Mastering the Control-[ Keyboard Shortcut in Final Cut Pro: Select the Left Video Edge

Keyboard shortcut: ControlLeft Bracket

What Control-[ Does

In Final Cut Pro, Control-[ (Left Bracket) runs Select Left Video Edge. When an audio/video clip's audio is expanded, it selects the left edge of the video edit point, the end of the video on the clip to the left of the edit. It doesn't move the playhead to the start of a clip.

Why Select Just the Video Edge?

With audio expanded, the video and audio parts of an edit can be trimmed separately. Selecting only the video edge lets you trim the picture while the audio edit stays where it is. That's how you build split edits, like L-cuts and J-cuts, without dragging.

How to Use It

  1. Select the clips and press Control-S to expand their audio.
  2. Move the skimmer or playhead near the edit point you want to work on.
  3. Press Control-[. The left video edge of that edit is selected.
  4. Press Comma or Period to trim it one frame at a time, or Shift-Comma and Shift-Period for ten frames.
  5. Play back the edit. The video cut has moved, while the audio edit hasn't.

Tips

  • Trimming the outgoing video shorter while its audio keeps going gives you an L-cut, a classic for interviews.
  • Use the regular [ key when you want to select the left edge of both video and audio together.
  • Press Control-S again to collapse the audio when you're finished.

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