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409Final Cut Pro User Guide
Add placeholders in Final Cut Pro
Generated placeholders are useful when you want to fill a gap in the project with a clip that
provides a hint about the final content. You can set placeholder clips to represent a wide
variety of standard shots, such as close-ups, groups, wide shots, and so on.
1. Drag the playhead in the Final Cut Pro timeline to the point where you want to add the
placeholder clip.
2. Do one of the following:
• Choose Edit > Insert Generator > Placeholder (or press Option-Command-W).
• In the Titles and Generators sidebar, click the Generators triangle to show the
generator categories, select Elements, then double-click the Placeholder thumbnail
in the browser.
3. Select the placeholder clip in the timeline.
4. If the Generator inspector isn’t already shown, do one of the following:
• Choose Window > Show in Workspace > Inspector (or press Command-4).
• Click the Inspector button on the right side of the toolbar.
5. Click the Generator button at the top of the inspector.
6. In the Generator inspector, adjust the settings for the placeholder clip to match the type
of shot you’re creating a placeholder for.
7. To add a text area in the viewer where you can type text that pertains to this clip, select
View Notes.
If you prefer to fill a gap in the timeline with a blank clip, you can insert a gap clip. See
Insert clips in Final Cut Pro.