The new Magnetic Mask in Final Cut Pro 11 is a powerful tool to separate the foreground from background – without a green screen key – so you can alter the look of each layer independently. In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates how to create a mask that includes multiple subjects.
Media Intelligence is new with Premiere Pro 2025. It searches “for your perfect shot using language based on imagery, spoken words, or content with embedded metadata like shoot date, location, or camera type, all at the same time.” Here’s how it works.
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.
Recently, my social media team asked me to create several vertical videos with captions. Since I can only shoot horizontal video, here’s how I did it, using DaVinci Resolve 20.
How fast does your storage need to be to support video editing these days. Well, in most cases, not as fast as you might expect, as Larry Jordan illustrates.
Ken Paul Rosenthal is a filmmaker who switched from Canon to Blackmagic Design cameras. In doing so, he found an interested technique to improve exposures for his films.
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 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.
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.
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!
Resolve can easily display two timelines using either a single or dual monitor display. But it’s a bit fiddly. Here’s how this works.
Adobe Premiere supports displaying two or more timelines at the same time. For example, this can help when you need to compare two versions of an edit. This isn’t hard to do, but it isn’t obvious. Here’s how this works.
While Final Cut does not allow displaying more than one project in the timeline at the same time, it does make switching between projects easy. Here are some secret tips.
All the hype surrounding AI presents software developers making tools for creatives with a dilemma. How do they find the right balance between creating features that improve their tools versus replacing the editor?
One of the tasks editors are increasingly asked to do today is convert a horizontal timeline to vertical to post to social media. Premiere makes this process easy using Auto Reframe. Here’s how this works.
One of the tasks editors are increasingly asked to do today is convert a horizontal timeline to vertical to post to social media. Apple Final Cut makes it easy using Smart Conform. Here’s how.
Larry Jordan and Chris McMahon discuss Backlight’s product suite, how they view media asset management, how they are using AI in their products and how Wildmoka automates instantly sending content “clippings” to multiple destinations on any platform.
Larry Jordan and Ole-Andreas Løvland discuss how BitFocus is creating the macro button technology that runs on Stream Deck that allows one button to control up to 700 different actions. He also previews up-coming Stream Deck hardware allowing it to connect directly to a network.
I spent this last week immersed in editing in DaVinci Resolve Studio 19. Here’s how it compares to Final Cut and Premiere, along with features that drive me nuts.
The challenge I faced was that, once I finished a horizontal version of a video, I needed to create a vertical version for social media posts. Resolve makes it easy, but not obvious. Here’s what you need to know.
Larry Jordan and Jon Finegold discuss Signiant’s 20th Anniversary, moving large media files around the globe, how they compare to the competition and what’s needed to use Signiant’s fast file transfer technology.
Larry Jordan and Richard Rees discuss what QuickLink does, how it got started, and how it’s expanding out of broadcast into production studios and social media.
Larry Jordan and Lisa Watts discuss what Cree8.io is, why she started it, who it’s for, and how it can save editorial workgroups time and stress.
Larry Jordan and Arie Stavchancky discuss how Dataclay tools connect databases with After Effects to automatically create customized versions of the same A.E. comp. Think of it as “mail merge for After Effects.”
At the recent the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas, I sat down with Blackmagic’s audio gurus to learn more about the Fairlight page. What I learned made a big difference in the sound of my projects. Here are three secrets that I’m now using in every project.
I want to add watermarks to the videos I edit in DaVinci Resolve – but I couldn’t find a “watermark” option. Then, I discovered “Data Burn-in.” Here’s how it works, how to create presets and where to use them.
Adobe added more AI features into the latest release of Premiere (25.2), along with a variety of other useful features and bug fixes. Here’s what’s new
Axle AI is a media asset manager (MAM) that runs on Mac, Windows and Linux computers. In this short video, Larry Jordan showcases the features of Axle AI and how a MAM can extend the power of video editing software like Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, or DaVinci Resolve.
Finding the exact media clip that you need is only the first step. Now, you need to get that clip loaded into your video editor from wherever it’s stored. In this short video, Larry Jordan, shows exactly how to transfer files from Axle AI directly to remote clients, or into Apple Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Adobe Premiere Pro.
Axle AI, a multi-platform media asset manager, provides fast and efficient searches through tens of thousands of clips to find exactly the video that you need. Here, Larry Jordan how how to do searches in Axle AI.
Jason manages multiple editors and needs to transfer sequences from Adobe Premiere Pro to Apple Final Cut Pro. In this demo, Larry Jordan shows exactly how this is done.
Siamack is new to Final Cut and struggling to organize her media. In this video, I provide a variety of organizational tools she can use, with a special emphasis on keywords.
Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan explains what video stabilization does, the options available, and how to apply stabilization to your own video.
This tutorial measures and illustrates the difference in speeds between different HDD (Hard Disk Drive) RAID levels. This also provides definitions of these different levels and recommendations on which to use for your storage.
High-performance, high-capacity storage is at the heart of everything we do as media editors. Clearly, performance improves with each generation of gear. Equally clearly, none of us have unlimited budgets. These tests compare the benefits of migrating from Thunderbolt 2 storage to Thunderbolt 3.
For many years, I’ve written that the fuller a spinning hard disk drive (HDD) is, the slower it goes. But, while I’ve “known” this for years, I never really bothered to test it. Until this week, as part of a detailed review of a Thunderbay 4 HDD RAID. Here’s the answer.
I’ve often wondered just how much better an SSD is for multicam editing than an HDD (spinning hard disk drive). Recently, as part of detailed review of the OWC Thunderbay 4 HDD RAID, I decided to find out.
I’ve always “known” that HFS+ is better for formatting spinning hard drives for the Mac than APFS. But, I wondered, is that just hearsay or is there some truth to it? So, I put them both to the test. The results are surprising.
As I was editing a recent webinar, I rediscovered three highly useful techniques that sped my work. Since these are not techniques I use everyday, I wanted to share them with you so you could save some time on your next edit as well.
Apple changed how adjustment layers for Final Cut are created in Motion with FCP 11. An adjustment layer in Final Cut Pro is a special clip to which you can apply effects that affect all layers or clips below it. The only problem is that it doesn’t exist. Here’s how to create it.
The Ken Burns effect provides automated image animation and it works for both horizontal and vertical projects. But there are several cases where keyframes work better. Larry Jordan illustrates both in this short video.
Most of the preference settings in Adobe Premiere Pro are fine. But, not all of them. In this short video, Larry Jordan shows which preferences you need to change to improve performance.
In this short video, Larry Jordan demonstrates how to import timelines from Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro for color grading, then export them back out again.
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.
This review looks at the performance differences in video editing running Adobe Premiere Pro 25 on a variety of Macs from the 2018 Mac mini to the new 2024 Apple M4 Pro Mac mini. The results may surprise you!
It’s important to remember that you don’t need to buy the fully-loaded version of any system to get serious work done. Here are my thoughts on how to configure an M4-series Mac for serious video editing without breaking the bank.
This review looks at the performance differences in video editing running Apple Final Cut Pro 11 on a variety of Macs from the 2018 Mac mini to the new 2024 Apple M4 Pro Mac mini. The results may surprise you!
Today, Apple updated Final Cut Pro – Mac to version 11, along with updates to Final Cut Camera, Final Cut Pro – iPad and Logic. Here are the details and more links.
