Professional Results Without the Professionals: DIY Movie Making for Beginners

How to Easily Make Professional-looking Movies and Slideshow

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

What a magic movie maker means to you? In my opinion, it should not only provide all common video edits that you need to stitch your photo/video clips together to make a complete movie, but also turns them quickly to professional-looking movie or slideshows that will impress everyone. Since you’re here, you probably look for such a magic video maker that make magical videos like this:

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

What you need is a user-friendly way to put together film while helping you to add fancy creative effects and perfect for sharing. Wondershare Filmora for example is known for simple ways to connect your video and create a final film.

In this article, we’ll show you a step-by-step tutorial on how to make your video magical with Wondershare Filmora, and all steps are quick and easy. Get below free trial now.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

1 Import your media files

The magic media maker provides a User’s Album to manage your source files, and keep them intact for convenient access. To import your videos, audio or images to this program, simply click “Import” to browse your file folder or drag them directly to the primary window.

All imported files will show as thumbnails in the left pane. When they come into place, drag and drop these files to their corresponding Timeline.

2 Create your own masterpiece with handy tools

Now, go ahead to edit and personalize your videos. With comfortable Timeline-based editing and comprehensive drag-n-drop feature, you’ll find it easier than ever to get started in the world of video editing. The most important: this application features everything you need.

Basic Edit: Double click a video clip on the Timeline to pop up the editing panel. Here, you can rotate, crop, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation in the video pane, or change volume, pitch, set fade in/fade out effect in the audio pane. Apart from this, you can do cutting, copying, splitting, removing audio, etc. by a right menu click.

Add Elements: Adding elements like smooth transitions and colorful visual filters will polish your video instantly. And this magic video editor can do this by simple drag-n-drop. Click “Text”, “ Effect”, “PIP”, “Transition”, “Intro/Credit”, or “Sound” tab above the Timeline, you’ll see hundreds of free templates available to touch up your videos. Just pick your favorite one and drag them to the position to apply. When it comes into place, you can even adjust the play duration and set animation to achieve more.

Advanced Edit: The advanced editing for this Magic movie editor refers to the professional video editing tools like tilt-shift , mosaic , jump cut, face-off , and flash-n-hold that makes your video extraordinary. To do this, just click the “Power Tools” icon above the Timeline, and you’ll come to a window that helps you complete all the above effect in a click.

3. Save and share your creation

When you’re satisfied with the result in the previewing window, simply hit “Create” to save your creation. You can show off your video on popular video sharing sites like youtube , Facebook, Twitter, or save it in all popular formats to play on the go. Apart from that, you can also burn it to DVD with excellent quality to watch it on TV.

Congratulations! You’ve just made a stunning video ready to share. It’s pretty easy, fast, cool to create a home movie with this magic movie maker, right? Download the free trial and get started now!

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

FCPX Video Editing: How to Crop and Resize Images Like a Pro

Final Cut Pro X: How to Crop an Image

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Cropping an image means to remove a portion of the image, either to hide something you don’t want the audience to see or emphasize different elements within the image. Just as Photoshop allows us to crop still images, Final Cut Pro X allows us to crop moving video clips, as you’ll learn in this article.

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Crop an Image in Final Cut Pro X

However, before I show how this is done, I need to explain one really important fact about video: all video uses what’s called “fixed resolution.” Fixed resolution means that high-definition video is always displayed at one of two sizes:

You May Also Like: How to Crop GIF Images >>

• 1920 x 1080 pixels
• 1920 x 1080 pixels

Unlike still images which can be thousands of pixels on a side, video clips are locked into one of these two sizes. This means that if you crop a video clip, to remove something you don’t like, the remaining pixels are often enlarged to fill the frame. Crop too much and your video clip will look blurry, blocky, and edges will look stair-stepped.

I’ll show you two ways to crop a video clip in this article, one that maintains a high image quality but reduces the size of the frame (called “trimming”) and the other that fills the frame with the image but reduces image quality (called “cropping”). You get to pick which one works the best for you.

TRIMMING

Trimming is the process of removing portions of a video clip without changing the size of the clip. This retains the highest amount of image quality.

For instance, here an image - courtesy of Pond5 (<www.pond5.com>). Let’s say that we want to emphasize the barn and not the sky.

The easiest way to do this is to click the icon in the lower left corner of the Viewer and choose “Crop.”

This displays the cropping tools in the Viewer.

Click the Trim button to turn on Trim mode. (This article discusses Trim and Crop. I’ll cover the Ken Burns effect in a future article.)

Grab one of the blue dots and drag to hide portions of the frame. I generally grab a corner, but any blue dot will do.

NOTE: Press and hold the Option key while dragging to drag opposite edges or corners. Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the trim to the same aspect ratio as the frame.

Drag other corners or edges to further trim the image.

When you have trimmed the image the way you want, click the “Done” button in the top right corner to exit trimming mode.

If no other clip is below the trimmed clip, the background will be black.

But, it actually isn’t black, it’s transparent. If you put another clip below it, you’ll see the lower clip underneath the trimmed image.

Trimming allows us to hide portions of a video clip, without changing the image quality of the clip that remains. However, trimming always creates transparent sections within an image.

CROPPING

Cropping allows us to select just a portion of a video clip, without creating any transparent sections, BUT, it degrades image quality.

There are several ways we can choose to crop an image:

• Click the Crop icon, as we illustrated above

• Right-mouse click (or Control-click) inside the Viewer and choose
• Type Shift+C

* In the Inspector > Video tab > Crop (this option provides the most precision, but is the least intuitive to use)

If you selected any option except the Inspector, click the Crop button in the Viewer.

Now, drag a blue button in one of the corners. Because cropping, unlike trimming, fills the frame with the portion of the image we select, we can only move corners and the image is always sized to match the aspect ratio of our sequence.

Final Cut displays numbers at the top of the Viewer indicating how much the image has been cropped.

Reposition the frame by grabbing inside the rectangle and dragging.

When you are happy with the results, click the Done button in the top right corner.

Notice that the selected portion of the image now fills the frame. Even though there is a clip below our cropped clip, we don’t see it.

And, if you look closely, you’ll see that the cropped image is softer (blurrier) than the original and edges are more likely to be stair-stepped.

RESET

To reset a cropped image back to its default settings, open the Inspector and click the small curved arrow to the right of the word “Crop.”

SUMMARY

Trimming is used to hide portions of an image and superimpose it over another image.

Cropping is used to reframe an image, say from a medium shot to a close-up, but runs the risk of overly softening an image. The general rule is that cropping a little is OK, but don’t crop too much.

I use both these techniques frequently in my own editing.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Cropping an image means to remove a portion of the image, either to hide something you don’t want the audience to see or emphasize different elements within the image. Just as Photoshop allows us to crop still images, Final Cut Pro X allows us to crop moving video clips, as you’ll learn in this article.

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Crop an Image in Final Cut Pro X

However, before I show how this is done, I need to explain one really important fact about video: all video uses what’s called “fixed resolution.” Fixed resolution means that high-definition video is always displayed at one of two sizes:

You May Also Like: How to Crop GIF Images >>

• 1920 x 1080 pixels
• 1920 x 1080 pixels

Unlike still images which can be thousands of pixels on a side, video clips are locked into one of these two sizes. This means that if you crop a video clip, to remove something you don’t like, the remaining pixels are often enlarged to fill the frame. Crop too much and your video clip will look blurry, blocky, and edges will look stair-stepped.

I’ll show you two ways to crop a video clip in this article, one that maintains a high image quality but reduces the size of the frame (called “trimming”) and the other that fills the frame with the image but reduces image quality (called “cropping”). You get to pick which one works the best for you.

TRIMMING

Trimming is the process of removing portions of a video clip without changing the size of the clip. This retains the highest amount of image quality.

For instance, here an image - courtesy of Pond5 (<www.pond5.com>). Let’s say that we want to emphasize the barn and not the sky.

The easiest way to do this is to click the icon in the lower left corner of the Viewer and choose “Crop.”

This displays the cropping tools in the Viewer.

Click the Trim button to turn on Trim mode. (This article discusses Trim and Crop. I’ll cover the Ken Burns effect in a future article.)

Grab one of the blue dots and drag to hide portions of the frame. I generally grab a corner, but any blue dot will do.

