Blog Archives

Whether you use Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro, exporting and archiving an XML file of a finished project is a good way to preserve it for the future. Here’s a step-by-step tutorial explaining how.

There have been 12 updates to Apple Final Cut Pro since version 10.4.0 was released in Dec. 2017. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates the new ways we can copy libraries, including the ability to create a proxy-only library, in Apple Final Cut Pro.

Here’s a quick illustrated tutorial on how to create, find, access or delete backups for Apple Final Cut Pro X libraries.

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.

With the release of macOS Mojave and continuing into Catalina and Big Sur, older media codecs are no longer supported, nor displayed. Here’s a simple technique to find and transcode outdated files using Kyno.

New with the 10.5 update to Apple Final Cut Pro X is the ability to copy libraries, events and projects and, if necessary, create proxy media while all project media is being copied. This simplifies creating projects to share between editors.

Storage speeds vary widely. Here’s a tip to measuring them accurately.

Technology constantly changes, but older codecs and media don’t. What do you do if you can’t play older media in macOS Catalina or Big Sur? Watch as Larry Jordan shows how to use Kyno to potentially find and convert older media.

In the past, we would use Safe Boot to repair and maintain our Macs. But that was then. Today, we need to use Recovery Mode. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows what you need to know to keep your Mac running right.

Final Cut Libraries store stuff. But how that stuff is organized is up to you. Here are a variety of thoughts on working with libraries in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Thunderbolt 4 is already on the market – and it isn’t what you expect. What does it mean for Mac and PC users? Is our Thunderbolt 3 gear out-of-date? Larry Jordan interviews Larry O’Connor, Founder/CEO of OWC, a leading Thunderbolt manufacturer, to learn more.

After testing, a 7200 RPM RAID is about 30% faster than a 5400 RPM RAID. Also, journaling makes a difference. When speed is important, here’s what you need to know.

Disk Warrior is an essential Mac-based trouble-shooting, repair and optimization tool for any Mac system accessing spinning hard drives. I’ve used it for years and continue to highly recommend it.

Easy to connect, easy to use and extremely well-built. The OWC Thunderbolt 3 10G Ethernet Adapter works exactly as you would expect. And what higher praise is there?

Regardless of which video editing software you use, storage is more important than your computer for multicam editing. Here, Larry Jordan presents the three storage criteria that multicam editing demands – and why they are important.

The Mercury Pro LTO tape system is a well-constructed, high-speed and easy to use tape archive system for media creators. Bundled with myLTO software, it can get new users archiving quickly, yet fully support more demanding archive applications.

The answer is “Maybe.” This detailed article explains the fundamentals of high-speed networking, illustrates how to connect a Mac to a 10G Ethernet network, then measures performance between 1G and 10G connections, with a focus on video editing.

Josh asked me to explain the pros and cons of using internal, direct-attached, and network-attached storage for media editing. Here’s an overview, along with recommendations on what you should consider for your own system.

I’ve spent a lot of time this week thinking about how to improve the speed and responsiveness of my storage. Here’s a relatively inexpensive way to improve the responsiveness of a server, especially for smaller workgroups. When it comes to …

This article details what I learned trying to access often corrupted digital images that are 15 – 25 years old. It illustrates the software I use to recover images, video codecs that are obsolete and techniques I used to preserve media for the future. This covers AppleWorks, PICT, PhotoCD, JPEG, TIFF, audio, and video media.

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.

A list of folders where Adobe Premiere Pro stores settings and work files. These are the first place to look when you need to track down a missing file.

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.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains why H.264 and HEVC media are considered inefficient for video editing, whether you use Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X.

Apple Compressor 4.4.7 now supports creating a wider range of proxy files. This illustrated tutorial explains what you need to know, how it works and which to choose.

One of the headline features in the 10.4.9 update to Final Cut Pro X is a number of improvements to proxy editing. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on what they are and how they work.

The brand-new ArmorLock SSD from G-Technology is fast, secure and rugged. But, it has problems when trying to add multiple secure users to the drive. It’s a great idea that needs tweaking.

Apple continues to make it easier – though not intuitive – to bring an errant Mac under control. Here are the steps you need to take to get you Mac running right.

Here is an interested workaround to fool Apple Final Cut Pro X into importing just portions of a clip, rather than the entire clip. This is especially useful when you have extremely long media files, but only need to use a very short section.

Storage Locations, which specifies where Final Cut Pro X stores media, provides a significant and useful compromise between the security of storing all files in the library, with the flexibility of directly accessing files scattered about your hard disk.

Proxy files simplify working with video files. Here’s a quick tutorial on how to create and use them in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan demonstrates a very fast technique to copy files from an iPhone to a Mac.

Content ‘Velocity’ Is More Important Than Quality. Larry Jordan interviews Jess Hartmann, CEO, ProMax, about changes in video post-production as we emerge from the pandemic.

A backup strategy for video production and editing to make sure you can find the assets you need when you need them.

ChronoX is a very useful app for testing your system in a real-world setting to help you maximize its performance. Here’s a detailed look at what it is and how it works.

A detailed, illustrated tutorial on how to move custom Motion templates designed for Final Cut from one computer to another.

Productions were introduced by Adobe as a collaboration feature. But, even if you are a solo editor, there’s a lot to like in Productions. Here are Larry Jordan’s thoughts on Productions.

An in-depth look at the latest release of ArGest Backup 4.0 from TOLIS Group. This is specifically designed for archiving assets to LTO tape. This review uses the LTO-8 tape format.

In this short video demo, watch as Larry Jordan shows how and why to disable drive ownership in the macOS for all external storage. (Yes, you should do this.)

Thoughtful reflections from Bill Goetz, news videographer, on how change changes us.

How to retain the highest image quality when exporting media from Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Burning Blu-ray Discs is possible on a Mac, but bugs in Apple Final Cut Pro X make creating Blu-rays harder than it should be. Read the workarounds here.

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

This is a table of updated file sizes for all iPhone video formats, based on frame size and frame rate. Use these to plan your storage needs.

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.

Retrospect 16 – powerful, flexible and, handicapped by out-of-date tutorials and an unhelpful User Guide, very, very difficult for the new user to learn.

A quick tutorial on what Final Cut Pro X Library backup files are, where they are stored and how to delete them.

Post Haste can help you get organized right at the start of a project by creating folders and files automatically, and in a format you control. This free app is worth a look – here are the details.