6 ways YouTubers can improve their videos with Final Cut Pro

YouTube content creators are becoming more ambitious with their editing, and standing out from the crowd can become difficult. Over the years, YouTube has brought about trends and styles that are not seen on TV or in movies, giving a whole new look to digital content. In this guide, we’re going to show you 6 quick techniques YouTubers use to add flair to their videos. The best thing about these tricks is that they can be replicated in any video editing software.

• Discover 6 techniques pro YouTubers use in their videos.
• Learn how to add picture-in-picture, stop-motion titles, and overlays to your videos.
• Improve your YouTube content with our step-by-step guide.

Stop-motion text effects

Creating jittery, stop-motion-style movements for your titles is super easy. The result is a trendy and fun animation that is sure to grab your viewers’ attention. What’s more, with this technique, you can save your animation as a template to use again and again.

1. Build your title and background elements and create the design you want to use. We’ve used a Basic Title layer and the FCP pre-installed Fabric background, but you can use whatever you’d like.
2. Select both Layers in the Timeline and right-click > New Compound Clip.
3. Grab the end of the Compound Clip and drag it so it is just 3 Frames in duration.
4. Hold Alt on your Keyboard and drag the Compound CLip along the Timeline to create a copy.
5. Select the second clip and go to the Clip Inspector.
6. Find the Rotation setting and adjust it by 1 or 2º.
7. Duplicate the clip again and adjust the Rotation in the other direction. You can also adjust the Position and Scale a little each time.
8. Repeat this process until you have a title, which is as long as you need. If you want to change the text, double-click on one of the clips to open the Compound Clip and adjust the original title.

Add Overlays

Overlays are a fantastic way of adding effects and environmental elements to your footage. They come in all shapes and sizes, from realistic visual effects to cute animated stickers.

Motion Array has a colossal library of overlays waiting for you to explore, but it can be confusing if you’re new to this technique. Most Overlays are simple drag-and-drops on top of your footage, but some have a black background.

How to remove a black background from an overlay video

Successfully integrating a realistic-looking overlay effect into your scene can involve a few steps and becomes more challenging the more complex your composition is.

1. Place your clip on the Timeline and the Overlay directly on top of it.
2. Select the Overlay, and find the Blend Mode options in the Inspector.
3. Click in the drop-down menu and choose Screen from the list.
4. Use the Scale and Position tools to fit your Overlay into your scene.
5. Find the Draw Mask tool in the Effects Panel and add it to your Overlay if you need to.
6. Click the Bezier tool in the Inspector and draw a mask around the area of the Overlay that you want to keep.

Add sound effects

Many popular YouTube creators use a lot of sound effects in their videos. GAWX Art’s videos are fantastic examples of how sound effects can be used to keep an audience engaged with your content.

Of course, adding sound effects to your videos requires precision and an understanding of sound mixing. Sound Effects can help tell your narrative or give your viewers an emotive cue—similar to the old-fashioned drum beat at the end of a joke.

Creating a sound design for your videos can take up a lot of time, as you often work with hundreds of assets. Many pro editors’ Timelines will use dozens of audio tracks and only a couple of video tracks when editing their videos. If you’re looking for sound effects for your project, check out the Motion Array Whoosh Sound FX Collection.

Face camera tracking

Face camera tracking is a cool style that has become incredibly popular on TikTok in recent years. The technique is used in everything from dance videos to vlogs. Face tracking is now easier than ever with movement-tracking cameras, but if you don’t have one, you can still achieve the effect with a little editing.

How to add camera facetTracking movements to your videos

1. Add your footage to your Timeline and select it.
2. Increase the scale to 105% and 110% in the Clip Inspector.
3. Go to the Titles panel and choose the Basic text option – drag the Title to your Timeline and place it above your footage.
4. In the text box, type an X, then move the layer so that the X is over the point you want to track, such as the tip of your nose.
5. Place your Playhead at the start of the Timeline and select your footage.
6. In the Inspector, create a Keyframe for the Position properties.
7. Using the arrow keys, move forward a few frames.
8. In the Media Viewer, drag the footage to reposition the X to your chosen tracking point.
9. Move through your footage, adjusting the Position of your footage every few frames or more frequently if there is dramatic movement in the shot.

Cinematic shots 

If you want to create a cinematic quality for your videos, you may think you need top-of-the-line cameras. However, you might be surprised to discover that most of the stylish looks associated with a cinematic film can be achieved with some color grading and effects. You can also download and install customizable color grading presets called LUT files. LUTs can be handy for saving time on grading or developing new styles. 

How to create cinematic shots with editing

You can use many tools to create a cinematic look, but you can achieve a lot with some minor color wheel adjustments and a little grain.

1. Select your footage in the Timeline, then go to the Clip Inspector and click on the Color Board tab.
2. Play around with the Saturation settings to get a vibrancy that you like. Remember, the settings you need will depend on the original look of your clip.
3. If you want to adjust your shot’s Exposure or overall color, you can do so in the Color Board tabs.
4. Next, go to the Color Board drop-down menu and choose Color Wheels.
5. Grab the handle for the Highlights and drag it toward the orange colors.
6. Next, grab the Shadows handle and drag it toward the teal colors.
7. Finally, search for Add Noise in the Effects panel and drag it to your clip.
8. In the Inspector, play around with the settings to see what looks you like

Picture-in-picture

Picture-in-picture effects are fantastic for reaction and review-based content, allowing your viewer to see the content you’re reacting to and your expressions at the same time. Creating a PiP effect is a little tedious, however, as it involves resizing and repositioning each clip in your Timeline.

Motion Array’s Plugins download includes an incredibly powerful Picture-in-picture effect. The PiP plugin allows you to drag and drop the effect directly to your clip and then customize the layout and look. 

How to create a PiP effect from scratch

It’s essential to consider your PiP layout before you begin recording, as you’ll want it to look natural. If you are reacting to copy-right content, you may run into some rules about how much of the original content you can use in your video.

1. Place the footage you want to take up most of the screen on your Timeline.
2. Place your ‘in Picture’ on top of your base footage and select it.
3. In the Clip Inspector, adjust the Scale and Position of the clip.
4. If you have multiple clips that need resizing, you can turn them all into a Compound clip.
5. Select all of the clips you want to make smaller.
6. Right-click and choose New Compound clip.
7. Select the new Compound clip and adjust the Scale and Position in the Inspector.

YouTube creators are constantly coming up with new and exciting editing styles. While these 6 techniques might be trendy and used by many creators, you should never copy someone else’s style. Instead, learn as many techniques as possible to create a style and brand of your own. Motion Array has plenty of tutorials to help get you started.