FCP Countdown or Clock generator? at DVinfo.net

Alex Humphrey · October 1st, 2007, 04:35 PM

Hello,

I don't think I ever found a clock or countdown generator on FCP studio. That is to say dropping in a count down clock such as used in NFL program etc. Am I wrong?

Bill Davis · October 1st, 2007, 04:55 PM

I don't remember if there's a GENERATOR per se, but it's an incredibly easy effect to create right inside FCP.

Just create a 1 second duration cropped background (BG) in a size and style you like.
Then take a TEXT generator and make it a 1 second duration as well.
Stack the text over the background to super the number over the BG clip.
Center and adjust type to taste. (hint: bigger numbers and bold fonts are best)

Then just copy and paste the "clip pair" over and over down your timeline until you have the length of countdown you like - and go back and quickly change the sequentially super'd numbers to create the countdown.

You can either cut and past the whole thing, or make it a subclip, or even output the countdown to it's own QT file and just store it on your drive somewhere, ready to drop on the timeline whenever you need it.

Shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to create and you get to control everything from style to position.

That's what I did years back and the "countdown clip" is still going strong.

Bill Davis · October 1st, 2007, 05:01 PM

Actually, on more reflection, if you're not interested in the aesthetics, you could probably just apply the TIMECODE filter to your video, then apply a suitable crop to display just the minutes and/or seconds and apply a SPEED/REVERSE to the clip.

That should give you an instant countdown. Ugly - but fast.

October 1st, 2007, 04:35 PM	#1
Alex Humphrey Major Player Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: california North and South Posts: 642	FCP Countdown or Clock generator? Hello, I don't think I ever found a clock or countdown generator on FCP studio. That is to say dropping in a count down clock such as used in NFL program etc. Am I wrong?

October 1st, 2007, 04:55 PM	#2
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	I don't remember if there's a GENERATOR per se, but it's an incredibly easy effect to create right inside FCP. Just create a 1 second duration cropped background (BG) in a size and style you like. Then take a TEXT generator and make it a 1 second duration as well. Stack the text over the background to super the number over the BG clip. Center and adjust type to taste. (hint: bigger numbers and bold fonts are best) Then just copy and paste the "clip pair" over and over down your timeline until you have the length of countdown you like - and go back and quickly change the sequentially super'd numbers to create the countdown. You can either cut and past the whole thing, or make it a subclip, or even output the countdown to it's own QT file and just store it on your drive somewhere, ready to drop on the timeline whenever you need it. Shouldn't take you more than 5 minutes to create and you get to control everything from style to position. That's what I did years back and the "countdown clip" is still going strong.

October 1st, 2007, 05:01 PM	#3
Bill Davis Trustee Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Posts: 1,538	Actually, on more reflection, if you're not interested in the aesthetics, you could probably just apply the TIMECODE filter to your video, then apply a suitable crop to display just the minutes and/or seconds and apply a SPEED/REVERSE to the clip. That should give you an instant countdown. Ugly - but fast.