Blog Archives

This morning, Apple released new versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion and Compressor. Here are the details, along with links to the full release notes.

Confused when comparing Intel to Apple silicon systems? Jerry Thompson was, too. Here are the answers to your questions on what the differences are between Apple silicon and Intel, along with suggestions on how to spec a system.

Adobe announced a raft of new features, along with improved AI creation tools and an initiative to verify who actually created an image or other creative work.

Apple Keynote, like Apple Pages, supports text styles. However, these are more limited than you might at first think. Here’s a tutorial that explains more about how to create and modify them.

Sometime in October, Apple will release the latest version of the macOS: Ventura. First announced at the 2022 WWDC in June this version, like every macOS update, features a variety of new features and apps. Still, while this is exciting, …

One of the smaller changes in the June update to Premiere Pro is also one that can save you a bunch of time: Adobe revised Copy/Paste. Here’s what you need to know.

The CalDigit Thunderbolt Station 4 (TS4): More ports and more speed in one small box with a great price. However, there are a few key issues you need to understand before you buy. Here’s my detailed review.

One of our favorite – and most wide-ranging – sessions returns with “Ask Larry Anything!” Presented by Larry Jordan, this is a free-form conversation based on questions submitted by viewers. In this short video, Larry talks about Mac obsolescence and whether the new Apple silicon computers make older systems obsolete.

Particle Illusion is a free, powerful particle generator that runs on both Macs and Windows with hundreds of presets for 2D or 3D particles. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to get started using it.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a complex effect using blurs, color effects and multiple masks, plus Mocha mask tracking in BorisFX Continuum 2022.5 and Final Cut Pro.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a simple blur effect using masks and Mocha mask tracking in BorisFX Continuum 2022.5 in Final Cut Pro.

BorisFX Continuum is the “Swiss Army Knife for visual effects for video editors and motion graphics creatives. In this short video tutorial Larry Jordan shows how to create a simple “Day-for-Night” color effect using Continuum in Final Cut Pro.

Audio Design Desk is an amazing program. It creates sound environments faster and easier than anything I’ve ever seen. Now they’ve extended it with Media Bridge connecting ADD with sound effects libraries across the web. Learn more!

Adobe added new features to their proxy workflow. However, you need to make sure permissions are set correctly, and, even then, they are hard to see. Here’s how this new feature works.

Relinking media in Final Cut has become increasing powerful and flexible. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how it works, along with advice on where to store media for different Final Cut Pro projects.

Adobe added two significant new workspaces to Adobe Premiere Pro (v22.5) to simplify editing projects on single monitors and laptops.

This week, Adobe updated Premiere Pro to version 22.5. Here’s a list of the new features, along with a link for more details.

At WWDC 2022, Apple introduced their latest iteration of Apple silicon: the M2. Based on information released by Apple during the event, the M2 is, on average, 10-15% faster than the M1. Note: That’s not a knock on the M2, …

Last week, Apple reassured editors it remained committed to Final Cut. But were they firing up development or simply being nice? This article is an effort to spark a discussion between Final Cut editors on what features they want to see and how important those features are. I encourage you to add your suggestions and comments.

In the 22.3.1 update to Premiere Pro, Adobe added two features that significantly speed exports: Smart Render and the Export Preset Manager. This illustrated tutorial shows how they work.

Based on a reader’s comment, this compares image quality between three different source codecs (ProRes, MPEG-2 and H.264) compressed into H.264 using Apple Compressor. This also illustrates how many CPU and GPU cores were active.

Adobe updated their video applications last week. Here are the new features, with links to learn more.

Recently, Adobe updated Premiere Pro to version 22.3.1. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new Quick Export and Export Preset Manager to quickly convert your Premiere sequence into finished media.

Recently, Adobe updated Premiere Pro to version 22.3.1. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new Import panel to create a new project and import media clips into Premiere.

Recently, Apple updated Final Cut Pro to version 10.6.2. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new duplicate media detection feature to indicate where you are using the same media in the timeline more than once.

