Blog Archives

In this session, we step deeper into the 3D world of Apple Motion with a look at cameras and sets. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to add a camera to a Motion project, then illustrates the difference between a framing camera and viewpoint camera in Motion.

Everything in production was perfect – except someone wore the wrong color. How do you “fix it in post” in Apple Final Cut Pro? Here are two methods: Color masks and the Hue/Saturation Curves. One of them is CLEARLY better!

Many of the titles shipped with Final Cut Pro look, um, suboptimal. Here are some tricks you can use in both Final Cut and Motion, to make your titles look a WHOLE lot better.

Motion has a virtually limitless package of lights that can be positioned for both 2D and 3D elements. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates the four different light types in Apple Motion, and how they are used.

Motion has a virtually limitless package of lights that can be positioned for both 2D and 3D elements. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates what happens when you change light settings in Apple Motion.

Motion has a virtually limitless package of lights that can be positioned for both 2D and 3D elements. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to light a 3D object in Apple Motion using a variety of lights.

Motion has a virtually limitless package of lights that can be positioned for both 2D and 3D elements. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to create a cast shadow from a chroma-key using lights in Apple Motion.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial creating an animated reflection in Apple Motion, then publishing it to Final Cut with additional effect controls, to use as a template.

In this illustrated, step-by-step tutorial, discover how to use Apple Motion to motion-track, blur or emphasize elements within a video frame.

[This is an excerpt from a recent on-line video webinar: “Advanced Techniques in Apple Motion 5.5” which is available as a download in our store, or as part of our Video Training Library.] EXCERPT DESCRIPTION Explore the capability of Apple …

Explore the capability of Apple Motion for your projects in more depth. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use and modify particle emitters, then showcases two simulations: Repel and Vortex using Apple Motion.

Explore the capability of Apple Motion for your projects in more depth. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to create a curved path for text, then animate text along that curve using Apple Motion.

You don’t need to be an incredible artist – or a programmer – to create interesting and useful effects using Apple Motion. In this short video training, Larry Jordan shows how to create a custom transition in Motion for use in Apple Final Cut Pro.

You don’t need to be an incredible artist – or a programmer – to create interesting and useful effects using Apple Motion. In this short video training, Larry Jordan shows how to create a custom effect in Motion for use in Apple Final Cut Pro.

In this illustrated tutorial, I show how to use chroma-key to create an irregular object in Apple Motion, then create a cast shadow that changes as the foreground image changes.

Every editor has their own list of features that they’d like Apple to implement. I’m no different. Over the years, I’ve been struck by five imponderable missing features in Final Cut that, try as I might, I can’t get Apple to explain why they don’t exist. Here’s my list.

I use blurs all the time, to keep a background from becoming too distracting, or improve a green-screen shot, or provide the illusion of depth. Here’s an in-depth tutorial on how to create them, what they look like, how to animate them and examples of their use.

At first blush, many of the backgrounds included with Apple Final Cut Pro are mostly unusable for text. However, when you adjust their settings – and combine them with a few well chosen effects – you’ll discover a wealth of creative options to make your projects more visually interesting. Here are six examples.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to animate clips using keyframes in Premiere Pro. He’ll also show how to add speed changes to keyframes using Ease In and Ease Out.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates different ways to create green-screen keys (also called “chroma-keys”) using both good and, um, awful footage in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan presents three simple ways to fix color problems in Adobe Premiere Pro. One to change the look, another to fix exposure and a third to correct color problems.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to create an adjustment layer , then explain how it works, how to add effects to it, and what happens when you move clips around it.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new Comparison Viewer in Apple Final Cut Pro, along with a quick way to modify colors across multiple clips.

Two “Top Ten” lists of tips and techniques from “The Inside Tips” for 2020. The first is by number of views, the second is by reader ratings. These cover Adobe and Apple software, along with codecs, media, visual effects and production.

Here are some text tricks that can help position and display text in eye-catching ways using Apple Final Cut Pro.

Emojis are little icons that have taken over the world. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to add and modify emojis in a video project using Apple Final Cut Pro.

Just as we use multiple cameras to provide different angles on the same scene in live production, we can use multiple cameras in Motion to simulate the same thing. Here’s an example, along with a finished movie.

Motion has a full range of lights and, more importantly, lighting presets that can add drama and visual interest to any scene – especially one that involves 3D objects. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how to use them to increase the drama in your projects.

There’s a small icon in the Motion interface that enables multiple views of a project. This is really helpful when working with cameras and lights. Plus, it is cool to look at.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows why the order in which you place effects on a clip makes a difference in the results in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to add and modify keyframes to animate an element in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create a clean chroma-key using both good and bad footage… and a carefully placed mask in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Effects are the fun part of video editing because there are so many different options. In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates the differences between a hold frame and a freeze frame – and how to create both in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Custom overlays in Final Cut Pro X can help with figuring out the best way to frame a scene for multiple aspect ratios, or other compositional tasks. Here’s how to create and apply them.

Here’s how to create a cast shadow of a Apple Motion element from scratch, which be animated and colorized separately from the object creating the shadow.

Video compression is essential to all media today, from social media to broadcast to streaming. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows how to crop and reframe video, along with creating a short segment to test compression settings 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 video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to apply both still and moving watermarks to compressed video using Apple Compressor.

I first saw these 10 inspirational filmmaking tips from Spike Lee posted to LinkedIn.com. I don’t know who compiled them, but I thought they were deeply insightful. and worth sharing with you.

accusonus believes that audio effects can be both powerful and easy to use. Supporting all major editing software, the ERA 5 bundle includes 13 plug-ins to fix common audio problems. Here’s a first look at what’s inside.

In this Apple Motion tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create a burning effect using particles, blend modes and the world’s most amazing light saber.

In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to add effects to a multicam sequence for both single clips and an entire track in Adobe Premiere Pro.

In this video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create a multicam sequence using video clips with different frame sizes in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Audio Design Desk is an amazing program. It creates sound environments quickly and easily. Its ability to replace sounds with similar sounds, without messing up timing or sync is unique. It’s a sound designers dream – once you figure out how it works.

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 a montage of video or stills using multicam techniques in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Whether you use Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X for your edit, you can clean, edit and mix your audio faster and better in Adobe Audition. In this excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to use auto-ducking or, even better, a channel EQ to improve the balance between dialog and music in Audition.

An interview with Maury Rogow, CEO of RIP Media Group, on what they are doing to find work and stay creative during these difficult times.

Motion graphic templates are created in After Effects for use in Premiere. This illustrated tutorial explains how to add, find, edit, modify and delete these templates.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new ISO and white point settings to adjust ProRes RAW media using the latest 10.4.9 version of Apple Final Cut Pro X.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan showcases two new features in Motion 5: 3D Objects and the Stroke filter. He also illustrates how to apply color and texture to the 3D object.