Blog Archives

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

An explanation of when and why media is copied during import, plus a discussion of Premiere’s new Ingest option.

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

A detailed, illustrated look at MediaInfo, from MediaArea. This utility puts all the technical information about audio and video media at your fingertips.

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.

A corrected look at how video file size changes as color bit depth increases.

Here’s how to fix a problem when Apple Final Cut Pro X takes too long to display images – or displays too many images – in the Media Import window.

An unpublished HDR compression guide from Adobe on how to export HDR media from Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

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.

This provides an overview of what High Dynamic Range (HDR) media is, where we are now, where we are going, how it works in video editing systems and links to learn more. Written for a video editor, not an engineer.

With all these different high-end video formats, it’s easy to get confused. In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan defines and illustrates color spaces and LUTs; and how they apply to video media.

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!

High Dynamic Range (HDR), RAW, sLog, vLog, HDR, 10-bit, 12-bit… In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how to optimize preference settings in Adobe Premiere Pro to work with HDR media.

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.

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.

Mark Bashian, Creative Director for Bash Films, recently sent me these results of his performance testing. Since all of us are trying to figure out how to make the most of our computer gear, I found his tests to be …

This is a fascinating, illustrated look at how different media affects performance of RAM, CPU, and Libraries in Final Cut Pro X, along with recommendations on upgrades and computer systems.

A step-by-step illustrated tutorial on how to create, automate and access proxy media files in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2018 or later).

An explanation of how Massive.io can help filmmakers transfer files faster and cheaper than older services.

In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how and why to modify Library properties in Apple Final Cut Pro X (10.4.x).

In this short video excerpt, watch as Larry Jordan illustrates how and why to automatically create and edit proxies in Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2019).

While 360/VR won’t replace traditional filmmaking, it can create some amazing experiences. In this short video excerpt, watch Larry Jordan as he illustrates how to edit 360/VR video in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

While 360/VR won’t replace traditional filmmaking, it can create some amazing experiences. In this short video excerpt, watch Larry Jordan as he illustrates how to edit 360/VR video in Apple Final Cut Pro X.

Reflector 3, from Squirrels, displays an iPhone screen live to your computer, which is great for streaming and webinars. Here’s a review.

A detailed tutorial on the audio and video analysis settings as part of the Media Import window in Apple Final Cut Pro X. Not always accurate, not always fast, but perhaps worth knowing.

Adobe Premiere Pro CC does not include any Apple ProRes sequence presets.. yet. Here’s how to create them. (Updated March, 2020, with new advice throughout.)

How to create ProRes transcoding settings in Adobe Media Encoder – both old and new versions.

An explanation of how the speed of light limits how fast a computer CPU can go. This is VERY cool, even if you don’t understand tech!

A detailed look at the speed differences in exporting different versions of ProRes from Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2019. Which should you use to save time?

A detailed look at the speed differences in rendering different versions of ProRes in Apple Final Cut Pro X. Which should you use to save time?

An illustrated tutorial on how to create a new poster frame for most movies using the Finder and Apple Compressor.

An illustrated tutorial explaining how much of your CPU is needed to playback or render 4K media using Apple Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

A product review of the new OWC Aura Pro X2 SSD, designed as a replacement SSD for MacBook laptops. This illustrated review looks at the results of installing it into an older 2013 MacBook Pro with Retina display.

An illustrated review of Better Rename 10, a utility that renames files, developed by PublicSpace.net.

An illustrated look at new audio repair plugins from Accusonus for Apple Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, Audition CC, ProTools and many others called: ERA Bundle.

Avid moves its media creation tools to The Cloud in partnership with Bebop Technology. Here are the details on this annoucement.

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

An illustrated guide to free software tools you can use to measure the performance of your computer system, with a focus on video editing.

An illustrated and detailed tour of how the Digital Production Buzz will produce and webcast 27 live shows in 3.5 days direct from the 2019 NAB trade show floor.

An illustrated tutorial on how to convert 32-bit (or any) media to make it more future-proof using Apple Compressor; plus a description of missing features that are still needed.

An illustrated tutorial on how to use Apple Final Cut Pro X 104.6 (or later) to convert soon-to-be-incompatible 32-bit media into something more future-proof.

Yesterday, Apple issued a mostly minor maintenance update to Final Cut, Motion, Compressor and iMovie with one big feature that is worth discussing. The new feature is that any of these three applications will now automatically detect media which will …

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

Kyno is a full-featured, flexible media manager for both Mac and Windows, with powerful transcoding built-in. Here is an overview of the new features in the 1.6.1 release.

Michael Powles writes about problems using SDXC camera cards with Apple Final Cut Pro X. Larry Jordan provides additional answers.

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.

An in-depth, illustrated look at Axle.ai, media asset management software for the Mac.