Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 819)

Adding auxiliary timecode tracks to your media files allows you to add matching timecode
to both media files without removing the original source timecode—which is still
important for referring back to your original tapes.
In Final Cut Pro, you can choose which timecode track to display for each clip: source,
Aux 1, or Aux 2. Many clips only have a source timecode track, so in these cases there is
no option to display Aux 1 or Aux 2 timecode.
Clip Time Versus Source Time
In most situations, it’s best to view the source timecode track of your media file. Because
you usually need to refer back to the original source tapes at some point during your
project, Final Cut Pro displays source timecode by default. However, if you are working
with media files that have a different video frame rate and source timecode rate (such
as a 23.98 fps video rate with 30 fps timecode), you may want to display timecode that
counts at the video frame rate instead of the actual source timecode track. In Final Cut Pro,
this is known as clip time.
For example, if you are editing 23.98 fps (24p) video that came from 29.97 fps tapes, the
frame rate of your media files is 23.98 fps, but the timecode track still runs at 30 fps. To
see 24 fps timecode that matches the video frame rate, you need to display clip time.
Another example is when you are editing 24 fps clips that came from 25 fps (PAL) tapes.
In this case, you can display the original 25 fps timecode (source time) or have Final Cut Pro
display 24 fps timecode (clip time).
If your media file’s timecode track and video track have the same rate, there is no difference
between source time and clip time. To avoid confusion, you should always display source
time unless you have a specific reason to use clip time.
Important: Clip time does not accurately reflect timecode that matches back to the media
file or videotape timecode. Do not rely on clip time when trying to refer back to original
media files or tapes.
Changing Global Timecode Display Options
Timecode display settings can be globally adjusted for an entire project. For most
situations, it’s best to stick with the Final Cut Pro default settings:
• Timecode: Source Time
• View Native Speed: Enabled
Note: If you customize a particular clip’s timecode display, its display option overrides
the global timecode display option. Affiliate clips are not affected when you change the
timecode display of a master or other affiliate clip.
819 Chapter 51 Working with Timecode