X

124Final Cut Pro User Guide
In the past, reframing each clip in a project for a new aspect ratio was a manual and time-
consuming process. Final Cut Pro now speeds up this process with the Smart Conform
feature, which analyzes the content of each clip for faces or other areas of visual interest,
and automatically reframes clips that have a different aspect ratio from the project aspect
ratio. You can use Smart Conform to quickly create a square or vertical version of a
horizontal or widescreen project, and then make manual framing adjustments later.
1. In Final Cut Pro, open an existing horizontal project.
2. Select the project in the browser, and do one of the following:
• Choose Edit > Duplicate Project As.
• Control-click the project in the browser, and choose Duplicate Project As.
3. In the window that appears, enter a project name and specify the settings for the
duplicate project. (Choose Vertical or Square from the Video Format pop-up menu.)
When you change the aspect ratio, the Smart Conform checkbox appears.
4. To have Final Cut Pro analyze clips in the project and automatically reframe the clips
whose aspect ratio differs from the project aspect ratio, select the Smart Conform
checkbox.
See
Adjust framing with Smart Conform in Final Cut Pro.
5. Click OK.
Final Cut Pro creates the new project.
If you selected Smart Conform, Final Cut Pro enables overscan view for reframed clips,
revealing areas of a clip that extend beyond the edge of the viewer. You can make
further reframing adjustments manually using the Transform effect. See Resize, move,
and rotate clips in Final Cut Pro.
You can add a custom overlay as an onscreen guide when placing text and graphics in the
frame. Custom overlays are similar to title-safe and action-safe overlays, except that they
can be customized to the needs of your project. This makes them useful for the various
vertical and square aspect ratios common in social media. See Show overlays in the
Final Cut Pro viewer.
Final Cut Pro project settings
You can change almost all settings of an existing Final Cut Pro project. See Modify a
project’s settings in Final Cut Pro.