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Final Cut Pro User Guide for Mac
Welcome
What’s new
Final Cut Pro basics
What is Final Cut Pro?
What are libraries?
Final Cut Pro workflow
Final Cut Pro interface
Media files and clips
Import and analyze media
Intro to importing media
If it’s your first import
Import from connected cameras
Import from file-based cameras
Import spanned clips
Import from iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Import from digital still cameras
If your camera isn’t recognized
Import from devices
Import from your Mac or storage device
Import from an archive or disk image
Organize files during import
Import from other apps
Import from Image Playground
Import from iMovie for macOS
Import from iMovie for iOS or iPadOS
Import from Final Cut Pro for iPad
Import from Final Cut Camera
Import from Photos
Import from Music
Import from Apple TV
Import from Motion
Import from GarageBand and Logic Pro
Import using workflow extensions
Record into Final Cut Pro
Memory cards and cables
Supported media formats
Import third-party formats with media extensions
Import and adjust RAW media
Adjust ProRes RAW camera settings
Import REDCODE RAW files
Import Canon Cinema RAW Light files
Analyze media
Intro to analyzing media
Video analysis options
Audio analysis options
Analyze your media
View analysis keywords
Play back and organize media
Play back and skim media
Intro to playback
Play media
Skim media
Play media in the event viewer
Compare two video frames
Play media on an external display
Zoom in to the viewer
Control playback quality
Use overlays in the viewer
Background rendering
Play back slow-motion clips
Organize your library
Intro to libraries
Organize your projects, events, and media
Create a new event
Rename items
Merge and split events
Move items between events
Duplicate projects and clips
Delete items from libraries
View and sort items in the browser
Intro to browser views
Customize browser views
Sort and group items in the browser
Hide clips in the browser
Create and share column sets
Organize clips
Rate clips
Add keywords
Add clip and project notes
Organize clips by roles
Lines marking event clips
Find items using search, keywords, and Smart Collections
Find clips and projects
Create Smart Collections
Organize Smart Collections
Restore a library
Edit your project
Intro to editing
Create and manage projects
Create a new project
Open and close projects
Modify a project’s settings
Create square or vertical versions of a project
Final Cut Pro project settings
Save and back up projects
Copy a project to another Mac
Select clips and ranges
Selections and filmstrips
Select clips
Select ranges
Set multiple ranges in the browser
Add and remove clips
Intro to adding clips
Drag clips to the timeline
Append clips to your project
Insert clips
Connect clips
Overwrite clips
Replace clips
Add still images
Create freeze frames
Add only a clip’s video or audio
Remove clips from projects
Solo or disable clips
Find a project clip’s source clip
Make three-point edits
Intro to three-point editing
Three-point editing guidelines
Three-point edit examples
Arrange clips in the timeline
Cut and trim clips
Intro to trimming
Cut clips in two
Extend or shorten clips
Make roll edits
Make slip edits
Make slide edits
Create split edits
Show trimming details in the viewer
View and navigate
Scroll in the timeline
Zoom in to and out of the timeline
Adjust timeline clip appearance
Snap to items in the timeline
Navigate your project
Navigate using timecode
View source and project timecode
View your project in the timeline index
Show clips with duplicate ranges
Work with markers
Intro to markers
Add and remove markers
Edit and move markers
Add chapter markers
Correct shaky video
Edit audio
Intro to audio
Audio editing basics
Audio waveforms
Audio channels and components
Ways to view audio clips
Zoom in to audio waveforms
View and change audio levels
Solo and mute audio clips
Add audio
Add music and sound
Record voiceovers
Access external audio files
Edit audio clips or audio components
Intro to audio editing
Configure audio channels
Adjust volume
Fade audio in and out
Crossfade audio
Pan audio
Multichannel audio editing examples
Add and adjust audio effects
Add audio effects
Remove audio effects
Add the default audio effect
Adjust audio effects
Save audio effects presets
Keyframe audio effects
Audio tools and techniques
Enhance audio
Sync audio and video
Match audio
Preserve pitch in retimed clips
Monitor mono or dual mono audio
Add titles
