To edit a clip in iMovie or FCP is simple enough, but when the clip is dragged onto the desktop it's in it's original unedited form.

How do I create an MP4 clip which is trimmed to perfection and have it simply as an MP4 clip which I can email without the camera set up wobble at the beginning and the end, and without losing any quality?

When you are finished editing you must export the clip -- you can't just drag it back off the timeline.

Cheers,
GB

Thanks Geoff, but in FCP what do I export it as in order to maintain the best quality?

The best quality is one of the ProRes options -- but they significantly increase the size of the file, and don't add quality to your original ... A more sensible option is probably to export as the same codec as they are originally.

A lot depends on why you are going through this exercise -- what is your goal?

Cheers,
GB

My goal is to upload the clip to a stock footage site, it's a ground level shot of Bangkok traffic in torrential rain shot on a GoPro camera.

I'm new to this and I'm new to Final Cut so I've a lot to learn, including how to find out what the original codec was and how to export it as that.

It would seem sensible to find out what the stock footage site wants -- if you give them 'the wrong thing' they are just going to recompress it; perhaps they want a large uncompressed source file so they can do the compression. Either way, it is unlikely that there are no guidelines.

Final Cut will always let you do the following; drag your source clip to the timeline. If your sequence settings aren't the same as the source, FCP asks you if it should change the sequence settings to match the source -- say yes. When you are finished trimming your clip export it -- again, FCP offers up the option of exporting in the current settings (sorry, don't recall the precise language) -- again, say yes and now your export matches your source.

Now you have a trimmed clip, otherwise unedited and unchanged. Use Compressor to generate a file or files that match the requirements of the site.

I don't know what a GoPro camera is, and maybe you are starting out with a file format that is problematic, or falls short of the quality demanded by a stock site, or will demand special handling for editing in FCP (i.e. conversion to an editable format, like ProRes, from a delivery codec, like h.264)

HTH

Cheers,
GB

My goal is to upload the clip to a stock footage site, it's a ground level shot of Bangkok traffic in torrential rain shot on a GoPro camera.

I'm new to this and I'm new to Final Cut so I've a lot to learn, including how to find out what the original codec was and how to export it as that.

It doesn't matter what the original codec was, the only thing that matters is what the stock library wants. for instance, if you are submitting to a library such as iStock then you need to export to MotionJPEG. They don't accept ProRes or H.264 etc.

So, before you go any further, read the notes at the stock site and find out what they want. Almost all the stock libraries also have contributor forums. Have you asked there how to get your footage in a suitable format? I guarantee some one there will have already done exactly what you are trying to do and will likely be very happy to help you.

Did a copy and paste of the requirements and what a mess it was, here's the link:

Stock Photography: Search Royalty Free Images & Photos | iStockphoto.com (http://www.istockphoto.com/help/sell-stock/training-manuals/video/digital-video-requirements)

Straightforward enough that even I can understand it, though I'm not sure if I am NTSC or PAL.

So once I have my settings set to the iStock requirements, how do I trim my clip?

It sounds to me like you're changing the timeline settings to the iStock requirements -- this isn't what you want to do. You want to edit the footage in its native format, or as close to it as possible. So if you have FCP 6 or higher, let it automatically change the timeline settings on footage import to match your native video format (if you have an older version, you will have to manually change the settings). Then when your edit is ready, you'll export it to your desired format.

To trim the clip in FCP: You can drag the clip ends to where you want them (make sure the default pointer is your selected tool). Or you can use the blade tool to cut the video, then delete the parts you don't want. In both cases either drag the video to the timeline's start or close the gap so you don't have space at the beginning of the timeline (right click on empty area of timeline, select Close Gap).

To get mp4 h.264 as the site requests, your best bet is to export through Compressor. Compressor has some very nice h.264 presets that will work perfectly -- you just drag the presets onto the clip in the Compressor job window.

So select:

File > Export > Using Compressor

In short, Compressor wants you to select an export setting from it's lower left list of folders, and also select a destination for the export. Both of these settings can be modified.

My suggestion for the quick and dirty way to learn how to use both FCP and Compressor is to watch tutorials on YouTube. They walk you through every step visually, so there's no confusion.

Have fun and good luck.