NOTE: Press and hold the Option key while dragging to drag opposite edges or corners. Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the trim to the same aspect ratio as the frame.

Drag other corners or edges to further trim the image.

When you have trimmed the image the way you want, click the “Done” button in the top right corner to exit trimming mode.

If no other clip is below the trimmed clip, the background will be black.

But, it actually isn’t black, it’s transparent. If you put another clip below it, you’ll see the lower clip underneath the trimmed image.

Trimming allows us to hide portions of a video clip, without changing the image quality of the clip that remains. However, trimming always creates transparent sections within an image.

CROPPING

Cropping allows us to select just a portion of a video clip, without creating any transparent sections, BUT, it degrades image quality.

There are several ways we can choose to crop an image:

• Click the Crop icon, as we illustrated above

• Right-mouse click (or Control-click) inside the Viewer and choose
• Type Shift+C

* In the Inspector > Video tab > Crop (this option provides the most precision, but is the least intuitive to use)

If you selected any option except the Inspector, click the Crop button in the Viewer.

Now, drag a blue button in one of the corners. Because cropping, unlike trimming, fills the frame with the portion of the image we select, we can only move corners and the image is always sized to match the aspect ratio of our sequence.

Final Cut displays numbers at the top of the Viewer indicating how much the image has been cropped.

Reposition the frame by grabbing inside the rectangle and dragging.

When you are happy with the results, click the Done button in the top right corner.

Notice that the selected portion of the image now fills the frame. Even though there is a clip below our cropped clip, we don’t see it.

And, if you look closely, you’ll see that the cropped image is softer (blurrier) than the original and edges are more likely to be stair-stepped.

RESET

To reset a cropped image back to its default settings, open the Inspector and click the small curved arrow to the right of the word “Crop.”

SUMMARY

Trimming is used to hide portions of an image and superimpose it over another image.

Cropping is used to reframe an image, say from a medium shot to a close-up, but runs the risk of overly softening an image. The general rule is that cropping a little is OK, but don’t crop too much.

I use both these techniques frequently in my own editing.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Cropping an image means to remove a portion of the image, either to hide something you don’t want the audience to see or emphasize different elements within the image. Just as Photoshop allows us to crop still images, Final Cut Pro X allows us to crop moving video clips, as you’ll learn in this article.

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Crop an Image in Final Cut Pro X

However, before I show how this is done, I need to explain one really important fact about video: all video uses what’s called “fixed resolution.” Fixed resolution means that high-definition video is always displayed at one of two sizes:

You May Also Like: How to Crop GIF Images >>

• 1920 x 1080 pixels
• 1920 x 1080 pixels

Unlike still images which can be thousands of pixels on a side, video clips are locked into one of these two sizes. This means that if you crop a video clip, to remove something you don’t like, the remaining pixels are often enlarged to fill the frame. Crop too much and your video clip will look blurry, blocky, and edges will look stair-stepped.

I’ll show you two ways to crop a video clip in this article, one that maintains a high image quality but reduces the size of the frame (called “trimming”) and the other that fills the frame with the image but reduces image quality (called “cropping”). You get to pick which one works the best for you.

TRIMMING

Trimming is the process of removing portions of a video clip without changing the size of the clip. This retains the highest amount of image quality.

For instance, here an image - courtesy of Pond5 (<www.pond5.com>). Let’s say that we want to emphasize the barn and not the sky.

The easiest way to do this is to click the icon in the lower left corner of the Viewer and choose “Crop.”

This displays the cropping tools in the Viewer.

Click the Trim button to turn on Trim mode. (This article discusses Trim and Crop. I’ll cover the Ken Burns effect in a future article.)

Grab one of the blue dots and drag to hide portions of the frame. I generally grab a corner, but any blue dot will do.

NOTE: Press and hold the Option key while dragging to drag opposite edges or corners. Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the trim to the same aspect ratio as the frame.

Drag other corners or edges to further trim the image.

When you have trimmed the image the way you want, click the “Done” button in the top right corner to exit trimming mode.

If no other clip is below the trimmed clip, the background will be black.

But, it actually isn’t black, it’s transparent. If you put another clip below it, you’ll see the lower clip underneath the trimmed image.

Trimming allows us to hide portions of a video clip, without changing the image quality of the clip that remains. However, trimming always creates transparent sections within an image.

CROPPING

Cropping allows us to select just a portion of a video clip, without creating any transparent sections, BUT, it degrades image quality.

There are several ways we can choose to crop an image:

• Click the Crop icon, as we illustrated above

• Right-mouse click (or Control-click) inside the Viewer and choose
• Type Shift+C

* In the Inspector > Video tab > Crop (this option provides the most precision, but is the least intuitive to use)

If you selected any option except the Inspector, click the Crop button in the Viewer.

Now, drag a blue button in one of the corners. Because cropping, unlike trimming, fills the frame with the portion of the image we select, we can only move corners and the image is always sized to match the aspect ratio of our sequence.

Final Cut displays numbers at the top of the Viewer indicating how much the image has been cropped.

Reposition the frame by grabbing inside the rectangle and dragging.

When you are happy with the results, click the Done button in the top right corner.

Notice that the selected portion of the image now fills the frame. Even though there is a clip below our cropped clip, we don’t see it.

And, if you look closely, you’ll see that the cropped image is softer (blurrier) than the original and edges are more likely to be stair-stepped.

RESET

To reset a cropped image back to its default settings, open the Inspector and click the small curved arrow to the right of the word “Crop.”

SUMMARY

Trimming is used to hide portions of an image and superimpose it over another image.

Cropping is used to reframe an image, say from a medium shot to a close-up, but runs the risk of overly softening an image. The general rule is that cropping a little is OK, but don’t crop too much.

I use both these techniques frequently in my own editing.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Cropping an image means to remove a portion of the image, either to hide something you don’t want the audience to see or emphasize different elements within the image. Just as Photoshop allows us to crop still images, Final Cut Pro X allows us to crop moving video clips, as you’ll learn in this article.

---

This is a basic tutorial about Apple Final Cut Pro X, professional video editing software. However, if video editing is new to you, consider Wondershare Filmora for Mac . This is a powerful but easy-to-use tool for users just starting out. Download the free trial version below.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

---

How to Crop an Image in Final Cut Pro X

However, before I show how this is done, I need to explain one really important fact about video: all video uses what’s called “fixed resolution.” Fixed resolution means that high-definition video is always displayed at one of two sizes:

You May Also Like: How to Crop GIF Images >>

• 1920 x 1080 pixels
• 1920 x 1080 pixels

Unlike still images which can be thousands of pixels on a side, video clips are locked into one of these two sizes. This means that if you crop a video clip, to remove something you don’t like, the remaining pixels are often enlarged to fill the frame. Crop too much and your video clip will look blurry, blocky, and edges will look stair-stepped.

I’ll show you two ways to crop a video clip in this article, one that maintains a high image quality but reduces the size of the frame (called “trimming”) and the other that fills the frame with the image but reduces image quality (called “cropping”). You get to pick which one works the best for you.

TRIMMING

Trimming is the process of removing portions of a video clip without changing the size of the clip. This retains the highest amount of image quality.

For instance, here an image - courtesy of Pond5 (<www.pond5.com>). Let’s say that we want to emphasize the barn and not the sky.

The easiest way to do this is to click the icon in the lower left corner of the Viewer and choose “Crop.”

This displays the cropping tools in the Viewer.

Click the Trim button to turn on Trim mode. (This article discusses Trim and Crop. I’ll cover the Ken Burns effect in a future article.)

Grab one of the blue dots and drag to hide portions of the frame. I generally grab a corner, but any blue dot will do.

NOTE: Press and hold the Option key while dragging to drag opposite edges or corners. Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the trim to the same aspect ratio as the frame.

Drag other corners or edges to further trim the image.

When you have trimmed the image the way you want, click the “Done” button in the top right corner to exit trimming mode.

If no other clip is below the trimmed clip, the background will be black.

But, it actually isn’t black, it’s transparent. If you put another clip below it, you’ll see the lower clip underneath the trimmed image.

Trimming allows us to hide portions of a video clip, without changing the image quality of the clip that remains. However, trimming always creates transparent sections within an image.

CROPPING

Cropping allows us to select just a portion of a video clip, without creating any transparent sections, BUT, it degrades image quality.

