Category: Final Cut Pro Tutorials

Final Cut Pro | Split Screen Fundamentals Using Scale, Crop & Layers

Explore the art of split screen creation using Final Cut Pro without breaking the bank. These curated tutorials cover classic 4-Up, before and after, diagonal, and blended split screens, utilizing built-in tools or the excellent Splitz 2 plugin by BretFX. Elevate your projects with professional visuals and learn techniques to enhance your editing skills. Join in discovering the diverse possibilities of editing with Final Cut Pro.

Split Screens in Final Cut Pro

Classic 4-Up Split Screen

Create a classic 4-Up split screen with the built-in-tools in Final Cut Pro. A great tutorial for editors on a budget who need to create pixel perfect split screens.

Create a Before and After Split with or Without a Plugin

Create a cool before and after, animated, split using Final Cut Pro’s cropping features or the BretFX Quick List plugin.

Diagonal Split Screen

Using Final Cut Pro’s built-in Draw Mask Tools create this excellent animated diagonal split of two videos. A creative use of the tools that all Final Cut Pro editors have at their disposal.

Blended Two Videos Seamlessly

This video used a smart selection of footage and tools to blend two pieces of video together without any dividing lines. Very cool for a smooth and professional look for your creative content.

BretFX Splitz 2 Plugin

My favourite tool for creative, animated splits and one of the best out there on the market. Splitz 2 from BretFX is an excellent addition to any editors suite of plugins.

Get in touch

I am excited to share a series of tutorials on split screen editing using Final Cut Pro! From classic layouts to dynamic arrangements, these tutorials cover various techniques to enhance your editing skills. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback at design@benhalsall.com. Join us in exploring the possibilities of split screen editing!

Final Cut Pro Tutorial | Creating and Animating Type

Video editing enthusiasts often encounter challenges when it comes to effectively positioning text in Final Cut Pro. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the intricacies of adding and positioning type in Final Cut Pro, unraveling the complexities and providing insights into creating visually appealing text overlays.

1. Accessing Basic Titles:

To begin adding text, navigate to the top left of your Final Cut Pro interface. Locate the libraries, sound effects, and type and generators sections. Under the basic titles category, find the desired title, and either drag it down or click to add a connected clip.

2. Understanding Type Options:

Once the title is added, head to the top right for the inspector panel. Here, you’ll find various options to modify your text, including opacity, transform, cropping, and more. Dive into the type options, where you can customize the font, style, and other parameters.

3. Editing Text Content:

To edit the text content, use the type editor located in the inspector panel. Enter your desired text in the provided text box or directly within the type box. Adjustments to alignment, spacing, and font attributes can be made in this section, ensuring your text suits the video context.

4. Enhancing Visibility:

Ensure your text remains visible against different backgrounds by employing color correction and masking techniques. Utilize drop shadows, shape masks, and color adjustments to make your text stand out, especially when overlaying on diverse visual elements within the video.

5. Adding Transitions and Animation:

Experiment with movement transitions available in Final Cut Pro, such as slides and dissolves, to add dynamic effects to your text. For advanced users, delve into animation by keyframing transform options. This allows for more intricate and customized text movements throughout the video.

Conclusion:

Mastering text positioning in Final Cut Pro opens up a world of creative possibilities for video editors. Whether you’re adding informative titles, captions, or stylized text, understanding these techniques will elevate the visual appeal of your video projects. Experiment with the tips shared in this tutorial to enhance your skills and bring your video editing endeavors to new heights.

How to Blur a License Plate or Face in Final Cut Pro

In this tutorial, we’ll explore a quick and efficient method to blur out number plates in Final Cut Pro using the latest tracking features. Whether for privacy concerns or legal requirements, blurring out identifiable information is a common task in video editing, and Final Cut Pro offers powerful tools to accomplish this seamlessly.

Continue reading How to Blur a License Plate or Face in Final Cut Pro

How to Turn Automatic Update ON or OFF on your Mac – Avoid Final Cut Pro upgrade issues

With every update to macOS comes risks that current or future versions of Final Cut Pro may have some issues. Video editors can avoid being caught out, and losing work, by turning off the Automatic Update of the operating system.

How to turn off auto-update

  1. Go to the Apple Logo at the top left of your screen and click System Preferences.
  2. Click the Software Update button if you don’t automatically go to that window (3rd Row down).
  3. Uncheck Automatically keep my Mac up to date and in the advanced options, you can also uncheck Install app updates and Install macOS updates.
Uncheck Automatically keep my Mac up to date so that you control when your
system software upgrades.
Keep Install macOS updates and Install app update from the App Store unchecked to keep control over when updates happen. Keep security updates checked – these are important!

Things that were troublesome when upgrading to macOS Catalina

Previously there were a couple of things that are particularly important to note when updating to macOS Catalina. These types of issues can pop-up for any major upgrade and it is always worth waiting a little while whilst others upgrade so that they can discover any issues and glitches. This can really help to avoid down-time for your working mac.

