With the arrival of iPhone 13, its users saw how they could record videos with a new, very professional format: Cinema mode. A very special format that until now could only be edited with Apple Photos, iMovie and Final Cut. Well, it looks like this is going to change.
With the arrival of iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, new third-party applications compatible with editing videos recorded in Apple’s “Cinema Mode” format may be installed on these operating systems. With this gesture, Apple once again opens the tap to developers.
One of the features that we were able to see when the iPhone 13 was launched was the possibility of recording video in a new exclusive format from Apple: the Modo Cinema.
A new format similar to the portrait mode of photographs, but applied to video. So recording with said mode activated, you can apply a blurred background to your video sequences, similar to the system used in professional video cameras.
The problem is that said video format exclusive from Apple, it could only be edited later using Apple’s native applications: Apple Photos, iMovie or Final Cut. But soon, with the release of iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, such video files will be able to be edited by third-party apps. Apple turns on the tap.
Apple has explained it in a session for developers in the past WWDC 2023, where they announced a new Cinematic API for iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma. Said API will allow developers to add support for video recorded in Cinema Mode to their applications, both for playback and editing of said cinematic videos.
Such videos are made up of two files. One of them contains the final rendered video that can be shared with other applications, but there is another so far exclusive video that contains all the metadata that generates the blurred background effect, so that the user can edit it at will.