What is Keyframing? | Step by Step in FCP and Apple Motion

Are you unclear about what keyframing is in Final Cut and Apple Motion. In this step by step tutorial, I'll take you through keyframing from a beginner's level all the way through using the advanced keyframe editor in Motion.
If you want to check out my Final Cut Rock Star tutorial, visit:
jennjager.com/final-cut-pro/
00:00 Introduction
00:35 Why do you need to know keyframing?
1:30 Keyframing in Final Cut
01:59 Keyframing Audio in Final Cut
06:38 Changing Keyframes in Inspector Window
07:57 Keyframing Video Properties in Final Cut
11:45 Making Keyframes Linear in Final Cut
13:04 Keyframing in Apple Motion
14:11 Adding Keyframes in Apple Motion
14:50 Opening the Keyframe Editor
15:17 Adding Bezier curves to Keyframes
17:00 Adding Multiple keyframes in Apple Motion
19:57 Adding Keyframes to Filters in Apple Motion

[@chillhilltravel9933]

Sure helped! And the Rock Star tutorial is fabulous!

[@JennJagerPro]

It makes me so happy to hear you enjoyed it!!! 😊😊😊jennjager.com/jager-products/final-cut-rock-star/

[@depthhistory]

I must have heard dozens of explosions of key frames since I began dabbling in Final Cut last year, and this is the first time I feel I actually understand the subject. Thanks SO much, Jen.

[@JoshyByNature]

Thanks for this!!! I’ve watched a ton of FCP tutorials and these people just talk about adding key frames super fast but never explain how to do it or what it does!!! This was everything I needed, thank you!!

[@sdaremnant4886]

Excellent video, I was one of those who was getting very put off by key frames and now I'm excited to use them!

[@mtamech535]

11:01 FINALLY. CTRL+V. I couldn't remember how to open that and have been through the first 5 videos in the search "fcpx look at keyframes" to finally come across someone that seems to understand how to not just place them but to view them. I should have just checked with you first, Jenn. You know your stuff!

[@thetomasloretta]

You solved my only remaining issue with audio in FCPX! I’m also now separating audio from video in a video clip and doing keyframing there using your solution. Thank you!

[@LongforTruth1]

This is such a helpful tutorial! I have been intimidated by keyframes, and so I have rarely used them. You have totally removed my fear of keyframing! Thank you!

[@rodpyle4241]

I’m new to Final Cut and motion this was an awesome video! Cleared up a lot of questions thank you so much. I’ve been watching all your videos learning a ton ! Keep up the great work !!

[@wooster2937]

You're telepathic - I watched this new channel and quickly realized I need to understand keyframes.... thank you. (yes it did.)

[@maxpathan7927]

Key frames confuses me, but this has given me the interest to have another look. Thx

[@michaelpfarley]

Great video. First complete explanation/demo on key framing I could find. Thanks!!

[@JennJagerPro]

Awesome, thank you!

[@LexiePhaneuf]

Loved the way you explained this, easy breezy. Thanks!

[@ChristiInCanada]

Amazingly in-depth tutorials. Only sad that I found your channel now.

[@elkat88]

Awesome - best tutorial ever on getting the idea of using keyframes - nicely done!

[@JennJagerPro]

Thanks a ton!

[@TomasJennebo]

Thanks a lot. Just what I needed.🙏

[@travelfoodielove]

You are the first person who explained this beautifully

[@Jolyvision]

Hey from France, this is the best and friendly channel I've found !!! I've been using adobe presets for years but I definitely want to learn the technicalities of motion and FCP on your channel...

[@kevbird9342]

Love this style of teaching. Much easier to understand when shown what tab does what. Thank you, helped a lot.

[@msnspy]

Yoi! How come i never knew this existed!!! This is a game changer!!!

[@thesmilingdiplomat9411]

I have no words to thank you so much, dear Jenny, for having explained so clearly such a crucial tool. Grazie!

