Final Cut Pro shares your whole project by default - and most review requests are not for the whole project. They are for one scene: the client wants to see the revised open before the rest is touched, or the sound team needs the dialogue stem from one sequence. FCP handles both without duplicating timelines, and Apple's user guide puts one rule above the whole workflow: "To share just a portion of a project, you must make a range selection. A clip selection is not sufficient. You can use the I and O keys to set the range start and end points." That note appears on every Share/Export destination page of the guide - it is the entire trick, and most missed-range exports are its violation: a clip selected instead of a range set.
Export just the range
- Set the range with I and O. Park the playhead where the scene starts and press I (range start), move to the scene's end and press O (range end). The shaded range bar in the timeline is your export boundary - verify it brackets the whole scene, including the frames after the last cut.
- Share. Click the Share button (or File > Share) and pick your destination - for review copies, the H.264 export settings in the review-format guide apply here exactly as they do to full exports.
- Confirm the duration. The export lands with only the ranged duration - a ten-second spot inside a ninety-second timeline stays ten seconds. If the file came out full-length, the range was not set: a selected clip is not a range (the guide's exact warning).
That is the whole feature - and its honest limits are small but real: it is one range per share (no batch multi-range export is documented), so three scenes to review means three exports; and the share still processes the project behind the scenes, so complex timelines take as long to render a range as logic dictates, not zero.
Export role stems for audio review
The same Share window doubles as the stems machine. In the export dialog, open the Roles pane and use the "Roles as" pop-up menu - Apple's documented options: QuickTime Movie (combined), Multitrack QuickTime Movie (one file, multiple tracks), Separate Files, Video Only as Separate Files, and Audio Only as Separate Files - with mono, stereo, or surround channel formats available. Audio Only as Separate Files is the review-round workhorse: it hands the sound team dialogue, music, and effects stems from the same timeline that produced the picture, with no re-conform. Pair it with the audio review workflow so the stems land somewhere the sound team can leave timecoded notes.
Where the exports go
Range exports and stems only close a loop if reviewers can respond precisely. Upload each range export as a new version on the project's review link when it replaces a prior pass, or as its own quick link when it is a one-scene question - and burn timecode into the export if the audience reads raw numbers (the FCP timecode tip). The stems go to whoever owns audio, on a surface where they can pin notes at the exact moment (frame accuracy is what makes their notes land). The FCP-specific review loop around these exports is in the FCP client-review workflow.
FAQ
Clip selection vs range selection - why does clip selection not work?
Apple's guide states it directly: a clip selection is not sufficient for sharing a portion; only a range selection bounds the export. Selecting a clip tells FCP what you are thinking about; setting a range (I/O) tells it what to render.
Can I export several ranges at once?
No batch multi-range export is documented - one range selection, one share. Three scenes for review means three range exports; keep the ranges on a checklist so the third one does not drift past the second's out-point.
How do I export audio stems in Final Cut Pro?
Share > Export File, open the Roles pane, and choose "Audio Only as Separate Files" from the "Roles as" pop-up - with mono/stereo/surround channel formats. "Multitrack QuickTime Movie" is the alternative when the sound team wants one file with separate tracks.
Do role exports include the video too?
Depends on the "Roles as" choice: QuickTime Movie and Multitrack QuickTime Movie are combined exports; Separate Files splits everything; the Video Only and Audio Only options isolate one side. Pick Audio Only when the job is stems, and the combined file when the job is a review copy.
How do I send a client just one scene for review?
Range-select the scene (I and O), Share, and upload the resulting export as a version or a quick link - no duplicate timeline needed. If the scene is a response to earlier notes, make it a new version so the round history stays intact (the round checklist keeps the pattern honest).