Performing Match Frame Commands in Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Pro

Use Match Frame functions to quickly find the exact frame you need!

The Match Frame command is one of the most widely used tools among editors.  Match Frame lets you park on a clip edited in the Timeline, and then immediately locate its source clip by conveniently loading it into the Source Monitor (Avid Media Composer) or Viewer (Final Cut Pro).  This can be very useful because you can essentially use the sequence as a launching pad to find exactly what you need — down to the frame — without having to tediously sort through the source bins to locate material.

So yes — the basic Match Frame command is widely known, but there are other related Match Frame functions that are far less popular, but just as useful.  Thus, this post explains all of the various ways to quickly locate specific frames — via the sequence or the source clip — without having to dig through bins.

Match Frame

To use Match Frame in Avid Media Composer:

1. Park the position indicator on the frame in the Timeline you want to match.  (Make sure the appropriate track is selected.)
2. Click on the Match Frame button.  By default, Match Frame is located within the Tool Palette.
    

   Note: For efficiency, I recommend that you immediately map it to your keyboard via Button to Button Reassignment in the Command Palette.  (I like to map Match Frame to Shift+M on my keyboard.)
   

To use Match Frame in Final Cut Pro:

In Final Cut Pro, Match Frame behaves the same way — it allows you to take a clip from the sequence and match the frame in the Viewer.  The only difference is that it does not insert an IN point at the exact frame.

• To match frame from the Timeline to the Viewer, select the clip in the Timeline, and press “f.”

Match Frame Track

Match Frame is great, but in Avid Media Composer, it only works when you’ve selected the appropriate track.  Therefore, when you have many tracks in your sequence, it’s often a pain to have to deselect upper tracks in order to select the appropriate lower track to match.  Therefore, there’s a feature called “Match Frame Track,” where track selection is not imperative.

To use Match Frame Track in Avid Media Composer:

1. Park the position indicator on the frame in the Timeline you want to match.  (Don’t worry about track selection.)
2. Right-click on the track that corresponds to this desired match and select Match Frame Track.  The Match Frame action is applied.
    

   There is no equivalent of Match Frame Track in Final Cut Pro, because to perform a Match Frame in Final Cut Pro, you have to physically select the clip to perform a Match Frame, rather than just park on it.)

Reverse Match Frame

You can also find a frame loaded in the Source monitor (Avid Media Composer) or Viewer (Final Cut Pro) and match it in the Timeline — a “reverse match frame.”

To use Reverse Match Frame in Avid Media Composer:

1. In the Source Monitor, park the position indicator on the frame you want to find in the Timeline.
2. Ctrl + click the Match Frame button (or map the Reverse Match Frame button from the “Other” tab in the Command Palette to a keyboard button).  If the frame exists in the Timeline, it will move the position indicator to that exact frame.

To use Reverse Match Frame in Final Cut Pro:

• Park the position indicator in the Viewer, and press “f.”  If the frame exists in the Timeline, it will move the position indicator to that exact frame.
• To find all instances of a clip in the Timeline, choose “Reveal Affiliated Clips in Front Sequence” from the View menu.  It will highlight all instances of that clip in the sequence.

Find Bin

The Find Bin button lets you find and open the exact bin in which a clip resides, and will highlight the desired clip in the bin. This works for clips, sequences, and for clips within sequences.

To use Find Bin to find the bin for a clip in the Source monitor in Avid Media Composer:

1. Load the clip into the Source monitor, and make sure the Source Monitor is selected.
2. Click Find Bin (located in the Tool Palette or mapped to a button on your keyboard).
    

   The bin containing the appropriate clip comes to the forefront, and the clip is highlighted in the bin.

To use Find Bin to find a specific clip within a sequence in Avid Media Composer:

1. Park the position indicator on the clip in the Timeline and select the appropriate track.
2. Hold down the Option key and select the Find Bin button.  (If you map the Find Bin button to your keyboard, be sure to add the Add Option Key in the More tab of the Command Palette.The bin containing the appropriate clip comes to the forefront with the specific clip highlighted.

To find a clip in the Browser in Final Cut Pro:

• To find a clip in the Browser, select the clip in the Timeline, and press “Shift + f.”  It will highlight the clip in the Browser.