Add and adjust titles
Intro to titles
Add titles
Add the default title
Adjust titles
Position and animate titles in Final Cut Pro for Mac
Text inspector controls
Apply preset text styles
Modify titles in Motion
Find and replace text
Add and adjust 3D titles
Intro to 3D titles
3D titles workflow
Add 3D titles to a project
Add 3D titles
Convert text to 3D text
Rotate and move 3D titles
Rotate titles in 3D space
Move titles in 3D space
Modify basic 3D text attributes
Adjust basic 3D text settings
Modify depth and edges
3D Text controls
Modify surface appearance
Intro to materials
Add preset materials
Modify materials
Work with material layers
Add a light-emitting material
Save modified materials
Add materials to 3D text facets
Material controls
Intro to Material controls
Substance controls
Paint controls
Finish controls
Distress controls
Emit controls
Placement controls
Change lighting style
Intro to 3D text lighting
Adjust 3D text lighting
Change the lighting environment
Lighting controls
Add glows or shadows
Add effects
Intro to effects
Add and adjust transitions
Intro to transitions
How transitions are created
Add transitions and fades
Quickly add a transition with a keyboard shortcut
Set the default duration for transitions
Delete transitions
Adjust transitions in the timeline
Adjust transitions in the inspector and viewer
Merge jump cuts with the Flow transition
Adjust transitions with multiple images
Modify transitions in Motion
Adjust built-in effects
Intro to built-in effects
Resize, move, and rotate clips
Adjust framing with Smart Conform
Trim the edges of the video frame
Crop clips
Pan and zoom clips
Skew a clip’s perspective
Work with built-in effects
Remove built-in effects
Add and adjust clip effects
Intro to clip effects
Add video effects
Add the default video effect
Adjust effects
Use masks to define the shape of a video effect
Intro to effect masking
Add a Magnetic Mask to a video effect
Add a shape mask to a video effect
Add a color mask to a video effect
Combine multiple effect masks
Invert effect masks
Animate an effect shape mask
Change clip effect order
Copy effects between clips
Rename effects
Save video effects presets
Copy and paste keyframes
Reduce video noise
Remove or turn off effects
Modify effects in Motion
Add adjustment clips
Add generators
Intro to generators
Add placeholders
Add the default generator
Add timecode counters
Add shapes
Add backgrounds
Adjust generators
Modify generators in Motion
Import Live Drawing animations
Use onscreen controls
Intro to onscreen controls
Show onscreen controls
Onscreen control examples
Animate video effects
Intro to video keyframing
Add video effect keyframes
Modify groups of keyframes
Adjust effect curves
Advanced editing
Use roles to manage clips and organize the timeline
Intro to roles
Guidelines for using roles
View and reassign roles
Create custom roles
Assign audio roles during import
Change role colors or names
Display roles and subroles in the timeline
Organize the timeline with audio lanes
Show audio components in audio lanes
Focus the timeline on an audio role
Reorder audio roles
Show video role colors
Turn roles on or off
Work with audio roles in compound clips
Export roles
Add, adjust, and share captions
Intro to captions
Captions workflow
Create captions
Import captions
Show or hide captions
Edit caption text
Adjust and arrange captions
Format caption text
Create multilingual captions
Convert captions to another format
Export captions
Group clips with compound clips
Intro to compound clips
Create compound clips
Edit compound clips
Edit with multicam clips
Intro to multicam editing
Multicam editing workflow
Import media for multicam edits
Add camera names and angles
Create multicam clips
Cut and switch camera angles
Sync and adjust camera angles
Edit multicam clips
Multicam editing tips
Add storylines
Use the precision editor
Try out clips using auditions
Intro to auditions
Create auditions
Add clips to auditions
Review clips in auditions
Retime clips to create speed effects
Intro to retiming clips
Change clip speed
Create variable speed effects
Add speed transitions
Reverse or rewind clips
Create instant replays
Speed up a clip with jump cuts
Create hold segments
Reset speed changes
Conform frame sizes and rates
Use XML to transfer projects
Change the focus in Cinematic mode video
Intro to Cinematic mode video
Import Cinematic mode clips
Enable Cinematic mode video adjustments
Adjust the focus in Cinematic mode clips
Adjust depth of field in Cinematic mode clips
Edit 360-degree video
