Blog Archives

Apple Final Cut Pro X has a tilt-shift focus effect built-into it – but you won’t find it under that name. Here’s what it is and how it works.

Whether you work with Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Photoshop or other image editing programs, you can create unusual, captivating effects using gradients and blend modes. Best of all, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to use them.

This a very cool Mac utility that allows you identify any color on your screen, copy its values or color, and copy them into another app

A revised explanation of how and when to automatically scale clips inside Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

Pro Color Monitor is an innovative way to enable editors to monitor and modify images with color problems without requiring a degree in video engineering, though it can use some work to make it easier to understand its display.

An illustrated explanation of the display options in the Viewer’s View menu in Apple Final Cut Pro X, including a new feature added in FCP X v.10.4.7.

Blurs and mosaics are no longer effective in masking the identity of an on-screen speaker. Here’s what you need to know.

An illustrated tutorial on how to create, apply and delete effects presets in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Image Chest is a Mac app that catalogs and finds images. This is a helpful app for managing all the stills associated with a video project. It isn’t perfect, but it is worth a look. Here are the details.

An explanation of why rolling credits are hard to display smoothly, along with suggestions on how to improve smoothness.

A very simple way to create cast shadows of any object in Photoshop. Very, very cool!

An illustrated tutorial on how to create simple motion tracks in Apple Motion 5.x, then export them to Apple Final Cut Pro X.

An explanation of when to use, or not use, “Maximum Bit Depth” and “Maximum Render Quality” in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

An illustrated tutorial on how to display Nit values for HDR projects in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

An illustrated tutorial on what HDR Tools is and how it converts HDR media for a variety of different color spaces. This effect is available in Apple Final Cut Pro X only.

Raw files give us the most control over the color and gray-scale values in our image, but they create massively large files and require significant time spent color grading. Log files allow us to retain highlight detail. And LUTs allow us to quickly convert an image or clip from one look to another. This article explains what each of these are and how they relate to video editing.

A very cool technique to create unique looks for your video using LUTs. This requires Photoshop and can be used in Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro X, or Davinci Resolve. You’ll like this.

High Dynamic Range (HDR), RAW, sLog, vLog, HDR, 10-bit, 12-bit… In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to create custom LUTs for media in Adobe Premiere Pro using Adobe Photoshop. This is a VERY cool technique!

An illustrated review and tutorial on mLUT for Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Avid Media Composer and more.

An illustrated tutorial on how to use AirDrop to move images and video from your iPhone to a Mac.

Range check is a simple-to-use tool that helps you retain all the detail in the brightest parts of your video image in Apple Final Cut Pro X. This illustrated tutorial shows you how to use it.

With all the different high-end HDR video formats, it’s easy to get confused. In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to use Range Checking to control highlights in both SDR and HDR media using Final Cut Pro X.

With all the different high-end HDR video formats, it’s easy to get confused. In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to use the HDR Tools effect on HDR media in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

With all the different high-end HDR video formats, it’s easy to get confused. In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan shares tips on how to color grade HDR media in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Digital Heaven releases all FCP X plug-ins for free. Here are the details, a weblink and an interview with CEO Martin Baker.

A detailed, illustrated, review of the LG 27″ UHD 4K Display from the perspective of video editing and still images.

An explanation of the Broadcast Safe effect in Final Cut Pro X, what it is, how and why it is used and when you should avoid using it.

The Vuze+ VR Camera, developed and manufactured by HumanEyes, is an eight-camera, four-mic unit for recording stereoscopic (3D) or monoscopic (2D) 360/VR video images, accompanied by either stereo or surround audio. Here’s a review of my experience using it.

Our eyes don’t see all elements in an image equally. Here’s a clear example of the power of “right-handedness” and how you can use it in your own photography.

Join Larry Jordan as he illustrates basic camera framing techniques you can use immediately to make your still and video images more compelling and powerful.

An illustrated tutorial on how to use and modify Generators in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Significant announcements from Filmlight, Assimilate, Telestream, ColorFront, MTI Film and Grass Valley support Apple ProRes RAW.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to resize a video clip without losing image quality in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows three different ways to correct a color blemish within the frame. This technique works in either Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

A detailed, illustrated look at the different media formats and shooting options with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, along with recommendations for best editing in different NLEs.

A collection of articles and video demos explaining how to create green-screen keys (chroma-keys) in Apple Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

In this video excerpt from a recent PowerUp webinar, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use the new Comparison View feature in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2019).

The most popular articles published on LarryJordan.com for 2018, along with a few other key links you need to know.

An easy way to connect an Atomos Ninja monitor/recorder to a Mac and use it as a second screen, or screen-recording system.

An illustrated, step-by-step tutorial to using the new video Noise Reduction effect in Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.4.4.

An illustrated tutorial on how to use the new Comparison Viewer in Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.4.4.

An illustrated review of Apple Screenshot, included in Mojave, along with a list of what it still needs to do.

An illustrated, easy-to-follow tutorial on how to create a variety of different animated backgrounds and text using Motion 5. Written for folks like me who can’t draw a straight line without mechanical help.

This session looks at key new features in Adobe Premiere Pro, Audition and Media Encoder in Adobe’s updates for Spring, 2019. Join host, Larry Jordan, as he illustrates the new selective color curves in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

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.

Whether you use Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut, still images are at the heart of many video programs, especially documentaries. But, what do you do your images don’t look that good? In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use a variety of tools to repair a still image in Photoshop.

Whether you use Adobe Premiere or Apple Final Cut, still images are at the heart of many video programs, especially documentaries. But, what do you do if your images don’t look that good? In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use the Patch tool in Adobe Photoshop CC to repair an image.

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

HDRinstant is designed to create HDR still images from video footage. However, the current version (v2.2.1) crashes repeatedly, the manual is poorly designed and the software, itself, needs work. Great idea, poor execution.

If you want to fix color problems faster and better, as well as improve the overall look of your media, this session gives you a host of new ideas, tools and techniques you can put to work immediately. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates how to display, adjust and use the video scopes inside Apple Final Cut Pro X.