Video Editing

Intro

For video editing we use a professional grade software known as Final Cut Pro (FCP)

Communication is Key: People need to tell media something interesting is happening. If the robot is moving, someone should be recording. Let the media team know about important events, competitions, demonstrations, or any activities worth documenting.
If it's not recorded, it didn't happen: Make sure to capture important moments as they happen. You can't edit what wasn't filmed.

Create separate folders: Before transferring media, create separate folders in Finder for each batch of videos. This helps maintain organization from the start and makes it easier to track which footage has been reviewed.
Import everything into Final Cut Pro: Instead of looking at videos in Finder, import everything directly into Final Cut Pro and review clips there. This provides better tools for evaluating footage.

Use Favorite and Reject: Review your imported clips and mark them:
Press F to mark clips as Favorite
Press DELETE to mark clips as Rejected
Add keywords: Press Command + K to add keywords to videos. This allows you to search for specific clips later, making it much easier to find the footage you need.
Assign video roles: Video roles in Final Cut Pro allow you to color code clips and take notes for organization. To assign a role, right-click on a clip and select "Assign Audio/Video Roles" from the menu. Use roles to mark clips that need changes, storyboarding elements, or specific video segments. This helps organize your workflow and communicate with team members through visual color coding.

Delete generated media: Only delete generated media (render files, optimized media, proxy media) once the project is exported. You can regenerate these files if needed, but they can take up significant storage while working on a project.
Use external hard drives: Store your video files on an external hard drive and keep working from that drive. This prevents your computer's internal storage from filling up and allows you to move projects between systems if needed. DO NOT keep files on SD cards - always transfer to hard drives for editing and storage.

SPACEBAR - Standard Play/Pause
L - Play Forward, click multiple times to increase playback speed. Example: L twice does 2x speed, L three times does 3x speed, etc.
J - Play Reverse, click multiple times to increase playback speed. Example: J twice does 2x speed, J three times does 3x speed, etc.
K - Pause

T - Change to Trim Tool (used for shortening clips and grabbing clip edges)
A - Change to standard selection tool
LEFT ARROW - Move playhead left 1 frame
SHIFT + LEFT ARROW - Move playhead left 10 frames
RIGHT ARROW - Move playhead right 1 frame
SHIFT + RIGHT ARROW - Move playhead right 10 frames
< - Move selection left 1 frame
SHIFT + < - Move selection left 10 frames
> - Move selection right 1 frame
SHIFT + > - Move selection right 10 frames

I - Partial clip selection starting point
O - Partial clip selection ending point
F - Mark selected clip/section of clip as Favorite
DELETE - Mark selected clip/section of clip as Rejected
COMMAND + K - Add keywords to selected clip(s) for easier searching and organization