Objectives:

  • Transfer Music from a CD to Final Cut

How To Transfer a Song from a CD to FCP

Here is how you take a song from a CD into FCP. Note that there are several ways to accomplish this and it will vary a little depending on which version of FCP you are using. Essentially, what you are doing is copying the song from the CD to the hard drive of the computer and then importing that song into your FCP project. The mistake people often make is that they import the song without actually copying it to the hard drive. If you make this mistake, you will take out your CD from the computer and then come back the next day to find that your song is missing...that's because it was never copied to begin with. Here's the procedure.

  1. Put your CD in the CD tray. Remember on a Mac that you need to push the button on the upper right side of your keyboard to open the CD tray.

  2. Your next step is to copy the song onto the desktop. Note that if your song is on an IPOD or Flash drive, or other such device, all you need to do is drag a copy of the song directly to the desk top.

  3. Open up FCP and your project.

  4. Click on File > import.

  5. Find the CD and select the song you wish to import.

  6. You will see the song now in your browser. Remember you can't leave it like this, you haven't actually copied it yet.

  7. Click on the file you just imported and go to file > export. Select the option to export it as a Quicktime movie.

  8. As you do this, click on the settings and options and be sure to select the highest kHZ available for your song...in this case 48 kHZ.

  9. Once you've finished this your song is ready for the final step. Double click the song and you will see it open up in FCP. Change the level to -12 dB.

  10. Now you are ready to drag the file into your timeline and start editing and setting markers.



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