Intro to 360-degree video
Import 360-degree video
360-degree video settings
Create 360-degree projects
View and navigate 360-degree video
Edit a 360-degree project
Reorient 360-degree video
Add 360-degree video effects
Add 360-degree titles and generators
Add standard clips to 360-degree projects
Add 360-degree clips to standard projects
Add the 360-degree Patch effect
Add the Tiny Planet effect
Share 360-degree clips and projects
360-degree video tips
Edit stereo and spatial video
Intro to stereo and spatial video
Stereo and spatial video editing workflow
Record spatial video
Import stereo and spatial video
Create a stereo video project
Preview stereo and spatial video
Adjust stereo video properties
Edit stereo and spatial video
Export or share stereo and spatial video
Keying, masking, compositing, and tracking
Keying
Intro to keying
Use the Green Screen Keyer effect
Use the Luma Keyer effect
Finalize a key
Masking
Intro to masking
Create simple shape masks
Use the Magnetic Mask
Add Magnetic Masks
Edit Magnetic Masks
Use the Scene Removal Mask
Create complex masks
Intro to complex masks
Create complex masks
Use multiple masks
Edit complex masks
Intro to editing complex masks
Add control points
Lock and disable control points
Move control points
Edit Bezier control points
Edit B-Spline control points
Animate a mask with keyframes
Mask controls
Compositing
Intro to compositing
Use alpha channels
Change a clip’s opacity
Use blend modes
Intro to blend modes
Choose a blend mode
Types of blend modes
Tracking
Intro to object tracking
How does object tracking work?
Track an effect to a moving object
Track an image or other clip to a moving object
Offset the position of a tracking effect
Adjust object tracking
Change the tracking analysis method
Create motion tracks manually
Color correction
Intro to color correction
Quickly balance and match color
Intro to balancing color
Analyze a clip for color
Balance a clip’s colors
Manually white-balance clips
Match color between clips
Make advanced color corrections with color correction effects
Intro to color correction effects
Manual color correction workflow
Add color correction effects
Remove color correction effects
Use the Color Board effect
Use the Color Wheels effect
Use the Color Curves effect
Use the Hue/Saturation Curves effect
Use the Color Adjustments effect
Use color presets
Use masks for color correction
Add a Magnetic Mask
Add a color mask
Edit a color mask
Ways to view masks
Add a shape mask
Add shape masks to a color mask
Remove a color or shape mask
Wide color gamut and HDR
Intro to wide color gamut and HDR
Use wide-gamut HDR color processing
Use automatic color management and Color Conform
Color correct HDR video with Pro Display XDR
View HDR video
Export HDR files
Wide-gamut HDR tips
Color correct ProRes RAW video
Intro to color correcting ProRes RAW video
Use built-in camera LUTs to color correct ProRes RAW video
Use custom LUT effects to color correct ProRes RAW video
Color correct ProRes RAW video directly without LUTs
Apply LUTs
Measure video levels
Intro to measuring video
Display video scopes
Waveform monitor display options
Vectorscope display options
Histogram display options
Detect out-of-gamut colors
Color correction tools and techniques
Keyframe color corrections
Add transitions between color corrections
Save color correction presets
Compare color corrections
Turn iMovie adjustments on or off
Share your project
Intro to sharing projects
Share to Apple devices
Export files
Export final mastering files
Export MXF files
Export still images
Export image sequences
Export files for HTTP Live Streaming
Share roles as files
Supported export formats
Share on the web
Share in email
Share stereo or spatial video
Batch sharing
Share using Compressor
Create share destinations
Change metadata for shared items
View the status of shared items
Speed up exports with simultaneous processing
Manage media, libraries, and archives
Intro to media management
Manage your media files
View a clip’s information
Override a clip’s metadata
Locate source media files
Relink clips to media files
Consolidate projects and libraries
Back up projects and libraries
Create optimized and proxy files
Create a proxy-only project
Manage render files
View background tasks
Manage libraries
Intro to managing libraries
Create a new library
Open and close libraries
Copy or move items between libraries
Copy or move a library
Set storage locations
Manage Motion content
Create camera archives
Common media management issues
Alert icons
