New Features in Apple Final Cut Pro 11.1

UPDATE: There appears to be a bug in FCP 11.1 on importing long-GOP 4k 50p XAVC-L footage. The files are ingested as black frames and are thus impossible to use.

Apple released the latest version of Final Cut Pro (11.1) last week, with several helpful new features. Here are the details on what they are and how they work.

• Adjustment layers (Apple calls them “Adjustment clips”)
• Drag markers in the timeline (YAY! Finally!!)
• Reveal the source of a multicam angle or synced clip in the browser
• A new keyboard shortcut for the Magnetic Mask
• Rename audio effects in the Inspector
• Quantec Room Simulator to create naturalistic room tone and reverberation
• Image Playground is now integrated with Final Cut

ADJUSTMENT CLIPS

We’ve been able to create adjustment clips in Motion for use in Final Cut for a long time, but now they are native to Final Cut and do more.

To create a clip go to Edit > Add Adjustment Clip (shortcut: Option + A).

With a default duration of 10 seconds, the clip appears on the top layer at the position of the playhead.

The magic of this clip is that you can apply visual effects to it and they apply to all clips underneath the adjustment clip. This offers many benefits:

• Easily apply and adjust complex effects across multiple clips by adjusting effect settings in just one clip.
• Easily compare before/after effects applied to one or more clips by disabling a single adjustment clip (toggle shortcut: V)
• Easily extend or reduce effects across multiple clips by changing the duration of an adjustment clip
• Easily remove all effects applied to multiple clips by removing the adjustment clip

NOTE: Adjustment clips are designed for situations when you have the same effects, with the same settings, applied to multiple clips.

But, wait! There’s more…

• You can apply key Video Inspector settings – Opacity, Transform, Crop or Distort – to the adjustment clip, i.e. adjust scale, position, crop, and those settings apply to all clips under the adjustment layer.
• You can keyframe effects in the adjustment layer. In many cases, this will remove the need to create compound clips.
• You can end an adjustment clip anywhere in a timeline clip – even the middle.
• You can apply the same effects in different sections of the timeline by copying the adjustment clip. (However, once copied, settings are unlinked. Changing the settings in one adjustment clip does not change settings in adjustment clips copied from it.)

• You can even apply adjustment clips on top of other adjustment clips!

Adjustment clips are amazingly flexible. And, finally, they are available natively in FCP.

MOVE TIMELINE MARKERS

Yup. Markers are draggable.

Finally.

REVEAL THE SOURCE OF A MULTICAM ANGLE OR SYNCED CLIP

We’ve always been able to find the source clip for a timeline clip by selecting the timeline clip, then typing Shift + F. (Or choose: File > Reveal Source in Browser.)

Now, we can do the same thing for multicam or synced clips in the timeline.

Select a multicam clip in the timeline, then choose File > Reveal Source in Browser (shortcut: Shift + F)

The multicam or synced source clip, but NOT the individual clips that make up the multicam or synced clip, is highlighted in the browser.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUT FOR THE MAGNETIC MASK

While the fastest way to apply a magnetic mask is to drag a clip into the Viewer, there’s now a keyboard shortcut to apply the mask to a connected clip. (Remember the background behind the mask needs to be in the Primary Storyline.)

Shortcut: Control + Cmd + M

Also, if you need to adjust an existing mask, select the timeline clip containing the mask, go to the Video Inspector and click on the mask effect so that it is highlighted by a yellow box.

NOTE: You may not have noticed, but there’s a new setting in Final Cut Pro > Settings > General. This bottom menu sets the default on what happens when you drag a clip into the Viewer.  You can choose between applying Motion Tracking or Magnetic Mask. The Magnetic Mask is the default.

RENAME AUDIO EFFECTS

We can now rename audio effects in the Audio Inspector. This is helpful if you are applying multiple effects and need help keeping them straight.

This also helps if you copy and paste audio effects between clips. The copied effect uses the new name and settings. However, like copying adjustment clips, the settings between the original and copied effects are not linked. Changes in one do not affect the other.

ADD CUSTOM ROOM AMBIENCE USING THE QUANTEC ROOM SIMULATOR

This audio effect takes a dry audio studio recording, created, say, for ADR, and apply a room reverb/ambience to it. This makes the audio feel more like it was recorded in an environment that matches the visual.

If you are doing docs or interviews, you probably won’t use this much. But if you are creating dramatic scenes that are recorded in a studio – with a dry, flat, tight sound – you can alter/expand the sound to match a wide variety of room sizes and types to more accurately fit with your visuals.

There are dozens of presets, grouped by room size. The best way to hear what this does is to play with it.

For audio folks, this is a really big deal.

NOTE: This does not remove or replace existing room tone or reverb. This is not a repair tool, it is a creation tool.

IMAGE PLAYGROUND IS NOW INTEGRATED WITH FINAL CUT

Image Playground is a stand-alone app, created by Apple and requiring macOS 15.2 or later running on an Apple silicon system, that uses AI to create stylized images. Images, not video.

NOTE: Keep in mind that images created using AI cannot be copyrighted. Legal decisions on this are still pending. If copyright is important to you, be cautious in your use of AI-generated images.

In Final Cut, select the event you want to import the image into, then:

• Choose File > Import >Image Playground – or –
• Type Option + Shift + P – or –
• Click the Import Media button in the top left of the interface, then choose Image Playground.

This opens the Image Playground interface inside Final Cut. Image Playground can create an image:

• From a concept
• From a description
• Of a person
• Based on a photo
• From a style

When you have an image that you like, click Done.

This generates a 1024 x 1024 HEIC image and imports it into the selected event. From there, you manipulate the image the same as any other clip.

SUMMARY

These new features are a welcome addition to the existing Final Cut Pro tool set. To see more details, choose Help > What’s New In Final Cut Pro from inside Final Cut.

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