2024 Approved The Art of Smooth Transitions L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
The Art of Smooth Transitions: L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
Final Cut Pro X Tutorial: L-Cuts and J-Cuts
Benjamin Arango
Aug 18, 2022• Proven solutions
If you wish to edit or create videos like a pro, you do not need to be a professional. Instead, be creative, learn new things, and think out of the box. You could draw inspiration from videos and films for their great clips and animations. If you are already familiar with video making, you would know basic editing tasks like trim, crop, transitions, filters, and so on. Ever knew the term J-Cuts, and L-Cuts?
It could be surprising, but yes, your well-known Final Cut Pro X has this powerful feature still overlooked by many people. So, today, we take it on hand and shall share what L-Cuts and J-Cuts mean. You will be able to create it on your own by the end of this article.
Part 1: The Use of L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Video Editing
Ordinary images, text, subtitles, and GIF doesn’t work anymore to get followers or likes on a video on YouTube channel or Instagram. Thus, video creators are tired of trying the same filters, transitions on the video editor tool. To create amazing videos like the ones played on your television and favorite movies, all you need is the split edit type techniques, a powerful editing tool used by professional editors. Although called professional, it isn’t difficult for a beginner if you know J-Cuts and L-Cuts.
They are nothing but the transition between the video and audio at different times and are entirely separate from wipes and fades. Such video editing technique helps in maintaining visual continuity. These super basic cuts are a combination of dialogue and imagery, thus keeping the video flow without a monotonous feeling.
When you look at the above interface, you will see the basic phenomenon behind the two split cuts. In L-Cuts, although the first video ends, the audio continues to clip two as well.
Then, what is a J cut in Final Cut Pro? It is ultimately reverse or opposite of L-Cuts. Yes, the second clip’s audio starts a while before the scene of the first video ends.
Part 2: Step-by-step Guide on Using L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
As Final Cut Pro X comes overloaded with advanced, powerful tools, you can find it a little tricky. Hence, we are here to help you perform the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts in this session. And, yes, the Final Cut Pro J-Cuts as well.
Step 1: Import media files
Once you launch Final Cut Pro X on your Mac device, create a new project by tapping project under the new section of the “File” menu.
You can now import the video file to the workspace by executing “File > Export > Media” or by tapping the “Import Media” option on the welcome screen.
Step 2: Expand audio in video
Now, drag the videos to the timeline in the respective order, and expand or detach the video’s audio on the timeline for easy or precise working.
Step 3: Drag the second video to the left
To create the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts, make sure that the first clip’s edit point or audio fades out at the end.
Finally, drag the second clip’s edit point to the left so that the video gets the audio of the first video.
L-Cuts are now in Final Cut Pro X.
Note: Here, the L-Cuts added video clip has no audio and has related well enough to the first video clip. If the second video has audio, it must be detached first, and then you should drag the edit point.
Step 4: Final Cut Pro J-Cuts
In the case of Final Cut Pro J-Cuts, the process is reverse, where you need to detach the audio of the preceding or following video clip and drag the first video to the right.
When you look at the transition closely, you can see that it resembles the letter J.
Part 3: Final Cut Pro X Keyboard Shortcuts for L-Cuts and J-Cuts
Final Cut Pro X offers specific keyword shorts to perform Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and Final Cut Pro J-Cuts.
1. As the first step, trim the clips shorter to get the media handles. To detach audio from the video clip, you need to press “Ctrl + S” which will expand the audio.
2. Now, move or place the playhead at the endpoint of both the video clips where here are the keyboard shortcuts:
- To shift the playhead to the earlier edit point: press “Semicolon (;) or up arrow key”.
- To move the playhead to the next edit point: press “Apostrophe (‘) or down arrow key”.
3. To choose the audio or the video edit point, you can do one of the following:
- Press “**Shift-Backslash (\)**” to select both sides of the audio endpoint.
- Press “**Backslash (\)**” to pick both sides of the video endpoint.
4. Here is the actual process or the keyboard shortcut that helps accomplish final cut pro-L-cuts or final cut pro-J-cuts by nudging the edit points.
- To nudge or push the edit point to the left or right: press “**Comma (,) or period (.)**”.
- To move the edit point to the left or right with ten frames: press “**Shift-Comma (,) or Sift-Period (.)**”.
- Using timecode to add or subtract the present edit: press the “**Plus (+)” or “Minus (-)**” key with the timecode duration.
Conclusion
Are you wondering and puzzled that you are a popular Final Cut Pro X user but weren’t aware of this powerful split edit tool till now? It isn’t too late for you to start yet. Finally, as assured at the beginning of the article, we gave you detailed information on what are J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro along with L-Cuts. With practical implementation on creating Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and J-Cuts, all the best for your first video project!
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Aug 18, 2022• Proven solutions
If you wish to edit or create videos like a pro, you do not need to be a professional. Instead, be creative, learn new things, and think out of the box. You could draw inspiration from videos and films for their great clips and animations. If you are already familiar with video making, you would know basic editing tasks like trim, crop, transitions, filters, and so on. Ever knew the term J-Cuts, and L-Cuts?
It could be surprising, but yes, your well-known Final Cut Pro X has this powerful feature still overlooked by many people. So, today, we take it on hand and shall share what L-Cuts and J-Cuts mean. You will be able to create it on your own by the end of this article.
Part 1: The Use of L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Video Editing
Ordinary images, text, subtitles, and GIF doesn’t work anymore to get followers or likes on a video on YouTube channel or Instagram. Thus, video creators are tired of trying the same filters, transitions on the video editor tool. To create amazing videos like the ones played on your television and favorite movies, all you need is the split edit type techniques, a powerful editing tool used by professional editors. Although called professional, it isn’t difficult for a beginner if you know J-Cuts and L-Cuts.
They are nothing but the transition between the video and audio at different times and are entirely separate from wipes and fades. Such video editing technique helps in maintaining visual continuity. These super basic cuts are a combination of dialogue and imagery, thus keeping the video flow without a monotonous feeling.
When you look at the above interface, you will see the basic phenomenon behind the two split cuts. In L-Cuts, although the first video ends, the audio continues to clip two as well.
