Creators publish the same idea in many shapes: a long horizontal video, a vertical cut for short-form feeds, a square teaser, a cover image, captions for people watching without sound. Doing that across several apps means exporting, re-importing and redoing work every time the edit changes. cinemaOS keeps all of those versions in one project on your Mac, with the AI tools running locally and no credits to track.
The jobs you actually do
- Cut talking-head, tutorial or vlog footage quickly, often from long takes.
- Remove dead air and filler, and tighten pacing.
- Add captions, sometimes in a second language.
- Turn a 16:9 edit into a 9:16 version that keeps the subject in frame.
- Keep a consistent look across a series.
- Make voice clear over music and keep levels steady.
- Make thumbnails, covers and a brand look that stays consistent.
How cinemaOS handles each
Fast cutting from the words
Transcribe a take on your Mac and edit by text: find a line, cut it, and the timeline follows. The Transcribe and edit by text tutorial shows the whole thing, and our guide to removing filler words from an interview covers the craft side. The command palette runs any action from the keyboard.
Captions in one or two languages
Generate captions, correct them, translate them offline and export SRT or burn them into the picture. Watch French subtitles with Wi-Fi off, or read how to burn subtitles into a video on Mac.
Vertical versions that follow the subject
In Finisher, Reframe turns 16:9 into 9:16. Track Main Subject proposes a camera move and you refine the framing before delivery. See 16:9 to 9:16 and our longer guide to reframing horizontal video to vertical.
A consistent look
Grade one episode with the Color Engine, then use Shot Match to bring new footage close to a reference still. You can also ask J.A.R.E.D. for a look in a plain sentence and keep what suits the scene, as in One sentence, one look.
Clear voice over music
The SOUND console puts dialogue, music, effects and ambience on their own buses with loudness meters, so the voice stays on top and episodes sound the same. See The SOUND console.
Covers and brand
Atelier makes covers and thumbnails from your own frames. Build an editable photo cover with text and image layers, and apply a brand kit so every size matches.
Privacy
If you film people who did not agree to appear, cover their faces with a tracked blur, bar or pixelate in Finisher. The Cover faces, tracked tutorial shows it.
Where to start
- Download cinemaOS and start the 60-day free trial. No card is needed.
- Import the raw recording of your next video and transcribe it.
- Cut it by text, then tighten the pacing with the trim tools and the Momentum Dial.
- Add captions, balance the voice against music in the SOUND console and grade one shot.
- Make the 9:16 version with Reframe and a cover in Atelier.
Time the whole thing against your current workflow. The point is not that every step is faster on day one, but that a change to the edit no longer means redoing the captions, the vertical cut and the cover in three other apps.
Honest limits
- Mac only, on Apple silicon. Windows is planned for November 2027, and there is no phone app.
- No trend template marketplace; cinemaOS has live titles, a design library and brand kits instead.
- No direct upload to social platforms; you export files and upload them yourself.
- It is version 0.2, build 9. Try a full episode before you move your channel over.
- No lip sync for dubbed voices, and no real-time shared editing.
FAQ
Can cinemaOS make captions automatically?
Yes. It transcribes speech on your Mac, you correct the text, and you can translate the captions offline and export SRT or burn them in.
Do the AI features cost extra?
No. J.A.R.E.D. and the transcription and translation models run on your Mac. There are no generative credits to buy.
Can I make vertical and horizontal versions from one edit?
Yes. Reframe in Finisher creates a 9:16 version from the 16:9 cut with a tracked camera move you can adjust, in the same project.