Did you know that YouTube has over 2 billion logged-in monthly users throughout the world? That’s the second-highest total of any media platform in the world.
With that large of an audience, there has never been a better time to produce and post your own content. But how should you make your own videos and leverage that incredible amount of potential viewership?
Final Cut Pro is a video editing program that helps you create professional videos so you can deliver your content to your audience. Using Final Cut can take your videos to the next level.
Continue reading to learn about 10 Final Cut Pro tips that you need to know for your video editing.
10 Final Cut Pro Tips
Whether you are using Final Cut Pro for fun and to learn a new skill or if you’re using it to start your own YouTube channel, there are loads of tips that can make your experience easier and more enjoyable.
Here are 10 tips that will help you take your editing skills to a new level with Final Cut Pro and have you creating a professional-quality video in no time.
1. Know Your Shortcuts
Shortcuts make for the quickest and most efficient way to edit your videos. You can get to the shortcut editor for Final Cut Pro by going to Commands and then Customize.
Within the Customize page, you can edit your shortcuts based on your needs and your editing process. This is especially useful if you’re used to other video editing softwares. It will allow you to mirror shortcuts from other programs.
2. Make Sure Your Output Settings Are Right
Your output settings go a long way in determining that the finished product of your video comes out exactly how you want it to. They save you the frustration of putting the time into editing it only for it to be slightly off.
Once you’ve uploaded some of your footage, do a quick export to make sure that your settings are correct. Once you’re done with all of your edits you can confidently export your video knowing that the settings are just right.
3. Have Background Rendering Activated
One of the big benefits of Final Cut Pro is that you can activate background rendering. Background rendering allows the video editing software to process the information in your video files and render them into the images for your video.
Final Cut Pro will do this in the background while you work on editing and other tasks. This saves you a lot of time that can be focused on other editing tasks.
4. Use Dynamic Trimming
Dynamic trimming is unlike other forms of trimming because it happens in the edit window. Most other forms of editing happen in the video timeline, but dynamic trimming is editing with the keyboard while the video plays.
Dynamic trimming ties into keyboard shortcuts. Having the right keyboard shortcuts makes dynamic trimming a much easier process, but you’ll want to have your shortcuts memorized before attempting this type of trimming.
Using an editing tutorial for dynamic trimming can go a long way towards mastering the process.
5. Use SnapShot
Snapshot is a very valuable part of Final Cut Pro when video editing on a Mac. It allows you to duplicate your video project and edit the duplicate. By doing this, you can tinker with the duplicate and it will now make changes to the master project.
In short, SnapShot lets you create drafts of your project as you move through the editing process so that you can get it just right without risking any changes to the master project until you’re ready to edit it.
6. Use Adjustment Layers
Adjustment layers will take your editing to new levels. You can create your own adjustment layers or find some online. They let you add color and change the tone of the images in your video project.
The best part is that you can make these changes without affecting or changing the pixels in the original image. You can get rid of or change the adjustment layer at any time if you decide you no longer want to use it.
7. Magnetic Timeline
Another great feature of Final Cut Pro is the magnetic timeline. This feature keeps your clips organized and tidy. It allows you to trim and reposition different clips without losing track of where you are in your work.
If you find that you don’t like using the magnetic timeline you can also disable it. This can make the editing process more flexible. You can turn off the magnetic timeline by pressing the “FN” button on your keyboard.
8. Preset Colors
Color presets are a big time saver. If you have a certain look that you discovered or created in a previous editing project you are able to save those color presets to have that same look for future projects.
Taking the time and effort to rebuild that color scheme can be frustrating but color presets make it easy. To save a preset, press the “Preset” dropdown and select the option for saving your color scheme. It will be ready to go for future projects.
9. Noise Removal
Annoying noises or noises that are hard on the ears can turn viewers off from an otherwise great video. The noise removal function of Final Cut Pro goes a long way towards helping you edit out those types of noises.
You do need to be careful with the amount of noise you remove. Removing too much noise causes a droning noise. Finding a nice middle ground will ensure that you have the best audio possible for your video editing project.
10. Delete Render Files
A buildup of render files can take up dozens of gigabytes of memory on your computer. Deleting these files is often overlooked as an important step in the editing process.
Having such a large amount of files slows down your computer and lengthens the editing process. Clicking “Delete Generated Library Files” will go a long way towards saving space and letting you work quicker.
Are You Ready to Master Final Cut Pro?
Final Cut Pro is a valuable video editing program that can take your video from great to out of this world. Knowing the ins and outs of it will help you master it and get the most out of the video you have.
Mastering software like Final Cut Pro will benefit you whether as a professional editor or as someone who wants to make the most of their video editing hobby.
Click here for more valuable information about software and how to get the most out of it.
