Blog Archives

This morning, Adobe announced new features and updates for Premiere Pro, Character Animator and After Effects. Here are the details.

Yes, the new M1 MacBook Pro is very, very fast. But, the M1 did not win every race when tested against a 2013 MacBook Pro and a 2017 iMac. These twelve tests are a good comparison between performance benchmarks and real-world media processing of the improvements you can expect if you upgrade to these new systems.

Adobe adds speech-to-text and native M1 Mac support to the July, 2021, version of Premiere Pro. Here’s the full list of changes.

When it comes to updating the operating system on my main production Mac, I’m a laggard. This is by intent. Still, I finally decided it was time to upgrade. Here’s what I learned in the process.

Both the new M1 and existing T2 chips from Apple support hardware-assisted encoding and decoding of H.264 and HEVC media. Here’s how to enable it in Adobe Media Encoder.

This week, Adobe released new versions of its video and audio applications: Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Media Encoder, Character Animator and Premiere Rush. There is a LOT in these new releases. Here are the details.

When using Premiere, caption timecode for importing captions doesn’t matter. But it DOES matter when exporting. Here’s what you need to know.

“Should you upgrade?” is the wrong question. Here is a better answer on when to upgrade to Big Sur – along with links to help your transition go smoothly.

Watch Folders are a fast, automated way to compress files. But, when you nest them, they can simplify even highly complex compression tasks. Here are two examples.

There’s a feature in Adobe Media Encoder that can speed your compression work: Parallel Encoding, especially when you are creating multiple versions of the same source file. Here’s how it works.

Video compression is essential to all media today, from social media to broadcast to streaming. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to stitch multiple clips into a single movie during compression in Adobe Media Encoder.

Video compression is essential to all media today, from social media to broadcast to streaming. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to add overlays, like watermarks or timecode, to video during compression in Adobe Media Encoder.

Video compression is essential to all media today, from social media to broadcast to streaming. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to create Watch Folders to automate media compression using Adobe Media Encoder.

You exported your video file only to find that it is WAAAY too big! Here’s an explanation of file sizes, codecs and media workflow for beginners.

I first wrote these “Media Planning Guidelines” as a series of bullet points to help us think about media and the storage necessary for video editing. In this article, I expand these to explain my thinking to help you make better media decisions for your next project.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan discusses the impact of video frame size, frame rate and codec on storage capacity and video editing, whether you use Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains why converting video frame rates often causes video playback to stutter, whether you use Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X.

This is a system to speed exporting Premiere Pro projects for one or more editors using two computers, Adobe Media Encoder and Watch Folders.

There is difference in how the same color is displayed in Premiere, Final Cut and QuickTime. This made worse when looking at media on a P3 display. Here’s what you need to know.

Captions are not titles. Understanding the difference is key to problem-free playback of your media. Also, you don’t get to choose the caption format – your distributor does. Learn more here.

Adobe announced a flock of new updates. Here’s a summary of what’s new for audio and video folks, plus links for more information.

This morning, Adobe updated Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Character Animator and Premiere Rush. Available today, the updates offer support for Apple ProRes RAW, new creative tools in After Effects, workflow refinements in Character Animator, and performance improvements, such as …

An illustrated tutorial on how to import, modify, adjust and export captions in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

A quick, step-by-step process to transfer videos from a Mac to an iPad.

A detailed look at video compression speeds in both Mojave and Catalina for both Apple Compressor and Adobe Media Encoder. Cool charts are included.

A video compression speed and file size comparison using Apple Compressor between macOS Mojave and Catalina. This will be of interest to video editors and media creators.

Smart Rendering is a media optimization strategy that speeds renders and exports in Adobe Premiere Pro CC. This explains what you need to know.

A general analysis of when to use H.264 vs. HEVC for media compression, along with a recommendation for media creators.

Adobe released new apps and updates to all their applications at Adobe Max 2019 this morning. Here are the details on their audio and video apps.

Apple updated its Pro Video codecs. These are of value to all editors, but you can’t upgrade to them using the Mac App Store. Here’s how.

Apple released the latest version of Compressor (4.4.5) last Monday. One of the key features in the update was improved performance. Since all of us rely on compression to deliver our final projects, I wanted to see how much improvement …

Within just a few weeks, most likely this month, Apple will release the latest version of the MacOS – Catalina. First introduced at WWDC last June, this is the latest incarnation of OS X. There are three critical things you …

Three different ways to quickly export a section of a movie from Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

An explanation of things to consider when purchasing your next computer for media editing. Written for the non-technical person who is deeply confused about what all these tech talk means.

An explanation of when to use, or not use, “Maximum Bit Depth” and “Maximum Render Quality” in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

An explanation of when and why media is copied during import, plus a discussion of Premiere’s new Ingest option.

A corrected look at how video file size changes as color bit depth increases.

This provides an overview of what High Dynamic Range (HDR) media is, where we are now, where we are going, how it works in video editing systems and links to learn more. Written for a video editor, not an engineer.

High Dynamic Range (HDR), RAW, sLog, vLog, HDR, 10-bit, 12-bit… In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to optimize preference settings in Adobe Premiere Pro to work with HDR media.

Mark Bashian, Creative Director for Bash Films, recently sent me these results of his performance testing. Since all of us are trying to figure out how to make the most of our computer gear, I found his tests to be …

A step-by-step illustrated tutorial on how to create, automate and access proxy media files in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2018 or later).

In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how and why to automatically create and edit proxies in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2019).

How to create ProRes transcoding settings in Adobe Media Encoder – both old and new versions.

A detailed look at the speed differences in exporting different versions of ProRes from Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019. Which should you use to save time?

An illustrated guide to free software tools you can use to measure the performance of your computer system, with a focus on video editing.

An illustrated and detailed tour of how the Digital Production Buzz will produce and webcast 27 live shows in 3.5 days direct from the 2019 NAB trade show floor.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to create Watch Folders in Adobe Media Encoder that can be accessed by multiple computers and a shared server to simplify video compression.

A detailed, illustrated look at the different media formats and shooting options with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, along with recommendations for best editing in different NLEs.

Adobe provides more details on what media codecs will be supporting in future versions of the macOS, as emailed to Larry Jordan.

An illustrated, detailed tutorial on how to create Watch Folders in Adobe Media Encoder, with a special emphasis on using them to monitor media stored on a server.