Final Cut Pro generators are a fantastic content resource for any video project. They can provide visual filler between your clips, animated backgrounds behind your titles, or even be overlaid atop your videos to create cool effects. Learning how to use generators not only grants you access to Final Cut’s extensive built-in library but also opens up an entire world of 3rd-party generators available online.
This article will cover everything you need to know about generators in Final Cut. You’ll learn what they are, how to use them, and where you can download some really great ones to add to your library.
Summary
Part 1: What are Generators?
Put simply, a generator is a visual clip that Final Cut creates–so you don’t have to rely on imported media. Generators are pre-built but can be customized in the Inspector to achieve a range of different looks. There are 4 main ways that generators are used in Final Cut Pro.
- As a Clip: some generators look great and can stand alone substituting video clips in your project, you can think of this as providing visuals when you don’t have a suitable video to go with your audio.
- Placeholders: Final cut comes with built-in placeholder generators that can be replaced later when you have the video content. These placeholders can be customized to show actors in different scenes, to visualize your project in the early creative stages.
- Backgrounds: If you’re showing text or graphics that don’t take up the full screen, a generator can fill in the background so it’s not just plain black.
- Overlays: some generators, like Timecode or Counting, were designed to be placed on top of your video as an overlay.
Part 2: 15 Amazing Final Cut Pro Generators
1. Free Bright Summer Slideshow
Fun, bright, and lighthearted–this generator is like a breath of fresh air. It’s got placeholders for your own pictures and titles so you can build a fun slideshow to show off your vacation, make a video yearbook, create a family video, or put together a nice intro or credits sequence for your videos. Best of all, it’s totally free!
Zhoomart, the motion designer behind this template, is from Kyrgyzstan. He likes to contribute to Motion Array as an artist to help people from all over the world develop their business using ready-to-use solutions. He puts extra effort to make his projects easy to use for beginners. You can check out his entire portfolio here.
Free Bright Summer Slideshow Download
2. Abstract Background Maker
Colorful trippy neon backgrounds that tessellate in abstract patterns, ideal for backgrounds or cutaway text effects. The abstract background maker contains a wealth of options to tailor-make a background that fits your video’s personality. Abstract background maker is a fun and versatile generator to add to your library.
Download Abstract Background Maker Now
3. Point to Point Route Generator
This is like a beefed-up super version of iMovie’s map animations. Just input 2 locations and watch Point to Point Route Generator create a cool motion graphic depicting the trip. There are a ton of options, like changing the map style and camera angles. If you’re making a travel vlog this is a perfect generator for you.
Download Point to Point Route Generator Now
4. Youtube Subscriber Generators
Social media experts know: if you want subscribers, you’ve got to ask! It’s such common knowledge that it’s become a cliche for YouTube videos. Enter the Youtube Subscriber Generator pack. This bundle of animations gives you a unique way to encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel and enable notifications. It’s easy to use, just overlay it on top of your video near the end and watch your subscriber count grow!
Download Youtube Subscriber Generators Now
5. 3D Planet Earth
Launch your video into the stratosphere and beyond with this awesome customizable rotating planet earth. You can spin, zoom, and focus on any area you want to create a highly professional planetary overview in your video. There’s also room to add 3D text of your choice, so you can use this as a title sequence as well.
6. Customizable Percentage Sliders
Don’t let your data-heavy content put your audience to sleep, the information doesn’t have to be boring! Customizable Percentage Sliders give you 6 fantastic tools to visualize data in your videos. You can easily customize and animate these infographics in the inspector to create compelling visuals for your videos.
Download Customizable Percentage Sliders Now
7. Stylish Fashion Opener
Glitz and glamour abound in this stylish slideshow montage. This is a quick and easy solution to produce video intros, cutaway montages, or ending credits. There are 16 image holders and 19 places to add your own text, so you can add tons of content to this generator and really personalize it.
Download Stylish Fashion Opener Now
8. Abstract Shape Elements
This generator pack gives you a fun animated toolkit to spice up your videos with cartoony, hand-drawn graphics. You can use them for transitions, on-screen text, and overlaid on top of your video clips. They’re a great fit for kids’ content, blogs, explainer videos, sports, logo reveals and more.
Download Abstract Shape Elements Now
9. Above the Stars
Enchant your viewers with the mysteries of space. Above the Stars is a spacey, futuristic, and smooth generator pack with overlaid titles. It’s perfect for opening credits, cutaway titles, or even just filler visual content while you play a nice voice-over. This is really a pro-looking pack, like something straight out of Star Trek or The Expanse.
10. Starfield
Another high-quality star themed generator pack straight out of a sci-fi movie. Starfield is cinematic and modern, and it’s a great fit for documentaries or science videos. There are 10 text placeholders and 10 unique animations, so you can really get a lot of content out of this one generator.
11. Shape Elements Pack
Shape elements is an entire library of generators to supplement your Final Cut toolkit. There are explosions, speedy lines, different shapes and motions, and animations galore. You can customize each and every generator in the pack, and use them to jazz up all kinds of videos.
Download Shape Elements Pack Now
12. Classic Display
Showcase your content as if it was an app, really cool! Classic Display uses a virtual cursor to slide, drag, and navigate through your collage of videos or images like a cool interactive web page. This can be used for all sorts of videos but is especially perfect for content about technology, the internet, and software.
13. Mobile App Promo
Speaking of software, you couldn’t find a better generator for showing off that new app than Mobile App Promo. This generator was created with that singular purpose in mind, and it does a wonderful job. There are animated hands to display gestures, a phone to house your app content, and colorful designs and titles to tell the story.
14. Fashion Urban Promo
Fashion Urban Promo is a stunning generator that makes your content sizzle. It’s high energy, trendy, and unique–a perfect fit for an opening sequence for a fashion brand or any other hip organization. There’s a lot of room to personalize this generator with your own titles, images, and logo; and also controls to change up the effects.
Download Fashion Urban Promo Now
15. Free Legacy Generators
Harkening back to older versions of Final Cut Pro, these legacy generators are classics that many seasoned video editors will remember. They do look a little dated but are perfect if you’d like to create a retro-looking video reminiscent of the ’90s or early 2000s.
Free Legacy Generators Download
Part 3: How to Use Generators?
Adding generators in Final Cut is very simple and nearly the same process as adding titles. Where you place them in the Timeline will depend on whether you’re creating a placeholder, overlay, or background–as outlined above.
Step 1: If you haven’t already, create or open a project in Final Cut.
Step 2: Open the Titles and Generators Sidebar by clicking the icon at the top left of the screen.
Step 3: Select Generators, and scroll through the list. You can preview a generator by skimming over its thumbnail with your mouse cursor.
Step 4: Once you’ve selected the generator you’d like to use, drag it down into the timeline.
Step 5: If you’d like to use the generator as a placeholder or clip, place it in the Primary Storyline. If you’d like to use it as an overlay, place it above. If you’d like to use it as a background, place it below.
Step 6: To modify your generator content, select it in the Timeline and then open the Generator Inspector by clicking its icon in the top right of the screen.
Step 7: You can modify controls to adjust your generator’s appearance.
And that about wraps it up! That should cover just about everything you’ll need to get started creating great content with generators in Final Cut Pro. We’ve covered what generators are used for, how to use them, and listed 15 of the best generators available online.
Still want some more? This list of 15 is just a tiny taste of what’s available out there, if you’d like to keep browsing there are literally thousands of generators to choose from at MotionArray.com, which archives 3rd party Final Cut plugins for editors like you. Check it out!