  • 64-Bit Apps Only – only applications running in 64-Bit will run on macOS Catalina so if your Mac updates automatically then you could be left with apps that don’t work if they only run in 32-Bit. In this video, you can check – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu_uuytcRnU .
  • Metal Processing for FCPX – Final Cut Pro X 10.4.7 and Mac OS X Catalina make use of performance enhancements using Metal for its graphics processing. For some more information about Metal check out Ripple Training’s video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOgXFpdhmjY .
  • Graphics Glitches – it seems that Metal comes with some side effects that can cause graphics glitches. You can remedy these by turning off the Reduce transparency option in your System Preferences. There is some more info about that here >>.

Security Updates & Downloads

I like to keep Check for updates, Download new updates when available and Install system data files and security updates all checked. Especially the security updates are important in case there are security patches that Apple releases in response to a problem. You won’t want to wait for those!

Check your Plugins for Final Cut Pro

With the update, some plugins for Final Cut Pro X may not work. You should check to see if your plugin provider has tested their plugins with the new system and Final Cut Pro X update to 10.4.7. If they are important plugins that you use in lots of projects this would be another reason to hold off upgrading.

Must Watch: “Final Cut Pro – How to SAFELY update Final Cut Pro X (and Catalina)??” by Robin S. Kurz

“After seeing how many people have struggled with whether to update or not and then seeing them approach it the worst most unsafe way I felt it was time I finally made a video about the whole thing!” Robin S. Kurz

Want to Update to Mojave instead of Catalina?

Some new plugins will require the newest version of Final Cut Pro but if you don’t want to upgrade to Catalina but are on an earlier version of macOS than Mojave then this page on the Apple web-site may help you out:

https://support.apple.com/macos/mojave?fbclid=IwAR0RHPxDe7n7QCKPidOpX7bcXmHqU1E0ZIKy3tq_akKXN_9KttzhLUxyiq8

Reasons for doing this may be that you want to keep older versions of Adobe Creative cloud running. Upgrading to Catalina may mean you need to upgrade.

If in doubt jump on the forums! (& delay updating)

If you are ever unsure about the updates then jump on the forums on Facebook or Reddit to ask questions. It is more often than not better to wait before updating as major software updates can often reveal major bugs in the new system upon release that just weren’t predicted in the BETA testing.

There are always lots of people in the same boat and if you follow the forums for Final Cut Pro X or macOS online then you can keep your finger on the pulse of any current issues that are popping up!

Forums that I follow online:

Final Cut Pro X User Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/289713057748965/

FINAL CUT PRO X EDITORS
https://www.facebook.com/groups/108687235938893/

You can also contact me if you have any questions and I am available for online support and training.

How to create a bootable macOS Catalina installer drive on a USB Stick by Roman Loyola

“An external drive that you can use as an installer for macOS Catalina is a handy thing to have. If you have multiple Macs to upgrade, it’s a lot more efficient to plug in the USB installer drive and run the installer than to log into the App Store, download the 8.09GB OS installer, and then run it.” Roman Loyola, Macworld

Find out more here >>

Additional Upgrade Notes

These notes are things that I come across as I work with my clean install of macOS Catalina on my 16″ MacBook Pro.

E-mail – moving message from your old mac

You will need access to your old system hard-drive or a backup to keep any e-mail not stored on your iCloud drive.

You can import messages and folders from an external drive. Here is Apple’s guid on how to import your e-mail:
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mail/mlhlp1030/mac .

Final Cut Pro Tutorial: Create Title Credit Roll

Final Cut Pro, a powerhouse in video editing, offers a wealth of tools to enhance your projects. Among them, crafting compelling titles can significantly elevate the impact of your videos. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the essential techniques for creating engaging titles, applicable to various video genres.

Continue reading Final Cut Pro Tutorial: Create Title Credit Roll

Final Cut Pro X: Green Screen, Draw Mask & Double Exposure Tutorials

Key a Green Screen in Final Cut Pro X

In this tutorial we look at how to key out a green screen in Final Cut Pro X. Using the built-in features of FCPX we look at how to remove a ‘less than perfect’ green screen that has inconsistent lighting and a few folds in it.

Double Exposure Portrait Effect in Final Cut Pro X

In this tutorial you will learn how to colour correct and use blend modes to composite layers together to create this double exposure effect. Using only Final Cut Pro X’s built-in plugins there are a whole host of skills, shortcuts, tips and tricks covered in this tutorial. Enjoy!

Layers, Animation & Arrows in Final Cut Pro X

In this tutorial you will learn how to animate layers in Final Cut Pro X as well as being introduced to the Arrow Pop plugin that includes some awesome arrow animations and motion tracking features. Add Arrows with style to your videos, social media posts and more!

mDoubleExposure from MotionVFX*

Breathtaking multiple exposure effects known from photography have just arrived into FCPX. This incredible plugin lets you create multi-layered compositions with advanced customizable masking and control over numerous parameters. Create an artistic vision of blended videos with just a couple of steps. Cinematic double exposure shots are now at your fingertips. BUY NOW >>

*affiliate link

Final Cut Pro Tutorial | A Comprehensive Guide to Perfect Scrolling Title Credits

In this tutorial, we reveal a step-by-step walkthrough for seamlessly integrating captivating scrolling title credits into your Final Cut Pro project. Enhance the visual appeal of your content with these strategic techniques:

1. Optimal Scene Setup: Initiate your project by selecting a still image strategically positioned for seamless color adjustments, ensuring an ideal backdrop for your scrolling titles.

