Use onscreen camera guides in Final Cut Pro for iPad
You can turn on guides in the camera viewfinder in Final Cut Pro to help you compose your shots, check focus, check for overexposed areas, and more.
Turn on the viewfinder grid
Use the viewfinder grid lines to help you compose your shot.
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Pro Camera.In the camera screen, tap
, tap Tools, then turn on Grid Overlay.Tap
.
Turn on the viewfinder level and crosshairs
Use the viewfinder level and crosshairs to help you compose your shot.
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Pro Camera.In the camera screen, tap
, tap Tools, then turn on Level.Tap
.
When Level is turned on, tilt and roll indicators appear in the viewfinder. White horizontal bars align and change to yellow when the viewfinder horizon is perfectly level, and a white dot changes to yellow when the camera is perfectly vertical. In overhead shots, crosshairs change to yellow when the camera is pointed straight down.
Turn on overexposure (zebra) lines
Use the overexposure indicator to show areas of your image that are overexposed. Overexposed areas are marked with diagonal red lines, also known as “zebra stripes.” Overexposed video lacks detail and typically appears as pure white. You can adjust the exposure before you record to restore detail to overexposed areas.
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Pro Camera.In the camera screen, tap
, tap Tools, then turn on Overexposure Indicator.Tap
.
Tip: To quickly correct the exposure, tap the zebra lines when they appear in the camera viewfinder.
Turn on the focus peaking overlay
Focus peaking highlights areas in the viewfinder that are in sharp focus with a color overlay, so you can accurately determine what part of the image is in focus while you’re recording.
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Pro Camera.In the camera screen, tap
, tap Tools, then turn on Focus Peaking.Tap
.
Tip: Turn on focus peaking, then change the focus manually to see which parts of the image come into focus.
Turn on aspect ratio guides
If you plan to deliver your project in a 4:3 aspect ratio or a square aspect ratio (for social media, for example), you can show aspect ratio guides on the camera screen to help you compose your shots. Then you can crop your video clips later in post-production, and they’ll fit correctly in the final frame size.
In Final Cut Pro for iPad, open a project, tap
in the toolbar, then tap Pro Camera.In the camera screen, tap
, then tap Tools.Tap
next to Aspect Ratio Guide, then tap an option.Tap
.
The guides remain on the camera screen until you turn them off, including while recording with the front-facing camera.