toggled between Time-line and Source using the Master orSource button.
This toggle switch is intelligent and willautomatically detect which mode youshould be in. For example:
u Double-clicking on a clip in the ProjectBrowser will toggle the inlay to Sourceso that you can edit the clip’s mark-inand mark-out points before sendingthe clip to the Timeline.
u Clicking anywhere on the Timelinescrub bar will toggle the inlay toMaster, allowing you to view any clipson the Timeline.
The Studio view has the big advantagethat you can view all Media files withouthaving to scroll the Project browser orswitch to Storyboard view. This is of somesignificance to single-screen users.
Aside from these differences, all otherTimeline functions work in an identicalmanner regardless of which view you areusing (default Timeline view or Studioview), and the rest of the tasks in thischapter will apply to either interface.
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Figure 6.1 View options forsingle-screen users. Dual-screenusers, see Chapter 5.
To open the Studio view:
1. Click the Eye icon to open the vari-ous view options (Figure 6.1).
2. Click the Studio View icon (Figure 6.2),which is the bottom one, so that yourLiquid interface looks something likeFigure 6.3.
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Figure 6.3 The Liquid 7 interface showing the new Studio view.
The Master and Source buttons (Master/Source toggle switch)
Enlarged Project Browser
Single switchable inlay
Larger Timeline area
Figure 6.2 Icon to select Studio view.
To open the Timeline interface:
1. Click the Eye icon to open the vari-ous view options (Figure 6.1).
2. Click the Timeline icon (Figure 6.4); yourLiquid desktop looks similar to Figure 6.5.
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Figure 6.5 The Timeline view showing the Project Browser open on the Timeline.
A Dissolve
Clipselector
Position of Timeline cursor
Overall duration of Timeline
Previous Sequence selector
Master Viewer
TimelineProperties button
New Sequence button
Position of source cursor
Duration of clip frommark-in to mark-out point
Source Viewer
Video and Audio columns Timelineslices
Playback controls for Source Viewer
Zoom tool for Source Viewer
Zoom tool
Track mapping column
Timeline Position counter
Playbackcontrols for
Timeline view
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n The keyboard shortcut is Shift+F2.
n The Timeline interface is the default view,and you will only need the above instruc-tions if you are using a different interfaceview such as Studio view or Storyboard view.
Figure 6.4 Icon to select theSource and Master Viewer overTimeline view. This is the defaultview when opening Liquid.
Figure 6.6 The two locations used to scrub the Timeline.
Master Viewer Timescale Timeline Timescale
Scrubbing the TimelineUnlike the Source Viewer, you can scrub theTimeline from two places: directly on theTimeline’s timescale or directly on theMaster Viewer’s timescale (Figure 6.6).
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Navigating the TimelineThe rules for moving around the Timeline arethe same as those you learned when you weredealing with the Clip Viewer in Chapter 5,“The First Assembly—Storyboarding,” but ifyou skipped that chapter, the concepts ofscrubbing, zooming, and undoing your mis-takes are covered here. Remember, it is veryimportant that you learn to use the mouseand keyboard shortcuts effectively.
To scrub the Timeline:
1. Make sure the Master Viewer has a redborder indicating that it is selected.
If you are using the Studio view, makesure the Master toggle switch is selectedif you want to use the timescale bardirectly under the inlay.
2. Scrub by doing one of the following:s Click the Timeline timescale, hold
down the left mouse button, and dragthe cursor left or right (Figure 6.7). Ifyour mouse is equipped with a wheel,use it to step forward or backward oneframe at a time. You can also place themouse inside the Inlay area and scrubusing either of the above methods.
s Hold down the Alt key and hold downthe left mouse button and drag the cur-sor anywhere over the Timeline clips.
s Use the keyboard arrows to stepthrough each frame, one at a time. Tomove the clip forward or backwardfaster, hold down the left or rightarrow key. To go even faster, holddown the Shift key at the same time.
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n By using the arrow keys and/or themouse wheel, you can be frame-perfectwhen scrubbing the Timeline.
n The keyboard shortcuts for scrubbing arethe J, K, and L keys. K stops playback, Lplays the clip faster each time it ispressed, and J plays the clip backward alittle faster each time it is pressed.
n When scrubbing the Timeline, you won’thear any audio; this is because, by default,audio tracks are ignored at all timesexcept when you are previewing. Detailson hearing the audio while scrubbing canbe found in Chapter 7, “Working withAudio.”
Figure 6.7 Scrubbing the Timeline with the mouse.
Timeline Cursor
Scrubbing with the mouse
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Figure 6.9 Magnification at Zoom 37 willdisplay a two-hour Timeline (approximately)completely on a single monitor.
Figure 6.8 Magnification at Zoom 1 willdisplay one frame per Timeline mark.
Using the Zoom toolTo display more detail on the Timeline, or tosee a whole hour-long project in one screen,you’ll need to use the Zoom tool.
To use the Zoom tool:
u Using the mouse, place the arrowpointer over the Zoom tool and drag itto the left to show a higher degree ofmagnification (Figure 6.8) or to theright to show a decreased level of magni-fication (Figure 6.9).
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n Pressing the up and down arrow keys willalso cause the Timeline to zoom in andout. You can do this while the Timeline isplaying.
n To avoid performance problems whenscrubbing the Timeline (particularlywhen a WAV file is displayed), I recom-mend keeping the Zoom setting atZoom 9 or highter. Use Zoom 8 andlower only for specific Timeline opera-tions and then return to Zoom 9 orhigher when finished.
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Two Cursor Lines when in Zoom 1
When the Zoom tool has been expanded tothe Zoom 1 setting, the cursor displays abold red line followed by a faint red line(Figure 6.10).
The gap between these two lines is a singleframe and will always be the one currentlydisplayed in the Master Viewer. Any cuts orinsertions you make will occur on the darkred line, not the faint red line.
Figure 6.10 At Zoom 1, the Timeline cursor bracketsthe frame currently being displayed.
Two Timeline cursors
Using Undo/RedoUndo in Liquid has the universally recog-nized shortcut Ctrl+Z. However, the Undocommand has some restrictions that canseem confusing to the beginner.
The basic rule for the Undo command is that itonly affects certain elements on the Timeline—namely, the position, duration, and existence ofeither a media clip or a transition.
What’s more important to use as an editorare other elements, such as filters, Timewarp,and any audio alterations not affected by theTimeline Undo. This is because they havetheir own integral Undo functions. Trying toUndo a filter using Ctrl+Z will not work andwill lead to an undesired Undo. For full detailson the various ways Liquid uses Undo, seeChapters 7, “Working with Audio,” and 9,“Working with Filters.”
