In Motion, choose File > New from Project Browser (or press Option-Command-N).
In the Project Browser, click Final Cut Title, then click the Preset pop-up menu and choose a project size.
Optional: Choose Custom from the Preset pop-up menu, then select your project properties.
To create a template that automatically conforms to the Final Cut Pro color space, choose Automatic from the Color Processing pop-up menu.
Important: Be sure to create the template at the highest resolution you will use in your Final Cut Pro project. If you’re creating 4K-specific templates, you can click the Search button in the Final Cut Pro media browsers to display only templates designed for use in 4K projects. See Set template resolution.
Click Open (or press Return).
A new, untitled Motion project opens containing two layers: a text layer (Type Text Here) and a placeholder layer (Title Background).
To add a reference image to the Title Background placeholder to preview your work, do one of the following:
- In the toolbar, click Import, choose Import Media, then drag a still image from the dialog to the placeholder arrow in the canvas (or to the Title Background layer in the Layers list).
- From the Finder or Library, drag a still image to the placeholder arrow in the canvas (or to the Title Background layer in the Layers list).
  Be sure to release the mouse button when the pointer is over a placeholder (the arrow in the canvas or Transition layer in the Layers list). If you miss the target, you create a new layer, which can’t be dragged to the placeholder layer.
  The image is added to the Title Background layer, replacing the down arrow graphic in the canvas. This image is temporary media used to preview the effect you’re building. It’s not used in the Final Cut Pro title, but does appear in the Titles browser icon. To clear the image, see Clear media from a template placeholder.
  For more information on using reference images, see Use placeholder images in templates.
Modify the text as needed and add animation, filters, text behaviors, and other effects to create custom titles.
Because users can change the text in Final Cut Pro, it’s not necessary to modify the default text (“Type Text Here”) in Motion. You can adjust and animate parameters in the Text Inspector, Filters Inspector, Behaviors Inspector, and Properties Inspector to create a memorable title sequence. For more information about using text, see Intro to basic text and Intro to animated text.
Optional: Add and modify new layers such as shapes, 3D objects, paint strokes, particles, and so on.
These new graphics will ultimately be composited over Final Cut Pro clips and can’t be separated from the effect.
To allow Final Cut Pro users to modify specific parameters, choose Publish from the Animation pop-up menu of each parameter you want to make accessible.
Publishing a parameter makes its user interface control (the slider, checkbox, or dial) available in the Final Cut Pro inspector when the custom title is added to a clip. Published parameters can be adjusted and keyframed in Final Cut Pro. See Adding controls to templates. For information specific to publishing text parameters, see Publishing template text controls.
Note: If the template’s Color Processing is set to Standard Gamut SDR or Wide Gamut HDR, you can select “Override FCP Color Space” (in the Project Properties Inspector) to ensure that the effect retains the same appearance when applied to the Final Cut Pro timeline, regardless of the Final Cut Pro library’s color-processing setting. See Set the color-processing method.
Optional: When you’re satisfied with the custom title you’ve built, you can remove the preview image from the template by selecting the Effect Source layer, then clicking the Clear button in the Image Inspector.
The temporary image is removed and not saved to the template’s Media folder. See Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
Choose File > Save, then do the following:
1. In the save dialog, enter a name for the template.
  If you don’t specify a name, the template appears in the Final Cut Pro Titles browser as “New Template.”
2. Choose a category from the Category pop-up menu.
  You can also create a custom category. Categories represent how the effects are organized in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro Titles browser. Custom categories also appear in the browsers.
3. If needed, choose a theme from the Theme pop-up menu.
  You can also create themes. Themes appear in the Motion Project Browser and in the Final Cut Pro browsers. A theme is a metadata tag that assists in categorizing different templates as being part of a single family. For example, you may have different template types that are related to the same project, such as a transition, an effect, and a group of titles.
4. To retain unused media in the project (media or audio in the Media list that is not used in the template but which you may want to include in the template later), select “Include unused media.”
  For information on where template-related files are saved, see Where are Final Cut Pro templates saved in Motion?
5. If you want a preview movie to appear in the Motion Project Browser, select Save Preview Movie.
Click Publish.
The template and remaining media are saved and exported to the Final Cut Pro Titles browser. If you did not remove the reference image, it appears in the template’s thumbnail in the Final Cut Pro Titles browser.

Apply the title in Final Cut Pro

Click the Titles and Generators button in the top-left corner of the Final Cut Pro window.
In the sidebar, click Titles, then locate the title to add.
Do one of the following:
- Drag the title into the timeline, above the clip you want to composite it over.
  When you release the mouse button, the title is anchored to the clip, and the clip is used as the background. The title can span multiple clips in the timeline. The clips populate the Title Background placeholder, inheriting any transforms, filters, or other effects applied to the placeholder in Motion.
- Drag the title into an empty area of the main timeline.
  When you release the mouse button, the title is added as a standalone title clip (that is not composited over a video clip). If the title effect contains a Title Background placeholder, the placeholder is ignored, and a background clip can’t be specified. Drag the In and Out points to increase or decrease the duration of the title.

For information on working with titles in Final Cut Pro, see the Final Cut Pro User Guide.

Download this guide: PDF

Helpful?

Motion User Guide

Create a title template in Motion

Create a new title template

Apply the title in Final Cut Pro