Alongside today’s launch of the new iMac Pro, which the company is pitching as an ideal machine for VR creators, Apple has updated its widely used video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, with what it calls a “complete toolset for importing, editing, and delivering both monoscopic and stereoscopic 360 video.”
Back at WWDC 2017 the company made a range of announcements in support of VR in the Apple ecosystem. Among those announcements was that Final Cut Pro X would be getting support for 360 video editing.
Today Apple made good on that promise with the Final Cut Pro X 10.4 update. Front and center in the official patch notes, and the software’s product page, is the new 360 editing capabilities for mono and stereo equirectangular video:
- Import and edit 360° equirectangular video in a wide range of formats and frame sizes
- Output 360° video to a connected VR headset
- Open the 360° viewer to simultaneously monitor headset and equirectangular views while editing
- Option to track movement of a VR headset in the 360° viewer in Final Cut Pro
- Add 360° effects including blurs, glows, and more
- Share 360° video directly to YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo
- Use the 360° patch to instantly remove cameras and rigs from the scene
- Use the Horizon overlay to easily change the orientation of 360° video right in the viewer
- Edit 360° video into a non-360° project and animate the pan, tilt, and zoom
- Place any graphic, still, or video into a 360° project, then reposition and resize to fit perfectly into the 360° scene
- Support for monoscopic and stereoscopic 360° video
The update also brings advanced color grading and HDR video support among other improvements and fixes.
Meanwhile Adobe’s leading Premiere Pro video editing software first got 360 video editing support back in 2016 and has been improving those capabilities over time. In October, Adobe added in-headset editing feature called ‘Project Clover’ to Premiere Pro, along with “positionally aware audio,” and new transitions and effects optimized for 360 video.