4 Tips
n If you are unsure what effect using theUndo command will have, you can look ata complete Undo history by Ctrl+Shift+left-clicking the Undo button (Figure6.11). Press the Escape key (Esc) to exitthe Undo History screen.
n The Redo command also performs asexpected, taking the user one step forward.
n Double-clicking any of the Undo itemsdisplayed in the history will undo to thatparticular command, undoing all otheractions that took place before that point.
n Liquid stores a maximum of 63 undos persequence.
Figure 6.11 The Undo history for thecurrent Sequence.
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Figure 6.12 The Overwrite/Film Style button and new“Insert source to master” using...buttons.
The Overwrite Style/Film Style toggle switch
The Insert Source into Master button
The Insert source to master using overwrite style button
The Insert source to master using film style button
Edit Styles ExplainedLiquid has two Edit Styles that affect the wayclips behave on the Timeline: Overwrite Styleand Film Style. You can change betweenthese by clicking once on the toggle switchthat sits between the Source and MasterViewers (Figure 6.12).
4 Tip
n If you are using the Studio view, both theOverwrite/Film Style toggle button andthe Insert Source into Master button willbe missing from your display. However,you can overcome this by using the Insertsource to master using overwrite stylebutton and Insert to master using filmstyle button (Figure 6.12). See the side-bar, “New in Version 7—The Overwriteand Film Style buttons,” later in this chap-ter for details.
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Overwrite Style This is the default setting when Liquid islaunched. It shows five gray squares and onered square (Figure 6.13).
Overwrite style does pretty much what itsays on the box—any clip you send or drag tothe Timeline will overwrite the clip(s) at theTimeline cursor’s position.
Figure 6.14 shows a new clip, Hands,brought into the Timeline (top), and over-writing the first few seconds of the Gearstick clip (bottom).
Clips sent to the Timeline using this editstyle do not affect the order or (more impor-tantly) the audio synchronization of theother clips already on the Timeline.
Figure 6.13 The Overwrite Style button.
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Figure 6.14 A new clip dragged onto and over the first clip on the Timeline (top). Once the media clip is dropped, thebeginning of the original Timeline media clip is overwritten (bottom).
Outline of dragged clip
This clip has now overwritten… …this clip... …but the other clips do not move
Figure 6.17 Dragging a clip up the Timeline toward otherclips may not be allowed when using Film Style. See textfor further details.
Figure 6.16 In Film Style, all other clips will move to accommodate the size of the new clip (top). The clip has beeninserted onto a track, and all existing clips have moved up the Timeline (bottom).
Outline of dragged clip
New clip pushes existing clips up the Timeline
Figure 6.15 The Film Style button.
Figure 6.16 shows the Hands clip over themark-in point of the Gear stick clip (top).Once it is dropped onto the Hands clip, allother clips to the right move up the Timelineto accommodate it (bottom).
4 Tip
n Trying to drag a clip up the Timeline canalso cause you problems when using FilmStyle, and if you try it you may see a NoEntry symbol (Figure 6.17). In mostcases, you can only drag clips “down” theTimeline when you’re in Film Style,although you can get around this by drag-ging the clip to a different Timeline trackor dragging it beyond its own physicallength. However, you can avoid potentialproblems by switching to Overwrite Stylewhen dragging clips around the Timeline.
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Film StyleThis style can be seen by clicking once onthe Overwrite button to display a seven-square icon, one square of which is yellow(Figure 6.15). This working style is slightlymore complex, and using it on a crowdedTimeline is risky. Primarily, you’ll use FilmStyle to insert a clip without losing anyfootage from clips already on the Timeline.
However, because added clips will move anyexisting clips to the right (or “up” the Timeline),to make room for any new clips, it is possible tolose audio sync if that audio track is not active.
Important Information
For the next set of tasks, you are strongly advised to leave the Edit Style set to Overwrite; oth-erwise, some of the actions described here will not work correctly. Before you continue withthe rest of this book, check that your settings are on Overwrite.
However, if you are in Studio view you won’t see the Overwrite/Film Style toggle switch. This is because the Edit Styles button is not on the Studio view interface by default, and must beadded via the Customize function. For details on adding buttons to the interface, see Chapter 1,“Getting Started.”
In Figure 6.19, the Edit Styles button hasbeen added to the Master play control bar.It won’t be visible when the Source/Masterbutton is toggled to Source, but this func-tion is not used in the Source mode andshould not be a problem.
If you don’t want to add the Edit Styles but-ton, you can simply switch back to the mainTimeline interface (Twin Inlays over Timelinetracks) and set the style to Overwrite beforeswitching back to Studio view.
New in Version 7—The Overwrite and Film Style buttons
Liquid 7 introduces two new buttons to thetoolbar; Insert source to master using over-write style (Figure 6.18, top) and Insertsource to master using film style (Figure6.18, bottom).These buttons are primarilythere for the Studio view users, who do nothave access to the arrow-shaped Insert Sourceinto Master button or the Overwrite/FilmStyle toggle button unless they add them tothe Timeline via the customize function.
Both buttons behave as described in theprevious section; the only difference is thatyou insert a clip using either style withouthaving to use the toggle button. However,the Timeline will remain at the style theOverwrite/Film Style toggle was last set.
Figure 6.18 Two new buttons on the Liquid 7 toolbar:Insert source to master using overwrite (top) or Insertsource to master using film style (bottom).
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Figure 6.19 In Studio view you need to add the OverwriteStyle/Film Style toggle switch to the interface.
The Overwrite Style/Film Style toggle switch added to the interface
Moving Clips Aroundthe TimelineOnce a media clip is on the Timeline, it canbe manipulated separately from its ProjectBrowser parent. That means you can copyand paste the media clip to other parts of theTimeline, drag existing clips around theTimeline, trim the clip’s mark-in and mark-out points, or cut the clip into separatemedia clips live on the Timeline with therazor blade.
4 Tip
n Before proceeding with this section, readthe “Important Information” sidebar ear-lier in this chapter.
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Audio Grouping
The examples in this chapter show clips that are grouped—the audio has been included insidethe video clip so that only the video clip is shown. This is known as embedded audio and isexplained in detail in Chapter 7.
To better and more easily understand the concepts outlined in this chapter, you should enableaudio grouping. This will display your own samples using the embedded format, as opposed tothe default which is disbanded audio, with the audio displayed on a separate track (or tracks).
