Blog Archives

In this illustrated tutorial, learn how to animate multiple elements in the same graphic using Adobe Premiere Pro.

Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how to animate multiple elements in a bar graph to illustrate a scientific concept. While this will work with most video editing software, I use Apple Final Cut Pro in this example.

Apple Keynote, like Apple Pages, supports text styles. However, these are more limited than you might at first think. Here’s a tutorial that explains more about how to create and modify them.

August is vacation time. Still, over these five weeks, we published 19 tutorials and product reviews. Here’s a summary of everything we released this month. Something to look through during the holiday weekend.

In this illustrated tutorial are three interesting, but little-used, effects in Apple Final Cut Pro that create interesting backgrounds or change the mood of a scene.

There are seven Stylize effects in Apple Final Cut Pro that create illegal video levels. This tutorial shows what they are, the problems they cause and how to fix them before final export.

Four classic production stills that showcase how much video production has changed over the last 40 years – along with some core ways it hasn’t changed at all.

In this highly-illustrated tutorial, I showcase what the “Light” effects do in Final Cut Pro, along with the settings used.

The reason we use effects is to help us tell our story more effectively. While creating effects can take more time than we expect, the results, when effects are chosen wisely, can be amazing. Here are a baker’s dozen of little-known effects in Apple Final Cut Pro.

I think these four skills are essential for every video editor to master. I also think it is impossible say that one is more important than the other, because if any one is missing, the project suffers.

In these troubled times, it is easy to get depressed. Let us not forget that our job is to bring great stories to the world. And that transcends technology.

Particle Illusion is a free, powerful particle generator that runs on both Macs and Windows with hundreds of presets for 2D or 3D particles. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to get started using it.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a complex effect using blurs, color effects and multiple masks, plus Mocha mask tracking in BorisFX Continuum 2022.5 and Final Cut Pro.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a simple blur effect using masks and Mocha mask tracking in BorisFX Continuum 2022.5 in Final Cut Pro.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a simple “Day-for-Night” color effect using Continuum in Final Cut Pro.

Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how to slow a video clip from full-speed to a standing stop, then back up to full-speed, while inserting a freeze frame in the middle that can be any duration you want using Apple Final Cut Pro.

This illustrated tutorial on creating retro film effects using Final Cut Pro was written by Burkhard Berger.

This tutorial creates a 3D text template in Apple Motion that allows Apple Final Cut Pro to put moving video inside adjustable, textured 3D text. There are many creative variations on this idea.

Multicam recording captures an event using multiple cameras. Multicam editing displays all those angles during the edit. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create virtual angles in a multicam clip to provide more diversity in shot selection, as well as how to create a montage using multicam in Final Cut Pro.

Almost all digital video cameras shoot video levels with excessive levels for any project destined for broadcast, cable, streaming or digital cinema. The highlights are too bright and the shadows are too dark. Here are two ways to control them.

Apple Motion is powerful software that can be used to create motion graphics for any video editor, not just Final Cut Pro. For example, you can use Motion to create animated text and graphics on a Mac, then export it …

Adobe morphed Auto Tone into Auto Color with the 22.3 update to Premiere Pro. The new Auto Color works, but it doesn’t work well. Here are some examples that illustrate this point.

With the release of Apple Final Cut Pro 10.6.2, Apple improved object tracking. Here’s an illustrated example of what’s new.

Here’s some fun text effects including video-in-text, text animation and a limitless ability to customize; all using Apple Final Cut Pro.

Today, Audio Design Desk released a new audio extension specifically for Final Cut: FCP Audio Bridge. This vastly simplifies finding, editing, timing and modifying sound effects and music – directly within Final Cut.

Creating the illusion of night in video is not a case of turning off the lights. It a case of where those lights get put and the contrast between them.

A guest post on creativity, written by Nicole Garrison, with screenwriting tips from professional screenwriters.

Here’s a simple technique to simplify reframing clips stored inside a drop zone in Apple Final Cut Pro.

Here’s a useful animated split-screen effect that is easy to create in Motion and a big time-saver when editing split screens in Final Cut Pro. I also included the template this tutorial creates for you to download.

Another new feature that Adobe added recently to Premiere is text gradients. These are easy to create, but a key switch you need to access this feature is somewhat hidden. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how this works.

Let me talk about makeup for people on camera for a minute. OC8 is an inexpensive gel that reduces excessive shine from oily skin. It helps folks on camera look great. Learn more.

If you’ve been wondering what the color tools in Final Cut do, or how to make them work better, this session is for you. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use high dynamic range media, called “HDR,” in a standard dynamic range (SDR) project, like HD, in Final Cut.

“Ask Larry Anything,” is a free-form conversation about questions related to media production and editing. In this short excerpt, Larry Jordan explains how to use keyframes in Motion to animate the movement of an object.

This session takes a closer look at color grading in DaVinci Resolve 17, with a special emphasis on its unique color tools and secondary color correction ability. In this excerpt, Larry Jordan demonstrates how to use nodes to solve more complex problems in color grading.

This session takes a closer look at color grading in DaVinci Resolve 17, with a special emphasis on its unique color tools and secondary color correction ability. In this excerpt, Larry Jordan showcases a variety of ways to compare and match shots in Resolve.

Richard asked me to compare the speed of Apple Motion running on Intel vs. Apple CPUs. The results were STUNNING – and NOT what I expected. This offers a caution that simply running on Apple Silicon is not a guarantee of blazing speed.

Masking is a time-consuming and persnickety task. However, the Draw Mask in Apple Final Cut Pro makes the process straight-forward, with lots of ways to adjust it. Here’s an illustrated tutorial that explains how it works.

Happy New Year! Here’s an easy way to combine text, particles and animation in Apple Motion to celebrate the new year with an animated logo.

Here are a variety of creative tactics, suggested by Rebecca Alston, that can help you come up with unique ideas for your next short film.

Here’s a list of the top 20 most-read media and video editing tutorials on Larry Jordan’s website from Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021.

There are many reasons to send a project from Premiere Pro to DaVinci Resolve. Fortunately, it’s fairly easy to move projects between apps. Easy, but there are a lot of steps. Here’s how it works.

DaVinci Resolve is a high-power media editing program. It is also very intimidating to learn. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how to use the tools in the Cut page to get started learning Resolve. The Cut page is designed for projects with deadlines measured in minutes. It is a very fast way to edit.

Accusonus has been improving audio for a long time. Regardless of where you edit your audio, ERA 6 can make it sound better. Here’s a look at the new ERA 6 bundle with automatic, customizable audio repair.

When you need to get the best streaming video possible – for Mac or Windows, live or recorded – here is the gear you need, links to find it and instructions on how to get it all to work.

Recently, Apple updated Motion to version 5.6, where one of the highlighted features is a new neon text effect. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how this works and how you can add an effect to make it look even better.

Recently, Apple updated Final Cut Pro to version 10.6 where one of the big new features is object tracking. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how this works and how it compares to the same feature in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Apple released new MacBook Pro laptops featuring high-performance Apple silicon chips. Given all the options, here are Larry Jordan’s recommendations for the best system for your budget.

An illustrated tutorial on how to put different video inside each 3D text letter, while still keeping the 3D effect. This effect has multiple uses and lots of creative options to play with it, once the basic effect is created.

“Ask Larry Anything,” is a free-form conversation about, well, anything you want to ask. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to animate an object (a toy car) to follow a complex path along a map using Apple Motion.

Audio Design Desk simplifies the process of finding, placing and experimenting with audio cues for video projects. While ADD handles the basics of sound design, the creative inspiration still comes from you. The good news is that version 1.7 makes this creative process faster and easier than ever.