There are several ways we can choose to crop an image:

• Click the Crop icon, as we illustrated above

• Right-mouse click (or Control-click) inside the Viewer and choose
• Type Shift+C

* In the Inspector > Video tab > Crop (this option provides the most precision, but is the least intuitive to use)

If you selected any option except the Inspector, click the Crop button in the Viewer.

Now, drag a blue button in one of the corners. Because cropping, unlike trimming, fills the frame with the portion of the image we select, we can only move corners and the image is always sized to match the aspect ratio of our sequence.

Final Cut displays numbers at the top of the Viewer indicating how much the image has been cropped.

Reposition the frame by grabbing inside the rectangle and dragging.

When you are happy with the results, click the Done button in the top right corner.

Notice that the selected portion of the image now fills the frame. Even though there is a clip below our cropped clip, we don’t see it.

And, if you look closely, you’ll see that the cropped image is softer (blurrier) than the original and edges are more likely to be stair-stepped.

RESET

To reset a cropped image back to its default settings, open the Inspector and click the small curved arrow to the right of the word “Crop.”

SUMMARY

Trimming is used to hide portions of an image and superimpose it over another image.

Cropping is used to reframe an image, say from a medium shot to a close-up, but runs the risk of overly softening an image. The general rule is that cropping a little is OK, but don’t crop too much.

I use both these techniques frequently in my own editing.

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Reshape Your Videos: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Change Shape of a Video?

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

While most videos nowadays are rectangular, and are recorded in either landscape or portrait orientation, there are some social media platforms that require the clips to be square shaped. If you want to upload your footages on such websites, it is essential to learn how to change video shape.

Another benefit of changing the shape of the recorded films is that they can be adjusted in limited amount of space, especially if they are to be posted on a website. Furthermore, some fancy designs such as star-shaped or circle-shaped videos attract more attention when used in digital marketing campaigns.

With that said, here you will learn how to change the shape of a video using one of the most advanced and versatile post-production tools, Wondershare Filmora.

Want to learn more about aspect ratio of your video? Click here!

Or, you just want to transfer your video into vertical.

Part 1: How to Change Video Shape from Rectangle to Square

Depending on the recording device and the target audiences a video is intended to be distributed to, the aspect ratio of the produced footage could be 16:9, 4:3, or 21:9 that makes the film rectangular-shaped. Given that, the aspect ratio can be modified to change the film shape from rectangle to square.

The instructions given below explain how to change video shape from rectangle to square in Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Video to Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora on your PC (a Windows 10 computer is used here), click the Add Files icon from the center of the Media window present at the upper-left section, and use the Open box that appears to select and import the source video to Filmora. Next, drag the video from the Media window to the Timeline, and select your preferred option when/if the Project Setting confirmation box appears.

Step 2: Change Aspect Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon from the upper-left area of the Timeline itself. On the Crop and Zoom window that opens next, select 1:1 from the Ratio drop-down list, and click OK to save the new setting.

Step 3: Export the Video

Click EXPORT from the top-center area of the interface, go to the Local tab on the Export box, select your preferred format from the Format list in the left pane, optionally click SETTINGS from the right window to make other adjustments if necessary, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner of the box.

For more details, please refer to this article: How to Resize a Video to Right Aspect Ratio and Size.

Part 2: Change Video Shape by Cropping

If your preferred aspect ratio isn’t available in the ‘Ratio’ drop-down list of the ‘Crop and Zoom’ window, Wondershare Filmora allows you to manually change the video to a custom shape.

You can learn how to change the shape of a video to an unlisted aspect ratio by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Import the Video and Get to the Crop and Zoom Window

Follow the method explained in Step 1 of Part 1 to import a video to Wondershare Filmora, and then add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Select Custom Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon as explained earlier to open its window. Next, select Custom from the Ratio drop-down list to be able to crop the videos unproportionally.

Step 3: Crop the Video Manually

Drag the cropping handles from any one edge of the video. Repeat this process for all the four sides to select the area of interest. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Export the Video

Follow the process explained in Step 3 of Part 1 to export the modified video.

Part 3: Change Video Shape to Circle or Other Shapes in Filmora

Another, rather better way of changing videos to custom shapes is with the help of image or shape masking.

In Filmora you can apply image masks either from the existing presets, i.e. circle, star, diamond, etc., or you can add custom photos if need be. Professionals generally use custom pictures to create fancy logos and titles.

On the other hand, shape masking allows you to mask a background video with a foreground footage in a custom shape.

Although the basic concept of both types of masking is same, the options available under each can be used to produce effective outputs.

That said, following are the instructions to apply both types of masking to your videos:

Image Masking

The steps given below explain how to change video shape with image masking in Filmora:

Step 1: Add Clip to Timeline

Use the method explained in the previous sections to import a clip and add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Add Image Mask

Click Effects from the standard toolbar at the top, select Utility from the left pane, drag Image Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Notice how the fx icon appears on the video layer showing that the effect has been successfully added.

Step 3: Customize Image Mask

On the Timeline, double-click the video layer you applied Image Mask to, and notice all the available shapes available under the Preset Mask section on the Video Effects > Image Mask window that appears at the upper-left area. You can double-click any of the available shape presets to apply it to the video layer. In addition, drag the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size, and edge smoothness respectively. You can also check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect on the video. Finally, click OK to save the changes, and follow the method explained in earlier parts to export the video.

Shape Masking

The following steps explain how to change the shape of a video with shape masks in Filmora:

Step 1: Get to the Utility Window

Add at two footages on their individual layers in the Timeline (make sure to place the second layer above the first one), and follow the method explained above to get to the Effects > Utility window.

Step 2: Add Shape Mask

Drag Shape Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Confirm that the fx icon appears on the video layer to ensure that the effect has been applied.

Step 3: Customize Shape Mask

Double-click the video layer in the Timeline you applied shape mask to. On the Video Effects > Shape Mask window, use the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size and edge smoothness respectively. Optionally check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect, and click OK to save the settings. Next, follow the method explained earlier to export the video.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between Image Mask and Shape Mask in Filmora?

A) In Filmora, Image Mask allows you to use an image (or any available preset) for masking so that the background footage is cropped to the shape of the picture. This is generally used to create logos and dynamic titles for movies or documentaries. On the other hand, Shape Mask enables you to mask the background clip with the foreground footage in the form of a shape that could be positioned and customized using the available sliders.

2. How many image masks are available in Filmora?

A) At the time of this writing, Wondershare Filmora has around 40 image mask presets. In addition, it also allows you to add custom images from your PC for more dynamic approach.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

While most videos nowadays are rectangular, and are recorded in either landscape or portrait orientation, there are some social media platforms that require the clips to be square shaped. If you want to upload your footages on such websites, it is essential to learn how to change video shape.

Another benefit of changing the shape of the recorded films is that they can be adjusted in limited amount of space, especially if they are to be posted on a website. Furthermore, some fancy designs such as star-shaped or circle-shaped videos attract more attention when used in digital marketing campaigns.

With that said, here you will learn how to change the shape of a video using one of the most advanced and versatile post-production tools, Wondershare Filmora.

Want to learn more about aspect ratio of your video? Click here!

Or, you just want to transfer your video into vertical.

Part 1: How to Change Video Shape from Rectangle to Square

Depending on the recording device and the target audiences a video is intended to be distributed to, the aspect ratio of the produced footage could be 16:9, 4:3, or 21:9 that makes the film rectangular-shaped. Given that, the aspect ratio can be modified to change the film shape from rectangle to square.

The instructions given below explain how to change video shape from rectangle to square in Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Video to Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora on your PC (a Windows 10 computer is used here), click the Add Files icon from the center of the Media window present at the upper-left section, and use the Open box that appears to select and import the source video to Filmora. Next, drag the video from the Media window to the Timeline, and select your preferred option when/if the Project Setting confirmation box appears.

Step 2: Change Aspect Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon from the upper-left area of the Timeline itself. On the Crop and Zoom window that opens next, select 1:1 from the Ratio drop-down list, and click OK to save the new setting.

Step 3: Export the Video

Click EXPORT from the top-center area of the interface, go to the Local tab on the Export box, select your preferred format from the Format list in the left pane, optionally click SETTINGS from the right window to make other adjustments if necessary, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner of the box.

For more details, please refer to this article: How to Resize a Video to Right Aspect Ratio and Size.