Then, what is a J cut in Final Cut Pro? It is ultimately reverse or opposite of L-Cuts. Yes, the second clip’s audio starts a while before the scene of the first video ends.
Part 2: Step-by-step Guide on Using L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
As Final Cut Pro X comes overloaded with advanced, powerful tools, you can find it a little tricky. Hence, we are here to help you perform the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts in this session. And, yes, the Final Cut Pro J-Cuts as well.
Step 1: Import media files
Once you launch Final Cut Pro X on your Mac device, create a new project by tapping project under the new section of the “File” menu.
You can now import the video file to the workspace by executing “File > Export > Media” or by tapping the “Import Media” option on the welcome screen.
Step 2: Expand audio in video
Now, drag the videos to the timeline in the respective order, and expand or detach the video’s audio on the timeline for easy or precise working.
Step 3: Drag the second video to the left
To create the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts, make sure that the first clip’s edit point or audio fades out at the end.
Finally, drag the second clip’s edit point to the left so that the video gets the audio of the first video.
L-Cuts are now in Final Cut Pro X.
Note: Here, the L-Cuts added video clip has no audio and has related well enough to the first video clip. If the second video has audio, it must be detached first, and then you should drag the edit point.
Step 4: Final Cut Pro J-Cuts
In the case of Final Cut Pro J-Cuts, the process is reverse, where you need to detach the audio of the preceding or following video clip and drag the first video to the right.
When you look at the transition closely, you can see that it resembles the letter J.
Part 3: Final Cut Pro X Keyboard Shortcuts for L-Cuts and J-Cuts
Final Cut Pro X offers specific keyword shorts to perform Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and Final Cut Pro J-Cuts.
1. As the first step, trim the clips shorter to get the media handles. To detach audio from the video clip, you need to press “Ctrl + S” which will expand the audio.
2. Now, move or place the playhead at the endpoint of both the video clips where here are the keyboard shortcuts:
- To shift the playhead to the earlier edit point: press “Semicolon (;) or up arrow key”.
- To move the playhead to the next edit point: press “Apostrophe (‘) or down arrow key”.
3. To choose the audio or the video edit point, you can do one of the following:
- Press “**Shift-Backslash (\)**” to select both sides of the audio endpoint.
- Press “**Backslash (\)**” to pick both sides of the video endpoint.
4. Here is the actual process or the keyboard shortcut that helps accomplish final cut pro-L-cuts or final cut pro-J-cuts by nudging the edit points.
- To nudge or push the edit point to the left or right: press “**Comma (,) or period (.)**”.
- To move the edit point to the left or right with ten frames: press “**Shift-Comma (,) or Sift-Period (.)**”.
- Using timecode to add or subtract the present edit: press the “**Plus (+)” or “Minus (-)**” key with the timecode duration.
Conclusion
Are you wondering and puzzled that you are a popular Final Cut Pro X user but weren’t aware of this powerful split edit tool till now? It isn’t too late for you to start yet. Finally, as assured at the beginning of the article, we gave you detailed information on what are J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro along with L-Cuts. With practical implementation on creating Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and J-Cuts, all the best for your first video project!
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Aug 18, 2022• Proven solutions
If you wish to edit or create videos like a pro, you do not need to be a professional. Instead, be creative, learn new things, and think out of the box. You could draw inspiration from videos and films for their great clips and animations. If you are already familiar with video making, you would know basic editing tasks like trim, crop, transitions, filters, and so on. Ever knew the term J-Cuts, and L-Cuts?
It could be surprising, but yes, your well-known Final Cut Pro X has this powerful feature still overlooked by many people. So, today, we take it on hand and shall share what L-Cuts and J-Cuts mean. You will be able to create it on your own by the end of this article.
Part 1: The Use of L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Video Editing
Ordinary images, text, subtitles, and GIF doesn’t work anymore to get followers or likes on a video on YouTube channel or Instagram. Thus, video creators are tired of trying the same filters, transitions on the video editor tool. To create amazing videos like the ones played on your television and favorite movies, all you need is the split edit type techniques, a powerful editing tool used by professional editors. Although called professional, it isn’t difficult for a beginner if you know J-Cuts and L-Cuts.
They are nothing but the transition between the video and audio at different times and are entirely separate from wipes and fades. Such video editing technique helps in maintaining visual continuity. These super basic cuts are a combination of dialogue and imagery, thus keeping the video flow without a monotonous feeling.
When you look at the above interface, you will see the basic phenomenon behind the two split cuts. In L-Cuts, although the first video ends, the audio continues to clip two as well.
Then, what is a J cut in Final Cut Pro? It is ultimately reverse or opposite of L-Cuts. Yes, the second clip’s audio starts a while before the scene of the first video ends.
Part 2: Step-by-step Guide on Using L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
As Final Cut Pro X comes overloaded with advanced, powerful tools, you can find it a little tricky. Hence, we are here to help you perform the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts in this session. And, yes, the Final Cut Pro J-Cuts as well.
Step 1: Import media files
Once you launch Final Cut Pro X on your Mac device, create a new project by tapping project under the new section of the “File” menu.
You can now import the video file to the workspace by executing “File > Export > Media” or by tapping the “Import Media” option on the welcome screen.
Step 2: Expand audio in video
Now, drag the videos to the timeline in the respective order, and expand or detach the video’s audio on the timeline for easy or precise working.
Step 3: Drag the second video to the left
To create the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts, make sure that the first clip’s edit point or audio fades out at the end.
Finally, drag the second clip’s edit point to the left so that the video gets the audio of the first video.
L-Cuts are now in Final Cut Pro X.
Note: Here, the L-Cuts added video clip has no audio and has related well enough to the first video clip. If the second video has audio, it must be detached first, and then you should drag the edit point.
Step 4: Final Cut Pro J-Cuts
In the case of Final Cut Pro J-Cuts, the process is reverse, where you need to detach the audio of the preceding or following video clip and drag the first video to the right.
When you look at the transition closely, you can see that it resembles the letter J.
Part 3: Final Cut Pro X Keyboard Shortcuts for L-Cuts and J-Cuts
Final Cut Pro X offers specific keyword shorts to perform Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and Final Cut Pro J-Cuts.
1. As the first step, trim the clips shorter to get the media handles. To detach audio from the video clip, you need to press “Ctrl + S” which will expand the audio.
