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438Final Cut Pro User Guide
• Custom roles and subroles are specific to a library. This means that a custom role that
you create for one library is not automatically available in another library. However, if
you copy or move clips between libraries, any custom roles and subroles assigned to
those clips are also available in the destination library.
• Changing a role within a compound clip or multicam clip affects every instance of that
clip throughout the library.
• When you import clips, Final Cut Pro automatically assigns unique subroles to each
audio component in a clip. You can manually assign the same subrole to multiple
components in a clip, but this will cause those components to be consolidated (in the
same subrole) if you place the clip inside a compound clip, multicam clip, or synced clip.
View and reassign roles in Final Cut Pro
When you import clips (video, audio, or still images), Final Cut Pro analyzes existing clip
metadata and automatically assigns roles to each clip. Specifically, Final Cut Pro assigns
subroles to the video and audio components in each clip.
There are many ways to view and change the default role and subrole assignments. Proper
role assignment is the key to organizing the timeline with audio lanes and using roles to
export media stems.
Note: You can also create and assign custom roles and subroles. See Create custom roles
in Final Cut Pro.
Assign audio roles in the Audio inspector
1. In the Final Cut Pro browser or timeline, select a clip containing audio.
2. If the 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.
3. Click the Audio button at the top of the inspector.
Tip: Double-click the top bar of the Audio inspector to switch between half-height
view and full-height view.