To use embedded audio, simply right-clickthe small arrow at the top of the Name col-umn and select Insert Grouped (Figure6.20). Insert Grouped needs to be selectedeach time you start a new sequence. Thisautomatically deactivates the audio tracksand causes all audio to become embedded.
The advantage of embedded—or groupedaudio—is that you are less likely to sendthe audio out of sync while editing. Whenyou first start to use Liquid, you will findthat this setting is invaluable in that ithelps you avoid the stress of accidentallysending your clips out of sync.
Figure 6.20 Selecting groupedaudio tracks to force audioembedding.
Click here to bring up the Grouping Menu.
Copy/cut and pasteThese actions follow the Windows conven-tion—you copy a clip onto the clipboard (atemporary scratch area) before pasting itsomewhere else. It’s also possible to cut a clipso that it is removed from its present posi-tion and can be pasted elsewhere.
The Windows shortcuts Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, andCtrl+V are fully supported when you areusing this method.
To copy/cut and paste a clip(s):
1. Select one media clip by clicking it, orselect several by holding down the Ctrlkey and clicking as many as you like(Figure 6.21). You can also drag a lassoaround all of the clips you want to select(Figure 6.22).
2. Press Ctrl+C or right-click the clip(s) andselect Copy > Selected Clips (Figure 6.23).
It is also possible to use Ctrl+X to deletethe clip and paste it elsewhere. But you can only cut one media clip at any one time.
Figure 6.23 Use the contextual menu to copyselected clips into a temporary area fortransferring via…
Figure 6.22 …or drag a lasso around them.
Lasso
Figure 6.21 To selectively highlight the clips you want,use the Ctrl key…
Selected clips
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Figure 6.26 …and drag it to anywhere on the Timeline.
…to here
Figure 6.25 By holding down the Ctrl key, you cancreate an exact copy of a clip…
From here…
Figure 6.24 …the Paste command.
3. Move the Timeline cursor to the positionto which you want these clips copied andpress Ctrl+V, or right-click and selectPaste (Figure 6.24).
You must have the cursor over therequired track before you right-click.Otherwise the clip can land in the wrongplace.
4 Tips
n You can also copy a media clip by select-ing the clip(s), holding down the Ctrl key,and dragging the clip from wherever itwas on the Timeline (Figure 6.25) to itsnew position (Figure 6.26).
n Be careful when moving a clip or over-writing an existing one, as this couldaccidentally force audio tracks out ofsync if you are using disbanded audio. Seethe “Audio Grouping” sidebar earlier inthis chapter for details.
n Copy and paste are affected by the EditStyle you have selected. See the “EditStyles Explained” section earlier in thischapter for more details.
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Moving a clip(s) using magnetsYou can move every element on the Timelineto another location by clicking the media clipand simply dragging it to a new location, butwhen you drag a clip around the Timeline, itautomatically uses a magnet to align itselfwith the edge of any neighboring clips.
The magnet symbol appears by default onthe left side of the mark-in point of themedia clip you are dragging. It will beattracted to any mark-in or mark-out pointof a clip already on the Timeline. This pointmay be on a track below the one on whichyou want to place your clip (Figure 6.27), oron a track directly above it (Figure 6.28).
Sometimes it may not be convenient to alignyour clip to this point; in this case, you canchange the magnet’s polarity on the fly ortoggle it off.
4 Tip
n Before proceeding with this section, readthe “Important Information” sidebar ear-lier in this chapter.
Figure 6.28 …and now onto the mark-in point of theclip above it.
Figure 6.27 The magnet has latched onto the mark-inpoint of the clip under it…
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Figure 6.31 Pressing the Alt key once again will shiftthe polarity to the exact middle of the media clip.
Figure 6.30 Pressing the Alt key once again will shiftthe polarity to the media clip’s mark-out point.
Figure 6.29 The default polarity for the clip magnet isthe media clip’s mark-in point.
To change the magnet’s polarity:
1. After making sure you have at least oneother clip on the Timeline, drag a clipfrom the Project Browser or from some-where else on the Timeline toward it(Figure 6.29).
2. Still holding down the left mouse button,press Alt once.
The magnet shifts polarity to the rightside, or mark-out point of the clip(Figure 6.30).
3. Still holding down the left mouse button,press Alt again.
The magnet shifts polarity to the centersection of the clip (Figure 6.31).
Once a clip is released, the magneticpolarity defaults back to the mark-inpoint of the clip.
4 Tips
n Multiple clips can be selected usingShift+Ctrl, or by dragging a lasso aroundthem.
n Clicking the Select after playline buttonwill highlight all clips to the right of
the Timeline, enabling you to move themall at the same time.
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To turn the magnet off:
Do one of the following:
u Right-click the Timeline and selectTimeline Properties. Then select theGeneral tab and change the selection in the Default magnet for editing drop-downmenu to suit your needs (Figure 6.32).Click the check mark to apply thischange.
u Hold down the Shift key while dragging;this temporarily toggles the magnets offfor as long as you are holding down thekey. You’ll find this option particularlyuseful if you are dragging a media cliponto a very complex Timeline. This isbecause the mark-in point will try tolatch onto every single event it passes,which will make the drag-and-dropprocess frustratingly slow.
4 Tip
n A clip that is already on the Timeline willswitch to a right-side polarity the firsttime you press the Alt key, and switch toa middle polarity the second time youpress the Alt key.
Figure 6.32 The bottom drop-down menu controls thebehavior of the clip magnets.
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Trimming ClipsThe process of getting rid of unwanted mate-rial either at the beginning or end of a clip iscalled trimming. In Chapter 5, you accom-plished this using the Clip Viewer, but it’salso possible to trim a clip directly on theTimeline, using the mouse or using the TrimEditor if you need more accuracy or youwant to perform a Slip Trim.
4 Tip
n Before proceeding with this section, readthe “Important Information” sidebar ear-lier in this chapter.
Trimming Directly onthe TimelineThis is a quick and dirty method and is onlyreally useful when you see a clip that you canquickly and simply adjust on the Timeline.This method lacks sophistication and canlead to alignment problems if you are usingFilm Style (see the “Edit Styles Explained”section earlier in this chapter for moredetails), but any errors you make are only an Undo key away from being fixed.
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To trim a clip on the Timeline:
1. Select the clip you want to trim by clickingonce on its mark-in or mark-out point.
If you are in Overwrite Style, a red handleappears on the clip (Figure 6.33 andColor Insert 6-33); a yellow handleappears if you are in Film Style (Figure6.34 and Color Insert 6-34).
