Blog Archives

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).

Adobe Premiere Pro CC does not include any Apple ProRes sequence presets.. yet. Here’s how to create them. (Updated March, 2020, with new advice throughout.)

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

An illustrated tutorial on how to create a new poster frame for most movies using the Finder and Apple Compressor.

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.

An illustrated tutorial on how to convert 32-bit (or any) media to make it more future-proof using Apple Compressor; plus a description of missing features that are still needed.

Yesterday, Apple issued a mostly minor maintenance update to Final Cut, Motion, Compressor and iMovie with one big feature that is worth discussing. The new feature is that any of these three applications will now automatically detect media which will …

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.

An illustrated, in-depth review of Edit Ready, from divergent media. This Mac-only utility easily convert audio or video media from one format to another.

Apple Compressor is essential to media compression. But what makes it faster? In this series of tests, discover how RAM, storage, and preference settings can make a difference – or slow things down.

An illustrated tutorial on how to automate media compression using Apple Compressor and Droplets.

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.

A step-by-step guide on how to set up a media compression network using Apple Compressor and one or more Macs. (This is an ideal way to speed compression using Mac minis.)

A detailed comparison of compression speed and resulting file sizes for a variety of media compressed using Apple Compressor, Adobe Media Encoder and ffWorks/ffMPEG

A detailed series of tests comparing video compression speed using a high-end iMac vs. a new Mac mini running a variety of software. The results are surprising.

A detailed look at the new, 2018, Mac mini with an emphasis on video editing. We look at speeds, but, more importantly, we look at real-world results.

The changes in Premiere in this update are both pervasive and powerful; the new color tools in Premiere are especially welcome. This article illustrates all the new features in Adobe Premiere Pro for 2019.

A detailed, practical look at working with HDR media in Apple Final Cut Pro X (v.10.4). Guest article written by James Duke.

ff-Works is a front-end to ffMPEG, a highly-regarded, open-source compression engine. When you combine ff-Works with ffMPEG, you get a very powerful, very flexible, very high quality media transcoding/compression tool. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates how to customize audio and video compression settings.

ff-Works is a front-end to ffMPEG, a highly-regarded, open-source compression engine. When you combine ff-Works with ffMPEG, you get a very powerful, very flexible, very high quality media transcoding/compression tool. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to customize audio and video compression settings.

An in-depth review and tutorial of ff-Works, from OSBytes, for audio and video compression.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to use Apple Compressor to crop and pad video images; for example, to convert between aspect ratios.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan explains how to use Apple Compressor to convert video frame rates and illustrates why this may, or may not, be a good idea.

A step-by-step tutorial to extracting a shorter video clip from a longer one, using Adobe Media Encoder; along with the ability to either transcode the new clip or match the settings of the source file.

A step-by-step tutorial on how to extract a short video clip from a longer one – and either transcoding to a new codec or matching the existing source – in Apple Compressor.

Shooting and editing are just the first part of the production process. If you screw up compression, all the hard work that went before is lost. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan explains how to create a custom compression location, then make it the default setting.

Shooting and editing are just the first part of the production process. If you screw up compression, all the hard work that went before is lost. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan explains how to modify audio compression settings for either music or voice.

Shooting and editing are essential to the production process. But, if you screw up the final compression, all the hard work that went before is lost. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to compress and automatically publish media files to social media.

Shooting and editing are essential to the production process. But, if you screw up the final compression, all the hard work that went before is lost. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to optimize the compression preferences in Adobe Media Encoder.

A step-by-step tutorial on how to configure Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.4 to export an HEVC file – along with an estimate of how long that export will take.

A test of compression speeds between different versions of Apple Compressor and the macOS for video projects.

A detailed explanation of the different configurations for the 2017 iMac Pro, with recommendations on what to buy to optimize your system.

A first look at compressing video using both H.264 and HEVC settings in Apple Compressor 4.4 – in this article, I discover what doesn’t work.

For many, video compression is a black art; but it doesn’t need to be. Discover the power in Adobe Media Encoder in this short video excerpt as Larry Jordan shows how to create a Watch Folder to automate compression.

For many, video compression is a black art; but it doesn’t need to be. Discover the power in Adobe Media Encoder in this short video excerpt as Larry Jordan shows how to add a watermark to a video compression preset.

The principle reason for using HEVC to compress video is to decrease the file size of the compressed file. But how does it look? In this First Look comparing HEVC to H.264 using Adobe Media Encoder, you’ll discover the answer.

An illustrated tutorial on how to create animated video GIFs using Apple Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Media Encoder, Apple Compressor and Photoshop.

Apple is about to release support for HEVC (H.265). This codec will change how we compress video files. This article describes what you need to know now.

An illustrated tutorial on how to add watermarks to video during compression using Apple Compressor.

An illustrate set of three techniques that can speed and simplify video compression using Adobe Media Encoder.

Three quick, illustrated tips to improve video compression using Apple Compressor 4.3.

Apple announces upcoming support for VR in Final Cut Pro X and Motion, along with new H.265 compression in Compressor.

An overview of audio and video codecs, with an explanation of what they are, how they are used and how to pick one that works the best for you.

An illustrated tutorial on how to resize video clips using Adobe Media Encoder.

A step-by-step illustrated tutorial on how to resize video between HD and SD using Apple Compressor.

An illustrated tutorial on how to setup and configure Watch Folders in Adobe Media Encoder, which can automate the process of compressing video files.

An in-depth look at Apple Compressor 4.3.1, testing speeds, settings, and recommendations to avoid problems.

A step-by-step, illustrated tutorial on how to create an Automator action to automatically FTP compressed files from Apple Compressor.

Both Adobe Media Encoder (AME) and Apple Compressor recently underwent upgrades. This short video excerpt illustrates how to use stitching in Adobe Media Encoder to combine multiple video files into one.