Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 User Guide

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Use a shape
You can configure the Shapes generator to be any of a number of shapes, such as a star, a 
diamond, an arrow, and a heart. These are most often used above the primary storyline to add a 
graphical element to your project that you can animate.
Insert and configure a shape
 1 Open the Generators Browser by clicking the Generators button in the toolbar.
 2 Drag the Shapes generator above the primary storyline so that it is over the video clip you want 
the shape to appear over.
The default shape is a white circle.
 3 Choose the shape to use from the Shape pop-up menu in the Generator inspector.
 4 Set the shape’s fill color, outline color and width, and drop shadow.
You can click the Reset button  to return the generator to its default settings.
 5 To change the shape’s size, position, and rotation, use the Transform or Distort built-in effect.
Use the Transform effect 
to change the size, position, 
and rotation of the shape.
Using these effects also makes it possible to animate the shape. For example, you can have an 
arrow follow a person across a room.
 6 To make the shape partially transparent, select it in the Timeline and adjust its Opacity setting in 
the Video inspector.
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Use a background
Many of the generators provide a general background over which you can place built-in effects, 
titles, keys, and clips with an alpha channel. Some are solid colors while others are textures 
such as wood or stone. Some generators even have animated movement, providing a more 
interesting background.
Insert and configure a background clip
 1 Drag the playhead in the Timeline to the point where you want to add the background clip.
 2 Open the Generators Browser by clicking the Generators button in the toolbar.
 3 In the Generators Browser, double-click the background thumbnail you want to use.
 4 Select the background clip in the Timeline.
 5 Configure the background (if applicable) using the settings in the Generator inspector.
Create specialized versions of the generators in Motion
Many of the generators were created using Motion, an Apple application designed to work 
with Final Cut Pro. To further customize the generators, you can open them in Motion, make 
modifications, and save the changes as a new file that appears in the Generators Browser.
Important:  The following steps require you to have Motion 5 installed on your computer.
Modify a generator or background in Motion
 1 Open the Generators Browser by clicking the Generators button in the toolbar.
 2 In the Generators Browser, Control-click a thumbnail, and choose “Open a copy in Motion” from 
the shortcut menu.
Motion opens and the clip’s project appears.
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 3 Modify the clip’s project.
For more information, see Motion Help at http://help.apple.com/motion.
 4 Choose File > Save As (or press Shift-Command-S), enter a name for this new generator, and 
click Save.
Note:  If you choose File > Save, the generator is saved using the same name with “copy” 
appended to its end.
About themes
Final Cut Pro includes a number of generators, transitions, and titles, grouped into themes. The 
generators, transitions, and titles in each theme use related shapes and colors, which result in a 
visual style unique to each theme.
Theme names—such as Boxes, Comic Book, or Documentary—suggest elements used by the 
theme, or the type of project in which a theme might be used. Each theme may contain multiple 
video generators, video transitions, and titles.
To access the Themes Browser, click the Themes button in the toolbar.
For more information about video generators, see Generators overview on page 249 .
For more information about video transitions, see  Transitions overview
 on page 2 11.
For more information about titles, see  Titles overview
 on page 220.
Use onscreen controls
Onscreen controls overview
Many effects, transitions, and other items use onscreen controls, superimposed over the video 
in the Viewer, to make it easier to adjust a variety of parameters. In many cases, these onscreen 
controls duplicate controls in the inspectors, although in some cases the controls are unique and 
provide the only way to adjust a particular parameter.
The controls can be as simple as defining the center of a fisheye effect or defining the more 
complex diameter, width, and position of a vignette effect.
This section focuses on the types of onscreen controls found in clip effects and transitions. 
Onscreen controls are also available in other areas of Final Cut Pro, including the following:
 •Built-in effects: Onscreen controls are used extensively for all built-in effects. See Built-in effects 
overview
 on page 228 .
 •Chroma keying: You use specialized onscreen controls when configuring a chroma keyer. See 
Use chroma keys
 on page 355.
 •Color corrections: Color corrections can contain onscreen controls used for creating color masks 
and shape masks. See Manual color correction overview
 on page 380 .
