5

For more information on working with shapes and masks, see Using Shapes, Masks, and
Paint Strokes.
Template Files and Media Save Location
When you save a template, the project and all associated files are saved in your
/Users/username/Movies/Motion Templates/ folder, organized by template type. The
template types include Compositions (templates created in Motion for use in Motion),
Effects, Generators, Titles, and Transitions.
When a Final Cut Effect template is saved, it is saved to /Users/username/Movies/Motion
Templates/Effects; a Final Cut Transition is saved to /Users/username/Movies/Motion
Templates/Transitions, and so on.
When you save a template in Motion, you assign a category. For example, when you save
a Final Cut Effect, choose an option from the Category pop-up menu in the save dialog,
such as Blur, Distortion, or Stylize. After you save a template into a category, that category’s
folder appears in the corresponding folder on your computer (Effects, Titles, Generators,
and so on).
Categories represent the how the effects are organized in the Final Cut Pro X media
browsers. For example, in the Final Cut Pro Effects Browser, video effect categories include
Basics, Blur, Distortion, Keying, Light, Looks, Stylize, and Tiling. In Motion, a Final Cut Effect
template saved to the Blur category is placed in the Finder in the
/Users/username/Movies/Motion Templates/Effects/Blur/your template name folder.
You are not limited to the preset Final Cut Pro browser categories. You can create a
template category by choosing New Category from the Category pop-up menu in the
template save dialog. Custom categories also appear in Final Cut Pro browsers.
You can further organize templates using Themes. A theme is a metadata tag attached
to a template 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. By tagging the templates
with the same theme, all templates, regardless of their template type, appear in the
Final Cut Pro Themes Browser.
Themed templates also appear in other effects browsers. For example, a themed Final
Cut Title template appears in the Final Cut Pro Themes Browser as well as in the Titles
Browser (underneath the nonthemed templates).
Assigning a theme to templates is optional.
560 Chapter 11 Creating Templates for Final Cut Pro X