Final Cut Pro 10.8 & 10.8.1 – AI Comes to the Timeline
(2024-08-17, Cupertino, CA, Special to the U.S. Times) Apple’s latest major update to Final Cut Pro, version 10.8, introduces several new and improved features, taking advantage of powerful AI and machine learning features to enhance and streamline the video editing process.
The headlining feature of Final Cut Pro 10.8 is the new Enhance Light and Color effect tool, which utilizes advanced machine learning algorithms to automatically adjust color balance, contrast, saturation, and brightness of both video and still images, making it easy for editors to achieve professional-looking color grading with few manual adjustments.
This update also introduces Smooth Slo-Mo, which also takes advantage of AI and machine learning algorithms to apply high-quality slow-motion effects to video clips with just a few button presses.
Other features and improvements in Final Cut Pro 10.8 include:
- Drag and drop effects from the inspector into the timeline or viewer.
- Renaming color corrections and video effects in the inspector.
- Advanced filtering and search features in the Final Cut Pro timeline.
- Playback improvements, including a new toolbar button and refined scrolling.
- Bug fixes and stability improvements.
Features using artificial intelligence and machine learning are optimized for Apple Silicon, and thus exclusive to Apple Silicon-based hardware.
However, upon release, the update was marred with several bugs, including audio playback issues with MTS files and stepping through timeline clips with the left and right arrow keys, as well as the application losing responsiveness when using three-finger gestures on a MacBook Pro trackpad.
Fortunately, a later update, Final Cut Pro version 10.8.1 fixes the above issues. The update was released August 13th, 2024, with Apple recommending users to back up their currently-used version of the Final Cut Pro application and their Final Cut Pro libraries.