2. Now, move or place the playhead at the endpoint of both the video clips where here are the keyboard shortcuts:
- To shift the playhead to the earlier edit point: press “Semicolon (;) or up arrow key”.
- To move the playhead to the next edit point: press “Apostrophe (‘) or down arrow key”.
3. To choose the audio or the video edit point, you can do one of the following:
- Press “**Shift-Backslash (\)**” to select both sides of the audio endpoint.
- Press “**Backslash (\)**” to pick both sides of the video endpoint.
4. Here is the actual process or the keyboard shortcut that helps accomplish final cut pro-L-cuts or final cut pro-J-cuts by nudging the edit points.
- To nudge or push the edit point to the left or right: press “**Comma (,) or period (.)**”.
- To move the edit point to the left or right with ten frames: press “**Shift-Comma (,) or Sift-Period (.)**”.
- Using timecode to add or subtract the present edit: press the “**Plus (+)” or “Minus (-)**” key with the timecode duration.
Conclusion
Are you wondering and puzzled that you are a popular Final Cut Pro X user but weren’t aware of this powerful split edit tool till now? It isn’t too late for you to start yet. Finally, as assured at the beginning of the article, we gave you detailed information on what are J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro along with L-Cuts. With practical implementation on creating Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and J-Cuts, all the best for your first video project!
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Aug 18, 2022• Proven solutions
If you wish to edit or create videos like a pro, you do not need to be a professional. Instead, be creative, learn new things, and think out of the box. You could draw inspiration from videos and films for their great clips and animations. If you are already familiar with video making, you would know basic editing tasks like trim, crop, transitions, filters, and so on. Ever knew the term J-Cuts, and L-Cuts?
It could be surprising, but yes, your well-known Final Cut Pro X has this powerful feature still overlooked by many people. So, today, we take it on hand and shall share what L-Cuts and J-Cuts mean. You will be able to create it on your own by the end of this article.
Part 1: The Use of L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Video Editing
Ordinary images, text, subtitles, and GIF doesn’t work anymore to get followers or likes on a video on YouTube channel or Instagram. Thus, video creators are tired of trying the same filters, transitions on the video editor tool. To create amazing videos like the ones played on your television and favorite movies, all you need is the split edit type techniques, a powerful editing tool used by professional editors. Although called professional, it isn’t difficult for a beginner if you know J-Cuts and L-Cuts.
They are nothing but the transition between the video and audio at different times and are entirely separate from wipes and fades. Such video editing technique helps in maintaining visual continuity. These super basic cuts are a combination of dialogue and imagery, thus keeping the video flow without a monotonous feeling.
When you look at the above interface, you will see the basic phenomenon behind the two split cuts. In L-Cuts, although the first video ends, the audio continues to clip two as well.
Then, what is a J cut in Final Cut Pro? It is ultimately reverse or opposite of L-Cuts. Yes, the second clip’s audio starts a while before the scene of the first video ends.
Part 2: Step-by-step Guide on Using L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
As Final Cut Pro X comes overloaded with advanced, powerful tools, you can find it a little tricky. Hence, we are here to help you perform the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts in this session. And, yes, the Final Cut Pro J-Cuts as well.
Step 1: Import media files
Once you launch Final Cut Pro X on your Mac device, create a new project by tapping project under the new section of the “File” menu.
You can now import the video file to the workspace by executing “File > Export > Media” or by tapping the “Import Media” option on the welcome screen.
Step 2: Expand audio in video
Now, drag the videos to the timeline in the respective order, and expand or detach the video’s audio on the timeline for easy or precise working.
Step 3: Drag the second video to the left
To create the Final Cut Pro L-Cuts, make sure that the first clip’s edit point or audio fades out at the end.
Finally, drag the second clip’s edit point to the left so that the video gets the audio of the first video.
L-Cuts are now in Final Cut Pro X.
Note: Here, the L-Cuts added video clip has no audio and has related well enough to the first video clip. If the second video has audio, it must be detached first, and then you should drag the edit point.
Step 4: Final Cut Pro J-Cuts
In the case of Final Cut Pro J-Cuts, the process is reverse, where you need to detach the audio of the preceding or following video clip and drag the first video to the right.
When you look at the transition closely, you can see that it resembles the letter J.
Part 3: Final Cut Pro X Keyboard Shortcuts for L-Cuts and J-Cuts
Final Cut Pro X offers specific keyword shorts to perform Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and Final Cut Pro J-Cuts.
1. As the first step, trim the clips shorter to get the media handles. To detach audio from the video clip, you need to press “Ctrl + S” which will expand the audio.
2. Now, move or place the playhead at the endpoint of both the video clips where here are the keyboard shortcuts:
- To shift the playhead to the earlier edit point: press “Semicolon (;) or up arrow key”.
- To move the playhead to the next edit point: press “Apostrophe (‘) or down arrow key”.
3. To choose the audio or the video edit point, you can do one of the following:
- Press “**Shift-Backslash (\)**” to select both sides of the audio endpoint.
- Press “**Backslash (\)**” to pick both sides of the video endpoint.
4. Here is the actual process or the keyboard shortcut that helps accomplish final cut pro-L-cuts or final cut pro-J-cuts by nudging the edit points.
- To nudge or push the edit point to the left or right: press “**Comma (,) or period (.)**”.
- To move the edit point to the left or right with ten frames: press “**Shift-Comma (,) or Sift-Period (.)**”.
- Using timecode to add or subtract the present edit: press the “**Plus (+)” or “Minus (-)**” key with the timecode duration.
Conclusion
Are you wondering and puzzled that you are a popular Final Cut Pro X user but weren’t aware of this powerful split edit tool till now? It isn’t too late for you to start yet. Finally, as assured at the beginning of the article, we gave you detailed information on what are J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro along with L-Cuts. With practical implementation on creating Final Cut Pro L-Cuts and J-Cuts, all the best for your first video project!
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Easiest Video Editor for Mac: Make Impressive Videos with Ease
Best Video Maker for Mac: Easily make videos on Mac
Ollie Mattison
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Finding a good video maker for Mac is not always easy – not for lack of options, there are many applications out there, but there are two main limitations: money, first and foremost, we all know how expensive video makers – good video makers – can be. The second limitation is complexity: sometimes you end up spending more time reading the help instead of editing, and the application you’ve chosen probably contains the features that you need – except that you have serious problems finding them on the menu.
1. Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
2. iMovie
3. Blender
Best Video Maker for Mac
Some video makers manage to stay on top by avoiding, or at least limiting these problems, and here are three of those.
1.Vieo Maker on Mac: Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
Wondershare Filmora for Mac offers perhaps the best value for money (not to mention that it has a free version as well if you’d like to try it first. It supports pretty much any format you may think of (AVI, MP4, MOV, MPG, MKV, TRP, and so on), and it’s quite easy to use when it comes to the most basic features you’d expect in a video editor, such as cropping, joining, trimming, and rotating, as well as for adding some effects, transitions, and sound effects.
Because of that, Wondershare Filmora may actually be deceptively simple – because it’s capable of much more powerful features, if you take your time to study all its options, such as picture in picture, green screen, if you fancy yourself the next Hollywood director, adjustable playback speed, separation of the audio track from the original video file, tilt-shift effects, which can create very interesting results in a video, automatic noise reduction, and image enhancement, to bring back to life the subjects of the video, and automatic scene detection – allowing you to create a new video clip every time a scene changes. And there are a lot more things you can discover for yourself if you spend some time playing around.
Wondershare Filmora will also allow you to upload your creations directly to Facebook or YouTube, or to burn them on DVDs, so you can get straight into the next project without wasting any time.
2. Video Maker for Mac: iMovie
iMovie is the proprietary software provided by Apple as part of its iLife suit. You may find it already installed on your Mac if you’ve just purchased a new machine. If not, it’s free to use after you purchase iLife.
It’s not the most powerful and complex application out there, as you can imagine for a piece of software that comes pre-installed, but it’s a good first stop for people who are just starting out in this field and need to learn the basics of editing videos on Mac without too many headaches.
It has many easy-to-use effects and lots of build-in animations, music samples, and sounds to get you started on your first project immediately.
Granted, iMovie has sacrificed a lot of features for the simplicity of use – sooner or later you’ll want to move on to something more complex, but, for beginners and for people who just need to add a few editing touches to a project here and there, this is a more than the reasonable solution. Don’t let yourself put off by the fact iMovie has a rather bad reputation online – of course, that very advanced users are disappointed by it, but you can use it for a while and you’ll know when it’s time to move on.
3. Video Maker on Mac: Blender
When you’ve exhausted the possibilities offered by iMovie and you need more power, Blender will be there, waiting for you. It’s by far the most impressive of the free video makers for Mac – it’s an open-source program, developed by the community – so it’s always free to use, you won’t stumble upon any hidden charges later on.
Like all open source applications, Blender is not the most intuitive at the first glance, but it more than compensates with the impressive range of features that bring it to the same level as a professional application. If you’ve been struggling to get everything just perfect before, now you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips and you only need to unleash your imagination. It’s 3D modeling options have been frequently compared to those that can only be found in applications that cost more than your Mac (maybe even more than your car, come to think of it).
Moreover, the community will always be there for you – if you have any questions or if you get stuck, you only need to post a question online and somebody will be there to help you out – not to mention the very large number of tutorials available online, with more being added almost daily.
If you’re not sure about this, you may want to start by searching online for clips created entirely with Blender. Of course, yours won’t be masterpieces from day one, it will take some time to get used to this application – but you’ll get some idea of how powerful it can be, and the level of mastery that you’ll want to achieve, eventually.
Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Finding a good video maker for Mac is not always easy – not for lack of options, there are many applications out there, but there are two main limitations: money, first and foremost, we all know how expensive video makers – good video makers – can be. The second limitation is complexity: sometimes you end up spending more time reading the help instead of editing, and the application you’ve chosen probably contains the features that you need – except that you have serious problems finding them on the menu.
1. Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
2. iMovie
3. Blender
Best Video Maker for Mac
Some video makers manage to stay on top by avoiding, or at least limiting these problems, and here are three of those.
1.Vieo Maker on Mac: Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
Wondershare Filmora for Mac offers perhaps the best value for money (not to mention that it has a free version as well if you’d like to try it first. It supports pretty much any format you may think of (AVI, MP4, MOV, MPG, MKV, TRP, and so on), and it’s quite easy to use when it comes to the most basic features you’d expect in a video editor, such as cropping, joining, trimming, and rotating, as well as for adding some effects, transitions, and sound effects.
Because of that, Wondershare Filmora may actually be deceptively simple – because it’s capable of much more powerful features, if you take your time to study all its options, such as picture in picture, green screen, if you fancy yourself the next Hollywood director, adjustable playback speed, separation of the audio track from the original video file, tilt-shift effects, which can create very interesting results in a video, automatic noise reduction, and image enhancement, to bring back to life the subjects of the video, and automatic scene detection – allowing you to create a new video clip every time a scene changes. And there are a lot more things you can discover for yourself if you spend some time playing around.
Wondershare Filmora will also allow you to upload your creations directly to Facebook or YouTube, or to burn them on DVDs, so you can get straight into the next project without wasting any time.
2. Video Maker for Mac: iMovie
iMovie is the proprietary software provided by Apple as part of its iLife suit. You may find it already installed on your Mac if you’ve just purchased a new machine. If not, it’s free to use after you purchase iLife.
It’s not the most powerful and complex application out there, as you can imagine for a piece of software that comes pre-installed, but it’s a good first stop for people who are just starting out in this field and need to learn the basics of editing videos on Mac without too many headaches.
It has many easy-to-use effects and lots of build-in animations, music samples, and sounds to get you started on your first project immediately.
Granted, iMovie has sacrificed a lot of features for the simplicity of use – sooner or later you’ll want to move on to something more complex, but, for beginners and for people who just need to add a few editing touches to a project here and there, this is a more than the reasonable solution. Don’t let yourself put off by the fact iMovie has a rather bad reputation online – of course, that very advanced users are disappointed by it, but you can use it for a while and you’ll know when it’s time to move on.