Part 2: Change Video Shape by Cropping

If your preferred aspect ratio isn’t available in the ‘Ratio’ drop-down list of the ‘Crop and Zoom’ window, Wondershare Filmora allows you to manually change the video to a custom shape.

You can learn how to change the shape of a video to an unlisted aspect ratio by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Import the Video and Get to the Crop and Zoom Window

Follow the method explained in Step 1 of Part 1 to import a video to Wondershare Filmora, and then add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Select Custom Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon as explained earlier to open its window. Next, select Custom from the Ratio drop-down list to be able to crop the videos unproportionally.

Step 3: Crop the Video Manually

Drag the cropping handles from any one edge of the video. Repeat this process for all the four sides to select the area of interest. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Export the Video

Follow the process explained in Step 3 of Part 1 to export the modified video.

Part 3: Change Video Shape to Circle or Other Shapes in Filmora

Another, rather better way of changing videos to custom shapes is with the help of image or shape masking.

In Filmora you can apply image masks either from the existing presets, i.e. circle, star, diamond, etc., or you can add custom photos if need be. Professionals generally use custom pictures to create fancy logos and titles.

On the other hand, shape masking allows you to mask a background video with a foreground footage in a custom shape.

Although the basic concept of both types of masking is same, the options available under each can be used to produce effective outputs.

That said, following are the instructions to apply both types of masking to your videos:

Image Masking

The steps given below explain how to change video shape with image masking in Filmora:

Step 1: Add Clip to Timeline

Use the method explained in the previous sections to import a clip and add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Add Image Mask

Click Effects from the standard toolbar at the top, select Utility from the left pane, drag Image Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Notice how the fx icon appears on the video layer showing that the effect has been successfully added.

Step 3: Customize Image Mask

On the Timeline, double-click the video layer you applied Image Mask to, and notice all the available shapes available under the Preset Mask section on the Video Effects > Image Mask window that appears at the upper-left area. You can double-click any of the available shape presets to apply it to the video layer. In addition, drag the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size, and edge smoothness respectively. You can also check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect on the video. Finally, click OK to save the changes, and follow the method explained in earlier parts to export the video.

Shape Masking

The following steps explain how to change the shape of a video with shape masks in Filmora:

Step 1: Get to the Utility Window

Add at two footages on their individual layers in the Timeline (make sure to place the second layer above the first one), and follow the method explained above to get to the Effects > Utility window.

Step 2: Add Shape Mask

Drag Shape Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Confirm that the fx icon appears on the video layer to ensure that the effect has been applied.

Step 3: Customize Shape Mask

Double-click the video layer in the Timeline you applied shape mask to. On the Video Effects > Shape Mask window, use the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size and edge smoothness respectively. Optionally check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect, and click OK to save the settings. Next, follow the method explained earlier to export the video.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between Image Mask and Shape Mask in Filmora?

A) In Filmora, Image Mask allows you to use an image (or any available preset) for masking so that the background footage is cropped to the shape of the picture. This is generally used to create logos and dynamic titles for movies or documentaries. On the other hand, Shape Mask enables you to mask the background clip with the foreground footage in the form of a shape that could be positioned and customized using the available sliders.

2. How many image masks are available in Filmora?

A) At the time of this writing, Wondershare Filmora has around 40 image mask presets. In addition, it also allows you to add custom images from your PC for more dynamic approach.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

While most videos nowadays are rectangular, and are recorded in either landscape or portrait orientation, there are some social media platforms that require the clips to be square shaped. If you want to upload your footages on such websites, it is essential to learn how to change video shape.

Another benefit of changing the shape of the recorded films is that they can be adjusted in limited amount of space, especially if they are to be posted on a website. Furthermore, some fancy designs such as star-shaped or circle-shaped videos attract more attention when used in digital marketing campaigns.

With that said, here you will learn how to change the shape of a video using one of the most advanced and versatile post-production tools, Wondershare Filmora.

Want to learn more about aspect ratio of your video? Click here!

Or, you just want to transfer your video into vertical.

Part 1: How to Change Video Shape from Rectangle to Square

Depending on the recording device and the target audiences a video is intended to be distributed to, the aspect ratio of the produced footage could be 16:9, 4:3, or 21:9 that makes the film rectangular-shaped. Given that, the aspect ratio can be modified to change the film shape from rectangle to square.

The instructions given below explain how to change video shape from rectangle to square in Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Video to Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora on your PC (a Windows 10 computer is used here), click the Add Files icon from the center of the Media window present at the upper-left section, and use the Open box that appears to select and import the source video to Filmora. Next, drag the video from the Media window to the Timeline, and select your preferred option when/if the Project Setting confirmation box appears.

Step 2: Change Aspect Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon from the upper-left area of the Timeline itself. On the Crop and Zoom window that opens next, select 1:1 from the Ratio drop-down list, and click OK to save the new setting.

Step 3: Export the Video

Click EXPORT from the top-center area of the interface, go to the Local tab on the Export box, select your preferred format from the Format list in the left pane, optionally click SETTINGS from the right window to make other adjustments if necessary, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner of the box.

For more details, please refer to this article: How to Resize a Video to Right Aspect Ratio and Size.

Part 2: Change Video Shape by Cropping

If your preferred aspect ratio isn’t available in the ‘Ratio’ drop-down list of the ‘Crop and Zoom’ window, Wondershare Filmora allows you to manually change the video to a custom shape.

You can learn how to change the shape of a video to an unlisted aspect ratio by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Import the Video and Get to the Crop and Zoom Window

Follow the method explained in Step 1 of Part 1 to import a video to Wondershare Filmora, and then add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Select Custom Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon as explained earlier to open its window. Next, select Custom from the Ratio drop-down list to be able to crop the videos unproportionally.

Step 3: Crop the Video Manually

Drag the cropping handles from any one edge of the video. Repeat this process for all the four sides to select the area of interest. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Export the Video

Follow the process explained in Step 3 of Part 1 to export the modified video.

Part 3: Change Video Shape to Circle or Other Shapes in Filmora

Another, rather better way of changing videos to custom shapes is with the help of image or shape masking.

In Filmora you can apply image masks either from the existing presets, i.e. circle, star, diamond, etc., or you can add custom photos if need be. Professionals generally use custom pictures to create fancy logos and titles.

On the other hand, shape masking allows you to mask a background video with a foreground footage in a custom shape.

Although the basic concept of both types of masking is same, the options available under each can be used to produce effective outputs.

That said, following are the instructions to apply both types of masking to your videos:

Image Masking

The steps given below explain how to change video shape with image masking in Filmora:

Step 1: Add Clip to Timeline

Use the method explained in the previous sections to import a clip and add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Add Image Mask

Click Effects from the standard toolbar at the top, select Utility from the left pane, drag Image Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Notice how the fx icon appears on the video layer showing that the effect has been successfully added.

Step 3: Customize Image Mask

On the Timeline, double-click the video layer you applied Image Mask to, and notice all the available shapes available under the Preset Mask section on the Video Effects > Image Mask window that appears at the upper-left area. You can double-click any of the available shape presets to apply it to the video layer. In addition, drag the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size, and edge smoothness respectively. You can also check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect on the video. Finally, click OK to save the changes, and follow the method explained in earlier parts to export the video.

Shape Masking

The following steps explain how to change the shape of a video with shape masks in Filmora:

Step 1: Get to the Utility Window

Add at two footages on their individual layers in the Timeline (make sure to place the second layer above the first one), and follow the method explained above to get to the Effects > Utility window.

Step 2: Add Shape Mask

Drag Shape Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Confirm that the fx icon appears on the video layer to ensure that the effect has been applied.

Step 3: Customize Shape Mask

Double-click the video layer in the Timeline you applied shape mask to. On the Video Effects > Shape Mask window, use the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size and edge smoothness respectively. Optionally check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect, and click OK to save the settings. Next, follow the method explained earlier to export the video.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between Image Mask and Shape Mask in Filmora?

A) In Filmora, Image Mask allows you to use an image (or any available preset) for masking so that the background footage is cropped to the shape of the picture. This is generally used to create logos and dynamic titles for movies or documentaries. On the other hand, Shape Mask enables you to mask the background clip with the foreground footage in the form of a shape that could be positioned and customized using the available sliders.

