I see you are looking for another Final Cut Pro tutorial! You have come to the right place. I have sat in this chair for many hours scouring the internet on how to change video resolution in Final Cut Pro, looking for answers. Thankfully I have taken out all of that guesswork for you.
Let’s keep this as simple as we can, shall we? But before we jump in, it’s important to understand WHY you are doing something. It might be nice to have all these skills with Final Cut Pro, but as we all know, with everything we learned in grade school, you need to apply these skills or understand why you’re doing it for it to really stick. Let’s address that first.
How To Change Video Resolution in Final Cut Pro 2 Different Ways
Quick Pro Tip: For all of these, by selecting Vertical or Square, you will still need to select your resolution to meet your needs. You can select it by clicking the up-down arrows next to resolution. Any other format will automatically change your resolution for you.
Method 1: Change Video Resolution
1. Select Your Project:
Select your project in the project window on the left.
2. Select Project Settings:
Select the i if it’s not already highlighted on the right side of the screen.
3. Modify Project Settings:
Click “Modify” next to your current resolution. This will be highlighted in purple.
4. Change Project Resolution:
Next to “Video Format,” click on the highlighted up-down arrows to select your desired resolution. Keep the pro tip from earlier in mind if you want to select vertical or square.
Method 2: Change Video Resolution Without Changing Original File
If you are multi-purposing content, this is perfect for you so you can keep your original files and make tweaks as needed!
1. Select Your Project:
Select your project in the project window on the left and right-click.
2. Duplicate Project:
Select Duplicate Project As.
3. Change Project Resolution:
Next to “Video Format,” click on the highlighted up-down arrows to select your desired resolution. Keep the pro tip (#1) from earlier in mind if you want to select vertical or square.
Quick Pro Tip #2: Make your videos stand out even more by adding text! Social media platforms probably won’t have the awesome choices that Final Cut has when it comes to fonts. It’s a great way to draw in your audience and differentiate your videos across platforms. Here is my article on adding text in Final Cut Pro!
Why Would You Need To Change Video Resolution in FCPX?
Repurposing Content
The absolute horror of repurposing content. Let’s spin that hamster wheel! I know, I know as if you weren’t running fast enough already. We live in a world of constantly repurposing content. When you are a content creator or filmmaker, you always want to ensure that your favorite moments can be used across all your social media. No one wants to spend hours on end creating individual videos for Tiktok, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, your Nanna, and your cat, etc. We want to save time and not wonder what we are doing with ourselves. Alright, well, I still may do that, but I hope better for you.
You Accidently Selected The Wrong Format
You’re not doomed. We will fix it. And don’t feel bad about this one because it happens to the best of us. You have your video edited, and maybe the client wants a different format, or you realize you missed something. You need to have a swift recovery! Because the idea of creating a whole new project and doing the good ol’ “copy-pasta” while praying to the film gods that everything copies properly is NOT how we want to go about this. As always, I got your back.
I will be using our short film, To, You, which won us best cinematography at the 29 Days Later film festival! You can check out the film below:
Half of the battle of content creation is having good looking videos, right? If you want to learn the basics of coverage and how to get the best shots, check out Ashleigh Coffelt’s article, “A Beginners Guide To Film Coverage!” Ashleigh is a brilliant cinematographer, and her multiple cinematography awards agree with me.
FAQs:
Can I Set A Custom Resolution in Final Cut Pro?
Indeed you can! Instead of picking one of the provided resolutions (ie, 1080, 2k, 4k), select the “custom” option at the bottom and enter your desired resolution. This works well when you need specific video formats for your social media.
Do I Need To Change My Resolution When I Change My Format?
It depends! The only time you have to worry about changing the resolution is when you are selecting formats such as vertical or square. Check out Quick Pro Tip #1 above the tutorial if you missed it!
More Final Cut Pro Tutorials
Now that you know how to change video resolution in Final Cut, check out some other guides I wrote.
- How To Use The Ken Burns Effect in Final Cut Pro
- How To Fade Out Audio In Final Cut Pro
- How To Sync Audio in Final Cut Pro
Video Resolution Change DONE
Thankfully, Final Cut Pro makes it super easy to change resolution! My favorite feature is the custom feature because you never know when you are going to need it. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to change video resolution in Final Cut Pro. Let us know how you like the content and happy filmmaking!