2. While holding down the left mouse but-ton, drag the clip to the left or to the right.
If you are in Overwrite Style, a gap appears(Figure 6.35).
If you are in Film Style, any neighboringclips to the immediate right shuffle up ordown the Timeline depending uponwhich way you are dragging the mark-inor mark-out point (Figure 6.36).
3. When you are happy with the result,release the mouse button.
Figure 6.35 In Overwrite Style, a gap is left when a mark-in point of a middle clip is dragged up the Timeline.
Mark-in point dragged in this direction
Figure 6.34 A yellow handle on the mark-out point indicating Film Style (see ColorInsert 6-34).
Figure 6.33 A red handle on the mark-outpoint of a media clip indicating OverwriteStyle (see Color Insert 6-33).
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Figure 6.36 In Film Style, no gap is left because theneighboring clips follow the trim down the Timeline.
This clip has been made smaller by dragging the in-point up the Timeline
This clip shuffles down the Timeline to fill the gap
Figure 6.37 The Trim tool is activated by holding downthe Ctrl key and pressing an arrow key.
4 Tips
n If you hold down the Ctrl key and use thekeyboard arrows, you will be able to trimthe clip one frame at a time (Figure 6.37).
n For more details on these differentmodes, see the “Edit Styles Explained”section earlier in this chapter.
n If you are having performance problemswhen trimming clips on the Timeline, seethe “Automatic Picon Update” sidebar laterin this chapter for a possible solution.
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Audio Sync Issues
As discussed earlier, all the examples in this chapter show clips that have embedded audio—audio that is included inside the video track—for a very good reason. When clips have embed-ded audio, they are in the safest format for being trimmed and manipulated in Film Style. Thisis because a media clip with an embedded audio track will not be affected by a clip inserted inFilm Style. It will always remain in sync.
Figure 6.38 shows a clip before and after another clip was added to the Timeline using Film Style.As you can see, the Gear Stick clip is now totally out of sync with its audio track. The Viewpointclip has pushed the existing clip up the Timeline while leaving the audio track untouched.
For more details on audio options when you are editing the Timeline, see Chapter 7. However,for the rest of this chapter, I recommend that you work only with embedded audio.
Figure 6.38 Before and after a clip has been inserted in Film Style. Screenshot on the right shows that the audiosync is now clearly out.
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Preparing the Timeline for the Next Task
In order to better understand the Trim Editor, prepare your Timeline by placing a short clip on theTimeline, drag the Timeline cursor to about the halfway point of this clip, and insert a cut bypressing the Add Edit button or by pressing the Period key (.) on the keyboard (Figure 6.39).
This needs to be done because clips cannot be trimmed beyond their own physical length; how-ever, a clip that has been cut using the method above will not suffer this limitation and will helpyou to better understand how the Trim Editor functions. This preparation is included here onlyas an example of how the Trim Editor can work and is not a normal step in the process.
Figure 6.39 Preparing a clip for the next exercise by cutting it in two.
Cut here
Trimming with the Trim EditorThe Trim Editor is an area that some usersfind challenging, partly because of Liquid’ssingle-track Timeline, and partly becausevisualizing the final trim can cause some confusion. However, the problems only reallyoccur once transitions are used (this problemis covered more fully in Chapter 8, “Workingwith Transitions”). For the moment, we’llrestrict this part of the tutorial to looking attrimming a hard cut.
To use the Trim Editor:
1. Make sure the Timeline cursor is approxi-mately over the point where the two clipsmeet on the Timeline. The Trim Editoralways opens to the nearest cut and onlyon an active track. That might not alwaysbe the one you think it is, so check first.
2. Open the Trim Editor by clicking theTrim Editor button or by pressing F5.
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The Trim Editor opens displaying the leftclip—the outgoing clip—in the left win-dow and the right clip—the incomingclip—in the right window (Figure 6.40).
By default, both the left and right win-dows have a black selection bar directlyunder them. This means that both clipswill be trimmed at the same time.
3. Press the right arrow key.
Both clips advance one frame up theTimeline; the left one (the outgoing clip)will get longer if it can, and the right one(the incoming clip) will get shorter.
4. Press the left arrow key and the oppositewill happen.
In both cases, any neighboring clips to theimmediate right are not affected by thechanges made here.
In both cases the Frames counter increasesin the positive direction for each clip.
Figure 6.40 The Trim Editor.
Incoming clipOutgoing clip
Duration of outgoing clip
Position on the Timeline
Duration of incoming clip
Frames plus or minus
Restore button Play controlsOutgoing selection bar
Incoming selection barSlip Trim tool
Figure 6.41 The black bar on the right means only the incoming clip will be trimmed (top). The black bar on the leftmeans only the outgoing clip will be trimmed (bottom).
Trimming only one clipThe previous example trims both clipstogether, but you may only want to make oneof these clips longer or shorter. To do this,you simply activate either the Outgoing orthe Incoming selection bar. However, whenyou trim only one clip at a time, the neigh-boring clips to the right will shuffle up ordown the Timeline, depending upon whichway you trim your clip.
This is similar to the Film Style edit detailedin the “Edit Styles Explained” section earlierin this chapter.
To adjust just one clip using theTrim Editor:
1. Open the Trim Editor by pressing F5.
2. Press the P key once to switch the blackbar to the right window.
This selects the incoming clip to betrimmed (Figure 6.41, top).
3. Press the P key twice to switch the blackbar to the left window.
This selects the outgoing clip to betrimmed (Figure 6.41, bottom).
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4. To decrease the size of the clip by oneframe, press the right arrow key.
Any neighboring clips to the immediateright shuffle down the Timeline so thatno gap is created.
Pressing the left arrow key will do theopposite.
4 Tips
n Clicking the Play preview button inthe center of the clip will play approxi-mately 2 seconds of the incoming clip fol-lowed by 2 seconds of the outgoing clip ina continuous loop.
n Clicking the cursor in the middle of bothwindows will highlight both selectionbars.
n The Trim 10 Frames Left/Right buttonswill jump the trim 10 frames
backward or forward.
n You cannot trim beyond the physicallength of a clip.
Figure 6.42 The Timeline before and after the Slip Trim function is used.
Without Slip Trim activated, only the mark-in and mark-out points of the outgoing and incoming clips are selected.
With Slip Trim activated, the mark-in and mark-out points for both clips are selected.
