I have a couple of questions here.
2. There are 4 backgrounds provided. Is there any way I can produce a background of my choice by disabling the default ones?
iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 12.6
The default version of the "Trailer" Title should be located in the Credits category. (I believe it was originally developed for iMovie, but "appeared" somewhere along the line in FCPX.) If you made an alternative version in Motion, then your version would be automatically renamed "Trailer copy" (unless you gave the edited version a custom name.)
This title can be something of a nightmare to deal with... mixing fonts and sizes like that, trying to keep line spacing "straight", etc., so...
If this is something you need to use rather often, then I would like to submit, as a suggestion, this alternative:
It's main feature is each piece of text is its own "object" and labels (like executive producer) can be "stacked" - formatting is as simple as dragging the text - all lines are "auto-aligned" to the center - you cannot mess up the line spacing - and there is an accessory font containing MPAA Ratings tags and parts (including laurels and Closed Caption icons [*Use responsibly*]).
HTH
The default version of the "Trailer" Title should be located in the Credits category. (I believe it was originally developed for iMovie, but "appeared" somewhere along the line in FCPX.) If you made an alternative version in Motion, then your version would be automatically renamed "Trailer copy" (unless you gave the edited version a custom name.)
This title can be something of a nightmare to deal with... mixing fonts and sizes like that, trying to keep line spacing "straight", etc., so...
If this is something you need to use rather often, then I would like to submit, as a suggestion, this alternative:
It's main feature is each piece of text is its own "object" and labels (like executive producer) can be "stacked" - formatting is as simple as dragging the text - all lines are "auto-aligned" to the center - you cannot mess up the line spacing - and there is an accessory font containing MPAA Ratings tags and parts (including laurels and Closed Caption icons [*Use responsibly*]).
HTH
I went to sleep thinking about the "mystery" and woke up the same way.
After spending over an hour on both my computers searching for a solution I discovered the original title was called "Trailer" and finally spotted it on both Macs.
Of course, if I had read your first sentence carefully I would have known from the start but it was late at night!
As to how my version got there . . . I must have right clicked the original in the titles pane and selected "Send to Motion" where even my limited skills would enable me to alter the wording and name.
The second question is still unanswered. I thought I could simply add another .jpg image to the 4 already there in the folder but it did not work.
It looks as though that might have to be done in Motion.
Now that I have had a chance to try: these backgrounds are indeed offered as options for the Trailer title. You can choose the one you want to use from the Title Inspector:
Now, if you wanted to use something else, you could go into Motion and add it there. It would be a simple matter of adding another value for the Background popup and set it to use the desired image.
I have solved the background question perfectly.
In Motion I simply deselected "Background" and the Trailer displays as complete black in Final Cut Pro!
Of course the text, being black, is invisible until you put a colour, picture or generator beneath it whereupon you get the Trailer with a background of your choice and you can add anything you want.
Here it is with the Underwater generator . . . the scope is endless.
It's a pity that they didn't put a "No Background" option when they designed the Trailer.
Ian R. Brown wrote:
I'm sure I could if I knew how. 🥺
Now you will 😄
Here is the title in Motion:
Notice there is a "Rig" there. Select the rig and then click +Checkbox to er... add a checkbox:
Now we are going to "rig" some parameters to that checkbox... in this case, all we need to do is turn the visibility of the Background group on and off, as we turn the checkbox on and off.
The checkbox is on, and so is the Background group, so that should be fine. Anyway, we may "record" this setting: press "Start" to start Edit Mode: this is where we'd make changes associated with the current state of the checkbox. In this case, we should just click "Stop Edit Mode", since there is nothing to change.
Next, we set things for when the checkbox is OFF. Turn it off, click "Start", turn the Background group visibility off:
Now we are ready to click Stop Rig Edit Mode, and our checkbox is done.
We just need to Publish it.
Finally, we want to change "Checkbox" to a more descriptive name. Select the Project, and click to edit the name of the checkbox.
Yes, I got caught out by the black on black again even though I discovered it a few hours ago.
I must have done something wrong because there is no "switch" in the Backgrounds or anywhere else.
Actually, giving the Trailer an on/off switch is rather superfluous as my white trailer ticks all the boxes for me.
It looks quite cool in its default state and I can stick anything under it as a background and customise the text colour etc. in almost any way I want.
My bad... I should have tested this more thoroughly, but I was in a hurry.
Here is slightly different way, that is working. Instead of activating and deactivating the whole Background layer, this one changes the opacity: 100% when the box is checked, 0% when it is not.
I still think the original should have worked, but I can't find how to properly associate the active/inactive layer to the checkbox in the rig...
Add the opacity parameter to the ones controlled by the checkbox:
Now edit the checkbox for each of the on/off states, by clicking the Start button, and changing the opacity accordingly, then clicking Stop:
I don't need your title as my black and white one serves my purpose but as you took the trouble to do a tutorial I felt I should follow it.
I must be doing something wrong because after publishing I cannot find the "switch" to turn the background on and off.
Am I looking in the wrong place?
Ian R. Brown wrote:
They do match . . . there is nothing there!
I am obviously misunderstanding at least one of the instructions which I know from my own experience of teaching others is very easy to do when the person is remote from you.
The whole process is obviously extremely simple in the whole scheme of things but I must be making a glaringly simple mistake or assumption.
I see this in Motion, indicating that I have two published parameters, one called "Background", which is the one from the original title, and one called "Show Background", a checkbox that I added:
If you do not have anything under Published Parameters in Motion, then I cannot see how you'd have "Background" in FCP. Perhaps you are not looking at the right place in Motion? Can you post a similar screenshot from Motion?
And if you only see "Background", I surmise that somehow you failed to publish the checkbox, or perhaps you did and then accidentally unpublished it?
OR... perhaps you failed to Save. Motion does require you to manually Save, as opposed to FCP.
Well I'll be darned!
After reading your comments I had a hunch, looked in the Motion Templates folder and discovered the "INBRO-VIDEO TRAILER CREDITS".
How on earth they got there, who designed them or how I created them, I cannot fathom.
They have the same 4 backgrounds as the iMovie ones.
It is a Motion document so did I pinch it somehow from iMovie?
It's too late to work out now, so I'll take a look tomorrow.
If the additional backgrounds were merely added to the folder then they will not be available. I am away from my mac now but I don’t recall this offering a choice of backgrounds. I
That feature could be easily added in Motion but perhaps you will be better off using Fox’s template instead.
I'm sure I could if I knew how. 🥺
After a load more experimenting I have finally discovered how to make the text white so that it shows up against the default black (alpha) background before I put a generator underneath.
One sentence from someone knowing Motion would have saved all that time . . . anyway it keeps the brain active!
Luis, nice little Motion tutorial. I followed your steps but the checkbox doesn't seem to work, either in Motion or back in FCP. Whatever the last Edit Mode action was done is the only state saved for the checkbox. Any thoughts? Thanks!
It took me 15 minutes to find add checkbox as I had the Inspector turned off!
I spent the next half hour following your instructions (or trying to) about 4 times but nothing happened except the credits were all black.
Obviously I am doing it wrong but where would the On/Off switch be located in FCP X if I had done it properly?
Customising the Credits Title?
