Final Cut Pro: Open in Editor …

One of the many aspects of Final Cut Pro that I would like to see improved is how project clip attributes are displayed. Currently right clicking on a media file located in the Browser or Timeline and selecting Item Properties/Format displays a sort of bloated window with a table. In most cases I am only concerned with the datarate, framerate, codec, and aspect ratio. I decided to build a simple HUD style file inspector, and I found an easy way to integrate it with Final Cut Pro.

I’m calling this tool movieData. It is in fact a stand alone application that needs to be installed as normal in the Applications folder. In order to use this tool to display clip attributes, the user must access the FCP System Settings/External Editors preference and set movieData as the default Video File Editor. Now if you right click on a clip in the Browser or Timeline and select Open in Editor, the HUD runs and displays the supported clip attributes. I built in an On/Off HUD Transparency preference. It’s pretty cool.

I’m sure there is a more seamless method of integrating this inspector with FCP. At this point the Open in Editor option suits me just fine …

If you would like to check it out, get in touch.

-paul.

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Final Cut Studio 3, Video Post Production