Blog Archives

We love the look of film, but the world has gone digital. In this guest blog, Drew Gula, from SoundStripe.com, explores the balance between digital media and creating a film look.

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.

Adam Wilt shares his thoughts on why Blackmagic Design released a camera recording 12K frame sizes. And, it isn’t the reason you expect.

Thoughtful reflections from Bill Goetz, news videographer, on how change changes us.

Everyone around us is scared, isolated and feeding on rumors. In spite of it all, there’s hope. And we have the technology and the skills to provide it. Ask your clients what you can do to help. Here are some ideas.

Ever wondered where interlacing, drop-frame, and credit cards came from? Well, here’s the story.

These are challenging times for media professionals. But from a baker’s dozen of industry leaders, there are a lot of reasons for hope. Read their thoughts here.

Earlier this week, Norman Hollyn and I gave a presentation to the LACPUG (Los Angeles Creative Pro User Group) on creating documentaries. Norman covered story-telling and editing, while I discussed interview planning and techniques. In thinking about my presentation, I …

Larry Jordan’s thoughts on his new partnership with Thalo.com.

Why become a member of Larry Jordan’s Video Training Library? Because you can learn exactly what you need to know from our library more quickly and better than you can learn it on your own.

Step-by-step tutorials covering Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, Adobe Media Encoder and product reviews written during Dec. 2015 by Larry Jordan.

An essay on finding ways to set client expectations, and budgets, on creative projects.

A bad audio mix shows that you are trying to hide something and the audience knows it. A commentary on a stage show.

An inside look at an Apple press briefing and why simplifying interfaces is essential to Apple.

A commentary on why we need to keep learning.

Part 2 of Larry Jordan’s thoughts on 2014 and what it means for the media industry in 2015.

Part 1 of Larry Jordan’s thoughts on 2014 and what it means to the media industry in 2015.

A look at the challenges of adding a media asset system to a small company. It isn’t the software; it’s the people.

A look at the new 5K iMac from the perspective of a video editor and trainer.

A commentary on the challenges of being a new user of technology; specifically related to Behringer Digital Audio Consoles.

Why are video frame rates 25 or 30 frames per second? It has to do with history, as this short article explains.

A commentary / think-piece on how offering subscriptions to software changes the software that’s produced.

Comments from industry experts and manufacturers on the best way to configure a RAID for media editing.

Thoughts on technology that is making optical media obsolete and the impact that will have on media creators. This also provides options to consider when planning for the future.

A description of what “personally identifiable information,” our company retains about its customers.

Thoughts and commentary on announcements and trends at the recent 2014 NAB Show in Las Vegas, NV.

An explanation of video compression, image quality, and bit rates using an unbelievably brilliant analogy. This is why the size of the source file doesn’t matter.

A commentary on coping with continual changes in technology.

A discussion of where the eye looks in the frame and how to control it.

Ask the right questions to get the right answers for your interviews; on or off camera. This short article explains how.

Use this “Three Codec” method to shoot and edit video to improve speed and image quality.

A detailed tutorial on HTTP Live Streaming and how to compress video files for it.

This afternoon, at the 2013 Adobe MAX, Jacob Rosenberg, Chief Technology Officer and Partner at Bandito Brothers gave a presentation showcasing the history and projects of his full-service media company. Founded by two men, Scott Waugh and Mouse McCoy, with a …

A commentary on how to pick the best video frame rate to shoot your project, with a look back at history.

The seven basic ideas you need to think about before starting your own creative company.

A detailed explanation of the video and audio gear used to cover the 2013 NAB Show for the Digital Production Buzz podcast.

[This article was first published in April, 2013, on my blog.] I’ve been thinking a lot about careers in media recently. It started with a recent blog I wrote, called: “Can You Still Have a Career in Editing?” which generated …

[This article was first published in March, 2013, on my blog.] Three emails got me thinking today. The first was from Jack Reilly, of Future Media Concepts who is organizing Post-Production World at NAB. He’s asked me to host a …

Some good tips to keep in mind when you are interviewing someone on camera.

10 Rules to keep in mind when you are interviewed about technology products.

Report from MacWorld 2013 MacWorld Expo is a consumer technology show. However, tucked in amidst the endless iPhone covers and quirky iPad accessories were a number of gems that filmmakers might find interesting. So, I took the Digital Production Buzz …

[This article was first published in January, 2013, on my blog.]   Of all the questions I am asked each day, this is the most popular: “When will Final Cut Pro X be ready for professional use?” Sigh… Right now! …

A discussion on using Apple-supplied media in commercial productions, along with issues of copyright on YouTube.

A summary of storage technology and trivia gathered at the recent Storage Visions Conference 2013 in Las Vegas.

[This article was first published in March, 2013, on my blog.] OK. I’m impressed! Last November, the day they went on sale, I ordered a 27″ iMac to replace my main editing system. (Click here to read about the system …

[This article was first published in December, 2012, on my blog.] I bought a new 27″ iMac when they went on sale Friday, specifically for video editing. And, because I’ve had a lot of requests recently, I wanted to tell …

Jack Rickard sent me a very thoughtful analysis of why he is a fan of the Cloud that I want to share with you.

Ben Balser, an Apple-Certified Trainer for Digital Media, sent me the following commentary on investing the time to get trained. By way of background, Ben is a long-time educator and trainer.

What makes for an effective technology teacher? What should we focus on? How do we avoid the “fear of the unknown” in our students? In this philosophical musing, I reflect on what I’ve learned about teaching technology for almost a decade.

These thoughts have been bubbling around my head for the last few months, but developed into an article as I was trying to learn a particularly tricky piece of software. After reading the manual, watching the tutorials, and taking the training, I was more confused than ever. This article is an attempt to discuss how to create effective training, and specific techniques to avoid.