Intro to three-point editing in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Three-point editing allows you to use start and end points in the browser and the timeline to specify the duration of a clip and where it should be placed in the timeline. Three-point editing gets its name from the fact that only three edit points are necessary to determine the portion of the source clip to use and where to place that clip in the timeline. Final Cut Pro infers the fourth edit point automatically. The result of the edit depends on which three points are set in the browser and in the timeline: two start points and one end point or one start point and two end points.

You can use three-point editing with the following types of edits:

With each of these edit types, you can also perform backtimed three-point edits, in which the end point (rather than the start point) is aligned with the skimmer or playhead position in either the browser or the timeline. You can also make two-point edits in which start and end points are inferred from the skimmer position and the clip duration.

To make three-point edits, it’s important to know how to make selections and how to use the skimmer and the playhead. For information about making selections, see Select ranges in Final Cut Pro for Mac and Select clips in Final Cut Pro for Mac. For information about the skimmer and the playhead, see Intro to playback in Final Cut Pro for Mac.

Basic three-point editing has three steps:

Step 1: Set source selection edit points in the browser

Specify which part of a clip you want to place in the timeline. You do this by setting the start and end points. If you want to set just a start point in the browser, position the skimmer (or playhead) at the point where you want the edit to begin. In this case, the end point is determined by the start and end points set in the timeline or by the end of the clip. You can also select multiple clips in the browser, and their aggregate source media duration determines the start and end points.

Step 2: Set edit points in a storyline in the timeline

Specify where you want the clip to appear in the timeline by setting start and end points in the primary storyline or in a connected storyline. If both start and end points are set in the timeline, these edit points determine the edit duration, regardless of the duration set in the browser. If no start or end points are set in the timeline, Final Cut Pro uses the skimmer position for the start point of the edit. If the skimmer is not present, Final Cut Pro uses the playhead position.

Important: With few exceptions, three-point editing requires range selections rather than clip selections.

Step 3: Add the source clip or selection to the timeline

Choose to either insert, connect, or overwrite.

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Final Cut Pro User Guide

Intro to three-point editing in Final Cut Pro for Mac

Step 1: Set source selection edit points in the browser

Step 2: Set edit points in a storyline in the timeline

Step 3: Add the source clip or selection to the timeline