20. Generators and Themes
In This Chapter
Final Cut Pro comes with a collection of preexisting content such as solid-color backgrounds and various textures, shapes, and other elements that can be added to your projects like any other still image or video clip.
These clips are called generators. More generators are widely available from third-party developers, and new generators can be created in Motion and can be made to automatically appear inside Final Cut Pro.
Motion also contains a collection of themed titles and transitions, which employ a consistent look and feel.
Many beginning editors are tempted to add a diverse range of effects in a single project, which may seem fun during the editing process but subjects the viewer to a barrage of competing visual styles, which can distract or disengage them from the story.
By restricting your use of effects to those within a specific theme, you can ensure a consistent style for your project.
The Generators Browser
You can find all of the generators that come with Final Cut Pro listed by category in the Generators Browser. Like effects, titles, and other items in the media browsers, the Generators Browser has a stack and a sidebar.
The stack shows previewable icons for each of the generators, and the sidebar provides organizational categories and groups.
To show the Generators Browser
• Click the Show Generators Browser button in the toolbar.
The Generators Browser opens to the right of the Timeline 
.
Click the Show Generators Browser button to open the Generators Browser.
To find specific generators
• Do one of the following:
• Type the name of the generator you’re looking for in the search field at the bottom of the Generators Browser 
.
Search for a specific generator effect by typing in the search field.
The stack is filtered to show only generators containing the letters in the search field.
Clear the search field by clicking the circled X at the right edge of the field or by pressing Escape.
• Click one of the category names in the sidebar on the left side of the Generators Browser, and scroll through the main stack area on the right 
.
Click a category in the sidebar to filter the list.
The stack is filtered by category.
Hide or show the sidebar by clicking the Show/Hide Sidebar button in the lower-left corner of the Generators Browser.
Previewing Generators
You can preview what each generator looks like prior to adding it to your project. Many generators are simply still images, so previewing them will just display a static frame. Others are animated, and the preview will display the animated effect.
Note that generators contain a variety of options or settings in the Inspector that significantly change the appearance of the generator. To explore these settings, you must add the generator to the project.
To preview a generator
• Do one of the following:
• Hover your pointer over an icon in the Generators Browser to skim 
.
Skim across icons to see a preview, or hover over the icon and press the Spacebar to play. Remember, many generators are not animated.
• Position your pointer over a generator icon, and press the Spacebar.
The Viewer loops a sample of the generators.
Adding Generators to a Project
When you’ve decided which generator you want to use, you can add it to the Timeline just like any other clip.
To add a generator to the project
• Do one of the following:
• Drag the generator into a storyline, and drop it between two clips to perform an insert edit 
.
Insert a generator between two shots using drag and drop, or double-click to insert it at the playhead position.
• Double-click the generator to insert it at the playhead position.
• Drag the generator into a storyline and drop it on top of an existing clip to perform a replace edit 
.
A generator can replace an existing clip or gap.
• Press P to activate the Position tool, and drag the generator anywhere in an existing storyline to perform an overwrite edit.
• Click the generator in the Generators Browser, and press W, E, or D to perform an insert, append, or overwrite edit.
The generator is added to the project in the chosen edit method 
.
All generators are shown in brown in the Timeline, except the Placeholder generator, which appears in gray.
To learn more about the various edit types, see Chapter 7, “Basic Editing.”
Changing Generator Attributes
A few generators contain a healthy selection of adjustable parameters, while many others contain few or none at all.
Some contain a pop-up menu that allows you to select different looks that are like a selection of completely different generators.
To change generator attributes
1. Select the generator in the Timeline, and park your playhead over it .
Click the generator you want to modify to select it, and then park your playhead over it.
You don’t have to position the playhead over the generator, but otherwise you won’t be able to see the results of changes you make in the Inspector.
2. Open the Inspector by clicking the I button in the toolbar or pressing Command-4.
3. In the Inspector, click the Generator header to open the Generator pane (if it’s not already showing) .
In the Inspector, click the Generator header to open the Generators pane.
The Published Parameters section contains adjustable parameters for the selected generator.
4. Adjust the parameters to achieve the desired look .
Customize the generator as needed.
5. Play around with the generator in the project to see the results of your work.
Using Themes
Themes are nothing more than collections of titles and transitions with common visual styles. They are added to a project in the same way as other transition effects and titles are.
To learn more about how to integrate transition effects, see Chapter 18, “Transitions.” To learn more about how to use titles, see Chapter 19, “Text and Titles.”
You can access all of the themed effects from within the Titles Browser and Transitions Browser, respectively, or you can view them grouped into their themed categories in the Themes Browser.
The Themes Browser
The Themes Browser is different from the other media browsers in that everything contained within it is also available in other browsers.
The difference is that in the Themes Browser the effects are grouped by style (listed in the sidebar), and when a style is selected, the stack shows lists of video transitions and titles consistent with that style.
You can preview the effects in the Themes Browser the same way you preview other titles, transitions, and other effects.
To show the Themes Browser
• Click the Show Themes Browser button in the toolbar.
The Themes Browser opens to the right of the Timeline .
Click the Show Themes Browser button to open the Themes Browser.
To use the Themes Browser
1. Click a theme from the list in the sidebar.
The effects associated with that theme appear in the stack .
Click a theme from the list in the sidebar, and the effects associated with that theme appear in the stack.
2. Scroll through the stack, and select the transition effects and titles you want to use in your project.
3. Add transitions and titles as described in Chapter 18, “Transitions,” and in Chapter 19, “Text and Titles.”