Final Cut Pro does not come with a built in adjustment layer, like you might find with Premiere Pro or other Adobe editing software. But you can download my free adjustment layer here, which will have you up and running in FCP within minutes.

For anyone new to video or photo editing – An adjustment layer is an invisible clip (technically a title in FCP) that you can drop on top of your entire edit, or just a small sequence of shots. It allows you to make global changes to anything from color grading to visual effects, which can speed up your workflow significantly.

For example, you might want to give an entire scene a warm color wash. Rather than applying a LUT to every shot individually, you could apply it once to an adjustment layer. Then, simply drag the layer over as much of the edit as you need.

If you have Apple Motion on your computer, it’s possible to manually create an adjustment layer there, and then publish it to Final Cut. But I’ve saved you the step and made my adjustment layer available for free download below.

But first, here’s how to set it up –

Installing The Adjustment Layer

Once you’ve downloaded your package (linked to below), follow these steps to install the adjustment layer:

Step 1. Unzip the folder

Step 2. Drag the main folder into your Motion Templates subfolder. It can be located at: Users > Username > Movies > Motion Templates > Titles

Step 3. Once you’ve copied the entire folder structure into the Titles subfolder, you can now open Final Cut Pro, and it will be available for use.

To use the adjustment layer, simply locate it in your Titles browser inside of FCP. It will be called: Cinecolor – Adjustment Layer.

Drag it on top of your footage and make any adjustments as you see fit.

Final Cut Pro Adjustment Layer: Free Download

I’ve made the adjustment layer available for free download through my Cinecolor platform. This is where I publish all of my color grading tools and post-production assets.

Click here to download the free Cinecolor adjustment layer now.

I hope it’s of use to you all and saves you some time in the edit! If you enjoy it, please feel free to share it on social media, YouTube, forums, or anywhere else.

Enjoy.