Hi
1) To cut a piece from a scene without using the IN/OUT flags. Play the sequence in the right hand preview window and stop where you want the cut to start. You can step backwards/forwards with the <> buttons which are on either side of the PLAY triangle. You could also drag the cursor to the position or click the light blue bar over the sequence line.
When the red line cursor is where you want it, click the Split tab at the left end of the sequence line. The sequence will divie at the cursor position. Now Play (or move) the cursor along to the end of the section to be removed and repeat the procedure. The section you have cut out will now be highlighted in blue. Right click it and select "Remove selected clip" from the menu.
2) Titles are added as an overlay.
3) You have shot a sequence with a different aspect ratio to the normal VP screen. (i.e. portrait) It will normally be fitted to the height of the display (depending on its actual size so at the very least there will be black bars on the left and right. There is not a great deal you can do about this.
There is no stretch (deformation) option in VP and the best recourse is to use the crop effect and select 16:9. This will only however cut off the top (or bottom) of the video making it fit the VP screen. You can experiment to see the effect..
Click the clip on the sequence and then the effects tab. Select the crop option. The crop preview pane will show the clip with a red frame superimposed on it. Click on the black star to see a larger screen. Try the various options shown. To fill the screen with the normal aspect ratio 16:9 should be set. Now move the frame up/down until it is the best place. Thats all you can do. 
Nat
