Example: Modify a preset Final Cut Pro effect in Motion

Example: Modify a preset Final Cut Pro effect in Motion

In Final Cut Pro X, the Bokeh Random effect adds moving, blurred particles to a clip. This example describes how to modify that effect in Motion by adding and removing parameter controls.

Note: Bokeh comes from the Japanese term “boke,” meaning blur or haze. Bokeh is a term used in photography to describe the aesthetic quality of a blurred image.

Use Motion to add a control to the Bokeh Random effect

  1. In Final Cut Pro, select a clip in the Timeline, then click the Effects Browser button in the toolbar.

    Effects Browser button in the Final Cut Pro X toolbar

  2. In the Effects Browser, select the Light category, Control-click the Bokeh Random effect, then choose “Open a copy in Motion” from the shortcut menu.

    A copy of the template opens in Motion, and the duplicated file appears in the Final Cut Pro Effects Browser.

  3. In the Layers list in Motion, click disclosure triangles to open the Light Layer 02 group, the Bokeh group, and then the Circles group.

    Note that the effect is composed of behaviors, a Gaussian Blur filter, and rigged particle parameters. For detailed information on rigging parameters, see Rigging overview.

  4. In the Circles group, select the Bokeh 4 particle emitter.

  5. In the Emitter Inspector, click the Color Mode pop-up menu, then choose Colorize.

    Choosing Colorize from Color Mode pop-up menu in Emitter Inspector

  6. Select a new color from the Color controls (just under the Color Mode pop-up menu).

    In the Canvas, the circular particles change to the new color.

  7. Do one of the following:

    • Click the Color parameter’s Animation menu (the downward arrow that appears when you place the pointer over the right side of the parameter row), then choose Publish.

    • Control-click the Color parameter’s name, then choose Publish from the shortcut menu.

      Choosing Publish from Color parameter's shortcut menu

  8. In the Layers list, click the Project object, and then in the Project Inspector, click Publishing.

    The controls that are published in the preset Bokeh Random effect are listed: Type, Blend Mode, Size, Number, Pattern, Speed, Blur Amount, Opacity, and Color. After you save this template in Motion (as described below), the modified effect will be added to the Effects inspector in Final Cut Pro, making the Color parameter available to Final Cut Pro users.

    Color parameter in Publishing pane of Project Inspector

Use Motion to remove a control from the Bokeh Random effect

  • In the Publishing pane of the Project Inspector, do one of the following:

    • Click the Type parameter’s Animation menu (the downward arrow that appears when you place the pointer over the right side of the parameter row), then choose Unpublish.

    • Control-click the Type parameter’s name, then choose Unpublish from the shortcut menu.

      The Type control is removed from the list and will not be available in Final Cut Pro.

Save the modified Bokeh Random effect

  • Choose File > Save (or press Command-S).

    Note: To save the effect with a different name or to a different category in the Effects Browser, choose File > Save As. The initially created file (Bokeh Random Copy) remains in the Final Cut Pro Effects Browser and Motion Project Browser, but can be deleted in the OS X Finder, in the folder in /Users/username/Movies/Motion Templates.

    The effect is now ready for use in Final Cut Pro. Unlike the original preset, Bokeh Random Copy includes a control to change the color of the particles, and no longer includes a control to change the shape of the particles.