Recently, Apple updated Final Cut Pro to version 10.6.2. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new Voice Isolation feature to remove hum and reduce background noise.

New in the 22.3 released of Premiere Pro, is the ability to show or hide markers by color. This works for both timeline and clip markers, but not both at the same time. Here’s an illustrated tutorial showing how.

The new “sliced scale” effect in Apple Motion 5.6.1 scales an image while preserving key visual elements. This is similar to Content-Aware scaling in Adobe Photoshop. Here’s an example of how this works.

I was not expecting to be impressed with Voice Isolation, but if you are shooting in noisy environments, enabling this one checkbox can create a major improvement in your audio. This is a very helpful audio tool!

Adobe morphed Auto Tone into Auto Color with the 22.3 update to Premiere Pro. The new Auto Color works, but it doesn’t work well. Here are some examples that illustrate this point.

Adobe changed the Premier Pro export interface — cleaning it up without removing any of the power or flexibility. Here’s a tutorial with a look at the new changes.

With the 22.3 release of Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe created a faster and easier way to create a new project and import media into it. Here’s how it works.

Adobe updated Premiere Pro and After Effects with a flock of new features, but the headline feature is the integration of Frame.io. Here are the details on all the updates.

With the release of Apple Final Cut Pro 10.6.2, Apple improved object tracking. Here’s an illustrated example of what’s new.

Displaying duplicate media in the same timeline is a new feature in Final Cut Pro 10.6.2. Here’s how it works.

Apple updates Final Cut Pro (v10.6.2), Motion (v.5.6.1) and Compressor (v.4.6.1). Here are the details.

Today, Audio Design Desk released a new audio extension specifically for Final Cut: FCP Audio Bridge. This vastly simplifies finding, editing, timing and modifying sound effects and music – directly within Final Cut.

Another new feature that Adobe added recently to Premiere is text gradients. These are easy to create, but a key switch you need to access this feature is somewhat hidden. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how this works.

The New Mac Studio computer is stunning. But, is it for you? Here’s what you need to know to configure it for video editing – yet save money at the same time.

Last week, Axle ai released a new cloud-based video editor call axledit. This is a browser-based video editor with integrated collaboration, search, and publishing features that’s hooked into axle ai for media management. Here are the details.

evrExpanse, a media metadata and transcoding tool, was updated to 2.1.6. The new version provides support for more codecs and faster performance. Here’s a first look.

If you’ve been wondering what the color tools in Final Cut do, or how to make them work better, this session is for you. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to adjust the color in a portion of a video clip using the new object tracking feature in Final Cut Pro.

If you’ve been wondering what the color tools in Final Cut do, or how to make them work better, this session is for you. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the Comparison Viewer for color correction in Final Cut.

Remix, a new feature in Adobe Premiere Pro, shortens the length of a music clip, without making the edits obvious. Here’s a tutorial that explains how it works.

Last week, Adobe updated Premiere Pro to version 22.2. New features dramatically accelerate editorial workflows, including Remix, and an updated Speech to Text, which can now be used offline, generating accurate transcriptions up to 3 times faster. Here are the details.

In this article, I compare the compression speed of Apple Compressor, Adobe Media Encoder and ffWorks (ffMPEG) on an Intel system versus a new M1 MacBook Pro. Along the way we also discover that speed is not dependent upon how hard the CPUs are working.

Leigh Reeves owns a Canon R5 camera and needs to record ProRes RAW to an Atomos Ninja V. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to configure the gear to do this.

In it’s latest release (Dec. 2021), Adobe added some some, but significant, features to Premiere Pro that make text easier to find and graphics more flexible. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on what these new features are and how they work.

This morning, Adobe announced new features and updates for Premiere Pro, Character Animator and After Effects. Here are the details.

DaVinci Resolve is a high-power media editing program. It is also very intimidating to learn. Here’s an illustrated tutorial on how to use the tools in the Cut page to get started learning Resolve. The Cut page is designed for projects with deadlines measured in minutes. It is a very fast way to edit.