Blog Archives

V-Station HD is a new and uniform approach for multi-cam video projects, particularly for those who are not trained in video production. In this article, Larry Jordan interviews FutureVideo Products CEO Robert Cohen to learn more about their video products.

Four classic production stills that showcase how much video production has changed over the last 40 years – along with some core ways it hasn’t changed at all.

The ATEN UC8000 MicLIVE AI-powered podcast audio mixer is a good first effort, but it isn’t ready for production. It is well-built but not well thought-out. Here’s my review.

The iRig Pro Quattro I/O is a four-channel audio interface perfect for recording music or video in the field, or for live-steaming podcasts or other productions. Here’s an in-depth review.

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.

This is an excerpt of a recent PowerUP webinar called “Ask Larry Anything.” In this short tutorial, Larry Jordan illustrates what video interlacing is, why deinterlacing is necessary and why deinterlacing always degrades video image quality.

Creating the illusion of night in video is not a case of turning off the lights. It a case of where those lights get put and the contrast between them.

Like many, I get confused about the differences between HDR, RAW, HDR, Log, LUT, and 10-bit media. All too often, the explanations are deeply technical – and confusing. So, here’s an overview of what these are and how to use them.

Let me talk about makeup for people on camera for a minute. OC8 is an inexpensive gel that reduces excessive shine from oily skin. It helps folks on camera look great. Learn more.

While every project is different, most of us work in corporate or client-based video. As you start a new project, what topics are key to discuss with a client before pre-production starts?

There are cheaper soft lights out there, but I like the quality of the Lumecube Edge Light. It is well-built, easily adjustable and floods a medium-sized area with clean, soft light. Here’s my review.

I’m a long-time owner of an Epson Perfection V600 Photo scanner. But, recently I purchased an Epson V850 Pro because I have a lot of slides to scan. In this review, I compare both and share the strengths and weaknesses of each.

The Marshall Electronics CVM-16 Pro-Style Tripod Stand is the most solidly-built, well-thought-out, versatile small tripod I’ve ever seen. It was designed by people who take photographs for a living. And it’s built to last for years. Here’s my review.

“Ask Larry Anything,” is a free-form conversation about subjects related to editing. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains what an LTO tape drive is, the differences between LTO generations, recommendations for LTO software and how media creators can use this technology to safely archive their media and projects for decades.

Audio Design Desk simplifies the process of finding, placing and experimenting with audio cues for video projects. While ADD handles the basics of sound design, the creative inspiration still comes from you. The good news is that version 1.7 makes this creative process faster and easier than ever.

Here’s how to connect camera source files to proxy media in Adobe Premiere Pro, when the proxies were created outside of Premiere and the master files arrived after you started editing with the proxy files.

Your Mac system is acting flakey. Here are a variety of tests and trouble-shooting techniques you can use to get your system and running. (This includes a special section on trouble-shooting for media editors.)

DPI (Dots per Inch) is a measure of image resolution. It also confuses a lot of people. Here’s an illustrated guide to where DPI matters, where it does not, and why images look bad when you scale them larger.

The iRig Pre HD means you can travel wherever you want, with whatever mics you want and record them on whatever device you have handy and get high quality results. Here are the details.

The iRig Pre 2 does what needs to be done: provide a high-quality audio interface between your recording gear and your mic. Easy to set up, light-weight and easily portable, the iRig Pre 2 lets you record the sounds you want, wherever you go.

In a world where videos move millions and a picture is more powerful – and popular – than the written word, a key survival skill is how well you communicate visually. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows the importance of the 180° Rule and the impact of changing the position of camera and talent on the impact of your visuals.

In a world where videos move millions and a picture is more powerful – and popular – than the written word, a key survival skill is how well you communicate visually. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan demonstrates “eyelines,” what they are and how they help our eye explore an image.

In a world where videos move millions and a picture is more powerful – and popular – than the written word, a key survival skill is how well you communicate visually. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains The Six Priorities that determine where the eye looks FIRST in an image and how they help guide a viewer in exploring it.

Bryan asked me to explain the media workflow for both master and proxy files from Frame.io’s “Camera 2 Cloud” into Final Cut Pro. It is surprisingly easy – provided you start in the right place.

Here’s how to create a logo or shape in Photoshop, fill it with moving video in Final Cut Pro, then place that over a moving background. This works with video or stills and with any text, logos or shapes you care to use. Plus, it is fun to create – once you know how.

The Lume Cube panels are solidly built, easily adjustable, and come with flexible mounting options for different situations. I bought these for myself – here’s my review.

It’s easy to digitize SD video. But the quality isn’t great, the audio is often noisy and the results, for pros, are disappointing. Here’s a system to digitize older media and maximize audio and video quality.

In March, Adobe released the new 2021 versions of Premiere Pro, After Effects, Audition, Media Encoder, and the rest of their audio and video applications. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan shows how to use the new insert recording features in both the Waveform Editor and Multitrack Mixer in Adobe Audition.

The microphone you use for recording audio is more important to audio quality than any cable, plugin, software or hardware you use to record it. Here’s my thoughts on how to make yourself sound better.

Recently, NewBlueFX launched: NewBlue Stream, a new product designed for live streaming. In this interview with CEO Todor Fay, we learn more about the product, why they created it and who it is designed for. This is fascinating.

This article details what I learned trying to access often corrupted digital images that are 15 – 25 years old. It illustrates the software I use to recover images, video codecs that are obsolete and techniques I used to preserve media for the future. This covers AppleWorks, PICT, PhotoCD, JPEG, TIFF, audio, and video media.

I first wrote these “Media Planning Guidelines” as a series of bullet points to help us think about media and the storage necessary for video editing. In this article, I expand these to explain my thinking to help you make better media decisions for your next project.

In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains why H.264 and HEVC media are considered inefficient for video editing, whether you use Premiere Pro or Final Cut Pro X.

Adam Wilt shares his thoughts on why Blackmagic Design released a camera recording 12K frame sizes. And, it isn’t the reason you expect.

Voice-over work combines acting with technology to create magic. It’s your voice telling stories directly into the imagination of the listener. Here are some tips to make it better.

A detailed, illustrated workflow on how Larry Jordan creates his weekly webinars from pre-production through to post. This includes software, settings, tips and tricks.

In an ideal world, all your green-screen source files are perfectly lit. This illustrated tutorial deals with reality – green-screen source files that are badly light, poorly saturated and with gear lying all around the frame. Sheesh!

An interview with Mark Harrison, managing director of DPP, on what the near-term future holds for restarting the media industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tips to improve how you look on camera, especially in home environments. Written by Jonathan Barkan.

Live web streaming ranges from the very simple to the highly complex. The key factor is audio. Here’s a summary of options, plus a ton of links to help you do your own research.

This is a table of updated file sizes for all iPhone video formats, based on frame size and frame rate. Use these to plan your storage needs.

DPP today released a new research report exploring how production companies are now using the Cloud as a key production tool. Here are the details of what they found.

An introduction to Drylab, which makes tools to help scripted production teams make better film and TV, while reducing costs and overhead. Plus an interview with founder, John Christian Rosenlund.

A review of “The Filmmaker’s Handbook” by Steven Ascher and Edward Pincus.

Survey of applications and web services providing automated speech-to-text transcription focused on media creators.

An explanation of why iPhones don’t shoot 25 or 50 frames per second video.

A user-writeup of a custom shooting rig for the Blackmagic Design 6K Pocket Cinema Camera.

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.

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.

Every day 3 billion images are uploaded & shared in the internet – 80% are stolen. CopyTrack provides a way for photographers to recover lost royalties. This interview with CEO Marcus Schmitt explains how this free service works.