Editing with Slip TrimIf you want to trim a clip on the Timeline butyou don’t want all the neighboring clips tomove up or down, you must use the Slip Trimtool. This allows you to edit both the mark-inand mark-out points of a clip or clips at thesame time.
To edit with Slip Trim:
1. Open the Trim Editor by clicking theTrim Editor button or by pressing F5.
2. Select which clip you want to trim bypressing the P key to move the selectionbar. By default, you will edit both clips atthe same time (Figure 6.42, top).
3. Click the Slip Key button .
The mark-in and mark-out points for theselected clip(s) become highlighted(Figure 6.42, bottom).
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4. Press the left or right arrow key toadjust the clips down or up theTimeline, respectively.
Because both mark-out points are beingadjusted by an equal amount to themark-in point, any neighboring clips tothe immediate right are not affected bythe changes made here.
4 Tips
n This procedure is identical when select-ing just the incoming or outgoing clipand the results are the same. Only thoseclips being trimmed will be affected;the rest of the Timeline will remainintact.
n Again, you cannot trim beyond themaximum length of a clip.
Automatic Picon Update
By default, Liquid 7 does not automaticallyupdate the heads and tails of the Timelineclips. To do this, simply right-click any-where on the Timeline and select UpdateHead and Tail Picons from the contextualmenu (Figure 6.43).
If you have a high-performance system, youcan set the Timeline to automatically dothis on the fly by right-clicking anywhereon the Timeline and selecting TimelineProperties from the contextual menu.Then, switch to the General tab and selectthe Automatically update Timeline Piconscheck box (Figure 6.44), although you willneed a powerful computer to support thisfeature.
Figure 6.44 Automatic update of Timeline Picons isshown here as toggled on.
Figure 6.43 Manually updating theHead and Tail Picons.
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Figure 6.45 The razor blade can divide a clip in two.
Cut created here Cutting ClipsA cut is created on a media clip usually forone of two reasons: the clip contained twoscenes and both require individual trimming,or the middle of the clip is not wanted andneeds to be deleted.
Liquid uses the Razor Blade tool to cut a clipand add an edit point.
To cut a clip:
1. Scrub through the media clip until youfind the place where you want to create acut. You can make the cut accurate byusing the arrow keys to step through oneframe at a time.
2. Click the Razor button or press theperiod key (.).
A cut is created, dividing the clip into twopieces (Figure 6.45).
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Inactive, Active, and Protected Tracks
Each track in Liquid has three natural states: Inactive, Active, and Protected. Figure 6.46shows the tracks and the track headers in all three states.
Inactive track headers are dark gray. Activetrack headers are light blue. You canchange their state by simply clickingdirectly on the name track to toggle itbetween active and inactive.
Clips can be dragged to either an Inactiveor Active track, but the Razor Blade toolwill have no affect on an inactive track andDissolves will not be applied either.
A Protected track is one that can no longer beedited. To protect a track, right-click the track’sname and select Protect from the list. Thisturns the whole track—including the clip(s) onthe Timeline—light gray and indicates that theclips are now fixed and cannot be altered inany way. To unprotect a track, right-click thetrack again and deselect Protect.
Figure 6.46 Examples of Inactive, active, andprotected tracks.
Inactive track (dark gray)— Cannot be affected by the razor tool
Active track (light blue)— Can be cut using the razor tool
Protected track (light gray)—Cannot be altered
The Source ViewerThe Source Viewer is a very simple interfacethat contains a number of useful tricksincluding the ability to trim and insert media clips.
Once you have assembled your edit andtrimmed your clips, you will probably need totrim and insert new material such as imagesor other media clips. Using the Source Viewer,you can preview clips by adjusting mark-inand mark-out points, and inserting them intothe Timeline via drag and drop or by creating athree-point or four-point edit at the Timelinecursor position.
4 Tip
n Studio users can select the Source Viewerwith the Source toggle button or by dou-ble-clicking on any media clip in theProject Browser.
To send a clip to the Source Viewer:
Do one of the following:
u Double-click the media clip inside theProject Browser. This is the default setting,and in Studio view this will automaticallytoggle the display from Master to Source.
u Right-click the media clip and select Sendto Source Viewer.
u Drag the clip from the Project Browserand drop it into the Source Viewer.
u Click the media clip selection menu and select one of the clips from there(Figure 6.47).
4 Tip
n How a clip reacts when you double-clickit can be altered by opening the ControlPanel and double-clicking the ProjectPicon. This brings up a dialog from whichyou can select the double-click action ofyour choice (Figure 6.48).
Figure 6.48 Altering the double-click action for media files.
Click the Project picon…
…to bring up the Project Properties and alter the double-click action.
Figure 6.47 The media clip selection menu in theSource viewer.
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Figure 6.49 The Zoom tool in action.
Zoom tool Black bar indicates visible area
Timeline cursor position
The Source Viewer Zoom toolOnce you have a clip inside the SourceViewer, you can use the Zoom tool to adjustthe size of the Timeline timescale.
To use the Zoom tool:
u Place the mouse cursor over the Zoomtool so that it turns into a magnifyingglass; then left-click and drag it to the leftto show a higher degree of magnificationor to the right to show a decreased levelof magnification (Figure 6.49).
4 Tip
n Directly to the right of the Zoom tool is ablack horizontal line. This indicates howmuch of the clip you can currently see inthe Source Viewer’s Timeline. The redmark below this indicates the position ofthe cursor.
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Trimming a clip in theSource ViewerYou can trim dynamically on the Timeline toadjust your clips, but a more refined methodis to use the Source Viewer to trim the clip.Once the clip is in the Source Viewer, yourfirst job is to preview and look for anythingthat might need to be cut out from the startor the end. In fact, you might decide just touse a few seconds from the middle of theclip. You can do all of this by adding mark-inand mark-out points to the clip.
Remember that adding either a mark-in ormark-out point does not physically alter theoriginal clip. It merely tells the program toignore any material that falls outside thesetwo areas. For a further explanation of Non-Linear Editing (NLE), see Chapter 1.
Tool Buttons That Should BeAdded to the Source Viewer
The Source Viewer is already fairlycrowded, but you should add these fourbuttons to your interface if they are notalready there. Chapter 1 contains com-plete details on how to add a button toany Liquid interface.
u Full-Screen Display: Allows you touse the whole of the PC screen to seethe Source Viewer. This is particularlyuseful when editing a Multicamsequence. See Chapter 14, “AdvancedTechniques,” for details.
u Go to Next/Previous Event: Used tonavigate both mark-in and mark-outpoints and also markers.
u Open Marker List: Used to edit,rename, and navigate to markers.
u Delete Marker: Used to delete thecurrently selected marker.
