You may have seen this before,
especially if you watch tutorial
or review videos,
a specific part of the video frame
get highlighted
to help bring the viewers attention to it,
and today, I’ll show you three different ways
you can do this in Final Cut Pro.
Hey guys, whats up.
My name is Serge and welcome back to my channel.
Let’s not waste any time,
and jump tight into Final Cut Pro
and take a look at how we can highlight
specific elements in our video frame.
The first method we’ll take a look at today
is by using the Trim tool combined with the Opacity slider.
First thing you need to do is make
a copy of your clip and layer it above the original clip.
Hold down the option key,
and drag up on your clip to duplicate it.
Select the bottom clip,
and in the inspector,
drag the opacity slider down to around 30 percent.
You won’t see any difference in the viewer yet,
because you only see the top layer.
Select your top clip,
and from the transform dropdown menu,
select Crop,
and make sure the Trim tool is selected.
Now, you can either use the Trim handles in the viewer,
or the sliders in the inspector,
to trim your clip to leave only the part
of your frame you want highlighted.
Click Done.
This highlights your element for
the duration of your entire clip.
If you want the highlighted part to fade in and out,
you have to keyframe the opacity of your bottom clip.
Move your playhead to where you want
the highlight effect to start,
and with the bottom clip selected,
add a keyframe to the opacity slider.
Move the playhead back about 10 or 20 frames,
and bring the opacity slider back up to 100 percent.
Do the same at the end
to fade out the highlight effect.
Here’s what we have.
The second way of highlighting elements in your video
is by using the shape mask in the color inspector.
Select your clip,
head up to the inspector window,
and select the color inspector.
From the dropdown menu,
select the color correction tool of your choice.
On the right hand side,
click the mask button,
and select Add Shape Mask.
In the viewer,
move and adjust the shape of your mask
over the element you want to highlight.
Back in the inspector,
select Outside to only have color corrections
applied outside of the mask.
Now use the color correction controls
to bring down the exposure, and maybe saturation,
to dim everything outside the mask.
Same as in the last method,
you can fade this effect in and out
by key-framing the color correction.
Place your playhead where you want it to start,
and add a keyframe to the color correction.
Go back a few frames, and reset any corrections.
Do the same at the end of your clip.
Also, if your highlighted subject moves throughout your clip,
you can keyframe the mask’s position
and size by using the keyframe button
beside Shape Mask in the inspector.
Move your playhead to the start of your clip,
position the shape mask over your subject,
and add a keyframe to the Shape Mask.
Move a few frames ahead,
and reposition your mask.
Do this for your entire clip.
Depending on your subjects movement,
you may have to do this frame by frame,
or if the speed and direction of movement is consistent,
you may be able to get away
with one keyframe at the start,
and one at the end.
Here’s my finished result.
The third way to highlight something
in your video frame is by using a combination
of a generator and a mask.
Open your Titles and Generators browser,
and from the Generators dropdown menu,
select the Solids category.
Select the custom generator
and drag and drop it over your clip.
Ripple trim it to the same length as your clip.
Next, open the effects browser,
scroll down to the masks category,
and select either the shape mask,
or if the area you want to highlight is an irregular shape,
select the draw mask.
Drag and drop your selected mask over the generator clip.
Up in the inspector,
click on the Invert mask checkbox,
and for nice rounded corners,
from the Shape Type dropdown, select B-Spline.
Add control points to outline the area you want to highlight.
You can also adjust the feather slider
to make the edges of your mask softer.
To fade this effect in and out,
select your generator clip,
and press Command T to add the default
cross dissolve transition
to the start and end of your clip.
You can also change the color of your generator
and it’s opacity level for a more unique look.
So that’s three different ways
you can highlight an element or a subject in your video.
The method you use really depends
on the look you’re going for.
Each one has it’s own advantages.
I hope you enjoyed this video,
and if you did, you can let me know in the comments below
or by hitting the like button,
and if you’re new here,
make sure to check out the rest of my channel
for more Final Cut Pro tutorials.
New videos uploaded every week.
Thanks for watching,
and I’ll see you back here next week.