I am grappling with two problems. Am wondering how to animate/highlight certain areas of a map in FCPX. I need to show some points of presence in a map say offices in 10 states.

Similarly how do I trace the route from Point A to Point B to Point C in FCPX? Are there some FCPX plugins that I can use?

Might help - Getting iMovie world travel maps into Final Cut Pro X the easy way (http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/1711-getting-imovie-world-travel-maps-into-final-cut-pro-x)

A really useful application that coordinates with FCPX, and that can do what you want to do (and so much more), is Motion 5. And the good news doesn’t stop there, it costs only $50 (in the US), a real bargain.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/professional_applications/motion_5 then type in “animate map” (or what ever you want) in the query box. The same with youtube, search with the term “Motion 5 map” and it will yield some info.

FXFactory Ripple Jumps plugin maybe
https://fxfactory.com/info/ripplejumps/
Ripple Callouts also has something that show from point A to point B travel.
https://fxfactory.com/info/callouts/

Might help - Getting iMovie world travel maps into Final Cut Pro X the easy way (http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/1711-getting-imovie-world-travel-maps-into-final-cut-pro-x)


Where does one find the maps to begin with?

Ed - Maps are included in iMovie. Not only maps like road maps, but there are an assortment of globes, or space-view of Earth, and it can rotate. Hence, if one wants to show a long distance, such as San Francisco to London, the animated rotating Earth is a good option.

Using Motion 5 one can trick out the rotating earth with various effects. It’s amazing what creative tools are available but it does take some time to figure everything out.

My copy of iMovie (10.0.9) doesn't seem to have any maps included?

Is there a specific location I should be looking?

Yes, once you are editing a Project you'll see Maps & Backgrounds at the lower left under Content Library. It's there along with Transitions, Titles, etc. Click that and you'll see all the various maps. Just drag the one you want to the Timeline (or select it and press E to add it to the "end" of the the Timeline.

I had never thought of checking iMovie. Will definitely check it. Will try to download the motion5 as well. The Ripple Jumps seems to be interesting and can be used for a specific task.

There is a 'stand alone' program that works well on OS X - Home Movie Maker Companion (http://www.solrobots.com/roadtrip/index.html)

2 paid versions, full export option, some maps included but would work with any open source (royalty free) maps.

Just a heads-up on Motion …
Will try to download the motion5 as well. .

Motion 5 has a LOT to it. The application, for what it does and that is a lot, is, I think, really cheap. However, there is a really steep learning curve with getting to use it. While there are on-line courses available, these can be expensive. As an alternative, a tutorial book combined with on-line videos will be very helpful.

Since you’re interested in maps, one place Motion will be helpful is showing a route between two places, and showing an animated line as one would travel it (with all the crooks and bends, not straight as the crow flys) over time.

Unfortunately, a good book will cost as much or maybe more than the application! The book I used was Motion 5 by Spencer but this was written for 5.0 and there has been numerous new versions since then.

Mark Spencer also has online video tutorials for Motion just in case you find books daunting.

Getting Started in Motion 5 | Ripple Training (http://www.rippletraining.com/products/motion/getting-started-in-motion-5/)