Apple Final Cut Pro 5 - Manual (Page 317)

316 Part IV Logging, Capturing, and Importing
Importing Still Images and Graphics
You can import most graphic formats supported by QuickTime into your project. The most
common ways to create or acquire still images to use in a Final Cut Pro sequence include:
 Capturing with a digital camera
 Scanning from a book or photograph
 Downloading from the web
Note: Be aware of copyright issues and don’t use images that you don’t have
permission to use.
 Capturing from a standard-definition or high-definition video camera
 Creating with a desktop publishing or graphics application
Keep in mind that the image needs to be in one of the formats supported by
Final Cut Pro: PICT, TIFF, TGA, PDF, Photoshop, or JPEG. Most of these file formats can
also contain an alpha channel. For more information about alpha channels, see
Volume III, Chapter 18, “Compositing and Layering.” For detailed information about
working with still images and graphics, see Volume III, Chapter 17, “Working With Still
Images and Photographs.”
Importing Numbered Image Sequences
Numbered image sequences are the lowest-common-denominator method for
exchanging video across editing and compositing platforms. Image sequences are
movies, but instead of storing all of the video frames in one file (such as a QuickTime
movie file), each frame is stored in a separate, sequentially numbered file. While
QuickTime is increasingly used to exchange video clips between platforms, image
sequences are still very common.
Note: If you are exchanging media between Final Cut Pro and other postproduction
applications, you should use a QuickTime file format for your movies unless there is a
particular reason not to.
Some applications may be capable of exporting only numbered image sequences. In
this case, you can use one of the following methods to import numbered image
sequences into Final Cut Pro:
 You can first use QuickTime Pro to convert a numbered image sequence into a
QuickTime movie that can be imported into Final Cut Pro and used like any other
clip. When you do this, the numbered image sequence is not used in Final Cut Pro.
 You can import all your image files into Final Cut Pro, and then edit them
sequentially into a sequence.