How do you gray out a clip and highlight a specific point or object

Try the Spot effect in the effects brouser. You can control the position, radius, contrast etc. You can also keyframe all the parameters to suit the movement of what you are highlighting etc.

Or the Vignette effect.

from my Box Of Silly Workarounds:

the actual version of FCPX offers a color-mask, but you can not invert the selection = to dim the surrounding of the player.

so, here's my trick:

• apply a color mask, put in position, adjust shape

• in color-correction, raise exposure by eg 30%

• apply a 2nd, now full frame correction, lower exposure by 30%

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6YcMGhAiSY might help

That is absolutely brilliant!

There's nothing more to say except it doesn't make toast. 😝

You don't need two corrections Karsten. If you use a shape mask at the bottom of the color board are inside mask and outside mask, which are two entirely separate color controls.

Tom Wolsky wrote:

… at the bottom of the color board are inside mask and outside mask, which are two entirely separate color controls.

arrrgh ... that simple!

well, YOU are the sensei, and I'm the kohai

😉

best off all:

you can give inside and outside diff. parameters!

Ian R. Brown wrote:

That is absolutely …

... from this famous board

http://fcp.co/forum/9-free-fcpx-plugins-and-templates

with its daily-growing list of plug-ins ...

Apparently, you have to have Motion to use this effect!

David

David Fahnestock1 wrote:

Apparently, you have to have Motion to use this effect!

David

No, David. You only need Motion to create or edit the effects.

You can use any effects created in Motion even if you don't have it in your Mac.

Luis,

The reason I thought "Motion" needed to be installed is because of these instructions for activating the effect.

Following the install instructions

Your home directory / Movies / Motion Templates / Effects / Create a Category Folder (example: SC Effects), Place entire Magnifier folder inside, Restart FCPX

I find no Motion Templates in the movies file.

David

Hi David,

That is just the path that FCPX expects to find Motion templates (default templates that come with FCPX reside elsewhere.)

You can manually create the path by adding the new folders required in the path. So, if in your Movies folder (iTunes/OSX should have created this) there doesn't exist a folder called Motion Templates, then just create it. It is case sensitive and the space is required. Then inside that folder create "Effects" and inside Effects, create a category for your convenience in finding the effect in FCPX, in your case, you could name the folder "Instruction Aids" or something similar -- it is completely up to you! Then, inside that folder, move the entire (Magnifier) Template folder inside and restart FCPX. You should be able to find the effect in the Effects browser Effects > Instructional Aids > Magnifier.

There are 5 possible pathways/folders inside Motion Templates if you want to create them all: Effects, Generators, Titles, Transitions, and Compositions. (This fifth one is for Theme Categories, not something you have to worry about ever, and is used by Motion itself.) The four main folders correspond to types of effects available for FCPX, so it is important to know what type of effect, generator, title, or transition effect is being installed so they can be properly placed to work correctly in FCPX. In other words, "third party" motion templates for FCPX cannot all be placed in the Effects folder. Attention needs to be paid to their "types."

Once Mountain Lion comes out, I'll have to make installers and you won't have the option of naming your own category... 😟

fox_m.

This is a screen shot of the Motions Templates folder, I created in the movies folder. I get nothing in Effects.

Ah yes... Make sure it's "Motion Templates" not Motions Templates and the extra level ("sc_magnifier") creates a Theme in FCPX (so you would see in the Effect browsers : Effects > Instructional Aids > sc_magnifier under that designation you would find Magnifier). You accidently created that "theme" when you placed the file you got when you unzipped the download in the Templates path.

Before you make folder changes in the finder in the Motion Templates path, quit FCPX. While you're making changes, you can move the Magnifier up into Instructional Aids, Move the Magnifier.png file to some other convenient location (it is a "Read Me" with installation instructions) and delete the sc_magnifier folder. Then restart FCPX.

Still not working! Here is another Screen Shot.