What sets Final Cut X apart from other editors are the plugins.
Plugins can easily speed up your workflow. Things that would have taken hours in other editors can take seconds with the right plugin. It’s really a solo YouTubers dream. You just have to know which ones are worth it.
1) MHud 3 – by MotionVFX – $99
I want to start by saying MotionVFX’s plugins are the most innovative on the market right now and their entire library is worth checking out. The only problem with their plugins is that they tend to be expensive, so I’m only going to list two or three that I think are the coolest here.
MHUD 3 is one of the coolest plugins I’ve ever seen. It has graphics that can track your scene automatically. Check out the YouTube video below for a preview.
2) Mtracker 3d – by MotionVFX – $299
This plugin is also quite cool since it can track 3d objects in your clip. It’s amazing that this is even possible (check the video to see a preview of it). I recommend looking into product bundles if you’re going to buy this plugin. You can get this one and MHUD 3 for not much more.
3) Cinema Grade $99
This is just simpler to use color correction tools baked into Final Cut Pro. If you film in log (which you absolutely should), decent color correction tools are essential. Cinema Grade makes color grading an absolute joy. Now you can film in log and get those extra stops of dynamic range without killing yourself color grading.
4) Infographics – Pixel Film Studios – $29.95
Infographics can take all the boring data you’re going over in your videos and make it come to life in an incredibly engaging way. Some type of infographics plugin is a must have in your toolbox.
5) Title Pop – Stupid Raisins – $59
A decent titles plugin that won’t completely break the bank. The titles in FCPX definitely suck and need to be upgraded; this pack gives you what you need to get started.
6) Grids – LenoFX – $29
Grids are something you didn’t realize you needed until you do. And then you won’t know how you lived without it. And for only $29, it’s not a bad deal.
7) MFlare2 – by MotionVFX – $149
MFlare2 allows you to add lighting to your clips. It’s very cool for enhancing lighting effects after the fact. Really can improve the look of the scene.
8) Era 5 Bundle – Accusonus – $7.99/m
This plugin can easily clean up the audio in your FCPX projects. It’s absolutely essential and a game-changer as far as the quality of my YouTube videos. Particularly if you don’t know much about recording or cleaning up sound.
9) Color Grading Central Transitions – Free
I like these transitions a lot better than the defaults built into Final Cut Pro, and the price is right. Here’s a YouTube video about how to set them up and what they look like.
10) Dynamic Transitions – FxFactory – $50
These transitions are pretty awesome and easy to use. For $50, I find it well worth the price. Check out the video below for some of the cool stuff it can do.
11) Neat Video – $75
This plugin is quite handy if you shot your scene in low light conditions and have a bunch of static in the shot. It can really improve situations like this and is probably worth the $75 if this happens to you a lot or if you really need to attempt to save a shot.
12) Compressor – $50
Compressor is an app store app that integrates with Final Cut Pro. It allows you to finely tune your export settings and compress your videos significantly faster than you could have in Final Cut. It also opens up new formats like exporting as GIFs.
The time savings when rendering and customizations make this app well worth it.
13) Simple Infographics – FxFactory – $49
Another infographics plugin. I don’t feel like you can have too many of these as it really helps data come to life in a way that you couldn’t do otherwise. An essential tool.