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566Final Cut Pro User Guide
How 360° video is recorded and displayed
360° footage is recorded using multiple cameras or a dedicated 360° camera with
multiple “fisheye” lenses, with each lens recording a different but overlapping camera
angle. Before 360° footage is imported into Final Cut Pro, the different camera angles
must be stitched together to create a single seamless 360° image. Some 360° cameras
do this step automatically; others require that you stitch the camera angles together using
special software. For 360° playback and editing in Final Cut Pro, the stitched image must
be an equirectangular projection, similar to world maps that depict the globe as a two-
dimensional (2D) rectangle.
The examples below show an image from a single fisheye lens, the resulting
equirectangular image composed of multiple fisheye images stitched together, and a
standard (also called rectilinear) image of the same scene for comparison.