Shooting Tip #1

Something that I have found to be invaluable for me is to make sure I "prep" a tape before I start recording. ALWAYS record at least 15 seconds or so of just black tape. It will make capturing alot easier. When you have a clip that starts at the very beginning of the tape, FCP usually needs at least 6-7 seconds to get the playback starting and cued up and then capture. This will prevent you from losing footage that you need to capture. Its a simple trick but will save you headaches when editing! Also, if you are doing interview work, try to capture at least 0:30 sec of room tone. You can use this to fill in spots and patch up your audio when editing it. This is easiest done with a program like Soundtrack Pro which comes with Final Cut Studio