Animated Split-Screen Effect for Final Cut Pro (Free & Built-In)

A split-screen puts two clips on screen at the same time. Final Cut Pro can do this with its built-in tools. No plugins, no purchase required. Here's how to build one that animates cleanly.

Set up the two clips

Place Clip A on the primary storyline. Place Clip B as a connected clip directly above it. It should be stacked in the timeline. Both clips should cover the same duration for the duration of the split-screen.

Crop Clip B to half the frame

Select Clip B. In the Viewer, click the crop icon (or press Shift+C) and choose Trim mode. Drag the right edge of Clip B to the centre of the frame: you're trimming it to occupy only the left half. Now Clip B shows on the left and Clip A shows on the right. Adjust the crop to control exactly where the centre line sits.

Position both clips

With Clip B cropped to the left half, open the Video Inspector and adjust its Position X value to push it to the left if needed (typically around -240 for 1080p, or -480 for 4K) so the content within each half is well-framed. Do the same for Clip A: crop it to the right half, adjust Position X to push it right.

Add the animated intro

To make the split-screen slide in rather than just appear, set a keyframe for Position X at the start of the clip with Clip B off-screen to the left (Position X = -1920 for 1080p). Set a second keyframe one second later with Clip B in its final position. FCP animates the slide-in. Apply the same logic to Clip A sliding in from the right. Use velocity curves in the Video Animation editor (Cmd+V) to add an ease-out for a polished feel.

The dividing line

For a clean visual separator between the two clips, add a Custom generator (from the Generators browser) as a connected clip above both, crop it to a thin vertical strip (5 to 10 pixels wide), and position it at the centre of the frame. Colour it white or the accent colour of your brand. This gives the split-screen a deliberate, designed look rather than a raw crop edge.