As expected, Apple today took the wraps off the next big version of Final Cut Pro, and it comes with a whole host of new features that will surely make video editors happy. Included in Final Cut Pro 11 is support for spatial video editing, transcribe to captions, magnetic mask, and more.
It’s noteworthy that Final Cut Pro 11 is the first release that isn’t a 10.x release since Apple dropped the ‘X’ from its name back in 2020. Apple also released an update to Final Cut Pro for iPad, version 2.1, and an update for Final Cut Camera. These updates come hot on the heels of Logic Pro 11.1, which also released today, and features several significant enhancements for pro creatives.
Spatial video editing
One of the most noteworthy enhancements found in Final Cut Pro 11 is a feature that was previewed during WWDC this past summer. Apple is finally bringing spatial import, edit, and delivery support to Final Cut Pro users, allowing them to import spatial video shot on iPhones to the Mac, edit, and then deliver to view in Apple Vision Pro.
Spatial videos can be taken with Apple Vision Pro, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any iPhone 16-era device. There’s also Canon’s new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens, an APS-C lens that pairs nicely with the Canon R7.
Once captured, it’s just a matter of dropping the spatial video in a Final Cut Pro project timeline, editing, and then delivering. Editing spatial videos works largely the same way as editing regular 2D videos, but there are new export controls to help facilitate final delivery.
Spatial video clips can be captured directly with Apple Vision Pro, or on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and Canon’s new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens paired with Canon R7.
Users can export spatial content directly to their Photos App Library, view them immediately on the Vision Pro, or share with others via the recently launched Vimeo app for Apple Vision Pro.
Recently Blackmagic Design, creator of Final Cut Pro competitor, DaVinci Resolve, released an update to its NLE to include both spatial video encoding and spatial photo decoding support. I found the process there to be simple and straightforward as well.
Transcribe to Captions
Teased during its Mac mini video presentation, Apple has natively integrated AI-assisted transcription directly within Final Cut Pro. The new feature will benefit from the company’s new M4-era hardware, with speech to text processing up to 13x faster than Intel Macs.
The new Transcribe to Captions option can be found within the color correction and audio enhancements options, which looks like a little magic wand directly beneath the viewer. Users simply select the audio source from which to derive the captions, click Transcribe to Captions, and Final Cut Pro will handle the rest. Apple notes that an Apple-trained large language model is used to transcribe spoken audio.
Needless to say, this new feature will be a boon to creators, especially those invested in short-form content. As I mentioned in a previous post, caption transcription is far from a new feature, and several companies, such as MotionVFX, offer excellent transcription solutions that work extremely well. The big difference here, of course, is that Apple’s transcription feature is natively built inside of Final Cut Pro, and is free to existing users via the version 11 update.
Magnetic Mask
Magnetic Mask was another AI-feature revealed during Apple’s Mac mini event, and it’s the one we knew the least about going into today’s release. Apple didn’t actually mention the Magnetic Mask during the event, but the option was shown during the Final Cut Pro portion of the video.
At the time, we presumed that the Magnetic Mask would make deploying masks much easier with the help of snapping to high contrast areas. In its press release today, Apple notes that Magnetic Mask will make it so that editors can easily isolate people and objects in a clips without needing a green screen or utilizing more time-consuming rotoscoping. Magnetic Mask can be combined with other color correction tools and effects for custom and precise stylization of footage.
Final Cut Pro is quickly becoming a centerpiece of Apple’s AI efforts on the Mac. The new Transcribe to Captions and Magnetic Mask features join other AI-assisted tools like Smart Conform, Enhance Light and Color, Smooth Slo-Mo, and Voice Isolation.
Final Cut Pro 11 release notes
Expand your creative freedom with the revolutionary AI-powered Magnetic Mask, and isolate people, objects and shapes in any footage without a green screen or time-consuming manual rotoscoping.
• Use Transcribe to Captions to automatically create captions from spoken audio in the timeline with a powerful AI language model built for speed and accuracy. (Requires a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sequoia or later.)
• Import and edit spatial video clips from Apple Vision Pro or iPhone 15 Pro or later; add titles, color correction, and effects; and share captivating spatial projects that can be viewed on Apple Vision Pro. (Requires a Mac with Apple silicon.)
• Reduce clutter in the browser by automatically hiding original clips when creating synced clips or multicam clips.
• Use Vertical Zoom to Fit to scale clip heights to fit in the timeline.
• Speed up your creative flow with new Picture in Picture and Callout effects.
• Create amazing visual reveals with new Modular transitions.
• Increase efficiency with new keyboard shortcuts for common tasks in the browser and timeline.
• Install third-party Media Extensions to support playback and editing of more video formats. (Requires macOS Sequoia or later.)
Final Cut for iPad 2.1
Not to be forgotten, Apple also released the next version of Final Cut Pro for iPad, version 2.1. It includes several additions geared towards streamlining the editing experience on iPad, including:
- Enhance Light and Color.
- Haptic feedback for Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard.
- New vertical pinch gesture that can expand or minimize clip height in the timeline.
- Dynamically adjust the size and position of the viewer in Picture in Picture mode.
- Timeline support for recordings at 90 fps, 100 fps, and 120 fps on iPhone 16 Pro.
- New inks for Live Drawing: watercolor, crayon, fountain pen, and monoline pen.
- New modular transitions, color-grading presets, and dynamic soundtracks.
- Easily highlight and overlay visuals with Picture in Picture and Callout effects.
- New keyboard shortcuts!
Final Cut Camera also received a major update, bringing the ability to capture Log-encoded HEVC video in standalone of Live Multicam sessions – a huge workflow improvement! There’s also the ability to enable a LUT preview while recording Log footage and support for 4K120fps recording with iPhone 16 Pro.
9to5Mac’s Take
Final Cut Pro 11 brings several key new features to the table, with one such feature, Transcribe to Captions, among one of the most-wanted new features. Needless to say this is a pretty massive update across the board, and most certainly worth its “11” badge. It’s available as a free update to existing users, while new users can purchase it for $299, or download a free 90-day trial to test drive it.
What do you think about Final Cut Pro 11? Sound off in the comments below with your thoughts.
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