Blog Archives

A step-by-step technique to creating green-screen effects in Final Cut Pro X.

Here’s an easy way to create a very intriguing effect- called a gradient wipe – without ever going into Motion. Here’s how it works.

Here are three keyboard shortcuts that make trimming in FCP X much faster!

William Hohauser contributes an article solving sluggish FCP X performance in Lion.

In this article, I want to illustrate some of the new features in this version of FCP.

Auditions are new in Final Cut Pro X for comparing two or more shots in the Timeline. This technique shows how this works.

One of the great new features with multiclips in Final Cut Pro X is how easy it is to add and sync new clips into an existing multicam master. Here’s a video tutorial that shows you how.

There are two ways to create movies using custom image sizes: one in Motion and one in Compressor. This illustrates both methods.

Final Cut Pro X contains the built-in ability to check grammar and spelling in title text. This short video tutorial shows you how it works.

Often, we need to organize our clips manually as we figure out the organization we need to make sense of a project. Keywords are perfect for this – and very fast, both to apply and to use.

Here’s a technique that explains what and how to import and organize your files in Final Cut Pro X.

Here’s a great technique to match the sound of your audio between clips using Final Cut Pro X. Best of all, its fast!

There’s a new feature in Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 called “clip skimming.” This technique explains how to use it.

Editing a montage of still or moving images to music is a typical editing activity. In this tutorial, I want to show you a technique you can use for your own projects.

Sometimes, you need to edit a clip into the FCP X Timeline based upon the Out, not the In — think sports highlight. This type of edit is called a “back-time edit;” because it edits from the “back” of a clip. This technique shows you how.

With the release of FCP X: 10.0.3, Apple made a subtle change to both transitions and preferences. In this tutorial, I show you what the changes are, and how they affect the way we apply transitions.

iMovie user can easily move both iMovie Projects and Events into Final Cut Pro X. This tutorial explains how to do it.

The purpose of the Limiter filter in FCP X is to make soft audio louder while preventing the louder passages from distorting (which happens when audio levels exceed 0 dB). In fact, when used properly, the Limiter filter virtually guarantees that your audio won’t distort; as this article explains.

The best way to improve the quality of your picture is to improve the quality of your sound. However, what that means in real-life is moving files from your video editing software into audio editing software.

Final Cut Pro X provides a very easy way to match audio between clips. This is useful when you have recorded the same talent on different days using different mics.

Recently, I wrote about how to add video to a shape in Final Cut Pro 7 While adding video to shapes is reasonably easy in Final Cut Pro 7, it is almost impossible in FCP X. So, this week I decided to create a video tutorial on adding video to a shape in Final Cut Pro X.

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.

This color correction technique in Final Cut Pro X isn’t perfect, but it is REALLY fast and gets you close enough to keep your job

A picture-in-picture effect is a very popular effect in that it allows us to see two images at once. This tutorial shows you how to create this in FCP X (Final Cut Pro X).

In FCP X, this technique shows you how to use the Position tool to create gaps, move clips, and overwrite clips in the Primary Storyline.

A quick tip for FCP X: if you are adding Ken Burns moves to two clips and you need to add a transition between them, apply the transition first.

This technique shows you how to create hold frames, remove them, adjust their duration, and change the frame that freezes in Final Cut Pro X.

There’s a lot of confusion about the three different media types in Final Cut Pro X: native, optimized, and proxy. This article explains what you need to know.

Many times, editors need to share projects. Changing Event References in FCP X makes this possible.

Do you have two or more audio clips that need to sound the same? Here’s a fast technique in FCP X that explains how.

A solution for dual-channel mono clips, or single track mono clips displaying audio as a single waveform in Final Cut Pro X.

This is a better, faster, and more flexible way to create audio transitions in Final Cut Pro X.

Thanks to the generous raffle donations of our media sponsors for Larry Jordan’s Live FCP X Training in Washington DC!

An overview of working with proxies for your media in Final Cut Pro X.

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

Discover the Power in Final Cut Pro X with Larry Jordan’s Live Training in Gallaudet Universit, Washington DC. Free Bonus for attendees, plus raffle prizes!

Technical Guru Graeme Nattress presents a lucid, and illustrated, explanation of why colors in DV, Betacam, and DVD are handled differently. If you do any kind of color work, you need to read this article.

Having problems with Apple Final Cut Pro 7? This article provides dozens and dozens of techniques you can use to optimize your Final Cut 5, 6, or 7 system; plus trouble-shooting tips to prevent problems.