2. How many image masks are available in Filmora?

A) At the time of this writing, Wondershare Filmora has around 40 image mask presets. In addition, it also allows you to add custom images from your PC for more dynamic approach.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

While most videos nowadays are rectangular, and are recorded in either landscape or portrait orientation, there are some social media platforms that require the clips to be square shaped. If you want to upload your footages on such websites, it is essential to learn how to change video shape.

Another benefit of changing the shape of the recorded films is that they can be adjusted in limited amount of space, especially if they are to be posted on a website. Furthermore, some fancy designs such as star-shaped or circle-shaped videos attract more attention when used in digital marketing campaigns.

With that said, here you will learn how to change the shape of a video using one of the most advanced and versatile post-production tools, Wondershare Filmora.

Want to learn more about aspect ratio of your video? Click here!

Or, you just want to transfer your video into vertical.

Part 1: How to Change Video Shape from Rectangle to Square

Depending on the recording device and the target audiences a video is intended to be distributed to, the aspect ratio of the produced footage could be 16:9, 4:3, or 21:9 that makes the film rectangular-shaped. Given that, the aspect ratio can be modified to change the film shape from rectangle to square.

The instructions given below explain how to change video shape from rectangle to square in Wondershare Filmora:

Step 1: Import Video to Timeline

Launch Wondershare Filmora on your PC (a Windows 10 computer is used here), click the Add Files icon from the center of the Media window present at the upper-left section, and use the Open box that appears to select and import the source video to Filmora. Next, drag the video from the Media window to the Timeline, and select your preferred option when/if the Project Setting confirmation box appears.

Step 2: Change Aspect Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon from the upper-left area of the Timeline itself. On the Crop and Zoom window that opens next, select 1:1 from the Ratio drop-down list, and click OK to save the new setting.

Step 3: Export the Video

Click EXPORT from the top-center area of the interface, go to the Local tab on the Export box, select your preferred format from the Format list in the left pane, optionally click SETTINGS from the right window to make other adjustments if necessary, and click EXPORT from the bottom-right corner of the box.

For more details, please refer to this article: How to Resize a Video to Right Aspect Ratio and Size.

Part 2: Change Video Shape by Cropping

If your preferred aspect ratio isn’t available in the ‘Ratio’ drop-down list of the ‘Crop and Zoom’ window, Wondershare Filmora allows you to manually change the video to a custom shape.

You can learn how to change the shape of a video to an unlisted aspect ratio by following the instructions given below:

Step 1: Import the Video and Get to the Crop and Zoom Window

Follow the method explained in Step 1 of Part 1 to import a video to Wondershare Filmora, and then add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Select Custom Ratio

Select the video in the Timeline, and click the Crop and Zoom icon as explained earlier to open its window. Next, select Custom from the Ratio drop-down list to be able to crop the videos unproportionally.

Step 3: Crop the Video Manually

Drag the cropping handles from any one edge of the video. Repeat this process for all the four sides to select the area of interest. Click OK to save the changes.

Step 4: Export the Video

Follow the process explained in Step 3 of Part 1 to export the modified video.

Part 3: Change Video Shape to Circle or Other Shapes in Filmora

Another, rather better way of changing videos to custom shapes is with the help of image or shape masking.

In Filmora you can apply image masks either from the existing presets, i.e. circle, star, diamond, etc., or you can add custom photos if need be. Professionals generally use custom pictures to create fancy logos and titles.

On the other hand, shape masking allows you to mask a background video with a foreground footage in a custom shape.

Although the basic concept of both types of masking is same, the options available under each can be used to produce effective outputs.

That said, following are the instructions to apply both types of masking to your videos:

Image Masking

The steps given below explain how to change video shape with image masking in Filmora:

Step 1: Add Clip to Timeline

Use the method explained in the previous sections to import a clip and add it to the Timeline.

Step 2: Add Image Mask

Click Effects from the standard toolbar at the top, select Utility from the left pane, drag Image Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Notice how the fx icon appears on the video layer showing that the effect has been successfully added.

Step 3: Customize Image Mask

On the Timeline, double-click the video layer you applied Image Mask to, and notice all the available shapes available under the Preset Mask section on the Video Effects > Image Mask window that appears at the upper-left area. You can double-click any of the available shape presets to apply it to the video layer. In addition, drag the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size, and edge smoothness respectively. You can also check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect on the video. Finally, click OK to save the changes, and follow the method explained in earlier parts to export the video.

Shape Masking

The following steps explain how to change the shape of a video with shape masks in Filmora:

Step 1: Get to the Utility Window

Add at two footages on their individual layers in the Timeline (make sure to place the second layer above the first one), and follow the method explained above to get to the Effects > Utility window.

Step 2: Add Shape Mask

Drag Shape Mask from the Utility window, and drop it on top of the video itself in the Timeline. Confirm that the fx icon appears on the video layer to ensure that the effect has been applied.

Step 3: Customize Shape Mask

Double-click the video layer in the Timeline you applied shape mask to. On the Video Effects > Shape Mask window, use the X and Y, and Width, Height, and Feather sliders to adjust the mask’s position, size and edge smoothness respectively. Optionally check the Invert Mask box to reverse the masking effect, and click OK to save the settings. Next, follow the method explained earlier to export the video.

FAQs

1. What’s the difference between Image Mask and Shape Mask in Filmora?

A) In Filmora, Image Mask allows you to use an image (or any available preset) for masking so that the background footage is cropped to the shape of the picture. This is generally used to create logos and dynamic titles for movies or documentaries. On the other hand, Shape Mask enables you to mask the background clip with the foreground footage in the form of a shape that could be positioned and customized using the available sliders.

2. How many image masks are available in Filmora?

A) At the time of this writing, Wondershare Filmora has around 40 image mask presets. In addition, it also allows you to add custom images from your PC for more dynamic approach.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

No Plugins Required: How to Achieve Smooth Skin in FCPX

Full Guide: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect with Final Cut Pro

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It’s quite common for vloggers to try to show the best of their states. However, makeup, weather, and the shooting equipment may disagree. So, how to tackle this problem?

Fortunately, we have the best solutions to fix the skin tone issue by using FCPX’s built-in tools or smooth skin plugins. You will learn how to strategically adjust your footage’s look for stylistic purposes and impress your audience with your video-editing skills. Now, let’s understand what a skin smoother effect is before learning how to add it in FCPX.

• Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?
• Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?
• Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?
• Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?
• Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?

Smoothening the skin in Final Cut Pro is very simple. Simply select the video, choose Video effects to be applied, and adjust the percentages from the Inspector pane. You will get wrinkle-free skin with an astonishing look. While multiple plugins are also available to apply a skin smoother effect, you can use the built-in features of Final Cut Pro to smoothen the skin and decrease the amount of contrast.

Here’s how you can do this:

step1Choose the starting image and edit the clip into the timeline. Press Option and make a connected copy of the clip by dragging it up. The start and end points should match for syncing. In the Effects Browser, drag Blur > Gaussian Blur to apply the blur effect on the upper clip.

step2Open the Inspector pan and select Compositing from its bottom. Switch the Blend Mode to Lighten and adjust the Opacity slider as per your desired glow. Usually, 40 to 45% is ideal.

step3Now, go to the top of the Inspector and turn on the blue checkbox next to Gaussian. Adjust the blurring effect until you achieve your desired level of skin softening. It is highly recommended to blur using the horizontal setting to soften the skin while keeping the eyes sharp. Here, the glow is controlled by Opacity while skin softening is controlled by the Blue Amount.

For better results, add a Vignette by selecting and combining the two clips into a Compound Clip. From the Effects Browser, select Stylize > Vignette and adjust drag the vignette. Now, customize the compound clip settings in the Inspector pane until you achieve your desired look. Compare the results between two images before and after editing

Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?

Plugins make it easy for beginners and users with limited expertise to add a skin smoother effect in Final Cut Pro X. You can find both free and paid skin smoother plugins for FCPX online. Given below are some popular skin smoothening plugins for Final Cut Pro X.

1. Skin Smoother 2

Skin Smoother 2 is a powerful and easy-to-use plugin that allows you to smooth out unwanted skin details and enhance your facial appearance.

Price: $19.99 (One-time Charges)

Software Requirements: FCP 10.2 or later

Features:

• Enhanced control over facial adjustments with fine-tuning giving more natural results;
• Precise color sampling without a need to match up with present skin tones; and
• 3 to 5 times faster rendering.

