Blog Archives

HDV uses rectangular pixels to represent its image. Each pixel is short and fat, which means it only needs 1440 pixels to represent an entire line of HD video. However, the computer (and some other video formats) use square pixels to represent the image. So, when you export from HDV to a QuickTime movie, Final Cut converts the pixels from rectangles to squares.

Probably no subject generates more email than questions about the best way to prepare still for both HD and SD. In this article, David Scott provides this step-by-step approach to making your stills look great. (Note: For a video tutorial on this subject, CLICK HERE)

Here is a very slick technique to find audio in your sequence that’s distorting. It won’t fix it — but it will find it; and much, much faster than real-time.

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.)

Money was tight, so “they” decided to shoot the project using both SD and HD cameras. Now, your stuck editing them. HOW??? In this article, we explains a variety of ways you can intercut between SD and HD material, and how to avoid problems with poorly converted video.

The more I work with Soundtrack Pro 2, the more I like it. Recently, I spoke with Apple about STP and learn some quick facts I wanted to share with you here, including what gear you need to hear surround sound.

Interlacing, deinterlacing, progressive — three very confusing terms to many people. This article explains what they are, when you use them, what to do when you see them, and why you should care — not, in many case, not care at all.

File journaling is new in OS 10.3. This article explains what it is and what video editors need to know about it to optimize their systems.

I was surprised to discover I haven’t written about this technique – I use it in almost every project I edit. Built into Final Cut Pro is a really fast, REALLY easy way to find keyboard shortcuts or menu items — if you know where to look. In this article, I’ll show you where.

Gary Freedline sent me a long screed decrying missing features in Final Cut Pro. However, in reading it, I realized that many of them are already there if you know where to look. This article points the way.

Frame offset was invented to allow you to compensate for the delays between your computer and an external device, like a deck. Here is how it works and why you should care.

There are two categories of edits inside Final Cut Pro — Insert and Overwrite. This article describes what they are, when to use them and faster ways to get them done.

Here’s a simple technique you can use to export all the data in the Browser into a format you can read in Excel, Word, or Text Edit.

Keynote is a very fast way to create bullet slide and animated text for video. However, when it comes time to export your images, this article explains how to do it fast and with the best quality.

The default video transition in Final Cut Pro is a 30 frame cross-dissolve. This article shows you how to change it.

As Eric Mittan writes: “My favorite keyboard shortcuts are those that are contextual. The function of the keys in question change in the context of what task is being performed, or what item is selected, or what tool is chosen in order to get a different, if slightly related result.

I am getting periodic reports of missing render files inside Final Cut Pro. This short article may give you a hand in tracking down the problem.

Asymmetric trimming allows you to trim the audio and video in opposite directions at the same time. I’m still not sure if this is a good or bad thing. Here’s how it works.

Final Cut expects all cameras to shoot audio at 48 kHz. But, what happens when they don’t? Well, you get audio drifting out of sync, or no audio at all. Many low-end cameras record audio at 32 kHz. This technique shows you what you need to know to capture your audio accurately.

There are very few things that cause as much confusion to video editors as working with audio. In this technique, I show you a very efficient technique for structuring where to place audio in your timeline and suggest audio levels that can make your project sound GREAT! If you read only one audio article this month, this is the article to read!

Here’s a neat trick to make a constant speed change to a video clip without changing the sound of the audio.

Audio in FCP is clip-based, rather than track-based. This article describes a variety of ways to change the levels of more than one clip at once.

Ever wonder what levels to set your reference tones to? Should you output tone at 0 dB, -12 dB,-18 dB, or -20 dB. In this discussion, Larry is joined by Woody Woodhall, president of Allied Post, to get a better understanding of the issue. And, yup, it’s just as confused as we thought!

Final Cut Pro hates compressed audio. This article explains the problems you will having working with it, as well as providing a simple conversion process that solves the problem.

It’s easy to create burned-in timecode for video clips. But what about visible timecode for audio clips? The answer is “maybe,” but probably not.

Understanding how auto-render works can save you hours on each project. Here’s a step-by-step that explains it.

With FCP version 4.1, Apple changed the rules on how copy and paste work. You now need to know about “auto-select.” This article explains it.

Every clip in Final Cut supports up to three timecode tracks — a primary and two auxilliary tracks. This article describes how to access them, change the timecode they contain, and idea on what to use them for.