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Figure 6.50 A mark-in point added to the Source Viewer (left). A mark-out point added to the Source Viewer (right).
To add a mark-in or mark-out point inthe Source Viewer:
1. Once the clip is loaded into the SourceViewer, use the mouse or the arrow keysto look for the best place for your clip to start.
This is called scrubbing and is discussedearlier in this chapter.
2. Once you have found the ideal place tostart your clip—the mark-in point—press the I key or click the Mark-In Pointbutton .
A small Mark-In Point icon has now beenadded to the Timeline of the Clip Viewer(Figure 6.50, left).
3. To select a point where you would like yourclip to finish—the mark-out point—scrubthrough the clip again until you find theoptimal point; then press the O key or clickthe Mark-Out Point button .
A small Mark-Out Point icon has nowbeen added to the Timeline of the ClipViewer (Figure 6.50, right).
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4. Use the Zoom tool to reduce the view ifyou can’t see both the mark-in and themark-out points on the Timeline display.
5. Click the Play from Mark-In to Mark-Outbutton to play back the clip from themark-in point to the mark-out point youhave now defined.
6. If the new mark-in and mark-out pointsdon’t suit your needs, you can set differ-ent points simply by moving the cursor toa new point and pressing the I or the Okey again.
4 Tips
n Pressing Home or End will take you tothe first or last frame of your clip.However, if this is a Subclip, then pressingthe Home or End key will take you to theclip-in or clip-out point of the clip.
n When the Source Viewer is selected, it issurrounded by a red border.
Sending a Clip to theTimeline Using theSource ViewerOnce you’ve finished adjusting the clip with theSource Viewer, it’s time to send it to the Time-line. In Chapter 5, you learned how to send aStoryboard Sequence to the Timeline, but whenyou use the Source Viewer to send clips, youhave several options that involve using theInsert Source into Master button or drag anddrop, or creating a three- or four-point edit.
Placing a clip on an empty Timeline or at theend of the current Sequence is relatively sim-ple, and once you have trimmed your clip inthe Source Viewer, you are ready to go.
Figure 6.51 The media clip is sent from the Source Viewer to the Timeline in one of two ways.
You can click theinsert arrow…
…or hold the Ctrl key anddrag with the mouse.
Clip sent from Source Viewer to Timeline
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To send a clip to the Timeline:
1. Place the Timeline cursor where you wantthe clip to land by using either the navi-gation keys or the mouse.
2. Check that the correct clip is loaded intothe Source Viewer and that the mark-in andmark-out points have been set as required.
3. To send the clip to the Timeline, do one ofthe following:s Click once on the Insert Source into
Master button . The clip is now sentfrom the Source Viewer to the currentTimeline position (Figure 6.51).
s Click either of the new insert but-tons— Insert source to master usingoverwrite style or Insert source tomaster using film style. The clip willbe sent to the Timeline with theselected style (Figure 6.50).
s Hold down the Ctrl key and drag theclip from the Source Viewer to theTimeline by holding down the leftmouse button.
s Drag the clip from the Project Browserto the Timeline. In this case, you don’tneed to hold down the Ctrl key unlessyou want to perform a Replace Edit.More details on Replace Edit can befound later in this chapter.
4 Tips
n Dragging and dropping allows you todynamically place the clip at any point onthe Timeline, but the rules of OverwriteStyle and Film Style need to be observed.
n For details on the new Insert source tomaster using overwrite button and Insertsource to master using film style button,see the “Edit Styles Explained” sectionearlier in this chapter
n Sending to a Timeline that already con-tains clips is the same process as sendingto an unoccupied Timeline; however, herethe Overwrite Style and Film Style rulesneed to be observed more carefully. Formore details on these Styles, see the “EditStyles Explained” section earlier in thischapter.
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Replace Edit FunctionA little known function in Liquid (availablesince Liquid 6.1) is the ability to replace aclip that is already on the Timeline, retainingboth the mark-in and mark-out-points of theold clip, and also any filters that were presenton the clip. This is very useful if you want tomake a radical change to a long Timelinewithout disturbing any of the other clips andwithout losing any filter settings you mighthave spent hours tweaking.
To use Replace Edit:
Do the following:
u Hold down the Ctrl key and drag thereplacement clip from the ProjectBrowser or the Source Viewer so that the clip overwrites any clip already on the Timeline (Figure 6.52).
u When performing a Replace Edit, the cursor will change to a downward-facingarrow with rectangles on the top and bottom.
u Once the Replace Edit is done, the newclip will assume the same length of theold clip, altering its mark-out point to fit.
4 Tip
n A Replace Edit will also “adopt” any filtersthat were present on that clip, copying itexactly, including the keyframes.
Figure 6.52 The Replace Edit cursor.
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Creating a Three-Point EditThe three-point edit is used to insert a clipinto a point on the Timeline using specificreference points. The three points referred toare the mark-in and mark-out points definedin the Source Viewer and a final mark-inpoint (or insertion point) that is placed onthe Timeline.
The process is pretty much the same as whathappens if you either drag a clip from theSource Viewer to a specific point on theTimeline, or if you simply place the Timelinecursor there and click the Insert Source intoMaster button .
Usually a clip already occupies the pointwhere you want to insert your clip and youwant to overwrite it, and perhaps keep theaudio track underneath. The three-point editis often used for cutaway shots where thenarration or the interview continues uninter-rupted, but another image is displayed. Forexample, a journalist may be talking into thecamera about a politician. At some point, theimage may cut away to show a soundless clipof the politician who is being referred tobefore it cuts back to the journalist. This isknown as a cutaway.
The advantage of placing a mark-in point onthe Timeline is that it is simply more accu-rate to use your third point to carefullydefine the exact insertion point of your clip.
To create a three-point edit:
1. If you want to retain the audio for the clipon the Timeline you will be overwriting,prepare it by right-clicking the clip andselecting Disband Clip(s) from the con-textual menu.
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Now that audio is disbanded, make surethe audio track is inactive by clicking itonce to turn it gray. The audio track forthis clip will now be unaffected by theadded media clip.
If you don’t need to retain the audio, youcan ignore this step.
2. Load a media clip into the Source Viewerand define the mark-in and mark-outpoints of the clip.
These are the first two points of your edit(Figure 6.53).
3. Now scrub the Timeline until you find asuitable place to insert the clip; then clickthe Mark-In Point button .
This creates the third point of your edit(Figure 6.54, top).
