I’ve known since RAW-format media was introduced that we could go from RAW to video, but not video to RAW. In this short tutorial, Larry Jordan explains why.
I made a mistake in this week’s webinar – Apple Final Cut Pro 11 Power Tips – when I said that ProRes did not support Log video. (I corrected this in the edited final version.) It does. WHAT IS LOG …
In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates three key terms which directly affect the quality of video images: Color space, bit depth and chroma-subsampling.
Atomos announced the Ninja TX, a completely reengineered member of the Ninja family of camera monitor-recorders featuring a brand-new industrial design, improved thermal efficiency, reduced weight, and enhanced portability, all in a compact 5-inch form factor.
In this age of smartphones with incredible cameras, it is easy to take high-quality images for granted. But when working with older film prints or slides, quality is not a given; especially for images shot by non-professionals. In this tutorial, I show how to adjust scanner settings to rescue images and make them look great.
The Magnetic Mask in Apple Final Cut Pro provides fascinating ways to separate foreground from background, then manipulate each separately. In this tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the Magnetic Mask to isolate the foreground, change the background, adjust color and add text effects.
This is such a powerful tool that, if you don’t know about it, then now is the perfect time to learn. Apple has built a single-click, automatic color corrector that works exceedingly well in fixing color problems essentially instantly.
Recently, I contacted Blackmagic Design to learn which features in DaVinci Resolve 20 were powered by AI. Here’s what I learned, along with a video demo at the end of this article.
Far too often, you need to change color settings in the middle of a clip so that the colors change during playback. While you can simply dissolve between two clips, using keyframes gives you more control – allowing you to change settings multiple times during a clip. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create color keyframes and change settings to convert a clip from daylight to indoor lighting.
The free version of DaVinci Resolve 20 is amazing. But the Studio version will blow your mind! In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan showcases four color effects only available in the Studio version of Resolve that will alter your view of reality and leave your jaw on the floor!
The Color page in DaVinci Resolve 20 is jam-packed with features to adjust color. Because of this, the page is totally overwhelming. To overcome this, Larry Jordan shows how to use four automatic features in Resolve – Auto Color, Auto White Balance, Auto White Level, and Auto Black Level – to fix common color problems without requiring learning how the rest of the Color page works.
DaVinci Resolve is an industry-legend as color grading software. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to transfer projects from Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro into Resolve, then how to transfer them back.
In my webinar last week, I showed how to use keyframes in Premiere Pro to seamlessly change color in the middle of a clip using keyframes. However, as Reed Brown wrote, there’s a faster way that can be used in any NLE. Here’s how it works.
Adobe Premiere Pro has two ways to change the amount of color in a video clip: Saturation and Vibrance. In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates the difference between them and explains which one to use when you are adjusting color in a clip. Surprisingly, the choice is not obvious.
Adobe Premiere Pro has vastly improved matching colors between shots – especially when you use Comparison View. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to display Comparison View, how to match colors between shots, then how to make manual adjustment if needed after the match.
One the harder color effects to create in Adobe Premiere Pro is a color change in the middle of a clip. But, it can be done! In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how this feature works, as well as how to color match different sections of the same clip.
With the 2025 release of Premiere Pro, Adobe has totally overhauled how it handles color. The new pipeline has streamlined settings, and added support for wide-gamut camera raw and log-encoded media. Here’s an overview of how it works.
Generative AI is commanding all the fear and attention in media today. But, there are a wealth of AI-assisted tools in Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve that are enabling editors to do more, rather than replacing them en masse. In this presentation to the Los Angeles Creative Pro User Group, Larry Jordan highlights nearly two dozen AI-assisted tools across all three of these applications.
A big challenge in color grading is how to handle a lighting color change during a shot. A typical example is walking indoors on a sun-lit day. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to keyframe a color change, along with how to make sure the actor’s skin tones remain correct.
Apple Final Cut Pro provides three different ways to quickly adjust the look of a clip: Looks, Color Board Presets, and Color Grading Presets. In this short video demo, Larry Jordan shows what these are, where they are located and the differences between them; including one very big advantage!
Comparison view quickly allows comparing the look of any timeline clip to the clips preceding and following it. Even better, it supports building a collection of “looks” you can use to compare any timeline clip to up to 30 timeline images. Larry Jordan shows how this feature works.
The latest version of Adobe Premiere Pro (v25.2.1) has a totally revamped color engine. Which is excellent, actually. But, if you are shooting iPhone video, when you load that clip into Premiere, it will look, ah, terrible. Here’s how to fix it – quick.
