November 13, 2024
UPDATE
Final Cut Pro 11 ushers in a new era for video editing on Mac
With intelligent features, efficient tools, and fresh creative options, Final Cut Pro expands to Mac, iPad, and iPhone, including capabilities for spatial video editing.
Apple has announced the launch of Final Cut Pro 11, loaded with innovative features, alongside significant updates to Final Cut Pro for iPad, Final Cut Camera, and Logic Pro. New additions like Magnetic Mask and the much-awaited Transcribe to Captions enhance Final Cut Pro 11 for Mac1, which now supports importing, editing, and delivering spatial video projects directly to Apple Vision Pro.2
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 enhances the touch-based editing experience with features like Enhance Light and Color, Live Drawing inks, haptic feedback, and an expanded library of content, including color-grading presets and dynamic soundtracks.3 Final Cut Camera 1.1 introduces the capability for 4K120 fps recording on iPhone 16 Pro, the option to apply a preview lookup table (LUT) during recording, and the ability to capture Log-encoded HEVC video for more efficient file sizes.4 Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 introduce a new Quantec Room Simulator plug-in to boost songwriting, beat-making, and mixing capabilities.
The updated versions of Final Cut Pro for Mac and iPad, Final Cut Camera, and Logic Pro for both platforms are now available on the App Store.
“Our creative applications empower artists, producers, directors, and editors globally to articulate their vision and express their creativity,” stated Brent Chiu-Watson, Apple’s senior director of Worldwide Product Marketing for Apps. “Leveraging Apple silicon and cutting-edge machine learning, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro deliver enhanced speed and intelligence, providing creative professionals with diverse stylistic options to explore and greater efficiency in their workflows.”
Final Cut Pro 11
Final Cut Pro 11 fully utilizes Apple’s M-series chips, introducing innovative tools like the Magnetic Mask and the highly requested Transcribe to Captions,5 which generates speedy and accurate closed captions; spatial video editing; and numerous time-saving tools and workflow enhancements.
AI-Powered Features
Final Cut Pro 11 introduces two entirely new AI-driven tools: Magnetic Mask and Transcribe to Captions. Magnetic Mask enables editors to effortlessly isolate subjects in a clip without a green screen or lengthy rotoscoping, allowing for great flexibility in customizing backgrounds and environments. This advanced automatic analysis also works alongside color correction and video effects for precise control over each project. The Transcribe to Captions feature automatically generates closed captions in the timeline through an Apple-trained language model that transcribes spoken dialogue.
Magnetic Mask and Transcribe to Captions complement existing AI features enhanced by Apple’s Neural Engine, which include:
- Smart Conform, allowing effortless creation of social media-ready projects in square or vertical formats.
- Enhance Light and Color, to automatically enhance the color, balance, contrast, and brightness of videos or images.
- Smooth Slo-Mo, to create and blend frames of video — including footage from iPhone 16 Pro shot at 4K120 fps — for superior motion quality.
- Voice Isolation, enhancing speech while minimizing background noise in audio captured in challenging environments.
Spatial Video Editing for Apple Vision Pro
Spatial video enables users to capture and relive special moments with Apple Vision Pro. Final Cut Pro 11 now supports spatial video editing, allowing users to import footage, apply effects,6 perform color corrections, and enhance projects with titles. Users can adjust depth positioning of titles and clips throughout the editing process. Spatial video can be recorded directly with Vision Pro or captured using iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and Canon’s RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens attached to Canon R7.7
Various viewing modes allow users to preview left- and right-eye angles on their Mac display. With Mac Virtual Display,8 users can integrate their edits into Apple Vision Pro, creating a vast, private, and portable workspace perfect for intensive projects. Later this year, Mac Virtual Display will expand to a panoramic format, offering a massive 32:9 ultra-wide curved display, akin to two 5K monitors side by side. Users can export spatial videos directly to their Photos library for immediate viewing on Vision Pro or share them via the native visionOS Vimeo app.
Timesaving Features, Exceptional Speeds, and Professional Creative Tools
Final Cut Pro offers advanced editing functionalities designed to streamline creative workflows, providing significant time savings:
- Magnetic Timeline allows an intuitive, trackless editing experience, enabling seamless trimming and rearranging of clips while maintaining audio and video synchronization.
- Multicam editing lets users sync various angles of a project instantaneously and shift between shots during playback. Additional keyboard shortcut options also enhance timeline management.
- Optimizations for Apple silicon enable more concurrent playback of 4K and 8K ProRes video at full quality, along with enhanced playback effects and swift sharing of completed projects.
- Editors can create lightweight library copies with enhanced proxy tools, reducing file sizes for quicker transfers.
- Compressor facilitates customized export settings for various file formats and allows import of previous stereoscopic footage to merge with spatial video projects.
- Motion allows users to produce stunning 2D and 3D titles, generators, and advanced visual effects directly within Final Cut Pro.
