Blog Archives

A detailed and illustrated guide to the new media management features in Final Cut Pro X v.10.1.2.

A detailed look at the new features in Adobe Audition CC (2014) and how they work.

A summary of the latest updates to Apple Final Cut Pro X (10.1.2), Motion (5.1.1) and Compressor (4.1.2)

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

A collection of thoughts on new products and industry trends on the eve of the 2014 NAB Show.

Adobe announced updates to all their video and audio Creative Cloud applications. This article highlights the new features.

A look at Dolby Labs “Vision” – a way of improving video image quality by enhancing image bit-depth and color grading.

A detailed explanation of the workflow and staff the Digital Production Buzz is using to cover the 2014 NAB Show in Las Vegas for both live and recorded broadcasts.

This is a summary of new features in the latest release (7.1) of Adobe’s Creative Cloud video software.

An explanation of how to configure the new MacPro to get the best performance for the least amount of money. (This was written before the MacPro was released.)

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

We are making changes to our website to make it easier to find stuff – especially for members.

A 12-page report summarizing media storage and archiving trends from Coughlin & Associates.

An interesting book on editing that analyzes the editing of Star Wars.

This is a first-look at Autodesk Smoke 2013, Pre-Release Trial 1; what it is and how to get started.

Here are my guidelines on reposting articles from my website.

Welcome to the latest edition of my monthly Final Cut Studio newsletter for December, 2011. This newsletter provides tutorials, tips and other information essential to the interested user of Final Cut Pro.

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

The latest version of OS X — Lion — is now shipping. While many people are excited, I recommend taking a cautious approach to upgrading any systems that you depend upon for editing.

For people pushing pixels (or waveforms) Thunderbolt is a high-speed, data storage birthday present.

PluralEyes was specifically designed to sync clips and create multiclips based upon their audio. However, it can also sync clips in a sequence – even if there are timecode breaks in the clips – by aligning the audio.

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.

The afternoon that Final Cut Studio (3) was released, July 23, 2009, I spoke with Richard Townhill, Director of Video Application Marketing for Apple, and the public face of Final Cut Studio. In fact, Richard is responsible for all the ProApps in Apple, including Final Cut Studio, Aperture, and Logic Studio. Probably no one in Apple has more direct control over the future of the product than he does. For this reason, it was good to get his take on the latest release. This article is based on our conversation.

The National Association of Broadcasters sent me the following memo, which I am posting as it has relevance for all of us involved in media production.

We are living in the middle of truly interesting times from proliferating video formats, monitor problems and tapeless acquisition, this article helps you make sense of the industry during a period of very rapid change.

In this post-NAB 2010 report, I show how we covered this huge trade show for the Digital Production Buzz. 16 reporters, crew of 22, live hourly audio brodcasts, and daily one-hour show specials. This goes into the gear, the process, the file naming conventions…everything.

Recently, I got an email from John Bertram, an editor in Toronto, on why metadata support is crucial to the next generation of Final Cut Pro.

One of the Mac magazines published some seriously wrong information. Read this to keep from making a mistake.

We can shoot HD, we can edit HD, but we still can’t effectively distribute HD due to the market standoff surrounding HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Recently, things just got worse, as this article explains.

Recently, Apple announced a new video format – iFrame – and Sanyo announced new cameras that support that format. This article looks at this announcement and speculates on what this means for the video professional. (Note: Currently, Final Cut Pro does not support iFrame files.)

The latest versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion, and DVD Studio Pro were announced, along with a brand new application: Soundtrack Pro 2. This article gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what’s new.

Apple, on April 18, 2004, announced the latest version of Final Cut. Larry attended the event and files this report, then updated it in June with more information direct from Apple.

What are the disadvantages of using DV, rather than SD, video? This discussion also features comments from a variety of readers.

This article spells out the rules I use for reviewing products — both software and hardware. It is my goal to provide objective, fair, and honest reviews you can trust. Reviews based upon life in the “real-world.” This article explains the rules I use in determining what products to review and the role that potential sponsorship plays in determining what I review.

The recent conversion to all-digital broadcasting brought this reflection on the changes we’ve seen in television over the years. I guess this isn’t really technical, but it struck me as appropriate.

You know the drill. Someone at Apple coughs and suddenly the rumor mill is filled with frenzied statements that the doom of Final Cut Studio is at hand. “The Death of Final Cut” rumors have gotten to be as regular as spring floods or a plague of locusts.

In a recent conversation with Bruce Nazarian, president of the DVD Association, during The BuZZ podcast, we were discussing the sudden shift toward Blu-Ray DVDs.

With Blu-ray winning the DVD format war, attention has now turned to the costs of creating a Blu-ray DVD. This article explains that the cost of replicating one of these new format discs isn’t cheap.

As 2010 draws to a close, three quick observations on technology for the coming year.