Blog Archives

“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.

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

Our eyes don’t see all elements in an image equally. Here’s a clear example of the power of “right-handedness” and how you can use it in your own photography.

Join Larry Jordan as he illustrates basic camera framing techniques you can use immediately to make your still and video images more compelling and powerful.

An illustrated guide to using the new Punch and Roll feature to record audio ranges in Adobe Audition CC (2019).

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.

Convergent Design’s Apollo multicamera recorder has a special feature that allows easy transfer of multicam files from the Apollo to Apple Final Cut Pro X.

A detailed, illustrated guide to the technical hardware and workflow of producing the Digital Production Buzz, a weekly audio podcast directed at the independent filmmaker, hosted by Larry Jordan.

A FREE 85-page Handbook on how to stage, produce and direct dance for television or video. Written in 1978 by Larry Jordan, based on his experiences at the American Dance Festival. Updated in 2018.

A step-by-step tutorial on how to create a disk image to preserve and protect media files recorded to a camera card.

A collection of new products for media creators announced at the 2018 NAB Show from companies you may not have heard about.

If you are struggling to understand how audio works, this session is for you. In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan explains what double-system sound is and how to sync and edit clips in Final Cut Pro X.

Multicam editing allows us to see multiple cameras at the same time as we edit a show. This allows us to quickly compare shots and pick the best one for our story. In this short, video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how to create and configure a multicam sequence in Premiere.

An illustrated tutorial on how to shoot slow-motion video on an iPhone, import it into Final Cut Pro X, and play it back with extremely high quality.