[@the5xdropout720]

Woooow! I never knew. This changes everything! 😲

[@gordon9177]

I'm when Jenn. Keyframes is the Jewels. if you can Conquer Keyframes, your their Master.

[@GoldenK9Campers]

New Subscriber. The motion piece confused me a little.. but I see how keyframes are so powerful. Thanks for the video!!

[@jeproks113]

I like how clear you explained key framing. Starting me on the sound clip helped me out. I never realized i can use key frames to duck in and out of sounds. I did get lost when you started in motion on customizing the key frame. But then again, i think the more i use it the better ill grasp the concept.

[@jaimecss]

Thank you Jenn. Very helpful video!

[@hvee4]

After jumping over from LumaFusion I understood how keyframes worked but I was struggling to understand how it works in FCP but now this has helped no end, thanks so much. Will look into getting motion too because that looks amazing

[@siyaram2855]

You are awesome Jenn. You nothing less of apple Motion legend. I have a request can you please do a video on break down video of dan koe style in Apple motion.. Waiting for your response. 🙏

[@travelfoodielove]

Love ya energy keep these coming gorgeous

[@bcdrummer1962]

Jenn, you are such a total pro. I was a pro editor back in the old days….I’m talking the transition from 3/4” to Beta SP days….yeah😢and as I get into FCP through your tutorials I am reminded how valuable REAL editors are! Cheers my friend.

[@dreaminanut]

For someone who only clicked on the video to learn how to utilize keyframe in FCPX but knows nothing about Apple Motion, I must say that I left feeling mind-blown. Yeah, I know literally nothing in this field.

[@tankkelly3571]

This is Amazing! Thank you so much !!

[@markrund6292]

Thank you. You have touch on a subject I am lacking in. Also, I did not even know about Apple Motion, so thank you for bringing that up as well.

[@JennJagerPro]

Motion is awesome!

[@weeklyfascination]

@@JennJagerPro I actually had to get Apple Motion because I wanted to learn what Jenn teaches in these tutorials. Fun and simple, but SOOO useful.

[@gsmerjxa]

You're telling me I've got to get Motion just to have smooth animations...? I'm broke, mans. I'm just getting into FCP with the free trial, but now I'm just finding out about Motion. I'm bROOOOKE!!

[@Vonsteffan]

Thanks for the FCP and Motion tutorials. I am impressed you take valuable time away from your business to share your expertise. Very generous. How about a tutorial or two on organizing a project in FCP? The notion of libraries, events, projects and smart collections may not be intuitive to many people, especially if they have experience with other software. Archiving could be another topic of interest. What to save, where to save it and what can be safely deleted. Perhaps you cover this in your Rock Star tutorial? Thanks again.

[@1drhnsd1]

Very helpful - thanks!

[@orphanedsignal]

thanks for this thorough explanation of key frames from simple to complicated! excellent presentation of all pertinent details!!

[@itsbluefruityt]

this video is actually amazing, thank you SO MUCH. I will be sending this one if anyone ever asks me questions as to how I edit my clips.

[@kymbriel]

Wonderfully clear. Thanks!

[@jweaks]

Love all your Motion tutorials!

[@gohealthy23]

I like your energy!!!

[@donschwass319]

Smash that like button lol, seriously though, that was an incredible tutorial. I have had trouble with key frames for years. You just changed my whole world in a few minutes. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial.

[@JennJagerPro]

I’m the keyframe whisperer 🤫

[@carloscravo]

Great Tutorial! Thanks!

[@RonieSaleh]

Super helpful, thanks for taking it slowly! 🙏

[@kimwood3980]

Great tutorial!

[@adirondackwoodsman]

Great Video on Key Frames!

[@josephbartztraining]

Thank you. Great video.

[@user-yf8iv3ml1p]

Very helpful!

[@theoilingchief3114]

Fantastic!!!! I thought I had a grasp on key framing, you’ve added a bunch more! Thank you! Enjoy your videos, you are a good teacher/communicator…..