Figure 6.53 Mark-in and mark-out points set for theSource Viewer.
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Figure 6.54 A mark-in point set on the Timeline (top). Clicking the Insert Source into Masterbutton sends the clip to the Timeline (bottom). Note that the original audio is retained becausethe audio track Name 4 is deselected.
Mark-in point is the third edit point
Inserted clip
Audio track is inactive to protect the original audio
and create a cutaway shot
4. Do one of the following:s Click the Insert Source into Master
button .s The clip appears at this point on the
Timeline, overwriting the existing clip(Figure 6.54, bottom).
s Click the Insert source to master usingoverwrite button to overwrite the exist-ing media on the Timeline or use theInsert source to master using film stylebutton if you want to keep the existingmedia.
Using the default setting, the mark-in pointis automatically deleted after the insertion.
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Unwanted Audio Tracks
In this three-point edit example, the origi-nal audio was disbanded and was not over-written because you deselected the audiotrack before you sent the clip to theTimeline. However, if there is audio on thisnew clip, you may hear it on playback.
To turn off unwanted audio, right-click themedia clip on the Timeline, selectProperties, and deselect any audio boxesthat are not grayed out.
Figure 6.55 shows the properties for theJumping in clip with the audio tracks A1and A2 deselected.
Cutting out the audio in this way is cleanand effective; it also leaves the originalmedia clip in the Project Browseruntouched.
Figure 6.55 The media clip’s Propertiesscreen with audio tracks deselected.
4 Tips
n Inserting a clip via the Insert source tomaster using film style button may causeaudio sync problems. All but advancedLiquid users should steer clear of thismethod when creating a three-point edit.
n Inserting a clip without replacing the origi-nal audio is also known as a cutaway shot.
n More information on disbanding audiocan be found in Chapter 7.
Figure 6.56 Adding a mark-out point to the Timeline and the fourth point in a four-point edit (top). Theinserted clip has been compressed to fit into a smaller gap (bottom).
Mark-in and mark-out points mark the third and fourth edit points
Inserted clip. Note the purple dotted line indicating that a linear TimeWarp
is now on the clip
Creating a Four-Point EditThe four-point edit functions in a similar fash-ion to the three-point edit, and it is also usedto either create cutaway shots or to replace theexisting clip completely. However, it has anextra trick in that it also adjusts the mark-outpoint of the inserted clip to suit the gap youwant the clip to fit into.
Liquid does this for you automatically byadjusting the overall speed of the clip; eitherto slow it down or to speed it up, making theclip fit inside the two points you havedefined on the Timeline.
To create a four-point edit:
1. To retain the audio for the clip on theTimeline, prepare it by right-clicking theclip and selecting Disband Clip(s) fromthe contextual menu.
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Now that audio is disbanded, make sure theaudio track is inactive by clicking it once toturn it gray. The audio track for this clip willnot be affected by the added media clip.
If you don’t need to retain the audio, youcan ignore this step.
2. Load a clip into the Source Viewer anddefine its mark-in and mark-out points.
These are your first two points.
3. Now scrub the Timeline until you find asuitable place to insert the clip; then clickthe Mark-In Point button .
This creates your third point.
4. Now scrub the Timeline again until you finda suitable place for your mark-out point andclick the Mark-Out Point button .
This creates your fourth point (Figure 6.56, top).
5. Do one of the following:s Click the Insert Source into Master
button and the clip will appear atthe mark-in point on the Timeline,overwriting the existing clip (Figure6.56, bottom).
s Click the Insert source to masterusing overwrite button to overwritethe existing media on the Timeline oruse the Insert source to master usingfilm style button if you want to keepthe existing media.
The purple line running along the bottomof the clip means a linear Timewarp isadded to the clip to make it fit inside thepoints you have defined by increasing ordecreasing the clip’s speed.
4 Tips
n Inserting a clip via the Insert Source toMaster Using Film Style button maycause audio sync problems. All butadvanced Liquid users should steer clear of this method when creating athree point edit.
n If you want to retain the audio of the clipyou are overwriting, you will need to dis-band the audio first. See Chapter 7 fordetails.
n The inserted clip will retain audio up to amaximum of 200 percent and a minimumof 50 percent Timewarp, although thevideo is not limited to these speeds.
n The purple dotted line marking a speedadjustment will only be seen if Speed isselected in the Timeline settings. To set this,go to the menu bar and select Timeline >All Tracks > View > and then toggle thespeed on or off.
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New in Version 7—Realtime Linear Timewarp
In Liquid 7, Linear Timewarp is a real-time effect that can be viewed withoutrendering. This allows you to create andexperiment with four-point edits withouthaving to wait to see the results.
Like all Realtime filters, Timewarp will stillneed to be rendered before you can send itto a DVD or tape. See the “Rendering aRealtime Effect” section in Chapter 1 formore details on rendering.
This real-time functionality also applies toFit to Fill—where the speed of the clip isautomatically adjusted to fit any gaps onthe Timeline. More details on Fit to Fill andTimewarp—both linear and dynamic—canbe found in Chapter 9.
Inserting a Clip:Other MethodsOf course, some clips don’t need to be trim-med or inserted using any of the more com-plex methods just discussed. For instance, youcan bring photographs into the Timeline with-out trimming; as trimming a photograph(effectively, a single video frame) wouldachieve nothing.
To allow true creative flow, Liquid allows youto insert a clip in a variety of ways, but ofcourse, the rules of Overwrite and Film Stylestill apply to each method detailed here.
To simply insert a clip:
Do one of the following:
u Drag and drop a clip from the SourceViewer by holding down the Ctrl key.
u Click either of these buttons; Insertsource to master using overwrite style orInsert source to master using film style.The clip will be sent to the Timeline withthe selected style.
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u Drag and drop a clip from the ProjectBrowser by simply selecting the clip,holding down the left mouse button, anddragging it into position. Holding downthe Ctrl key while dragging from theProject Browser will perform a ReplaceEdit. See the “Replace Edit Function” sec-tion earlier in this chapter for details.
u Right-click the clip in the Project Browserand select Send to Timeline from the con-textual menu.
4 Tip
n When you send clips from the ProjectBrowser, you can use the commonWindows file-selection conventions. Youcan select multiple clips using the Shift orCtrl key and the left mouse button. Theseclips will be placed on the Timeline in theorder in which they appear inside theProject Browser.
Figure 6.59 Manually settingthe video mapping.
Drag from here…
…to here.