1. Color Finale

Color Finale is a user-friendly, fine-tuned, and fully-featured professional skin smoother plugin purpose bit for FCP.

Price: $152

Software Requirements: FCP 10.4.8 - 10.5.1

Features:

• Color wheels, curves, and LUT utilities;
• A complete professional color toolset for videographers, colorists, and editors; and
• Allows personal preference on the interface.

1. Universe

A comprehensive FCP tool with 89 individual plugins to apply the next-generation skin smoothening and facial improvement effects.

Price: $199/year

Software Requirements: FCPX 10.5 or later

Features:

• Advanced transitions and effects and motion graphics tools;
• A variety of cool presents and text generators; and
• Number counters, chromatic aberration, VHS looks, camera shake, glitch effects.

Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?

Follow these steps to use the Skin Smooth 2 Plugin for Final Cut Pro X:

1. Purchase and download the Skin Smoother 2 plugin. Go to downloads, unzip the folder containing the plugin and install it on your computer.
2. Open the FCPX, go to Effects, and click on Skin Smoother 2. A list of options will appear. Import the image or video you want to edit.
3. To apply the skin-smoothing effect, click on Add Color Mask, and select the areas of the face where the color mask has to be added.
4. Adjust the Skin Smoothing, Smoothing Mix, and the Softness of the color mask as per your requirements.
5. Finally, click on Add Shape Mask, two circles will appear on the image. Adjust the covering area of both circles for Shape Mask 1 to add a smiling face.

Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?

Wondershare Filmora features advanced tuning tools and a variety of video filters and overlays. Learn how to smooth skin or beautify your face in the video with this advanced video-editing software.

1. Open Filmora, open New Project and click Import to load your videos to the timeline.
2. Double click on the video to open the editing window. Open the Color panel and adjust parameters according to your preference such as white balance, tone, and 3D LUT, etc.
3. Open the toolbar, click the Advanced Color Tuning icon, go to the advanced color tuning window, and adjust the white balance, color tint and temperature, HSL, 3D LUT, Vignette, and Light. If you are a beginner, try applying the present templates.
4. To set a specific tone or beautify your video, open the Tools tab and click the Color Correction option to change the color tones.
5. Open Effects and Transitions and select the skin smooth filter. Hover the cursor over the filter and click the plus icon in the middle to add that effect. You can also apply the effect to the whole clip by dragging and dropping it directly onto the video clip.

Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Given below are simple steps to create a face matter, control the skin smoothing, adjust color correction, and correct the skin glow in Adobe Pro by using the Beauty Studio Effect:

1. Applying the Beauty Studio effect smoothens all parts of the image including the background. However, it will make your footage look artificial, which is not desired. Hence, turn on the Pixel Chooser, pick two colors with the eye dropper tool. Color A for the darker area and Color B for the lighter area.
2. Underneath the Mocha Matte, use the eyedropper tool to select colors on the skin of the subject in your footage.
3. Now, click on View Matte/Mask to visualize the image areas where you are applying the skin smoothing effect. The Beauty Studio will affect the smoothing effect in the white area while the black area will remain unsmoothed.
4. Adjust the Saturation, Hue, and Luma softness to enhance the appearance of the skin, eyes, and mouth.
5. To prevent the rest of the image from getting affected, create a Mocha mask around the face by clicking on the Mocha logo and drawing a mask with the X-Spline tool. Make sure the mask moves as the subject is moved after your track forward and back.
6. Beauty Studio offers four levels of skin smoothing. You can adjust these levels as per your situation by lowering the smoothing amount for each level. For better results, adjust the levels at 70 or below.
7. For the final touch, adjust the sharpening between 10-20 points, add saturation between 3 to 8 points for color correction, and add 5 to 10 points of glow. Your image is ready, compare the results before and after applying the effect.

Conclusion

Smooth skin with clear facial expressions attracts everyone. You can apply a skin smooth effect in your video by using advanced video editing tools like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premium, and Wondershare Filmora.

There are two methods to add a skin smooth effect with FCPX: By using in-built software settings, or by using plugins like Skin Smoother 2, Color Finale, and Universe. Use Beauty Studio Effect in Adobe Pro to smooth skin and improve facial appearance. Finally, you can beautify the face in your video by adding transitions, making color adjustments, and applying different effects with Wondershare Filmora.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It’s quite common for vloggers to try to show the best of their states. However, makeup, weather, and the shooting equipment may disagree. So, how to tackle this problem?

Fortunately, we have the best solutions to fix the skin tone issue by using FCPX’s built-in tools or smooth skin plugins. You will learn how to strategically adjust your footage’s look for stylistic purposes and impress your audience with your video-editing skills. Now, let’s understand what a skin smoother effect is before learning how to add it in FCPX.

• Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?
• Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?
• Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?
• Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?
• Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?

Smoothening the skin in Final Cut Pro is very simple. Simply select the video, choose Video effects to be applied, and adjust the percentages from the Inspector pane. You will get wrinkle-free skin with an astonishing look. While multiple plugins are also available to apply a skin smoother effect, you can use the built-in features of Final Cut Pro to smoothen the skin and decrease the amount of contrast.

Here’s how you can do this:

step1Choose the starting image and edit the clip into the timeline. Press Option and make a connected copy of the clip by dragging it up. The start and end points should match for syncing. In the Effects Browser, drag Blur > Gaussian Blur to apply the blur effect on the upper clip.

step2Open the Inspector pan and select Compositing from its bottom. Switch the Blend Mode to Lighten and adjust the Opacity slider as per your desired glow. Usually, 40 to 45% is ideal.

step3Now, go to the top of the Inspector and turn on the blue checkbox next to Gaussian. Adjust the blurring effect until you achieve your desired level of skin softening. It is highly recommended to blur using the horizontal setting to soften the skin while keeping the eyes sharp. Here, the glow is controlled by Opacity while skin softening is controlled by the Blue Amount.

For better results, add a Vignette by selecting and combining the two clips into a Compound Clip. From the Effects Browser, select Stylize > Vignette and adjust drag the vignette. Now, customize the compound clip settings in the Inspector pane until you achieve your desired look. Compare the results between two images before and after editing

Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?

Plugins make it easy for beginners and users with limited expertise to add a skin smoother effect in Final Cut Pro X. You can find both free and paid skin smoother plugins for FCPX online. Given below are some popular skin smoothening plugins for Final Cut Pro X.

1. Skin Smoother 2

Skin Smoother 2 is a powerful and easy-to-use plugin that allows you to smooth out unwanted skin details and enhance your facial appearance.

Price: $19.99 (One-time Charges)

Software Requirements: FCP 10.2 or later

Features:

• Enhanced control over facial adjustments with fine-tuning giving more natural results;
• Precise color sampling without a need to match up with present skin tones; and
• 3 to 5 times faster rendering.

1. Color Finale

Color Finale is a user-friendly, fine-tuned, and fully-featured professional skin smoother plugin purpose bit for FCP.

Price: $152

Software Requirements: FCP 10.4.8 - 10.5.1

Features:

• Color wheels, curves, and LUT utilities;
• A complete professional color toolset for videographers, colorists, and editors; and
• Allows personal preference on the interface.

1. Universe

A comprehensive FCP tool with 89 individual plugins to apply the next-generation skin smoothening and facial improvement effects.

Price: $199/year

Software Requirements: FCPX 10.5 or later

Features:

• Advanced transitions and effects and motion graphics tools;
• A variety of cool presents and text generators; and
• Number counters, chromatic aberration, VHS looks, camera shake, glitch effects.

Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?

Follow these steps to use the Skin Smooth 2 Plugin for Final Cut Pro X:

1. Purchase and download the Skin Smoother 2 plugin. Go to downloads, unzip the folder containing the plugin and install it on your computer.
2. Open the FCPX, go to Effects, and click on Skin Smoother 2. A list of options will appear. Import the image or video you want to edit.
3. To apply the skin-smoothing effect, click on Add Color Mask, and select the areas of the face where the color mask has to be added.
4. Adjust the Skin Smoothing, Smoothing Mix, and the Softness of the color mask as per your requirements.
5. Finally, click on Add Shape Mask, two circles will appear on the image. Adjust the covering area of both circles for Shape Mask 1 to add a smiling face.

Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?

