Constant and variable speed settings, Constant speed, Variable speed (or time remapping) – Apple Final Cut Pro 5 User Manual
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Chapter 16
Changing Clip Speed and Time Remapping
311
II
Constant and Variable Speed Settings
You can make two kinds of speed changes to a clip—constant and variable. Additional
options allow you to control the timing and improve the look of clips when you apply
speed settings.
Constant Speed
Applying a constant speed change to a clip alters the entire clip’s playback speed by
the same percentage. For example, applying a speed setting of 25 percent to a clip
makes the entire clip play in slow motion. Constant speed changes are useful when
altering a clip’s timing to fit a larger or smaller gap in your sequence, or when trying to
achieve a consistent speed change across an entire clip (making a car seem faster or
slower, for example).
Constant speed changes also alter the duration of a clip. If a constant speed change
causes the duration of a clip in a sequence to become longer or shorter, all clips
coming after it ripple forward or back according to the ripple editing rules in
Final Cut Pro. For more information about rippling clips in a sequence, see Volume II,
Chapter 18, “Performing Slip, Slide, Ripple, and Roll Edits.”
All constant speed changes between 1 and 200 percent can be played in real time,
even with frame blending turned on. For more information on applying constant speed
settings, see “
Variable Speed (or Time Remapping)
Applying variable speed to a clip (also referred to as time remapping) allows you to
dynamically alter the speed of a clip over time, in forward or reverse motion. Variable
speed allows you to create sophisticated motion effects in which subjects appear to
smoothly shift across a variety of different speeds, with hard or gradual transitions
between each change.
Variable speed also allows you to create a smooth transition when going from normal
speed to fast or slow motion. These types of effects can be seen in many music videos
and broadcast commercials, and can be created directly within your edited sequences
without having to resort to an external compositing application.
The best way to understand the essence of time remapping in Final Cut Pro is to ask
yourself the following questions:
 At what point in time do I want this media frame to occur?
 What media file frame do I want this clip to start or end on?
For more information on applying variable speed settings, see “