Solutions to media management issues
Work smarter
Final Cut Pro settings
Intro to Final Cut Pro settings
Change settings
General settings
Editing settings
Playback settings
Import settings
Destinations settings
Intro to Destinations settings
Email destination
Social Platforms destination
Still-image destinations
Export File and Apple Devices destinations
Compressor Presets destination
HTTP Live Streaming destination
Bundle destination
Keyboard shortcuts and gestures
Intro to shortcuts and gestures
Keyboard shortcuts
Multi-Touch trackpad gestures
Touch Bar shortcuts
Customize keyboard shortcuts
Intro to the Command Editor
View keyboard shortcuts
Modify keyboard shortcuts
Export or import keyboard shortcuts
Customize the Final Cut Pro interface
Arrange the main window
Use a second display
Change the workspace layout
Use workflow extensions
Work with metadata
Intro to metadata
View and change clip metadata
Modify metadata views
Batch rename clips
Use color and gradient controls
Intro to color and gradient controls
Color controls
Basic color controls
Use the pop-up color palette
Use the Colors window
Use expanded color controls
Gradient controls
Intro to the gradient editor
Change gradient colors
Reverse gradient direction
Move and copy gradient tags
Basic gradient controls
Gradient editor controls
Download sound effects and Pro Video Formats
Glossary
Copyright and trademarks
You can open up compound clips and edit their component parts in a separate timeline, and you can easily navigate up and down a series of compound clip levels. You can also open and edit a compound clip from within an event.
Note: When you edit the contents of a compound clip (for example, by trimming or adding effects to clips within the compound clip), you are in fact editing all instances of that compound clip, including the parent compound clip in the browser. Any changes you make to the internal parts of the compound clip are inherited by all of its child clips, in all projects. These changes can include added or deleted clips, trimming adjustments, and video or audio effects such as color correction, clip speed retiming, and so on. For example, if you delete a title clip from a parent compound clip, the title clip is deleted from all child compound clips.
Open a compound clip for editing
In Final Cut Pro, do one of the following:
Select a compound clip in the timeline or the browser, then choose Clip > Open Clip.
Double-click the video portion of a compound clip in the timeline or the browser.
Click the compound clip icon in the top-left corner of a compound clip in the timeline.
The compound clip opens in a new timeline view, with its contents ready for editing.
Note: Because editing in Final Cut Pro is nondestructive, any changes you make to the contents of standard or compound clips do not affect the corresponding source media files, which remain unchanged on your Mac or storage device. See Media files and clips.
Navigate compound clip levels using menu commands
You can navigate up or down one or more levels of a compound clip.
Open a compound clip in Final Cut Pro.
Do one of the following:
Click the left and right arrows at the top of the timeline.
Click and hold the right or left arrow in the top-left corner of the timeline, then choose a level.
The left arrow effectively closes the current compound clip and opens its parent, with the top level being the project or event containing the compound clip. If there’s no history available to navigate, both the left and right arrows are dimmed.
Make sure all contents of a compound clip appear in your movie
When you’re editing the contents of a compound clip, Final Cut Pro indicates the boundary of the compound clip with a darker crosshatched area to the left of the start point of the clip and to the right of the end point of the clip.
If you add clips to the contents of the compound clip, any parts of any clips that extend into the dark gray area do not appear in your project.
To allow the new clip material to appear in your Final Cut Pro project, do one of the following:
Reduce the total duration of the other clips inside the compound clip. For example, you could trim one or more clips inside the compound clip.
Close the compound clip to navigate up one level, then extend the total duration of the parent clip (the “outside shell” of the compound clip) in the timeline.
For more information, see Intro to trimming.
See alsoIntro to compound clips in Final Cut Pro for Mac
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