One of the best ways to improve your workflow when editing in Final Cut Pro is to use shortcuts. FCPX has tons of shortcuts; more than anyone could remember but in this article we will talk about the 10 best Final Cut Pro X shortcuts to make your editing faster.
Top 10 Final Cut Pro X Shortcuts
Zoom In – CMD + / Zoom Out – CMD –
This shortcut isn’t the most glamorous but it can be a huge timesaver. If you are needing to quickly zoom in or out on your timeline you can use the CMD+ and CMD- shortcut. This will basically slowly zoom in or out to where your playhead is located.
Hide Clip – V
You might have an occasion that you will need to temporary hide a clip. This can be done by selecting the clip and hitting the “V” key. This will black out the clip and hide it from your project and your exports.
Add Quick Title – Control T
If you are needing to add a quick title layer to your project, you can use the Control-T shortcut. This will add a simple text layer to your project. It will read “Title” in your viewer.
Duplicate Clip – Hold Option Key and Mouse Drag
If you are ever needing to duplicate a clip you can hold the Option key while clicking and dragging on the clip to make an exact copy. This like copy and pasting but a bit quicker.
Black/Cut Clip – CMD B
One of the most useful shortcuts is the blade, or cut, a clip. Simply place your playhead where you are wanting to cut your clip and use the CMD B shortcut.
Frame Skip – Arrow Left/Arrow Right Key
Their might be an occasion when you are to edit your video projects frame-by-frame. One example of this would be if you are having to manually track something in your video clip. To skip through your project one frame at a time, simply use the left and right arrow.
Paste Attributes – CMD+C (Copy Attributes) / CMD+SHIFT+V (Past Attributes)
If you are editing a specific clip and, whether it is color grading or transforming a clip, you might need to do the same to another clip in your timeline. If you are wanting to copy and paste the effects (or attributes) to another clip, you can use CMD+C to copy the effects, select the clip you want to copy to, then use the shortcut CMD+SHIFT+V to past the attributes.
Speed Ramp – Shift B
Speeding ramping is a great way to add interest in you projects. To make this effect on your clips, place the playhead where you want to start the ramp, use the shortcut SHIFT+B. Next move the playhead where you want to end the ramp and hit SHIFT+B again. Now you are able to change the speed in each section of that clip. If you are not familiar with Speed Ramping, click here to check out our full article.
Duck Audio – Hold R – Select Clip Range
The last but certainly no the least shortcut to make your editing faster is to use the audio ducking shortcut. Place your playhead where you want the audio to begin ducking, hold the “R” key on your keyboard and use your mouse to select the range where you want to duck. Now, simply pull your audio down.
Like I said, Final Cut Pro X has many other shortcuts that you can use and you can find others that help you have a faster workflow but these are a great starting point if you are not use to using shortcuts.