2. Effortless Navigation to Titles and Text Generators: Access titles and text generators easily by utilizing the “Show or hide titles and generators sidebar” feature in the top left corner. Locate the scrolling credit roll within the credits section.

3. Swift Implementation of Scrolling Credits: Drag and drop the scrolling credits onto your timeline, then fine-tune settings using the inspector on the top right for a polished outcome.

4. Meticulous Text Customization: Input film and actor details manually, maintaining consistent spacing. Employ spreadsheets for organized alignment, streamlining the process for efficient editing.

5. Control Speed and Duration: Manage the speed of your scrolling credits by adjusting the clip duration to accommodate the number of credits, ensuring a seamless and visually engaging experience.

6. Enhanced Visibility Through Color Correction: Leverage the color correction tool to optimize the contrast between your background image and titles. Lift blacks, fine-tune mid-tones, and adjust whites for enhanced visibility.

7. Explore Additional Text Editing Tools: Delve into the inspector’s basic options for tracking, line spacing, and text formatting, allowing for further customization and personalization.

8. Final Touches and Conclusion: Fine-tune your scrolling credits to align perfectly with the background image, adjusting duration, speed, and color for maximum visual impact.

Congratulations! With this comprehensive guide, you’ve mastered the art of seamlessly integrating scrolling title credits in Final Cut Pro. Subscribe for more expert Final Cut Pro insights and explore our tailored courses for an immersive introduction to Final Cut Pro. Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for our next tutorial!

Related Keyphrases:

  • Final Cut Pro scrolling text
  • Title credits in Final Cut Pro
  • Color correction for better visuals
  • Text customization in video editing
  • Efficient timeline navigation in Final Cut Pro
  • Speed control for scrolling credits
  • Enhancing contrast in Final Cut Pro
  • Advanced text editing tools in video production
  • Tips for polished video outros
  • Final Cut Pro tutorial for beginners

Final Cut Pro Tutorial: Create a Green Screen

Introduction:

Welcome to the first installment of our three-part video series dedicated to mastering green screen compositing in Final Cut Pro. In this tutorial, we’ll delve into the basics, addressing common challenges and providing practical solutions to enhance your compositing skills.

Setting the Stage:

Our journey begins in a packed house, where we introduce the overarching theme of the series. The primary focus of this initial video is to guide you through the process of creating a fundamental green screen effect in Final Cut Pro.

Working with Imperfect Green Screens:

Embracing the real-world challenges, we deliberately use a less-than-perfect green screen to showcase common issues that may arise during compositing. From lighting challenges to dealing with imperfect backgrounds, we tackle the nuances of working with less-than-ideal conditions.

Key Steps in Green Screen Compositing:

Cutting to the chase, we outline the essential steps in green screen compositing. Learn how to seamlessly remove the green background from your video within Final Cut Pro and address common issues that may arise when refining the green screen mask.

Watch other Videos in the Series:

Learn more about compositing from these exciting tutorials:

  1. Video 2: Unlock the magic of the double exposure effect in Final Cut Pro
  2. Video 3: Compositing & animating with Stupid Raisins Arrow Pop plugin from FX Factory.

Sponsorship Mention:

A special shout-out to our sponsor, FX Factory, supporting all three videos in this series. Explore their innovative tools and take your compositing skills to new heights.

Final Cut Pro | Best Split Screen Tutorials

Explore the art of split screen creation using Final Cut Pro without breaking the bank. These curated tutorials cover classic 4-Up, before and after, diagonal, and blended split screens, utilizing built-in tools or the excellent Splitz 2 plugin by BretFX. Elevate your projects with professional visuals and learn techniques to enhance your editing skills. Join in discovering the diverse possibilities of editing with Final Cut Pro.

Split Screens in Final Cut Pro

Classic 4-Up Split Screen

Create a classic 4-Up split screen with the built-in-tools in Final Cut Pro. A great tutorial for editors on a budget who need to create pixel perfect split screens.

Create a Before and After Split with or Without a Plugin

Create a cool before and after, animated, split using Final Cut Pro’s cropping features or the BretFX Quick List plugin.

Diagonal Split Screen

Using Final Cut Pro’s built-in Draw Mask Tools create this excellent animated diagonal split of two videos. A creative use of the tools that all Final Cut Pro editors have at their disposal.

Blended Two Videos Seamlessly

This video used a smart selection of footage and tools to blend two pieces of video together without any dividing lines. Very cool for a smooth and professional look for your creative content.

BretFX Splitz 2 Plugin

My favourite tool for creative, animated splits and one of the best out there on the market. Splitz 2 from BretFX is an excellent addition to any editors suite of plugins.

Get in touch

I am excited to share a series of tutorials on split screen editing using Final Cut Pro! From classic layouts to dynamic arrangements, these tutorials cover various techniques to enhance your editing skills. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, there’s something for everyone. We’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback at design@benhalsall.com. Join us in exploring the possibilities of split screen editing!