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559Final Cut Pro User Guide
Create hold segments in Final Cut Pro
In Final Cut Pro, you can hold on a particular frame to create a still image, temporarily
stopping the action onscreen. This is called a hold segment. By default, a hold segment
is added as a 2-second still frame at the location of the skimmer or playhead, but you can
change the duration.
Alternatively, you can create separate freeze-frame clips in Final Cut Pro. One key
difference between freeze frames and hold segments is that hold segments remain part
of the original clip, and you can adjust their duration within the clip. On the other hand,
freeze-frame clips are simple and quick to create, and you can move them around in your
projects easily. See
Create freeze frames in Final Cut Pro.
Important: Adding a hold segment to a clip increases its duration.
1. In the Final Cut Pro timeline, do one of the following:
• Click the clip with the frame you want to hold, then move the skimmer or playhead to
that frame.
• Select ranges in Final Cut Pro within a clip in the timeline.
2. Click the Retime pop-up menu below the viewer and choose Hold (or press Shift-H).
If you selected a clip, a 2-second hold segment is added to the clip at the position of
the skimmer or the playhead.
If you selected a range, a hold segment is created for the duration of the range. The
frame used as the still frame is the first (leftmost) frame in the range.
3. If you want to adjust the duration of the hold segment, drag the segment’s retiming
handle.
Dragging to the right increases the duration, and dragging to the left decreases it.
4. To see the effect of the hold segment, play back the clip in the timeline.
Note: You can also create a still-image file from a video frame in your project or from a
clip in the browser. For example, you may want to email someone a JPEG image showing a
specific moment in your project. See
Export still images with Final Cut Pro.