|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Media files are added as clips in ScreenFlow. And clips are the building blocks of every ScreenFlow project. Before you can accomplish any editing or composition, you need to add clips to your project. A clip in ScreenFlow is not the media itself—the media is the file that the clip represents (or points to). A clip not only points to a media file, it also contains all of the other information need to play and render the clip the way you’ve configured it. This may include start and stop times, fades and other actions, and other properties that you assign.As mentioned before in Recording Media in ScreenFlow, you can record your display directly in ScreenFlow, and you can also record directly in ScreenFlow using a camera and microphone. When you do, these recordings are automatically managed by ScreenFlow, and clips are added to your project under your control.You can also add media that has been recorded outside of ScreenFlow, and you can use still images as clips as well. ScreenFlow supports video and audio file formats that QuickTime Player can play in Mac OS X10.6.x and higher. ScreenFlow also supports many image formats, including PNG, JPEG, GIF, and TIFF images—if Preview can display a file, you can use it in ScreenFlow.The media library is an integral part of ScreenFlow—it’s a central repository for media you’re using in a project, and knowing how it works will help you take advantage of it.Adding media to a project always involves adding a clip to the media library—even if it happens automatically. You either drag media from the file system onto the timeline and ScreenFlow adds its clip to the media library automatically—or you add media directly to the media library (creating a clip), and then you drag the clip onto to the canvas or timeline whenever you want to—creating a copy of the original clip.You might think that dragging a clip onto the timeline merely places it there, but in fact it’s a copy. You can edit it without changing the properties of the original clip. And, you can drag the original clip onto the timeline over and over, as many times as you like.The following topics focus on the practical issues of getting clips into your project, ignoring the finer details of media library management for the moment. For those details, as well as best practices, see Managing Media in your Media Library.
