An Easy Way to Dissect a Compound Clip

Software: Apple FCP X

When you create a Compound Clip, all selected video clips, audio clips, effects, titles, etc. are combined into one cohesive clip that makes it easy to move and pleasant to look at.

What happens if you’ve made one, but afterwards you realize it needs some modifications? Because it is one solid clip, it looks as though it is virtually un-editable. Wrong! Double-click the Compound Clip and it will open the Compound Clip in the Timeline, where the clip retains its original form before you combined it into one clip! Here, you can edit it as you wish, then you can go back to the original Timeline and its Compound Clip by clicking the left-pointing arrow in the upper-left corner of the Timeline.