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Show or hide onscreen controls
The onscreen controls for transitions appear when a transition is selected. The onscreen 
controls for clip effects appear when an effect is selected, or when the playhead is positioned 
over a clip or title in the Timeline that has a video effect applied. You can also show or hide the 
onscreen controls.
Note:  Onscreen controls are always hidden when you play clips in the Timeline.
Show or hide a transition’s onscreen controls
 m To show the transition’s onscreen controls: Select the transition in the Timeline.
 mTo hide the transition’s onscreen controls: Deselect the transition in the Timeline.
Show or hide a clip effect’s onscreen controls
 mTo show the effect’s onscreen controls: Position the playhead over a clip with the effect, or select 
the clip with the effect in the Timeline, and then select the effect in either the Video Animation 
Editor or the Video inspector.
 mTo hide the effect’s onscreen controls: Deselect the clip with the effect in the Timeline, or deselect 
the effect in the Video Animation Editor or Video inspector.
Note:  If a clip contains multiple effects that use onscreen controls, only the topmost effect’s 
onscreen controls appear when the playhead is positioned over the clip.
Onscreen control examples
Following are a few examples of the onscreen controls you might use while working with 
clip effects and transitions. Many other clip effects and transitions use these same or similar 
controls—the examples are intended to provide general information about using the 
onscreen controls.
Keep the following in mind while going through these examples:
 •These examples assume you are familiar with applying clip effects to clips in the Timeline.
 •You can apply multiple clip effects to the same clip, but for the purpose of these examples, it’s 
best to either apply each clip effect to a different Timeline clip or remove the clip effect before 
applying a different one.
 •These examples also assume you are familiar with adding transitions to edit points in 
the Timeline.
 •Most of the effects and transitions have additional adjustments in the Video inspector or 
Transition inspector.
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Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Censor effect
 1 Open the Effects Browser and drag the Censor effect to a clip in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the effect’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To position the effect: Drag the center circle.
 •To set the effect’s size: Drag the outer circle.
Drag this center circle to position the effect.Drag this circle to set the effect’s size.
Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Droplet effect
 1 Open the Effects Browser and drag the Droplet effect to a clip in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the effect’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To position the effect: Drag the center circle.
 •To set the effect’s outer limit: Drag the outer circle.
 •To set the effect’s inner limit: Drag the inner circle.
 •To set the effect’s overall size: Drag any area in between the inner and outer circles. A shaded 
area appears when the pointer is in this area.
Drag this center circle 
to position the effect.Drag any area between the circles (becomes shaded) 
to set the overall effect size.
Drag the inner circle to 
set the inner boundary.Drag the outer circle to 
set the outer boundary.
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Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Prism effect
 1 Open the Effects Browser and drag the Prism effect to a clip in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the direction of the effect, drag the arrow. 
Because the effect has no center setting, the circle in the center cannot be dragged.
Drag the arrow to set 
the effect’s direction.This center circle cannot be dragged since the effect 
has no center setting.
Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Scrape effect
 1 Open the Effects Browser and drag the Scrape effect to a clip in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the effect’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To position the effect: Drag the center circle.
 •To set the effect’s direction: Drag the rotation handle.
Drag this handle to rotate the effect’s direction.Drag the center circle to set the effect’s start position.
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Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Center transition
 1 Open the Transitions Browser and drag the Center transition to an edit point in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the transition’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To position the transition: Drag the center circle.
 •To set the transition’s direction: Drag the arrow.
 •To set the transition’s border width (softness in this case): Drag the outer handle toward or away 
from the center circle.
Drag this arrow to set the transition’s direction.Drag this center circle to position the transition.
Drag this handle to set 
the border width (softness  amount in this case).
Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Star transition
 1 Open the Transitions Browser and drag the Star transition to an edit point in the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the transition’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To position the transition: Drag the center circle.
 •To set the number of points on the star: Drag the longer handle.
 •To rotate the star: Drag the shorter handle.
Drag this center circle to set the transition’s position.Drag this handle to set the number of points on the star.
Drag this handle to rotate  the star transition.
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Example: Use onscreen controls to apply a Zoom & Pan transition
 1 Open the Transitions Browser and drag the Zoom & Pan transition to an edit point in 
the Timeline.
 2 To adjust the transition’s onscreen controls, do any of the following:
 •To set the transition’s start point: Drag the green circle.
 •To set the transition’s end point: Drag the red circle.