[@singlespeedeats745]

Such an awesome video. Will be sure to check out the others too. Thank you very much!

[@JennJagerPro]

Awesome, thank you!

[@inthedarkroom6775]

Thank you! This video is very useful

[@joerglobitz7158]

I got it, thank you so much!

[@kz6994]

Very clear explanation. Waiting to see more video on motion.

[@0qulus]

thank you for this!

[@anshikasethi9825]

Really worked out😊

[@sheilafinchfineart]

What a great video! Thank you for making this! I never really understood keyframes until now!🙂

[@weeklyfascination]

Same here. But the analogy to sound editing made perfect sense. I started with GarageBand and I was using keyframes without even calling them that. Keyframes are an incredibly effective way to edit.

[@mariamaxful]

I have Motion as part of a bundle I bought when I got my computer a year ago but am only know checking out Motion. What a find your channel has been these past few days, an absolute boon Jenn! Keep up the great work. For me, this is easily the best of all the tutorials out there about Motion. 🙂

[@HustleUrHustle]

thank you, it helped a lot

[@addytor5759]

Jenn, you're a goddess, I was about to switch to premiere pro just because we don't have the keyframe graph editor, I'm gonna purchase motion, I just hope I can save these effects as presets, wanna use the text as subtitle preset, again thanks for this tutorial.

[@techsavvydaddy5616]

Mind Blown! Thank you, this has been a thorn in my side, you have just pulled it out! Thank you, Thank you!!!!

[@JennJagerPro]

Glad I could help! I was hoping I was explaining it clearly.

[@timothyknight7881]

Wow 😯 this makes sense! Nicely done. I am watching, learning …. Going to check out the paid side, Jenn has earned it and I get her process.

[@healthyhearingloss9953]

totally cool....thank you!

[@ghostwriterinme5050]

Your technique is awesome.

[@JennJagerPro]

Thank youuuu

[@Roz-Inspire-Video]

This helps the key framing picture be less fuzzy …thank you

[@JennJagerPro]

Thanks for being a good friend to this channel!

[@sule261]

Thanks for tutorials now I knw how to use keyfram in motion 5

[@JennJagerPro]

Happy to help

[@iantownsend751]

Thank you. I am new to FCPro and Motion, so this was a clear and easy to understand tutorial in a logical sequence.

[@JennJagerPro]

Clear, easy and logical are exactly what I aim for, so thank you.

[@johnmcgregor7038]

This was great Jenn. Thank you so much for doing this. This really unlocked Motion for me and some minor issues in FCPX key frames.

[@JennJagerPro]

You're so welcome!

[@RubyChooseday]

Thanks so much for this video. It totally transformed my knowledge about this software. You have a very clear way of communicating.

[@JennJagerPro]

You're very welcome!

Thanks a lot!

[@PatrickS34751]

Thank you so much!

[@JennJagerPro]

You're welcome!

[@claudioagmfilho]

🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷👏🏻, Awesome tutorial, thanks!

[@elcano091]

Another way to adjust volume on a specific area, that automatically creates the keyframes for you, is with the range select tool (R). Select the audio that you want to lower the volume on and dragged the volume line down. This will lower the volume only where you selected creating the four keyframes needed. Usually the keyframes are too close for my taste, so I adjust them afterwards. Saves the time to create them.

[@mustafakaizarbhai5749]

Just love your work! The way you explain things can you please make a dedicated segment for all the behaviors in apple motion just the way Jake in Motion did with Effects of After Effects. It would be really helpful to understand behaviors how they work and how to use them to make some great stuff !!!

[@ozedsal5581]

Hi Jenn! I just want to say thank you very much! This is exactly what I'm looking for. This is very helpful. Do you also have masking tutorial just like this.

[@JoseSanchez360]

Just moving over from Premiere. Hope to see more and more FCP and Motion tuts!!

[@JennJagerPro]

Welcome to the dark side!

