Annoying problem with speed change tools in FC7

Question

I have a clip that is 8 seconds long. Halfway into the clip I want to slow down and freeze on the end frame. How do I do this?

Answer 1

This is trickier than it could be.
Double-click the clip in the Timeline to load the clip in the Viewer.
Click on the Motion tab and open the Speed area (Time Remap in FCP6).
Move to half-way through your clip.
Click the Insert/Delete Keyframe button to create a new keyframe.
Press the right arrow to move forward one frame and press the button again to create a second keyframe.
Right-click that second keyframe in the keyframe graph and choose Smooth. You may need to zoom in (command-plus) to get the right one.
Press the down arrow to jump to the end of your clip and press the Insert/Delete Keyframe button a third time to create a new keyframe at the end of the clip.
In the keyframe graph, drag this final keyframe down a little. The curve should dip to a flat line to indicate a freeze frame. You may need to tweak the bezier handle on the second keyframe to adjust the speed ramp.
This feature isn't new, and for complex tasks it's still better than the new speed tool in FCP7. If you find it confusing, remember that horizontal movement takes you through the sequence and vertical movement takes you through the clip. If the line goes up, left to right, it's going forward. Down, left to right, is backward. Steeper lines (relatively speaking, because zooming changes angles) are faster, and a flat line is a freeze frame.