Apple introduces Final Cut Pro X with support for VR, HDR

Apple has announced a major update to its professional video editing app, Final Cut Pro X, with new features including 360-degree VR video editing, advanced colour grading tools and support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) video. Optimised to take full advantage of the incredible performance capabilities of the all-new iMac Pro, Final Cut Pro users can now edit full-resolution 8K video for the first time on a Mac. Apple is also extending 360-degree VR video support to Final Cut Pro companion apps, Motion and Compressor.

“With new features like 360-degree VR editing and motion graphics, advanced colour grading and HDR support, Final Cut Pro gives video editors the tools to create stunning, next-generation content,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Apps Product Marketing.

Final Cut Pro lets professional editors create VR content with the ability to import, edit and deliver 360-degree video and view the project in real time through a connected HTC VIVE headset with SteamVR. Users can easily add 360-degree titles in 2D or 3D; apply blurs, glows and other immersive effects; and use visual controls to straighten horizons or remove camera rigs from equirectangular videos. Standard photos and videos can also be added to VR projects and 360-degree video can be shared directly to popular websites including YouTube, Facebook and Vimeo.

The update also includes powerful tools for professional colour grading. Unique colour wheels feature built-in controls to adjust hue, saturation and brightness. Colour curves allow for ultra-fine colour adjustments with multiple control points to target specific colour ranges, and eye droppers let users sample specific colours and apply manual white balance. Users can also apply custom lookup tables (LUTs) from popular colour grading apps like DaVinci Resolve and websites including PremiumBeat, Colour Grading Central and more.

With support for the most popular HDR formats, Final Cut Pro gains access to an expanded range of brightness levels to deliver incredibly realistic images. Editors can output video to HDR monitors using I/O devices from AJA and Blackmagic with brightness levels up to 10,000 nits. The new colour grading tools support both HDR and Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) video, and with tone mapping, users can easily change HDR to SDR output for broadcast.

Additional Features in Final Cut Pro 10.4 include import iMovie projects from iPhone and iPad into Final Cut Pro for advanced editing, audio work, motion graphics and colour grading. HEVC and HEIF support for importing and editing high-efficiency video and photo formats from Apple devices. Updated audio effects plug-ins from Logic Pro X with redesigned, resizable interfaces. Faster, higher quality optical flow analysis built on Metal, Apple’s advanced graphics technology.

Motion 5.4 enables users to create immersive 360-degree VR titles and effects that can be instantly accessed in Final Cut Pro. The update also makes it easy to convert between any type of Motion project at any time, create realistic spring-loaded animations with the new Overshoot behaviour and apply photographic-inspired looks with new filters. Compressor 4.4 lets users deliver 360-degree video with industry-standard spherical metadata. The compressor also lets users export HEVC and HDR video while adding a range of new options for delivering MXF files.

The new update is available as a free update today for existing users and $299.99(approximately Rs 24,900) for new users on the Mac App Store. Motion 5.4 and Compressor 4.4 are also available as a free update today for existing users, and for $49.99(approximately Rs 4,000) each for new users on the Mac App Store.