Larry Jordan and Tom Huczek discuss why he invented Nobe OmniScope which contains 19 extended audio and video scopes, who it’s for, how it is used, and ends with Tom describing several of his favorite scopes.
Larry Jordan and Bram Desmet discuss new HDR monitors, the importance of Quantum Dot screens for high-quality color, and a long look at where HDR is heading and why Rec. 2020 may not be the best option for HDR monitors.
If you, like me, scoffed when Blackmagic Design introduced their URSA Cine 17K 65 digital film camera, well, Blackmagic just published two Behind-the-Scenes video showing the camera in use. (The filmmaker quotes below are from BMD’s press release.) Now, there …
This guest post from Steven Kerr describes cinematic techniques for strong visual storytelling hold great importance in captivating your audiences and sending across the intended message. Here’s how you can achieve it effectively.
We all want accurate color in our video. But, good golly it’s hard, as this conversation between Gary Bowman and myself illustrates.
This video showcases how to improve a gray, washed-out image using the color wheels in Final Cut, as well as applying different LUTs.
Last week, I demoed how to create a magnetic mask to remove a background. Later, I exported a still frame from FCP to promote the webinar. At which point, the weirdness started. Still frame exports don’t come close to matching Final Cut. Here are the details. NOTE: Fixed in FCP 11.1.1.
Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan what visual generators are in Final Cut, how to modify them and ways to use them.
Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use blend modes to fix image problems, enhance an image or create a surreal effect.
Here’s a very fast technique that can reduce (or emphasize) wrinkles in an actor’s face – without resorting to plug-ins. Watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how this adjustment works – improving how an actor looks instantly!
This short video showcases the differences between using Lift – Gamma – Gain and Shadows – Mids – Highlights to change the gray-scale values of a clip. These differences are significant, powerful, and highly useful, as Larry Jordan illustrates.
In this interview, Larry Jordan and Victor Ha discuss when is the time to step up to a camera from a mobile device, FujiFilm’s emphasis on color and film emulation, and how the process of creating images has evolved over the last few years.
In this interview, Larry and Bram discuss the new Quantum Dot technology for HDR monitors, the challenges of bringing prices down, and when is the best time to invest in a high-quality HDR monitor.
Saturation and vibrance control the amount of color in an image. What’s the difference between them and which should you use? This tutorial shows how to use them for video.
In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to improve the look of your video using the new Color Adjustments effect in Apple Final Cut Pro 10.8.
Andy Wilson asked an interesting question recently. He wrote: “I shoot outdoors in sunlight in HDR on my iPhone 13 Pro Max (so nothing gets overexposed) and edit on a SDR timeline for publication to the web. I find that …
New effects features in the 10.8 update to Final Cut Pro, when combined with existing effects features, can make your post-production life faster and more consistent. These include renaming custom effects and building effects presets.
Understanding what video scopes tell us about our images is essential to creating great looking images; regardless of which video editing software you are using. In this article, I explain the basics of the waveform monitor and vectorscope, how to read them and how they affect color correction.
A video interview with Angus Mackay, Product Marketing Manager for Matrox Video. Angus describes Matrox image hardware and technology, their latest announcements and the challenges of displaying high quality images.
A secondary color correction adjusts the color of something in the frame – like changing the color of a shirt. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to create these in Premiere Pro.
One of the harder tasks in color grading is changing the look of a clip when the lighting color itself changes during the shot. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to use color keyframes to change the color grade during a shot using Premiere Pro.
LUTs are a color lookup table. In this short video, Larry Jordan explains what LUTs are, how to use them to change the color of your clips, and how to properly set the new Color Settings panel in Premiere Pro.
In today’s world of digital video, the Broadcast Safe effect (or Video Limiter in Premiere) is gathering dust in a corner. But, there is a BIG benefit to using it when you have a lighting problem to solve, as this tutorial illustrates. This trick works for all the major NLEs.
In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to create and motion track a shape mask to change the color of objects in a frame. He also shows how and why to use the Broadcast Safe effect.
Masks hide things – even in video. In this short tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use shape masks and color masks to change the color of objects in a video.
In this short video, I show how to change the color of a single object in a frame. This is called a “secondary color correction.”
When it comes to removing backgrounds using a green-screen key, not all video codecs create the same image quality. Here’s what you need to know to shoot and edit the cleanest keys.
DaVinci Resolve is a state-of-the-art color tool for video. Whatever you can imagine doing with color, Resolve can do. But, oh. my. goodness. It is complex. Here’s an overview of how to use it.