3. Video Maker on Mac: Blender
When you’ve exhausted the possibilities offered by iMovie and you need more power, Blender will be there, waiting for you. It’s by far the most impressive of the free video makers for Mac – it’s an open-source program, developed by the community – so it’s always free to use, you won’t stumble upon any hidden charges later on.
Like all open source applications, Blender is not the most intuitive at the first glance, but it more than compensates with the impressive range of features that bring it to the same level as a professional application. If you’ve been struggling to get everything just perfect before, now you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips and you only need to unleash your imagination. It’s 3D modeling options have been frequently compared to those that can only be found in applications that cost more than your Mac (maybe even more than your car, come to think of it).
Moreover, the community will always be there for you – if you have any questions or if you get stuck, you only need to post a question online and somebody will be there to help you out – not to mention the very large number of tutorials available online, with more being added almost daily.
If you’re not sure about this, you may want to start by searching online for clips created entirely with Blender. Of course, yours won’t be masterpieces from day one, it will take some time to get used to this application – but you’ll get some idea of how powerful it can be, and the level of mastery that you’ll want to achieve, eventually.
Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Finding a good video maker for Mac is not always easy – not for lack of options, there are many applications out there, but there are two main limitations: money, first and foremost, we all know how expensive video makers – good video makers – can be. The second limitation is complexity: sometimes you end up spending more time reading the help instead of editing, and the application you’ve chosen probably contains the features that you need – except that you have serious problems finding them on the menu.
1. Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
2. iMovie
3. Blender
Best Video Maker for Mac
Some video makers manage to stay on top by avoiding, or at least limiting these problems, and here are three of those.
1.Vieo Maker on Mac: Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
Wondershare Filmora for Mac offers perhaps the best value for money (not to mention that it has a free version as well if you’d like to try it first. It supports pretty much any format you may think of (AVI, MP4, MOV, MPG, MKV, TRP, and so on), and it’s quite easy to use when it comes to the most basic features you’d expect in a video editor, such as cropping, joining, trimming, and rotating, as well as for adding some effects, transitions, and sound effects.
Because of that, Wondershare Filmora may actually be deceptively simple – because it’s capable of much more powerful features, if you take your time to study all its options, such as picture in picture, green screen, if you fancy yourself the next Hollywood director, adjustable playback speed, separation of the audio track from the original video file, tilt-shift effects, which can create very interesting results in a video, automatic noise reduction, and image enhancement, to bring back to life the subjects of the video, and automatic scene detection – allowing you to create a new video clip every time a scene changes. And there are a lot more things you can discover for yourself if you spend some time playing around.
Wondershare Filmora will also allow you to upload your creations directly to Facebook or YouTube, or to burn them on DVDs, so you can get straight into the next project without wasting any time.
2. Video Maker for Mac: iMovie
iMovie is the proprietary software provided by Apple as part of its iLife suit. You may find it already installed on your Mac if you’ve just purchased a new machine. If not, it’s free to use after you purchase iLife.
It’s not the most powerful and complex application out there, as you can imagine for a piece of software that comes pre-installed, but it’s a good first stop for people who are just starting out in this field and need to learn the basics of editing videos on Mac without too many headaches.
It has many easy-to-use effects and lots of build-in animations, music samples, and sounds to get you started on your first project immediately.
Granted, iMovie has sacrificed a lot of features for the simplicity of use – sooner or later you’ll want to move on to something more complex, but, for beginners and for people who just need to add a few editing touches to a project here and there, this is a more than the reasonable solution. Don’t let yourself put off by the fact iMovie has a rather bad reputation online – of course, that very advanced users are disappointed by it, but you can use it for a while and you’ll know when it’s time to move on.
3. Video Maker on Mac: Blender
When you’ve exhausted the possibilities offered by iMovie and you need more power, Blender will be there, waiting for you. It’s by far the most impressive of the free video makers for Mac – it’s an open-source program, developed by the community – so it’s always free to use, you won’t stumble upon any hidden charges later on.
Like all open source applications, Blender is not the most intuitive at the first glance, but it more than compensates with the impressive range of features that bring it to the same level as a professional application. If you’ve been struggling to get everything just perfect before, now you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips and you only need to unleash your imagination. It’s 3D modeling options have been frequently compared to those that can only be found in applications that cost more than your Mac (maybe even more than your car, come to think of it).
Moreover, the community will always be there for you – if you have any questions or if you get stuck, you only need to post a question online and somebody will be there to help you out – not to mention the very large number of tutorials available online, with more being added almost daily.
If you’re not sure about this, you may want to start by searching online for clips created entirely with Blender. Of course, yours won’t be masterpieces from day one, it will take some time to get used to this application – but you’ll get some idea of how powerful it can be, and the level of mastery that you’ll want to achieve, eventually.
Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Finding a good video maker for Mac is not always easy – not for lack of options, there are many applications out there, but there are two main limitations: money, first and foremost, we all know how expensive video makers – good video makers – can be. The second limitation is complexity: sometimes you end up spending more time reading the help instead of editing, and the application you’ve chosen probably contains the features that you need – except that you have serious problems finding them on the menu.
1. Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
2. iMovie
3. Blender
Best Video Maker for Mac
Some video makers manage to stay on top by avoiding, or at least limiting these problems, and here are three of those.
1.Vieo Maker on Mac: Wondershare Filmora Video Maker for Mac
Wondershare Filmora for Mac offers perhaps the best value for money (not to mention that it has a free version as well if you’d like to try it first. It supports pretty much any format you may think of (AVI, MP4, MOV, MPG, MKV, TRP, and so on), and it’s quite easy to use when it comes to the most basic features you’d expect in a video editor, such as cropping, joining, trimming, and rotating, as well as for adding some effects, transitions, and sound effects.
Because of that, Wondershare Filmora may actually be deceptively simple – because it’s capable of much more powerful features, if you take your time to study all its options, such as picture in picture, green screen, if you fancy yourself the next Hollywood director, adjustable playback speed, separation of the audio track from the original video file, tilt-shift effects, which can create very interesting results in a video, automatic noise reduction, and image enhancement, to bring back to life the subjects of the video, and automatic scene detection – allowing you to create a new video clip every time a scene changes. And there are a lot more things you can discover for yourself if you spend some time playing around.