Wondershare Filmora features advanced tuning tools and a variety of video filters and overlays. Learn how to smooth skin or beautify your face in the video with this advanced video-editing software.

1. Open Filmora, open New Project and click Import to load your videos to the timeline.
2. Double click on the video to open the editing window. Open the Color panel and adjust parameters according to your preference such as white balance, tone, and 3D LUT, etc.
3. Open the toolbar, click the Advanced Color Tuning icon, go to the advanced color tuning window, and adjust the white balance, color tint and temperature, HSL, 3D LUT, Vignette, and Light. If you are a beginner, try applying the present templates.
4. To set a specific tone or beautify your video, open the Tools tab and click the Color Correction option to change the color tones.
5. Open Effects and Transitions and select the skin smooth filter. Hover the cursor over the filter and click the plus icon in the middle to add that effect. You can also apply the effect to the whole clip by dragging and dropping it directly onto the video clip.

Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Given below are simple steps to create a face matter, control the skin smoothing, adjust color correction, and correct the skin glow in Adobe Pro by using the Beauty Studio Effect:

1. Applying the Beauty Studio effect smoothens all parts of the image including the background. However, it will make your footage look artificial, which is not desired. Hence, turn on the Pixel Chooser, pick two colors with the eye dropper tool. Color A for the darker area and Color B for the lighter area.
2. Underneath the Mocha Matte, use the eyedropper tool to select colors on the skin of the subject in your footage.
3. Now, click on View Matte/Mask to visualize the image areas where you are applying the skin smoothing effect. The Beauty Studio will affect the smoothing effect in the white area while the black area will remain unsmoothed.
4. Adjust the Saturation, Hue, and Luma softness to enhance the appearance of the skin, eyes, and mouth.
5. To prevent the rest of the image from getting affected, create a Mocha mask around the face by clicking on the Mocha logo and drawing a mask with the X-Spline tool. Make sure the mask moves as the subject is moved after your track forward and back.
6. Beauty Studio offers four levels of skin smoothing. You can adjust these levels as per your situation by lowering the smoothing amount for each level. For better results, adjust the levels at 70 or below.
7. For the final touch, adjust the sharpening between 10-20 points, add saturation between 3 to 8 points for color correction, and add 5 to 10 points of glow. Your image is ready, compare the results before and after applying the effect.

Conclusion

Smooth skin with clear facial expressions attracts everyone. You can apply a skin smooth effect in your video by using advanced video editing tools like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premium, and Wondershare Filmora.

There are two methods to add a skin smooth effect with FCPX: By using in-built software settings, or by using plugins like Skin Smoother 2, Color Finale, and Universe. Use Beauty Studio Effect in Adobe Pro to smooth skin and improve facial appearance. Finally, you can beautify the face in your video by adding transitions, making color adjustments, and applying different effects with Wondershare Filmora.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It’s quite common for vloggers to try to show the best of their states. However, makeup, weather, and the shooting equipment may disagree. So, how to tackle this problem?

Fortunately, we have the best solutions to fix the skin tone issue by using FCPX’s built-in tools or smooth skin plugins. You will learn how to strategically adjust your footage’s look for stylistic purposes and impress your audience with your video-editing skills. Now, let’s understand what a skin smoother effect is before learning how to add it in FCPX.

• Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?
• Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?
• Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?
• Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?
• Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?

Smoothening the skin in Final Cut Pro is very simple. Simply select the video, choose Video effects to be applied, and adjust the percentages from the Inspector pane. You will get wrinkle-free skin with an astonishing look. While multiple plugins are also available to apply a skin smoother effect, you can use the built-in features of Final Cut Pro to smoothen the skin and decrease the amount of contrast.

Here’s how you can do this:

step1Choose the starting image and edit the clip into the timeline. Press Option and make a connected copy of the clip by dragging it up. The start and end points should match for syncing. In the Effects Browser, drag Blur > Gaussian Blur to apply the blur effect on the upper clip.

step2Open the Inspector pan and select Compositing from its bottom. Switch the Blend Mode to Lighten and adjust the Opacity slider as per your desired glow. Usually, 40 to 45% is ideal.

step3Now, go to the top of the Inspector and turn on the blue checkbox next to Gaussian. Adjust the blurring effect until you achieve your desired level of skin softening. It is highly recommended to blur using the horizontal setting to soften the skin while keeping the eyes sharp. Here, the glow is controlled by Opacity while skin softening is controlled by the Blue Amount.

For better results, add a Vignette by selecting and combining the two clips into a Compound Clip. From the Effects Browser, select Stylize > Vignette and adjust drag the vignette. Now, customize the compound clip settings in the Inspector pane until you achieve your desired look. Compare the results between two images before and after editing

Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?

Plugins make it easy for beginners and users with limited expertise to add a skin smoother effect in Final Cut Pro X. You can find both free and paid skin smoother plugins for FCPX online. Given below are some popular skin smoothening plugins for Final Cut Pro X.

1. Skin Smoother 2

Skin Smoother 2 is a powerful and easy-to-use plugin that allows you to smooth out unwanted skin details and enhance your facial appearance.

Price: $19.99 (One-time Charges)

Software Requirements: FCP 10.2 or later

Features:

• Enhanced control over facial adjustments with fine-tuning giving more natural results;
• Precise color sampling without a need to match up with present skin tones; and
• 3 to 5 times faster rendering.

1. Color Finale

Color Finale is a user-friendly, fine-tuned, and fully-featured professional skin smoother plugin purpose bit for FCP.

Price: $152

Software Requirements: FCP 10.4.8 - 10.5.1

Features:

• Color wheels, curves, and LUT utilities;
• A complete professional color toolset for videographers, colorists, and editors; and
• Allows personal preference on the interface.

1. Universe

A comprehensive FCP tool with 89 individual plugins to apply the next-generation skin smoothening and facial improvement effects.

Price: $199/year

Software Requirements: FCPX 10.5 or later

Features:

• Advanced transitions and effects and motion graphics tools;
• A variety of cool presents and text generators; and
• Number counters, chromatic aberration, VHS looks, camera shake, glitch effects.

Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?

Follow these steps to use the Skin Smooth 2 Plugin for Final Cut Pro X:

1. Purchase and download the Skin Smoother 2 plugin. Go to downloads, unzip the folder containing the plugin and install it on your computer.
2. Open the FCPX, go to Effects, and click on Skin Smoother 2. A list of options will appear. Import the image or video you want to edit.
3. To apply the skin-smoothing effect, click on Add Color Mask, and select the areas of the face where the color mask has to be added.
4. Adjust the Skin Smoothing, Smoothing Mix, and the Softness of the color mask as per your requirements.
5. Finally, click on Add Shape Mask, two circles will appear on the image. Adjust the covering area of both circles for Shape Mask 1 to add a smiling face.

Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?

Wondershare Filmora features advanced tuning tools and a variety of video filters and overlays. Learn how to smooth skin or beautify your face in the video with this advanced video-editing software.

1. Open Filmora, open New Project and click Import to load your videos to the timeline.
2. Double click on the video to open the editing window. Open the Color panel and adjust parameters according to your preference such as white balance, tone, and 3D LUT, etc.
3. Open the toolbar, click the Advanced Color Tuning icon, go to the advanced color tuning window, and adjust the white balance, color tint and temperature, HSL, 3D LUT, Vignette, and Light. If you are a beginner, try applying the present templates.
4. To set a specific tone or beautify your video, open the Tools tab and click the Color Correction option to change the color tones.
5. Open Effects and Transitions and select the skin smooth filter. Hover the cursor over the filter and click the plus icon in the middle to add that effect. You can also apply the effect to the whole clip by dragging and dropping it directly onto the video clip.

Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Given below are simple steps to create a face matter, control the skin smoothing, adjust color correction, and correct the skin glow in Adobe Pro by using the Beauty Studio Effect:

1. Applying the Beauty Studio effect smoothens all parts of the image including the background. However, it will make your footage look artificial, which is not desired. Hence, turn on the Pixel Chooser, pick two colors with the eye dropper tool. Color A for the darker area and Color B for the lighter area.
2. Underneath the Mocha Matte, use the eyedropper tool to select colors on the skin of the subject in your footage.
3. Now, click on View Matte/Mask to visualize the image areas where you are applying the skin smoothing effect. The Beauty Studio will affect the smoothing effect in the white area while the black area will remain unsmoothed.
4. Adjust the Saturation, Hue, and Luma softness to enhance the appearance of the skin, eyes, and mouth.
5. To prevent the rest of the image from getting affected, create a Mocha mask around the face by clicking on the Mocha logo and drawing a mask with the X-Spline tool. Make sure the mask moves as the subject is moved after your track forward and back.
6. Beauty Studio offers four levels of skin smoothing. You can adjust these levels as per your situation by lowering the smoothing amount for each level. For better results, adjust the levels at 70 or below.
7. For the final touch, adjust the sharpening between 10-20 points, add saturation between 3 to 8 points for color correction, and add 5 to 10 points of glow. Your image is ready, compare the results before and after applying the effect.

Conclusion

Smooth skin with clear facial expressions attracts everyone. You can apply a skin smooth effect in your video by using advanced video editing tools like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premium, and Wondershare Filmora.

There are two methods to add a skin smooth effect with FCPX: By using in-built software settings, or by using plugins like Skin Smoother 2, Color Finale, and Universe. Use Beauty Studio Effect in Adobe Pro to smooth skin and improve facial appearance. Finally, you can beautify the face in your video by adding transitions, making color adjustments, and applying different effects with Wondershare Filmora.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

It’s quite common for vloggers to try to show the best of their states. However, makeup, weather, and the shooting equipment may disagree. So, how to tackle this problem?

Fortunately, we have the best solutions to fix the skin tone issue by using FCPX’s built-in tools or smooth skin plugins. You will learn how to strategically adjust your footage’s look for stylistic purposes and impress your audience with your video-editing skills. Now, let’s understand what a skin smoother effect is before learning how to add it in FCPX.

• Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?
• Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?
• Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?
• Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?
• Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Part 1: How to Add a Skin Smoother Effect without Plugins in Final Cut Pro?

Smoothening the skin in Final Cut Pro is very simple. Simply select the video, choose Video effects to be applied, and adjust the percentages from the Inspector pane. You will get wrinkle-free skin with an astonishing look. While multiple plugins are also available to apply a skin smoother effect, you can use the built-in features of Final Cut Pro to smoothen the skin and decrease the amount of contrast.

Here’s how you can do this:

step1Choose the starting image and edit the clip into the timeline. Press Option and make a connected copy of the clip by dragging it up. The start and end points should match for syncing. In the Effects Browser, drag Blur > Gaussian Blur to apply the blur effect on the upper clip.

step2Open the Inspector pan and select Compositing from its bottom. Switch the Blend Mode to Lighten and adjust the Opacity slider as per your desired glow. Usually, 40 to 45% is ideal.

step3Now, go to the top of the Inspector and turn on the blue checkbox next to Gaussian. Adjust the blurring effect until you achieve your desired level of skin softening. It is highly recommended to blur using the horizontal setting to soften the skin while keeping the eyes sharp. Here, the glow is controlled by Opacity while skin softening is controlled by the Blue Amount.

For better results, add a Vignette by selecting and combining the two clips into a Compound Clip. From the Effects Browser, select Stylize > Vignette and adjust drag the vignette. Now, customize the compound clip settings in the Inspector pane until you achieve your desired look. Compare the results between two images before and after editing

Part 2: Where to Find Good Skin Smoother Plugins?

Plugins make it easy for beginners and users with limited expertise to add a skin smoother effect in Final Cut Pro X. You can find both free and paid skin smoother plugins for FCPX online. Given below are some popular skin smoothening plugins for Final Cut Pro X.

1. Skin Smoother 2

Skin Smoother 2 is a powerful and easy-to-use plugin that allows you to smooth out unwanted skin details and enhance your facial appearance.

Price: $19.99 (One-time Charges)

Software Requirements: FCP 10.2 or later

Features:

• Enhanced control over facial adjustments with fine-tuning giving more natural results;
• Precise color sampling without a need to match up with present skin tones; and
• 3 to 5 times faster rendering.

1. Color Finale

Color Finale is a user-friendly, fine-tuned, and fully-featured professional skin smoother plugin purpose bit for FCP.

Price: $152

Software Requirements: FCP 10.4.8 - 10.5.1

Features:

• Color wheels, curves, and LUT utilities;
• A complete professional color toolset for videographers, colorists, and editors; and
• Allows personal preference on the interface.

1. Universe

A comprehensive FCP tool with 89 individual plugins to apply the next-generation skin smoothening and facial improvement effects.

Price: $199/year

Software Requirements: FCPX 10.5 or later

Features:

• Advanced transitions and effects and motion graphics tools;
• A variety of cool presents and text generators; and
• Number counters, chromatic aberration, VHS looks, camera shake, glitch effects.

Part 3: How to adopt Skin Smoothing Plugins into FCPX?

Follow these steps to use the Skin Smooth 2 Plugin for Final Cut Pro X:

1. Purchase and download the Skin Smoother 2 plugin. Go to downloads, unzip the folder containing the plugin and install it on your computer.
2. Open the FCPX, go to Effects, and click on Skin Smoother 2. A list of options will appear. Import the image or video you want to edit.
3. To apply the skin-smoothing effect, click on Add Color Mask, and select the areas of the face where the color mask has to be added.
4. Adjust the Skin Smoothing, Smoothing Mix, and the Softness of the color mask as per your requirements.
5. Finally, click on Add Shape Mask, two circles will appear on the image. Adjust the covering area of both circles for Shape Mask 1 to add a smiling face.

Part 4: How to Smooth Skin in Filmora?

Wondershare Filmora features advanced tuning tools and a variety of video filters and overlays. Learn how to smooth skin or beautify your face in the video with this advanced video-editing software.

1. Open Filmora, open New Project and click Import to load your videos to the timeline.
2. Double click on the video to open the editing window. Open the Color panel and adjust parameters according to your preference such as white balance, tone, and 3D LUT, etc.
3. Open the toolbar, click the Advanced Color Tuning icon, go to the advanced color tuning window, and adjust the white balance, color tint and temperature, HSL, 3D LUT, Vignette, and Light. If you are a beginner, try applying the present templates.
4. To set a specific tone or beautify your video, open the Tools tab and click the Color Correction option to change the color tones.
5. Open Effects and Transitions and select the skin smooth filter. Hover the cursor over the filter and click the plus icon in the middle to add that effect. You can also apply the effect to the whole clip by dragging and dropping it directly onto the video clip.

Part 5: How to smooth skin in Adobe Pro?

Given below are simple steps to create a face matter, control the skin smoothing, adjust color correction, and correct the skin glow in Adobe Pro by using the Beauty Studio Effect:

1. Applying the Beauty Studio effect smoothens all parts of the image including the background. However, it will make your footage look artificial, which is not desired. Hence, turn on the Pixel Chooser, pick two colors with the eye dropper tool. Color A for the darker area and Color B for the lighter area.
2. Underneath the Mocha Matte, use the eyedropper tool to select colors on the skin of the subject in your footage.
3. Now, click on View Matte/Mask to visualize the image areas where you are applying the skin smoothing effect. The Beauty Studio will affect the smoothing effect in the white area while the black area will remain unsmoothed.
4. Adjust the Saturation, Hue, and Luma softness to enhance the appearance of the skin, eyes, and mouth.
5. To prevent the rest of the image from getting affected, create a Mocha mask around the face by clicking on the Mocha logo and drawing a mask with the X-Spline tool. Make sure the mask moves as the subject is moved after your track forward and back.
6. Beauty Studio offers four levels of skin smoothing. You can adjust these levels as per your situation by lowering the smoothing amount for each level. For better results, adjust the levels at 70 or below.
7. For the final touch, adjust the sharpening between 10-20 points, add saturation between 3 to 8 points for color correction, and add 5 to 10 points of glow. Your image is ready, compare the results before and after applying the effect.

Conclusion

Smooth skin with clear facial expressions attracts everyone. You can apply a skin smooth effect in your video by using advanced video editing tools like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premium, and Wondershare Filmora.

There are two methods to add a skin smooth effect with FCPX: By using in-built software settings, or by using plugins like Skin Smoother 2, Color Finale, and Universe. Use Beauty Studio Effect in Adobe Pro to smooth skin and improve facial appearance. Finally, you can beautify the face in your video by adding transitions, making color adjustments, and applying different effects with Wondershare Filmora.

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

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