What happened with the Magnetic Mask in FCPX 12? IS REALLY SLOW.

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Level 1

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What happened with the Magnetic Mask in FCPX 12? IS REALLY SLOW.

What happened with the Magnetic Mask in FCPX 12? IS REALLY SLOW. In version 10.x was so fast and so good.

Hi all.

I'd like to know if Apple is aware with these issues because is terrible.

Does anyone knows how I can download the FCPX version back to any 10.x version? I was using the 10.x Trial version and after I bought the was no option. It download the version 12 from Apple Store. I wish I could choose the version or did better, keeping using the trial until ends because at least was free and better paying a version that is not good at all.

Thanks.

Posted on Feb 5, 2026 3:07 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

joema

Level 4

1,287 points

Feb 5, 2026 4:33 AM in response to Zepequeno

Magnetic Mask did not exist in FCP 10.x. If you are convinced that was faster than Magnetic Mask in version 12, I'm not sure what you were comparing.

I did a brief timed test of Magnetic Mask in FCP version 11.2 vs 12.0, and performance was the same.

Magnetic Mask is generally very fast and the quality is extremely high. Anyone who has used both Resolve's Magic Mask vs FCP Magnetic Mask can attest to that.

However Magnetic Mask can be sensitive to clip length. It should not be used on clips longer than about 7-10 minutes. If you have a long timeline that needs masking, such as a speaker on a podium, that should be bladed to make a dotted-line "through edit" at about 7-minute or 10-minute intervals, and each one masked and analyzed separately.

It's possible that what you recall as faster Magnetic Mask performance in FCP 11.x was simply applied to shorter clips.

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Answer 2

BenB

Level 6

13,258 points

Feb 5, 2026 4:42 AM in response to Zepequeno

I an other have major issues with Magnetic Mask blinking on and off during export. I don't trust it.

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