Wondershare Filmora will also allow you to upload your creations directly to Facebook or YouTube, or to burn them on DVDs, so you can get straight into the next project without wasting any time.
2. Video Maker for Mac: iMovie
iMovie is the proprietary software provided by Apple as part of its iLife suit. You may find it already installed on your Mac if you’ve just purchased a new machine. If not, it’s free to use after you purchase iLife.
It’s not the most powerful and complex application out there, as you can imagine for a piece of software that comes pre-installed, but it’s a good first stop for people who are just starting out in this field and need to learn the basics of editing videos on Mac without too many headaches.
It has many easy-to-use effects and lots of build-in animations, music samples, and sounds to get you started on your first project immediately.
Granted, iMovie has sacrificed a lot of features for the simplicity of use – sooner or later you’ll want to move on to something more complex, but, for beginners and for people who just need to add a few editing touches to a project here and there, this is a more than the reasonable solution. Don’t let yourself put off by the fact iMovie has a rather bad reputation online – of course, that very advanced users are disappointed by it, but you can use it for a while and you’ll know when it’s time to move on.
3. Video Maker on Mac: Blender
When you’ve exhausted the possibilities offered by iMovie and you need more power, Blender will be there, waiting for you. It’s by far the most impressive of the free video makers for Mac – it’s an open-source program, developed by the community – so it’s always free to use, you won’t stumble upon any hidden charges later on.
Like all open source applications, Blender is not the most intuitive at the first glance, but it more than compensates with the impressive range of features that bring it to the same level as a professional application. If you’ve been struggling to get everything just perfect before, now you’ll have everything you need at your fingertips and you only need to unleash your imagination. It’s 3D modeling options have been frequently compared to those that can only be found in applications that cost more than your Mac (maybe even more than your car, come to think of it).
Moreover, the community will always be there for you – if you have any questions or if you get stuck, you only need to post a question online and somebody will be there to help you out – not to mention the very large number of tutorials available online, with more being added almost daily.
If you’re not sure about this, you may want to start by searching online for clips created entirely with Blender. Of course, yours won’t be masterpieces from day one, it will take some time to get used to this application – but you’ll get some idea of how powerful it can be, and the level of mastery that you’ll want to achieve, eventually.
Ollie Mattison
Ollie Mattison is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Ollie Mattison
The Art of Storytelling: 10 Famous Movies Shaped by Final Cut Pro’s Creative Freedom
Top 10 Famous Movies Made By Final Cut Pro
Benjamin Arango
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.
Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.
You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects
Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro
Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.
1. The Social Network (2010)
Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.
One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.
3. John Carter (2011)
A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.
The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.
4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.
Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.
6. Burn After Reading (2008)
A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.
The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).
Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.
8. 300 (2007)
Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.
To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.
9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.
Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.
Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.
10. Cold Mountain (2003)
This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.
This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.
While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.
It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.
Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.
You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects
Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro
Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.
1. The Social Network (2010)
Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.
One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.
3. John Carter (2011)
A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.
The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.
4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.
Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.
6. Burn After Reading (2008)
A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.
The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).
Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.
8. 300 (2007)
Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.
To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.
9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.
Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.
Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.
10. Cold Mountain (2003)
This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.
This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.
While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.
It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.
Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.
You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects
Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro
Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.
1. The Social Network (2010)
Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.
One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.
3. John Carter (2011)
A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.
The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.
4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.
Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.
6. Burn After Reading (2008)
A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.
The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).
Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.
8. 300 (2007)
Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.
To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.
9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.
Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.
Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.
10. Cold Mountain (2003)
This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.
This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.
While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.
It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Developed as video editing software that has been developed by Apple, Final Cut Pro began life as software designed to made simple video editing accessible for video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. However, in recent years the capabilities of Final Cut Pro have evolved significantly and we are now seeing major Hollywood movies also being edited with this software.
Do you want to turn your own video into a Hollywood film-like video? Check this guide on How to make big-budget cinematic look video with Final Cut Pro.
You may also like: 8 Best Movie Trailer Template for After Effects
Top 10 Movies Made by Final Cut Pro
Let’s take a look at ten major movies that have been edited using Final Cut Pro.
1. The Social Network (2010)
Based on the rise of the phenomenon that we now know as Facebook, The Social Network starred Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake. The movie performed well at the box office and was also positively received by movie critics.
The film won an Academy Award for Best Editing, collected by Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall. They used Final Cut Pro to edit the film, and one of the things they really like about the software is the ability to do multiple timelines. Final Cut Pro was also used in this movie to enable face replacement in a number of scenes. Two of the key characters in the movie are twins, and so the scenes were filmed with actors (who weren’t twins) and then the editing software was used to create the illusion that they were twins. Digital matte paintings was another feature of this movie that relied on the functionality of Final Cut Pro.
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
This was the US adaptation of the earlier Swedish film of the same name - based on the novel by Stieg Larsson. Starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara, the story is a crime thriller trying to uncover the secrets surrounding the disappearance of a young girl from a wealthy family.
One of the challenges with this movie was that there were a lot of invisible effects throughout the film. Final Cut Pro was used to achieve the shot stabilization and the visual enhancements - everything from matte painting to creating seasonal elements such as snow.
3. John Carter (2011)
A science fiction adventure, this film performed so badly at the box office that it caused major financial problems for its studio Disney.
The editing of the John Carter movie was a particular challenge as a lot of the action was shot twice during the troubled production. The editor Eric Zumbrunnen used Final Cut Pro to piece the various elements together. With a huge range of CGI and creature effects to deal with, the editing process on this movie was extremely complex. Final Cut Pro was used to create a lot of the background detail need to bring the green screen scenes to life.
4. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
This was a cute, quirky romantic comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Editing on the movie was by Alan Edward Bell in DVCPro HD format on Final Cut Pro. Because the storyline of the movie unfolds in a non-linear timeline, the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easier to manage the sequencing of the different scenes. There were also 250 invisible effects which were created using Final Cut Pro’s editing features.
5. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
Continuing the X-Men franchise, this installment traces Wolverine’s childhood and the relationship with his brother. It didn’t really appeal to X-Men fans or movie critics.