Faster is always better, when you can maintain control and quality. Here’s a VERY fast way to reset clip durations in the Browser that can save you tons of time, when compared to doing it one clip at a time.

I have a client who’s beginning to edit to documentary that has over 100 hours of material to be edited into a 30-minute documentary. What he wants to do is log each clip, then copy that logging information out of Final Cut so he can load it into Excel. The advantage of exporting all this data is that he can think about his clips, and share this information between producers, without running Final Cut.

There are two questions I get asked a lot: what’s the best camera, and what’s the best hardware. This article explains why answering the hardware question is so difficult. It isn’t that there’s no answer, its that the answer is TOTALLY dependent on what YOU need. Take a look here at why.

We toss around terms like 8-bit depth, or 10-bit depth, even 12-bit depth. But what do those terms actually mean? Does it make a difference what bit depth we work in? The answer is yes. Bit-depth determines how accurately we can digitally represent an image, compared to reality. This article provides more detail without going into too much tech.

I am not a testing organization, but, recently, Jon Schilling over at CalDigit (www.caldigit.com) sent me a 500 GB SATA RAID to examine (Model #S2VR Duo).

HDV is the latest video format craze, but it isn’t like DV; or any other video format we are used to working with. This article explains how HDV is different and what you need to know to use it successfully.

Final Cut Pro is, most often, used for editing after the recording is complete. However, there are some situations where you need to record live and edit as soon as you can. This article talks about that and provides options to consider. There’s also some relevant reader feedback.

What do you do when you have hundreds of hours of material to capture? Well, first, you have a number of decisions to make. This short article outlines what you need to know before you start.

The problem is that both 16:9 and 4:3 SD video have exactly the same number of pixels. This is true in both NTSC and PAL. And, sometimes, you need to convert from one to the other. What’s the best way to do this? What’s the fastest? Why is it necessary? This article answers those questions.

One of the common problems that inexperienced Final Cut editors run into is audio that slowly drifts out of sync. While the problem may appear to be within Final Cut Pro, the cause is actually due to mismatched audio sample rates between the video you shot and the way you are capturing it. What makes this worse is that many consumer cameras default to an audio sample rate of 32 kHz, while Final Cut expects 48 kHz. In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll explain what an audio sample rate is and how to change your Final Cut settings to capture your audio accurately.

Stereoscopic 3D video is not just for theatrical release. Cable and satellite channels, even YouTube, now display images in 3D. In this musing, I reflect that even if 3D isn’t the future, we can make money on it now – without spending a ton of money.

64-bit memory addressing is new with OS X 10.6. But what does this really mean? And what does it mean for Final Cut Studio (3)? In this short, moderately technical, article, we take a look a this new term and what it means for the future of video editing.

The simplest definition of rendering is to convert an effect or image from its native format to match the video format of your timeline.

It’s late at night, you are wrapping up a project. Just when you think you can go home, you discover that your final export from Soundtrack Pro, doesn’t sync with your final export from Final Cut Pro. Grrr!! Now what? This article explains a very nifty technique that solves that problem in short order.

Traditionally, effects were recorded to DigiBeta tape in two cuts. The first cut was the hold-out, which defined the alpha channel and the second cut was what went into the matte. However, creating an alpha channel from tape is not obvious. However, it’s easy to do and this article shows you how to do it.

Soundtrack Pro does not create audio CDs automatically, but you can still do so, if you know how. This article explains the steps. Also, Peter Neil, from the BBC, suggests another program that makes this process even easier.

Soundtrack Pro allows you to easily make an insert edit and keep everything in sync. However, just because it is easy to do, does NOT mean it is easy to find. This article explains what you need to know to make it happen.

HDV is the latest video format craze, but it isn’t like DV; or any other video format we are used to working with. This article explains how HDV is different and what you need to know to use it successfully.

Here is a fast way to create a sequence with burned-in timecode – very useful for client reviews and revisions. In fact, we can do this in about six steps, as this tutorial shows how.

The goal of a rough cut is to make the best possible version of the director’s original intentions.

How to carry a preference Custom Keyboard Layout file and place it in a new Final Cut Pro system. Very useful for freelance editing!

After years of using Compressor Droplets to automate video compression, a very helpful tip has been discovered to engineer Droplets to contain multiple settings. Larry illustrates this simple and innovative process.