Drag the red circle to set the end point.Drag the green circle to set the start point.
Use the Video Animation E ditor
Video animation overview
With Final Cut Pro, you can create simple changes to video over time, such as fading the video 
from invisible to visible at the beginning of a movie. Or you can make sophisticated and precise 
adjustments over time to many individual parameters of video effects, transitions, motion paths, 
and so on.
In Final Cut Pro, you use keyframes and fade handles in the Video Animation Editor to change 
effects over time.
The word keyframe comes from the traditional workflow in the animation industry, where only 
important (key) frames of an animated sequence were drawn to sketch a character’s motion over 
time. Once the keyframes were determined, an in-between artist drew all the frames between 
the keyframes.
With Final Cut Pro, you can set parameters to specific values at specific times (represented by 
keyframes) and Final Cut Pro acts as an automatic, real-time in-between artist, calculating all 
the values between your keyframes. For example, to animate a parameter, such as a rotation or 
scale setting, you need to create at least two keyframes in the clip. Final Cut Pro figures out the 
setting’s value between the keyframes, creating a smooth motion as the setting changes.
You can keyframe and animate both video and audio effects in Final Cut Pro, including individual 
effect parameters and clip properties. To learn more about keyframing audio, see Adjust audio 
effects using keyframes
 on page 19 5.
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Adjust video effects using keyframes
You place keyframes at specific points in a clip to change parameter values at those points. 
For example, if you want a clip in your project to fade to black, you set two opacity keyframes at 
two different times: one with the value of 100 (fully visible) and a second with the value of 0 (fully 
transparent). Final Cut Pro interpolates the values between 100 and 0, creating a smooth fade 
to black.
You can set keyframes in the Timeline or in the Video inspector. To see keyframes in the Timeline, 
you need to display the Video Animation Editor for the clip.
Additional keyframing controls appear with the Final Cut Pro built-in effects. See Work with 
built-in effects
 on page 235.
For information about keyframes for audio clips, see Adjust audio effects using keyframes
 on 
page 19 5 .
Add keyframes
 1 Do one of the following:
 •Select a clip in the Timeline, and choose Clip > Show Video Animation (or press Control-V ).
 •Control-click a clip in the Timeline, and choose Show Video Animation from the shortcut 
menu. 
Each effect in the Video Animation Editor has a separate area for adding keyframes.
Some effects have more than one parameter and allow you to add keyframes to individual 
parameters separately. They appear in the Video Animation Editor with a triangle next to the 
effect’s name or in the Video inspector as additional parameter controls.
 2 Select the effect for which you want to add keyframes in either the Video Animation Editor or the 
Effects section of the Video inspector.
 3 Do one of the following:
 •To see expanded parameters in the Video Animation Editor: Click the triangle to choose 
an individual parameter from the pop-up menu, or choose All to add keyframes for 
all parameters.
 •To see expanded parameters in the Video inspector: Click Show when you position the pointer 
over the effect.
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 4 Do one of the following for each effect:
 •In the Video Animation Editor: Option-click (or press Option-K) at a point on the horizontal effect 
control where you want to add the keyframe.
Keyframes for the parameter you chose appear as white diamonds, while keyframes for other 
effect parameters appear gray.
Keyframe for the 
selected parameter
When you choose to view all parameters in the Video Animation Editor, keyframes appear as 
white diamonds for all parameters. Double diamonds indicate you added a keyframe for more 
than one parameter at that point.
Double diamonds
 •In the Video inspector: Position the playhead in the Timeline at the point where you want to 
add a keyframe, and click the Keyframe button (or press Option-K).
Once you add a keyframe, the Keyframe button changes to yellow, indicating that the 
playhead currently sits on this keyframe.
Keyframe button
When you move the playhead in the Timeline, arrows appear next to the Keyframe button 
in the Video inspector to indicate which side of the playhead has keyframes. To go to the 
previous keyframe, click the left arrow or press Option-Semicolon (;). To go to the next 
keyframe, click the right arrow or press Option-Apostrophe (‘).
Arrows
 5 Add keyframes as needed.
Tip:  After you’ve added one keyframe, you can add another automatically by moving the 
playhead in the Timeline and then adjusting the effect parameter value in the Video inspector.
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