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1
Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 enhances the touch-centric editing experience with powerful features. Driven by Apple silicon, Enhance Light and Color provides an intelligent way to improve the visual quality of videos or images in one simple action, and it’s optimized for various media types, including SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded content. Users will experience haptic feedback when using Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard, giving tactile responses when trimming clips and moving media.
Additional enhancements include a new vertical pinch gesture for adjusting clip height in the timeline, the ability to dynamically resize and position the viewer in Picture in Picture mode, and timeline support for recordings at various frame rates on iPhone 16 Pro.
Live Drawing has been upgraded with new ink options like watercolor, crayon, fountain pen, and monoline, further enriching video animations. The content library has also expanded, featuring new transitions, color-grading presets, and soundtracks, alongside improved utilities for highlighting and overlaying visuals with Picture in Picture and Callout features.
Final Cut Camera
Final Cut Camera 1.1 empowers creators with user-friendly professional controls. Recent updates allow for capturing Log-encoded HEVC video during either standalone or Live Multicam sessions, making the most of Log’s dynamic range while minimizing file size. Users can activate a LUT preview while recording in Log, showcasing dynamic scene vibrancy in SDR or HDR with the Apple Log LUT. Additionally, with iPhone 16 Pro, users can record pristine 4K120 fps footage for exceptionally smooth slow-motion effects, compatible for editing in Final Cut Pro for iPad.
A new advanced shooting level helps users achieve perfect compositions, incorporating roll and tilt indicators, while crosshairs assist in framing top-down shots.
Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 and Logic Pro for iPad 2.1
Logic Pro for Mac9 and iPad10 enhance music creation, making them remarkable companions for Final Cut Pro editors. The latest update introduces the Quantec Room Simulator plug-in, enabling users to access exceptional reverb sounds historically unrivaled in acoustic accuracy, developed from original Quantec schematics. Users can opt for the vintage Quantec QRS for natural reverb or the modern Quantec Yardstick for clarity and precision. This technology serves video editors looking to add natural soundscapes to dialogue, foley, and music.
“The Quantec Room Simulator has been integral to my sound for many years, featuring on albums like Passion and Us. I also used it to develop harmonic drones for my live performances that evolved into songs like ‘Across the River,’” noted musician Peter Gabriel. “It’s exciting that Apple is reviving the Quantec QRS as a plug-in for users globally.”
With Reorder Mixer Channels, users can now rearrange channel strips seamlessly, and even collectively select multiple strips for reordering. Logic Pro for Mac has refined search functionalities, allowing easy plug-in discovery by category, brand name, or part of its title. Logic Pro for iPad introduces Sample Folders, granting users direct access to personal sample collections through the built-in Sound Browser, external storage, and iCloud Drive.
Pricing and Availability
- Final Cut Pro 11 is available as a free update for current users and priced at $299.99 (U.S.) for new users on the Mac App Store. New users can access a free 90-day trial of Final Cut Pro.
- Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 is available today as a free update for existing users, with new users able to subscribe for $4.99 (U.S.) per month or $49 (U.S.) per year, including a one-month free trial.
- Final Cut Camera 1.1 can be downloaded for free as a standalone app from the App Store.
- Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 is accessible as a free update for existing users and is priced at $199.99 (U.S.) for new users on the Mac App Store. It requires macOS 14.4 or later. More information can be found at apple.com/logic-pro.
- Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 is also available as a free update for current users and for $4.99 (U.S.) per month or $49 (U.S.) annually on the App Store, with a one-month free trial for new users. It necessitates iPadOS 18.1 or later. More information can be found at apple.com/logic-pro-for-ipad.
- Final Cut Pro 11 requires macOS 14.6 or later, with a minimum of 8GB RAM (16GB recommended), and 5.9GB of available disk space; some features require a Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Sequoia.
- Spatial video edited in Final Cut Pro can be exported and saved directly to Photos for later viewing on Apple Vision Pro.
- Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.1 needs an iPad with Apple M1 chip or later, or an iPad mini (A17 Pro) with iPadOS 17.6 or later.
- Final Cut Camera is compatible with iPhone or iPad running iOS 17.6 or iPadOS 17.6 and later.
- Transcribe to Captions functionality requires macOS Sequoia.
- Some effects may not support spatial video formats.
- Canon’s EOS VR Utility v1.5 processing is required for certain features.
- Mac Virtual Display with 5K resolution requires a compatible Mac and Apple Vision Pro, with software updates anticipated later this year.
- Logic Pro for Mac 11.1 needs macOS Sonoma 14.4 or later, and 6GB of available storage for minimum installation or 72GB for full sound library installation.
- Logic Pro for iPad 2.1 requires iPadOS 18.1 or later, and iPad with Apple A12 Bionic or newer. The Stem Splitter feature requires an iPad with an M1 or Apple A17 Pro chip or later.
Press Contacts
Renee Felton
Apple
rfelton@apple.com
Apple Media Helpline
media.help@apple.com