Eight Benefits of Using Templates in Final Cut Pro X

Published on August 8, 2013

If you make videos, there's a high possibility that you would benefit from using templates and themes in Final Cut Pro X.

I thought of eight reasons to use templates, and I'll briefly share them with you.

First of all, what is a template? It's a formatted mini-project that's already created. You add it to your project, and you can simply change text or drop in video clips or images as needed.

Common templates might be for the video "opener" or "lower third" (a lower third is the text that shows up in the lower third portion of the screen, usually below someone who is talking in the video to help identify who they are).

For example you might use the same template for a lower third throughout the same video, or even throughout several different related videos.

Templates are pre-made which give you several benefits. Here are some of them:

1. Templates are a major timesaver

The most obvious benefit of using a template is that it's a major timesaver. You don't have to create everything from scratch because a lot of the complex work is done for you.

A template allows you to drop in the look you want and then customize according to your needs.

This is significantly faster than starting from a blank canvas.

2. Templates save you money

If you use a royalty-free template, it likely costs less than hiring someone to create a custom graphics package for you.

You could easily spend hundreds (or possibly thousands) of dollars on a custom motion graphics opening for example, whereas you can frequently purchase a royalty-free template for under $100.

Of course, the royalty-free template isn't as unique as a totally custom template, but it definitely costs less, and you could always customize the royalty-free template to make it more unique for you.

3. Templates can add visual interest

Humans love to see moving things, and a motion graphics template can help you add moving graphics to your video projects.

This creates additional visual interest and can help hold your viewer's attention longer.

4. Templates can help you create branding for your videos

Many videos are episodic, and using a template from episode to episode can help you create branding for your show.

For example, you can have colors that are associated with your video series.

Or you can use an animated logo that's uniquely yours.

A consistent look and feel to your videos can help create the branding you're looking for, and your viewers will know what to expect from you. Templates are great tools for consistency.

Strong branding can give your videos advantages over other videos, which takes me to the next benefit.

5. Templates can give your video a competitive advantage

When you make a video and release it, it's essentially competing with other videos.

It's possible that adding a high quality template to your video to give it visual interest might make your video more "watchable" for your audience, giving you a competitive advantage.

6. Templates can raise the perceived professionalism of your video

The same way that a suit might make you appear more professional when going on a job interview, a template can make your video appear more professional.

A template can be a way to "dress up" your video.

It's possible that you don't want your video to be more professional, and that's totally fine of course. In fact, there are likely templates that you can use that will help your video appear less professional if you choose (a grungy template would be an example of this).

7. Templates can help your video appear more creative

Templates are like creative short cuts. A lot of the creativity is done for you, so all you have to do is drop in videos and text, tweak a few things, and you're done.

8. Templates can be easy to customize

When you're using templates in Final Cut Pro X, you can frequently open the templates in Motion 5 and customize them.

If you're comfortable with Motion, you can make the changes you need to your template, save the project, and then the revised template shows up in Final Cut Pro X for you automatically.

The combination of Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5 make using templates super simple.

All that said, templates aren't necessarily for everyone or for every project, but when they're right, they can be an extremely useful tool.

Did you think of other advantages to templates which I didn't include here? If so, please post them in the comments...

This article was last updated on October 6, 2020