[@weeklyfascination]

Thank you for this. Always love your content. I've created a subscribe graphic for my channel and I can't way to use it.

[@martinsepesi241]

Hello Jenn, thank you for all tutorials. By the way...you are very nice woman.

[@rosanam88]

Subscribed :)

[@BCBrownBooks]

Thanks! I sort of understood keyframes from video editing. But it was a vague grasp at best, & I didn't realize how they could be used to further heighten not only my audio/video editing but also how to really elevate my Motion graphics/videos! Can't wait for more content on the new channel as I'm really trying to increase my FCP & Motion proficiencies. Maybe a video on social media graphics animation like the lower thirds name graphics you did before?

[@JennJagerPro]

Tell me: what kind of social media graphics would you like to see? Like "subscribe" and "follow me" animations?

[@BCBrownBooks]

@@JennJagerPro Follow me animations, in particular. I've made a few subscribe ones (and also gotten the amazing ones you gave away too).

[@bboydreaded]

Thanks

[@JennJagerPro]

You're welcome.

[@MichaelK5468]

Whenever I teach keyframes in FCP or Motion I'm sure to mention that once a keyframe is added to a parameter further keyframes are automatically added when the playhead has moved and the parameter is adjusted again. This can cause unwanted blips when the playhead is one or two frames offset from the keyframe that is being adjusted. Further to this I encourage the use of the jump-to-next/previous-keyframe button for navigating on the timeline and in so doing take the guess work out of the equation.

[@ramarexmusic5385]

Thanks for your great videos. Could you please make a video about the tip and tricks on the green screen in FCP?

[@JennJagerPro]

Noted!

[@roiegutman]

LOVE your videos! Thank you! A quick question, do it think it’s possible to make a 3D text tracking, like mTracker 3D does, using key frames only?

[@sandmanBW2]

Just found your channel. I very much like your instruction style. I'm constantly amazed how little I know about this powerful video editor. Is the linear keyframe selection in the transform window available in FCPX 10.4.10? I don't see the keyframe handles, just the one transform handle coming from the center point. I'm still stuck on an old iMac and can't upgrade until I purchase newer equipment

[@flashcardsthebeautifulj5632]

This was great Jenn but how do you know the name of tool you would need to use to action an item , like the ounce at the end? I wouldn’t have know what to call that effect or how to find it?

[@mcallbee]

Subscribed. Jenn, (and I know you probably already answered this) but, once you finish your "Hello" clip...do you then have to export it FCPX? Or is there a wormhole to fcpx where I can send it?

[@1drhnsd1]

For the audio track, could you instead split the music background track where the person would start talking, then split it again where the person stops talking - then lower the volume only for the segment where the person would be talking? This may not be easier, but can it be done this way in Final Cut Pro if we don’t want use keyframes for audio?

[@jtepsr]

very nice tutorial but how do you go from apple motion to FCP once you are done.

[@user-mg7le7rf3b]

We`re waiting for 1000 subscribes 😎

[@JennJagerPro]

Me too! 😂

[@user-mg7le7rf3b]

@@JennJagerPro 😂

[@JerrySpangenberg]

Do you create logos and pics with keyframes in apple motion and import them into final cut pro?

[@jeanduvar4810]

Hi Jenn. I got stucked in a keyframe setting. If you want to keyframe opacity, you can right click on the rush, develop the video animation and select the curve profile by right-clicking on the curve. If you want keyframe for positions, you can select the curve type in the canvas by the transformation button (bottom left corner), right ? But if you want to keyframe the scale, there is no way to set any curve, like ease-out. I wanted in a 2 second interval change the scale of a pic from 100% to 2000%, and the beginning of this zoom-in is quite brutal, I wanted to ease it : you can't, it's linear and only linear. Unless you got the solution :-)

[@mrbilitee]

What's your FCP version? Depending on my machine, I'm either using FCP 10.3 or 10.5

[@ImFinallyPerfct]

Does this work for iPad version, I’m having issues w/ the blur mask tracking the subject

[@novasoccer]

Hey Jenn, I'm desperate to find a better solution to panning video in my soccer games. I record from a distance, so I will zoom and pan throughout a ~2 hour video. Using FCPX Keyframes has left me with so many headaches - mostly because of the default "Smooth" transitions. Can I fix my issues by using Motion to create some time of panning templates?

