How to get this look on my films?

Hello there. I'm very new to video editing, and specifically Final Cut. I was wondering how I can achieve THIS LOOK on my footage? I like how it has that kind of gray look throughout the video. Is that done by lowering the saturation or is there a filter you can use?

The "Bleach Bypass" in FCPX will get you close.

Reading tutorials on how to do the bleach bypass, that does seem like what I'm looking for, but I've encountered another problem. Whenever I highlight an effect (e.g. Teal and Orange) the preview of the effect does not show up on my selected clip, nor does anything happen when I drag an effect onto a desired clip. I found this advice on a different forum --

The filters are just probably turned off in your preferences. Go to that sequence's preferences (right click on the sequence in the Browser and select "Setting" from the pop-up menu.) Click on the "Render Control" tab. Make sure that the box next to "Filters" is checked under the "Render and Playback" section. You'll probably have to render the entire timeline. I'm running 7 but I'm pretty sure this holds true for 5 as well.

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I assume "sequence" means the clip, but when I right click on the clip there is no selection for preferences or settings. Can someone please explain to a FCPX beginner, step-by-step, how to get to "Render Control" so that I can turn the "Filters" preview on? I've searched Google for help and I've searched the Help in Final Cut, but I can't find any results.

That advice doesn't apply to FCPX, the workflow is entirely different.

If you select the clip in your timeline and "hover" over an effect in the browser, you'll see a preview of the effect on that clip in your viewer. You can move your mouse left and right over the effect thumbnail to see it over different parts of the selected clip.

Once you decide to apply an effect, simply "drag" that effect (from the thumbnail) onto the clip in the timeline. You'll then be able to modify the settings in the inspector window.

Nothing changes in the clip no matter if I hover or drag the effect onto the clip. No matter how much I change the amount of the effect, it looks exactly the same as if there is no effect on the clip. That's why I wondered what I was doing wrong. Some effects work, such as Photo Recall or Subway Shadow, but those aren't the type of effects I need. It's kind of hard to explain, so I hope what I'm saying makes sense. No "color changing" effect will work

If you REALLY want to mimic that look be sure to get a cheap camcorder and avoid tripods AT ALL COSTS!!! Give the cheap camcorder to someone who cannot hold anything still to save their lives and have him be your cameraman. This will help give the audience that queasy, motion-sickness feeling you desire. And what audience doesn't love that? If you don't know where to find an individual like this, director Paul Greengrass knows several.

Reading your answers, it sounds like you're trying to put the effect on the clips, which you can't do unless you open the clip in a timeline. Otherwise, what you normally want to do is cut clips into a project.

You have to first make a new project (right-click on an event and select "New Project"). This is the sequence or timeline. Then you have to cut a clip into the project, and THEN you can apply any effects to clips that are in the timeline.

Any tutorials or articles you look up, make sure that it's for FCP X and not any older versions (and preferably for version 10.1 and above). You will get really confused otherwise because FCP X is very different than the old versions.

In answer to your original request these tutorials www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/477-a...-grading-within-fcpx may well answer your question.