Blog Archives

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

Alex Gollner has posted a new, FREE, effect for Final Cut Pro X — it’s an eight-point mask.

One of the limitations of FCP X is that all Events and Projects must be open at all times. This product is a stand-alone utility that makes file management much easier in FCP X.

One of the limitations of FCP X is that it only allows one sequence per project. Here is a simple workaround you can create that may do the trick.

Mark Whalen sent me his thoughts on Final Cut Pro X that I wanted to share with you.

Final Cut Pro X was released just over 30 days ago — seems longer than that somehow…

David Scott was having a problem creating a DVD using a Compressor Template. Until he solved it. Here’s what he did.

Here’s a quick effect to create a “pull quote” using the Motion tab in Final Cut Pro.

A clip collision generally occurs when you are trimming. Specifically, when you are ripple trimming.

This is a very cool technique that changes the color and display of your text as the background changes.

This is a very fast way to edit multiple camera angles into the Timeline in FCP 7 – without using multi-clips.

I am advocating LTO-5 tape drives for archive and backup of our Final Cut Pro media. However, I still have not gotten this unit to work on my MacPro.

Ben Balser writes on editing H.264 video natively in Final Cut Pro.

In this article, Larry Jordan answers a question about when to convert HD files to SD for editing in Final Cut Pro 7 or earlier.

DVDs are always standard-def, not high-def. So your AVCHD material will always look worse on a DVD than your source footage.

Loading clips into an Audio File Project, reducing noise, and handling audio files in Soundtrack Pro.

When trying to sync audio to video using sub-frame slipping in the Viewer, a subscriber writes that Final Cut is setting a new In for his audio in the Sequence without actually slipping the Audio. This technique, which can be used in Final Cut Pro versions 4 through 7, explains how to adjust for this.

A subscriber recounts the difficulties, and the workaround that fixed them, he experienced with Buzz lines cropping up in a project.

A subscriber noticed that if there is a clip generator or any clip in a top track in the Timeline, the clip under the top track becomes invisible, making it impossible to edit using Playhead > Open Sync. He supplies three very helpful workarounds.

For those of you interested in a more technical look at the Broadcast Safe filter, Dennis Couzin, technical assistant to a video documentarian based in Germany, sent me the following article that he wrote.

I am not a fan of Capture Now, however, for some formats Capture Now is the best option. I like the workflow one subscriber suggests in this article.

In this article a subscriber would like to change the name of a clip in a sequence in the Timeline without having to change the original source file. We take a look at the options (making a clip independent, using subclips, etc).

Inevitably, adding too many FireWire devices will cause problems. In this article we discuss some things to think about to keep your system running smoothly and avoid, at all costs, the dreaded “beach ball” .

A subscriber, creating titles for a 16×9 movie that will go to SD DVD, writes in asking whether he keep his text in a 4×3 title safe grid. In response, we look at how Title Safe is defined.

In this article we examine Final Cut’s usage of multiple processors to enhance rendering speed, the possible alternatives, and more.

Creating markers for H.264 is exactly the same as creating markers for a DVD. In this article we examine the technique to do just that.

Growing out of a topic originally posted on our Facebook page, this article serves as a summary of our subscribers’ biggest challenges with the industry’s reliance on tapeless video.

Two excellent questions by an editor/subscriber, L. Blake Baldwin, involving why the Master Gain defaults to .51, and also when to use a +3dB audio transition instead of a dB audio transition. We examine and answer both.

In this article we give a quick examination of how to upsize an original 4:3 sequence into a 16:9 timeline.

In this article we discuss the limitations of using the keyboard to target audio track numbering above 9, and the keyboard shortcut for the lower track numbers is demonstrated.

A clever trick for working around Final Cut’s resetting of transitions is supplied by subscriber, Richard Day, using a temporarily set up dummy edit.

An editor’s interest in “cleaning up” some audio clips is a joy to answer, and very useful info to have.

Larry weighs in on the issue of selecting between the Animation codec and ProRes 4444, following a subscriber’s question regarding importing files into Final Cut.

In addressing a subscriber’s question we look at what makes 3D work, what’s required to best create the desired effect in Motion and what makes them difficult.

A subscriber and previous contributor returns with another great tip about operating the Compressor from the command line and advises to limit the number of your batches to a few hundred compressions.

Formats like HDV and XDCAM are compressed using MPEG-2 which is very hard to edit accurately. So, Final Cut Pro converts it invisibly in a process called “conforming”.

Here are a series of thoughts I jotted down during the presentations at DGA Digital Day, specifically during a long session devoted to 3D video.

In answering a subscriber’s questions regarding working with three different formats we examine issues like selecting the best codec to use, converting frame rates, and more.

In this article we examine how SmoothCam is processor-dependent, faster computers working this program more quickly, and recommend a couple of options to speed up the process without upgrading your system.

In response to a subscriber’s question regarding the “blurry and aliased” look of his clips, Larry suggests that the problem may lie in the monitor settings.

Ben Balser had a client whose audio filters were grayed out in the Effects > Video Filters list. The problem was Effects Availability. In this article we walk you through how you can control which effects are displayed from the Effects tab in the Browser.

A kernel panic is a complete crash of the operating system – probably the most serious software crash that exists. Kernel panics are generally not caused by a single application, but by the interaction between the software and hardware.

Subscriber Mike Henry writes in to see about finding the most highly recommended practices with mixing cameras with different resolutions.

Larry addresses one subscriber’s question regarding transferring chapter markers and spotlights the advice of editor Andreas Kiel, and the set of programs he’s designed to tackle this problem.

In responding to a subscriber’s request for AVCHD advice, I explain my recent change of opinion, and why I now favor using the Log and Transfer function.

When using Media Manager to archive media the key point to remember is that you need to select what you want to manage BEFORE selecting it from the menu. And, I always select what I want to Media Manage in the Browser, not the Timeline.

A quick question about preserving LiveType settings when upgrading to Final Cut Pro 7 is asked and easily answered.

This technique explains creating, working with, and deleting subclips. It also illustrates the main reason we create subclips.

In successfully working with tapeless media, I’ve developed an easy-to-implement workflow that will help prevent problems in your own projects.

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