How do I change media start timecode?

Question

I'm working on a project that was handed to me after a significant amount of capturing had already been done. Much of the footage (I'm praying that not all of it is like this) was captured using Capture Now, so there is no room left for pre-roll on any of the clips I am now trying to recapture (literally like 2 frames). I searched the forum and the web for a solution, but came up with some solutions that didn't work in my particular case. I have made the clips offline which for other users seems to have solved the problems of not being able to edit the Media Start/Media End timecode, but I still cannot get it to work.
Could it be that since I've used the clip in a sequence, it will not let me edit the timecode? Assuming there is some solution, and I am able to change the timecode, will any clips in sequences be trimmed to match the changes (for example, if I used the beginning of a clip in a sequence, and have now changed that clips beginning timecode, will it automatically trim the clip in the sequence or will it not reconnect at all?)
I'm working in FCP 4.5.
Thanks a bunch

Answer 1

Hey Jack
]Thanks for your continued posts Peter.
Always happy to help out, but thankyou for the acknowledgment! Often busy stressed people on this board forget that essential ingredient of good manners! So thank you!
]Does that really solve it? I'm not sure that it does
Absolutely! I had exactly your situation a couple of years ago, when I took over a job from someone who hadn't left any room on clips. I gave adding extended handles a shot, and it worked.
Once again I am just sorry I did not remember this workaround sooner.
As always, I would do a little test run first. I have mentioned this previously on the board, but I will again because I find it an invaluable tip:
]<small>A good little technique I have gotten into over the years is learning any new functionality in FCP with what I call my “dummy” project, dummy.fcp.
]This is just a normal FCP file with a couple of dozen clips, a few sequences and so on. Nothing too fancy, but designed to tap into most of the essential features, and broadly represent a typical type of job I do.
]Every time I want to try something new, and am worried I might damage existing work, I close the project I am working on, make a duplicate of dummy.fcp, and experiment on that. And I do it a couple of times, just to make sure for myself that the new functionality is well understood and predictable. I even try and do it wrong a couple of times, just to see what the results of mistakes would be like... Better learning through mistakes on your dummy ...
]If things go crazy, I have lost nothing, my current real-life project file is safe, and one of thee following is true:
]• I am doing something wrong -- so I log on here
]• I don’t understand the functionality - so I log on here
]• FCP might have a bug -- so I log on here
]• All of the above -- so I log on here</small>
I recommend that you -- and everyone else! -- make one of these dummy projects for yourself, and try this solution out. And keep a copy for later, when you come across that next possible workflow enhancement / project destruction tool.
Regards
Peter