Editing on the movie was by Nicolas De Toth and Megan Gill. There were a number of continuity glitches identified during the production of this movie but De Toth and Gill used Final Pro Cut to keep a consistent flow to the narrative. What is interesting about the editing on this movie is that all the cutting of the scenes required was done on Final Cut Pro 5, taking advantage of the software’s HD abilities and also the multi-clip features.
6. Burn After Reading (2008)
A black comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, they wrote, produced, edited, and directed the movie.
The Coen brothers used Final Cut Pro on this movie because it was simple and easy to use - they were blocking together the rough cuts as the scenes were being shot, and Final Cut Pro gave them the flexibility that they needed to edit quickly. On this movie most of the action was shot using Sony cameras but there were several scenes on which a RED camera was added when an additional camera was needed. Even though there is a significantly different workflow between the two types of camera, the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly with the Sony footage.
7. No Country for Old Men (2007)
A neo-Western thriller from Coen brothers. They directed, wrote, and edited this production.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing for editor Roderick Jaynes (a pseudonym for Joel and Ethan Coen).
Directing and editing a movie brings the two processes a lot closer together for the Coen brothers. An easy to use product such as Final Cut Pro ensures that they can construct the movie’s narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance in approach for the Coen brothers, who took advantage of the better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.
8. 300 (2007)
Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, this is the fictionalized retelling of the Battle Termopylae - part of the Persian Wars. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie was filmed with a super-imposition chroma key technique to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. Editing on the movie was by William Hoy.
To capture the graphic novel look and feel of the film’s images, editor Hoy used a number of the key Final Cut Pro features such as the adjustment layer and blending modes to create depth and mood. With the look and feel of this movie so dependent on the effects created, editor Hoy spent a lot of time debating what was being added visually to each shot and how this would impact the length and continuity of each scene.
9. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
With big name stars (Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law), this was an unusual film that used digital artists to build multi-layered 2D and 3D backgrounds for live action footage, with hand-drawn storyboards recreated as computer-generated 3D animatics. Critically it was well received but didn’t set the box office alight.
Editing on the movie was by Sabrina Plisco.
Final Cut Pro was particularly critical to create a scene between two characters that was shot in a physical set (unlike the digital soundstage that was used for the rest of the movie). Final Cut Pro allowed the filmmakers to line up the animatics with the live onstage footage. One of the challenges with this movie is that the editors had to manually assign time-codes to each take - the clips were then rendered out and sorted so that they could be used on a Final Cut Pro SD workstation. This approach was also used to create the master off-line cut. Batch lists of the cuts were then imported into Final Cut Pro.
10. Cold Mountain (2003)
This is an epic Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Renee Zellweger this was critically acclaimed and performed reasonably well at the box office.
The movie was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing let by editor Walter Murch.
This was really seen as the breakthrough movie for the use of Final Cut Pro in Hollywood Movies. An entire book has been produced analysing how editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie and analysis its impact on future cinema productions. Editor Murch believes that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie indirected affected the ultimate creative outcome. In particular, the use of the DVD authoring capabilities on Final Cut Pro meant that the editing team was able to look at the material more often, sharing it with more people, and changing the way that they looked at certain scenes.
While Hollywood movies require editing tools of the highest order, the range of effects that you can achieve using Final Cut Pro is impressive - as well as the standard ripple, roll, slip, slide, scrub, razor blade and time remapping edit functions, Final Cut Pro also comes with a range of video transitions and a range of video and audio filters that will take your film project to the next level.
It is clear that Final Cut Pro is definitely now a star in the editing of Hollywood movies, it is time to make it a star in editing your movies as well.
Benjamin Arango
Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Benjamin Arango
Top 8 Best Animation Maker for Beginners and Pros
Top 8 Best Animation Maker for Beginners and Pros
Shanoon Cox
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.
Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.
We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.
Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners
1. Maya
Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years
Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.
Key Features:
- Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
- The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
- Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
2. Photoshop
Price: $20.99/month.
Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.
You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).
Key Features:
- It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
- With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
- In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.
Support: Win, Mac.
3. Adobe Animate
Price: $20.99/month.
Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.
Key Features:
- Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
- Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
- You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. Moho
Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime
Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).
Key Features:
- Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
- Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
- The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.
Support: Win, Mac.
Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros
1. Autodesk motion builder
Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years
Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.
Key Features:
- The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
- It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
- It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.
Support: Win, Mac.
2. Blender
Price: Free
Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.
Key Features:
- Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
- The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
- The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
3. Vyond
Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year
Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.
Key Features:
- Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
- For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
- There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. After Effects
Price: $20.99/month
Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.
Key Features:
- Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
- Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
- Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.
Support: Win, Mac.
Final Verdict
Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.
Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.
Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.
We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.
Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners
1. Maya
Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years
Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.
Key Features:
- Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
- The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
- Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
2. Photoshop
Price: $20.99/month.
Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.
You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).
Key Features:
- It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
- With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
- In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.
Support: Win, Mac.
3. Adobe Animate
Price: $20.99/month.
Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.
Key Features:
- Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
- Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
- You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. Moho
Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime
Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).
Key Features:
- Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
- Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
- The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.
Support: Win, Mac.
Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros
1. Autodesk motion builder
Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years
Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.
Key Features:
- The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
- It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
- It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.
Support: Win, Mac.
2. Blender
Price: Free
Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.
Key Features:
- Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
- The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
- The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
3. Vyond
Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year
Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.
Key Features:
- Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
- For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
- There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. After Effects
Price: $20.99/month
Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.
Key Features:
- Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
- Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
- Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.
Support: Win, Mac.
Final Verdict
Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.
Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.
Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.
We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.
Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners
1. Maya
Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years
Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.
Key Features:
- Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
- The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
- Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
2. Photoshop
Price: $20.99/month.
Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.
You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).
Key Features:
- It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
- With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
- In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.
Support: Win, Mac.
3. Adobe Animate
Price: $20.99/month.
Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.
Key Features:
- Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
- Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
- You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. Moho
Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime
Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).
Key Features:
- Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
- Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
- The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.
Support: Win, Mac.
Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros
1. Autodesk motion builder
Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years
Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.
Key Features:
- The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
- It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
- It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.
Support: Win, Mac.
2. Blender
Price: Free
Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.
Key Features:
- Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
- The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
- The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
3. Vyond
Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year
Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.
Key Features:
- Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
- For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
- There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. After Effects
Price: $20.99/month
Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.
Key Features:
- Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
- Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
- Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.
Support: Win, Mac.
