This article takes a closer look at improving video editing and computer performance using SSDs and provide specific suggestions on the gear to buy and how to configure your system.
Export segmentation is one of the new features in Final Cut 10.7 that becomes available when you upgrade to macOS Sonoma. This harnesses the power of multiple media engines in Apple silicon chips to accelerate H.264 and HEVC exports in FCP or Compressor. While this makes exports faster, it also has other benefits – and limitations.
Apple updated Final Cut Pro to version 10.7 and included a number of new features. Here are details on three that are especially useful: Timeline scrolling, collapsing clips and faster H.264 and HEVC exports.
Apple Compressor is a stand-alone, Mac-based program that compresses audio and video into a variety of formats for distribution. Long derided for its slow speed and poor image quality, since the release of Apple silicon Macs, upgrades have dramatically improved its speed and quality. Here’s how it works.
Chapter markers first appeared as navigation for DVDs. Today, they are used in a wide variety of ways from YouTube to downloads. Here’s how to create them in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Even if you don’t own – or like – Apple Final Cut Pro, you can use Apple Compressor to manipulate media in ways other software doesn’t. For example, use Compressor to change the timecode of a video clip. Here’s how.
Curiosity is a dangerous thing. While it seems to make sense that creating smaller files would be faster, I never really timed it. So, today, before I sat down to write my newsletter, I figured I should. The results surprised me.
For video editors, any M-series Mac computer is a vast improvement over any Intel system. In this detailed review, Larry Jordan looks at setup and performance tests of the M2 Mac Studio computer using Apple Final Cut Pro.
The new Color Conform in Apple Final Cut Pro takes a really complex subject – matching color spaces – and makes it accessible and easy to use. Here’s how it works.
Audio is a huge part of any project. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to create and modify audio transitions in Premiere.
Recently, while writing a review of the BenQ PD2725U monitor, I realized that I have described how to change color space settings on external monitors incorrectly for years. Here’s the key rule you need to know.
Displaying video full-screen in Adobe Premiere is as easy as pressing a single key. However, for best results, when you have two monitors, this quick tutorial shows how to change preference settings to create a separate view and grading monitor.
Audio is a huge part of any project. In this short video, Larry Jordan presents three techniques you can use to repair problems with your audio.
CZUR has thought carefully about the features a book scanner needs to offer. The CZUR ET24 Pro is fast, flexible and provides key output options. It has limitations, but, for the price, it will do what needs to be done for most of us.
In the old days, to monitor video to see exactly what it looks like for color grading required an external video monitor. Today, that’s no longer necessary. Here are three different techniques to view full-screen video from cheap to high-quality.
If you are frustrated trying to make your audio sound better, the Crumblepop AI-assisted audio plug-ins will decrease your stress and improve your audio without requiring an advanced audio degree. And, when it comes to noise reduction, they can do magic.
Peter asked me recently to write an article on how to optimize files for posting to YouTube, download or streaming. As Internet speeds continue to improve, and YouTube adjusts its rules, now is a good time for an update on my recommendations.
While you can add a timecode effect to clips in Apple Final Cut Pro (read tutorial), Apple Compressor allows you to add burned-in timecode to a batch of video clips at once. Here’s how.
A reader requested help in creating a video with burned-in timecode so he could send dailies to a client for review. Final Cut has supported this feature for a long time, but, recently Apple changed the process. Here’s what you need to know.
Topaz Videa AI, from Topaz Labs, does amazing work deinterlacing and enhancing clips. This is an overview of how it works.
Topaz Video AI delivers dramatic results, with a great deal of promise for the future. It’s not cheap and not all features work well. But, for the most part, this is an outstanding tool to improve image quality. Here’s my detailed review.
While accurate storage speed measurements are still elusive, here are settings you can use to improve the accuracy of AJA Speed Test Lite to check the speed of your storage.
This articles details the performance of the M2 Pro Mac mini, specifically the speed of rendering visual effects and exporting projects in Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. 77 tests were performed and some of the answers are surprising!
I am often asked which NLE is “better.” That question can’t be answered, except to say “It depends…” However, we CAN test render and export speeds, along with multicam streaming support using the new 2023 M2 Pro Mac mini. I did – and here are the results.
This review specifically looks at video editing performance using Adobe Premiere Pro with the new 2023 Mac mini with an M2 Pro SoC. This concentrates on render and export speeds, along with multicam editing.
Still photographs, slides and digital images are a common component in many video projects. From digital photos to maps to old photos, editors often need to bring still images to life. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how.
A frequent question is whether a computer has the power an editor needs. Here I look at what Apple Final Cut Pro needs for 4K multicam editing and the speeds your storage needs to support. The answer is not what you expect.
Chroma-key allows us to make specific colors in a video image transparent. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows different ways to use chroma-key, which is also called a “green-screen key,” to create useful video effects.
Here are some real-world speed tests of 2-, 3-, and 4-drive SSD RAIDs using the OWC Thunderblade. Speeds are fast, but none fully fill a Thunderbolt 3/4 connection. Still, they are more than fast enough for almost all editing.
“Ask Larry Anything!” is a free-form conversation about video editing technology.In this short tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates how to read the video scopes inside Apple Final Cut Pro and, by extension, Adobe Premiere Pro, because they share similar scopes. He also provides a table describing where to set skin tones to make people on camera look “normal.”
How fast does our storage need to be to edit video successfully? In other words: How fast is “fast enough?” Surprising, the answer is: Not as fast as you think. Here’s what you need to know.
In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains that Thunderbolt, though very fast, still has speed limits, especially for video editing. And those speed limits vary, depending upon what you are doing.
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 tutorial, Larry shows you how to read the video scopes in Adobe Premiere Pro, then how to use them to match skin tone colors.
Picking a high-quality computer monitor for video editing is surprisingly confusing. Here is Larry Jordan’s explanation of what specs you need to look for, which you can ignore, and what criteria he uses for picking computer and video monitors.
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.
What is a “Retina Display?” What does it do and what monitors support it? This tutorial explains the term, why it’s used and what it means.
Which combination of hard disk or SSD storage provides the fastest speed or highest capacity for video editing? This illustrated tutorial will answer these questions, plus provide a spreadsheet you can use to test your own numbers. This works for Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Apple Final Cut Pro editors.
There are seven Stylize effects in Apple Final Cut Pro that create illegal video levels. This tutorial shows what they are, the problems they cause and how to fix them before final export.
There’s an old axiom for everyone who works in video, “Editing is all about work arounds.” Carleton Cole presents a workaround for editing Microsoft Teams videos when the images randomly shift position.
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.
Video bit depth makes a difference when you are creating effects, color grading or working with HDR material. Here’s an explanation of what bit depth is and when to care about it.
This illustrated tutorial on creating retro film effects using Final Cut Pro was written by Burkhard Berger.
Multicam recording captures an event using multiple cameras. Multicam editing displays all those angles during the edit. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to handle multi-channel audio in a Final Cut multicam clip.
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.
This tutorial compares the export speed on an Apple silicon MacBook Pro of Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve; along with how effectively they used CPU and GPU systems.The results surprised me – none of them maxed out the system!
How many CPU cores do you need for video editing? This illustrated tutorial looks at how many CPU cores Apple Final Cut Pro uses during import, edit, render, export and multicam. The answer is surprising!
Why does Apple Final Cut Pro only use Apple silicon efficiency cores when exporting? And which cores do Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve use? Here’s a comparison between the three.
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, 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.