[@JennJagerPro]

You can actually create these moves and then save them to use over and over right inside Final Cut. First, set your keyframes (to make them linear instead of smooth, enable the Transform tool in the viewer, right click on the keyframes inside the viewer window and select Linear), then click the “Save Effects Preset” button at the bottom of the inspector. In the pop up, under category, scroll to the bottom of the list and select “New Category” and call it something like Soccer Moves, and then name this effect a description of whatever the move is (I.e., “fast pan left”) Now you’ve created your own custom Category and effect in your Effects Browser. From here on out, every time you create a new keyframed move, just save it to that Soccer Moves category. I’ve done this for all of my Motion Tutorials myself. And don’t get me started on those smooth keyframes!

[@novasoccer]

@@JennJagerPro I’m kicking myself for never remembering the “Safe Effects” option. Thanks, you’re the best!

[@hmac66]

Hi Jenn, In Final Cut, can please explain what dictates being able to expand a lane in the Video Animation Editor? As an example, I've set key frames to scale a still image up and down but there is no expand arrow to expand the lane and edit the curves. Same goes with the Color Board animation lane - I've set keyframes for Global Saturation but can't expand the lane to edit the curve. The Compositing/Opacity lane seems to have the expand arrow in the right corner by default. Something tells me you're going to say I need Motion, no? Help appreciated!

[@JennJagerPro]

Yeah Hal, you've got it right, unfortunately. The keyframing capabilities in FCP suck compared to Motion. I saw a recent poll where better keyframing was the #1 answer when participants were asked what FCP feature they'd liked to see improved. You and I are not alone in wanting an improvement.

[@hmac66]

@@JennJagerPro Wait, you mean between the two of us we can't get that feature added? :) Thanks for the prompt reply Jenn. Your videos are really invaluable to us newbies out here.

[@hmac66]

I am going to add Motion, but one other teeny point with final cut: When I select a clip that has keyframes (for scaling in this instance), then enable the Transform button in the Viewer as you do at 11:58, it does not show the keyframes and their paths. It only shows the default indicators (Anchor, I think, and Rotation). Thoughts? I'm on OS 12.6, Final Cut 10.6.4

[@hmac66]

And last quesstion, I promise! I just installed Motion and am pretty confused. I have an existing Final Cut project and want to enhance (scale, movement, color saturation, etc) using key frames on a clip in that project. I don't see how to apply those effects to the clip using Motion while in Final Cut. Do I have to export the clip to Motion somehow? If so, it seems I won't be able see how the clip works in the Final Cut project as I go. I'm sure I'm missing something very basic. Thank you Jenn!

[@1drhnsd1]

Is there a way to see the video keyframe locations on the timeline?

[@JennJagerPro]

Select a clip in the timeline and hit Control+V.

[@GeeQueee]

Wat is apple motion

[@1drhnsd1]

I don’t understand “connect” where you say “I’m gonna connect this audio track.” I see you dragging an audio track into the timeline, but I don’t see what you’re connecting it to? Is there already another audio track in the timeline that I’m not seeing?

[@mcallbee]

Final Cut Pro is sooooo XYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXYXY-tastic !!!!!!!! Your first comment was right ON, this who piece of **** needs to be thrown in the trash and re-invented from the ground up. You are a good teacher Jenn, but not even you can put a polish on this turd. Adobe is another relic from the dinosaur age. Thanks for the effort. Now at least I know why everyone avoids key framing like the plague.

[@deejaysoulfighter]

where is apple + ?

[@Procuste34iOSh]

only linear and smooth in FCP ? wtf ? 250$ while davinci can do custom keyframe transition ??