Final Verdict
Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.
Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
Having plenty of free animation makers in the market, you must be in a dilemma to decide the best one for you. We believe that there is one animation creator for everyone to suit their specific needs, irrespective of your level of proficiency in animation.
Only you can figure out which one is the best animated profile picture maker for you. When you choose the right software tool for your animation work, the results will always come outstanding.
We have featured a meticulously picked list of animation maker software applications to ease off your burden. Go ahead and explore your creative streak with the best animation creator.
Part 1: Best Animation Software for Beginners
1. Maya
Price: Free for 30 days. $205/monthly. $1620/1 year. $4375/3 years
Maya is one among the leading 3D animation, simulation, modeling and rendering software application empowered with exceptional toolset. You can use it to make animation, motion graphics, environments, character creation, as well as virtual reality to name a few.
Key Features:
- Arnold RenderView integrated with Maya enables you to experience real-time changes in scenes that include lighting, camera, or materials.
- The Motion Graphics toolset uses instanced objects and instantly creates complex procedural effects and animations.
- Using the MASH toolset you can add new nodes consisting of signal, curve, world, placer, etc. along with existing node updates.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
2. Photoshop
Price: $20.99/month.
Because of its influential drawing efficiencies Photoshop has been considered as a mighty tool for creating animations. It renders Disney-style animation due to its frame by frame animation techniques.
You can utilize the onion skinning process for incredible animation experience using the ‘Timeline’ feature (with frame by frame approach).
Key Features:
- It supports a varied range of QuickTime video formats, image sequence formats, and color mode and bit depth for animation.
- With the help of the Timeline panel, you can make animation frames, where the configuration of layers is represented by a single frame.
- In Photoshop the opacity, styles, position represents the layer properties and a gradual change in them gives you the feeling of transformation or movement in animations. It results in automatic modification and addition of multiple frames in a series among two existing frames.
Support: Win, Mac.
3. Adobe Animate
Price: $20.99/month.
Adobe Animate is a brilliant tool to make animations with interactive vectors that you can use in games, web as well as on apps and make banners and cartoons movable. Infographics and tutorials become lively with this tool and you can share them on numerous platforms as well using mobile, computer or TV.
Key Features:
- Use the tilt and pressure sensitive vector brushes to draw and sketch characters and with frame by frame animation make them talk, walk and blink.
- Design and develop interfaces, start screens, game environment and player sprites to get the best interactive web-based content.
- You can export your work to WebGL, HTML5 Canvas, Flash/Adobe AIRetc.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. Moho
Price: Free for 30 days. $399.99/lifetime
Moho is a complete animation tool dedicated to digital artists and professionals which was used to make movies like Song of the Sea and The Breadwinner (both were nominated for OSCAR).
Key Features:
- Having smart warp, this tool enables you to shape, bend, animate, and twist assets including vectors and images and is compatible with Smart Bones.
- Using the realistic motion blur feature you can manage the number of frames and how they blend to moving objects or characters for creating amazing results.
- The vector Bezier handles allow you to have more control on designing and make exceptional line bends having minimal points and perfectly optimized to sync with animation.
Support: Win, Mac.
Part 2: Best Animation Software for Pros
1. Autodesk motion builder
Price: Free for 30 days. $1855/1 year. $5010/3 years
Autodesk motion builder is one of the coolest animation creators that allow 3D character animation. The highly interactive and responsive environment enables you for capturing, editing, and then playing back complicated character animations. Directors or animators, all of them love the results of Autodesk motion builder.
Key Features:
- The real-time 3D engine builds human movements.
- It manipulates motion capture data with production-proven tools that allow motion capture editing.
- It can interact with other 3D applications through the interoperable FBX data exchange and software development kit.
Support: Win, Mac.
2. Blender
Price: Free
Blender is an open source 3D animation creator available free of cost. Talk about modeling, animation, rigging, rendering, simulation, motion tracking, compositing, video editing, or game creation.
Key Features:
- Industry standard libraries are available in the simulation tool, such as MantaFlow and bullet.
- The modeling toolset in Blender can not only do modeling, but also does retopology, sculpting, curves as well.
- The animation toolset enables you to synchronize sound, automates walk-cycle, edits the pose of characters, impart independent movements with Non Linear Animation as well.
Support: Win, Mac, Linux.
3. Vyond
Price: $299/1 year. $649/1 year. $999/1 year
Vyond is a flexible animation creator that customizes the animated characters with various hues of color and efficiently showcasing the diversity of their race. There are options to slide scales and offer a flexible environment for animating objects and characters alike.
Key Features:
- Create any character around you or recreate yourself, with the amazing character creator tool.
- For voiceover narration you just need to give a voice track and the characters can also auto-lip-sync when you give them a voice.
- There are numerous industries and occupations that you can incorporate in your animation to keep the audience engaged.
Support: Win, Mac.
4. After Effects
Price: $20.99/month
Cinematic intros, movie titles, as well as transitions can easily be created using this tool. It enables you to make it rain or start a fire, animate a character, or logo, and a lot more. It is compatible with other Adobe apps, such as Adobe Dynamic Link, Photoshop CC, Audition CC, Illustrator CC, as well as Team Projects.
Key Features:
- Creating visual effects or motion graphics for TV, film, web, and videos is easy for designers, animators, and compositors with After Effects.
- Using the animation presets you can slide, spin, or swipe texts for animated credits, titles, etc.
- Cartoon, logos, or shapes your key-frames can make all of them moving with amazing background music.
Support: Win, Mac.
Final Verdict
Apart from the best animation software for beginners mentioned here, you can make use of Wondershare Filmora to create breathtaking videos. This powerful video editing tool can help you make one of the best videos using features such as precision speed control, frame by frame preview, color tuning, noise removal, and 4K editing support etc.
Shanoon Cox
Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Shanoon Cox
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- Title: 2024 Approved The Art of Smooth Transitions L-Cuts and J-Cuts in Final Cut Pro X
- Author: Isabella
- Created at : 2024-06-08 20:00:13
- Updated at : 2024-06-09 20:00:13
- Link: https://video-creation-software.techidaily.com/2024-approved-the-art-of-smooth-transitions-l-cuts-and-j-cuts-in-final-cut-pro-x/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