Figure 6.58 The Mapping selection box.
Figure 6.57 The V indicates that thistrack is mapped for video.
Mapping the TimelineEach of the examples just discussed (exceptfor drag and drop) will send the video bydefault to the Name 5 track. This is becausethat track has been designated, or mapped,to receive all video files. You can determine ifthis is the case if you see the large V that sitsin the first column (Figure 6.57) or VA if theGrouped or Embedded option is selected.
Designating tracks in this way is known asmapping. Mapping tracks can be altered onthe fly to suit your workflow.
To map a video track:
Do one of the following:
u Right-click in the Mapping column towhich you want to map the video, andselect V or VA from the contextual menu(Figure 6.58).
u Left-click the actual V and drag it up tothe column to which you want to map thevideo (Figure 6.59).
4 Tip
n If you are using the Insert Groupedoption discussed earlier in this chapter,the V will be displayed as VA to indicatethat it contains video and audio.
To map an audio track:
Do one of the following:
u Right-click in the Mapping column towhich you want to map the audio, andselect S1 or A1 from the contextual menu.
u Left-click the actual S1 or A1 and drag itdown to the column to which you wantto map the audio.
4 Tip
n Further details on S1 and A1 audio map-ping can be found in Chapter 7.
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Adding MarkersAdding markers to a clip allows you to havevisual clues as to when a specific event isgoing to occur. This is important becausewhen a clip is added to the Timeline, only thestart frame and end frame (the heads andtails) are displayed. The rest of the clip is onelong piece of blue. The Film Strip modefound in Adobe Premiere is unfortunatelynot an option in Liquid.
4 Tips
n Markers can be added to any media(audio, image, or video). Adding markersto the tempo—the rhythm of a tune—is agood example of why markers are used.But you can also use them to mark keysections of a Sequence to which you wantto attach buttons during DVD authoring.See Chapter 12, “DVD Authoring,” formore details.
n Markers are also visible in all of the EffectEditors, including Timewarp.
To set a marker:
1. With a clip open in the Source Viewer,scrub through the clip until you see aplace where you want to add a marker.
2. Press the M key, and a small gray triangleappears on the Source Viewer’s Timeline.
When the cursor is on this point, a trian-gle also appears in the top-center of theSource Viewer (Figure 6.60).
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4 Tips
n Extra buttons, such as Go to Next Eventand Open Marker List, need to be addedto the toolbars (Timeline, Source, andClip Viewers) in order to fully exploit thefull functionality of Markers. See the“Tool Buttons That Should Be Added tothe Source Viewer” sidebar earlier in thischapter for details. Also, see Chapter 1 tolearn how to add a button to an interface.
n Markers can be added using the ClipViewer. They can also be added directly tothe Timeline, which helps you mark outpossible DVD chapter points.
Figure 6.60 A marker added to a clip in the SourceViewer.
Marker on the Timeline
Marker indicated in the Source inlay
Figure 6.64 Deleting a marker using the Open MarkerList button.
Figure 6.63 Renaming a marker using the OpenMarker List button.
Figure 6.62 Double-click the marker, and a smalldialog opens into which you can enter text.
Figure 6.61 Open Marker List button displaying all ofthe Source Viewer markers.
To navigate the markers in a clip:
Do one of the following:
u Use the Go to Next Event buttons.
u Use the Open Marker List button toopen the marker list, and double-click themarker you want (Figure 6.61).
4 Tip
n The Open Marker list does not appear onthe toolbars by default.
To rename a marker:
Do one of the following:
u Double-click the marker and a small dia-log box will open into which you canenter your text (Figure 6.62).
u Click the Open Marker List button andthen right-click and select Rename(Figure 6.63).
To delete a marker:
1. Open the list of markers using the OpenMarker List button.
2. Highlight the marker(s) you want todelete.
3. Right-click any of the highlighted markers,and then select Clear Selected Markers orClear All Markers (Figure 6.64).
To move a marker:
u Hold down the Alt key and place themouse cursor over the marker. The cursorturns into a crosshair pointer, and youcan drag this marker to its new positionby holding down the left mouse button.This works only in the Master and theSource Window, not on the Timelinescrub bar.
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Timeline Slices
As you’ve been adding clips to the Timeline, you’ve probably noticed a number appearingabove them (Figure 6.65).
This is called a Timeline slice, and it is part of the media management system’s way of keepingtrack of what’s on the Timeline. Every time you add a clip, or a transition between two clips,and every time you use the Razor Blade, a new slice is created. Each slice can be manipulatedindependently.
For more information on Timeline slices, see Chapter 1.
One point worth noting here is that the more slices you have on a Timeline, the slower Liquid willrespond to your commands. Once you reach a Timeline that contains many hundreds of slices(easily done on an hour-long project), you will see a significant lag when you add or trim clips.
You can avoid this by making sure you create a new Sequence for every separate part of yourProject. This will at least cut down on the slice count while you are editing. During the finalassembly, there is no way to avoid a high slice count, but at that stage, most of your fine-tuning should have been completed and the effects of Timeline lag will be minimal.
Figure 6.65 Timeline slices appear as each clip is added or as the Razor Blade is used.
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To create a continuous playback:
1. Position the Timeline cursor at the startof the area you want to preview, and pressthe I key to add a mark-in point to theTimeline.
2. Position the Timeline cursor at the end ofthe area you want to preview, and press theO key to add a mark-out point to theTimeline (Figure 6.66).
3. Click the Play from In to Out button ,and the Timeline plays in a continuousloop until you click the button again.
Figure 6.66 A section of the Timeline marked out for playback.
Previewing Your SequenceDuring the edit process, you will want toconstantly preview your media clips and theadjustments you have made. You can do thisby manually controlling the Timeline cur-sor—place the cursor at the start of whereyou want to preview, press the spacebar toplay, and press it again to stop.
It is also possible to play a section of theTimeline in a continuous loop so that youcan quickly preview whether or not a partic-ular set of clips works together or if aDissolve needs tweaking.
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Adding a Mark-in and Mark-out Point Using Timeline Slices
You can add a mark-in and a mark-out point to the Timeline by holding down the Shift keyand selecting the slices you want to preview with your mouse. If you then right-click on any ofthese slices, the new option “Set Mark In/Out For Edits x -> y” appears (Figure 6.67).
Select this and the mark-in and mark-out points will be automatically placed on the Timelineto cover this region.
Figure 6.67 A mark-in and mark-out point added to the Timeline via right-clicking the slice numbers.
