How to Use the Crop Tool and the Feathering Edge on Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro is a great video editing program with many great features. Learning how to use all the wonderful features of Final Cut Pro takes time and it's always nice to get a little help with the tricks to make editing quicker and easier. Here's how to use the crop and feathering edge tool with Final Cut Pro.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Start the program and load a still photo. Make sure you are practicing on a copy of the original photo by saving it as a new name. Keep the original in its unedited form just in case you need to go back and change some of the edits you make.
2. Notice where the current still's edges lie. This is more noticeable by the layout lines that Final Cut Pro puts at the edge of your photo.
3. Open up the crop bar on the left side of the screen. Move the sliders to the left and right to adjust the crop on all the sides of your still. You can also use the crop tool located at the lower right of the screen. Simply click on it, then hover over your still's edges and drag the crop where you want it to be.
4. Save your edited still as a new file name before you continue. This will enable you to go back to the original edited version in Final Cut Pro if needed.
5. Select a feathering edge level by sliding the slider to the right. Experiment with this to get your still exactly the way you want it. The edge is feather more the farther to the right that you slide the feathering tool in Final Cut Pro.