Make the cut.
Keep the beat.

Install Beat Cut Assistant

1. Download Beat Cut Assistant from the Mac App Store.
2. Open it once from your Applications folder.
3. When the opening screen appears, you can close it.

The Final Cut extension is already inside the app. There is no second download and nothing else to install.

Open Beat Cut Assistant inside Final Cut Pro

1. Open Final Cut Pro.
2. Click the Extensions button on the left side of the Final Cut toolbar.
3. Choose Beat Cut Assistant.

If you do not see the Extensions button, use the menu bar at the top of the screen and choose Window → Extensions → Beat Cut Assistant. Beat Cut opens in a floating window inside Final Cut.

If Final Cut was open while Beat Cut was installed: Quit Final Cut completely, reopen it, and check Extensions again.

Open or create a Final Cut Library

Final Cut calls its main working file a Library. It is simply the place where Final Cut keeps your events, projects, and timelines.

1. To make a new one, choose File → New → Library.
2. Give it a clear name, such as “Birthday Party.”
3. Save it somewhere easy to find, such as the Desktop.

You do not need to create a project or timeline. Beat Cut will create those for you. If you already have a Library open for this video, you can use it instead.

Choose your video clips

1. Return to the Beat Cut window and click Choose Footage.
2. Find the folder containing your video clips.
3. Select the folder itself, then click Open.
4. Wait until Beat Cut says the clips are ready.

You can also select individual clips or more than one folder. Beat Cut reads the files but does not change or delete the originals.

Birthday-party example: Select the clips of guests arriving, children playing, candles being lit, the birthday song, and the child opening presents.

Choose the song

1. Click Choose Song.
2. Find the local music file you prepared.
3. Select it and click Open.
4. Wait while Beat Cut detects the tempo.

The tempo appears as a BPM number. BPM means beats per minute. For a first edit, it is fine to leave the detected number alone.

Choose the pace, then review the moments

These controls tell Beat Cut how to build the first edit:

• Half, Double, and Tap correct the detected tempo if it feels wrong.
• Beat grid controls how often Beat Cut places a new cut. More beats leave each moment on screen longer.
• Balanced, Close-ups First, or Movement First tells Beat Cut what kind of moments to favor.
• Randomize or Recorded Order controls the order of the selected clips.
• Final Cut markers adds beat markers to the music in the new timeline.

1. Click Start Review.
2. Click Play Moment to watch the suggestion.
3. Use Earlier, Later, Shorter, or Longer if it needs a small adjustment.
4. Click Keep This Moment or Skip.
5. Continue until you have reviewed the moments you want.

Birthday-party example: Keep the candle-blowing, cheering, laughing, and present-opening moments. Skip a blurry shot or a moment where the camera points at the floor.

Send the edit to Final Cut Pro

1. Keep at least one suggested moment.
2. Click Create Final Cut Pro Edit.
3. A Save window appears. Leave the name as Beat Cut Rough Cut.fcpxml.
4. Save it to the Desktop so it is easy to find.
5. If Final Cut asks where to import it, choose the Library you opened in Step 3.

The FCPXML file is not a finished movie. It is a small instruction file that tells Final Cut how to build the new timeline from your original clips and song.

If nothing opens automatically: In Final Cut, choose File → Import → XML, then choose “Beat Cut Rough Cut.fcpxml” from the Desktop.

Open the new timeline and keep editing

1. Look on the left side of Final Cut for an event named Beat Cut Assistant.
2. Click that event.
3. Find the project whose name begins with Beat Cut.
4. Double-click the project to open its timeline.

The timeline contains the song and the moments you kept. If Final Cut Markers was turned on, the music also has markers showing the beat positions.

The edit is still completely adjustable. Move clips, replace clips, change the cut points, add titles, adjust the music, and finish the video the same way you would edit any other Final Cut project.

Birthday-party example: Add the child's name and age as a title, lower the music where someone is speaking, and add the final family photo at the end.

After the import works: You may delete the “Beat Cut Rough Cut.fcpxml” file from the Desktop. Keep the original video clips and song where Final Cut can still reach them.