Ripping a DVD, which means to convert it into something that Final Cut Pro can edit, can be done a number of ways. However, not all of them yield the best quality. This article explains what you need to know to convert your DVD footage into something that can be edited, while still looking good.
Compressor does a really good job of compressing video for the web, or DVD. But, what if you want to change the image size? Well, Compressor does that too – in the Geometry tab. This article shows you how.
Here’s a technique you can use to slightly modify a voice so that it is no longer recognizable, yet still understandable. This is useful for disguising speakers, or commercial effects.
(Updated Dec. 2024). RAIDs (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) are high-speed, high-capacity storage systems designed for video editing. However, they are often described using arcane terms like RAID 0, 1, 3, 5, and so on. This describes what those terms mean and illustrates real-world speeds.
Lots has been written about the benefits – or lack thereof – in shooting 24 fps video. Here’s a quick look at a complex subject.
You have probably used Final Cut’s audio mixer to mix your audio tracks in real-time. Did you know you can do the same thing with audio filters? This technique shows you how.
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.
Tony asked an interesting question: what’s the difference between RED and DSLR cameras for shooting video. Good question. So I asked two experts: Philip Hodgetts and Noah Kadner. This article provides their answers.
Soundtrack Pro has the amazing ability to reduce the background noise in a clip – like air conditioners or other machine noise. In this tutorial, I’ll show you a step-by-step procedure you can use to reduce the noise in your audio. (Note: For a video tutorial of this process, click here.)
Nothing is more critical than making sure your reel numbers (or names) are correct before capturing video. This explains how to fix them when you forget.
Addressing the problem of digital media “evaporating” when a hard drive is powered down and stored on a shelf, with additional advice from Bob Gobeille, who originally provided the terminal script to fix this problem.
Sometimes, especially when merging clips, you get more audio tracks in a Final Cut Pro timeline than you want. This article describes a couple of different ways you can get rid of them.
It’s happened to all of us. We created an effect that looked great at the time, but now, after a night’s rest, we hate it. Here are two techniques you can use to remove all the filters from selected clips.
Final Cut creates render files for all transitions, effects, and audio mixes. This article explains what you need to know to keep these files under control and recover hard disk space at the end of a project.
Tracking and removing render files is easy — when you know how the Render Manager works. This tutorial shows you how.
Recently, I got an email from John Bertram, an editor in Toronto, on why metadata support is crucial to the next generation of Final Cut Pro.
I ran into an interesting problem over the weekend that I want to share with you because the solution is more complex than at first blush. Here’s the problem: I was asked to create a video for posting on line. The video had two components: me on camera talking, and screen shots, both of which were different sizes and formats. This article describes the process of creating a single, compressed file composed of multiple format video.
When you are working with multiple tracks of video, trimming clips on several tracks at once is essential. This article shows you how to trim multiple tracks quickly and accurately.
Steve Gagne sent in a question that sparked this tutorial. He was dissolving between chroma-key shots and in the middle of each dissolve, the foreground clip color-shifted to green. He thought this could be fixed using nests, but needed some help in figuring out how.
Confused about what size to create your images? This article explains what image size to use so they import correctly into Final Cut Pro HD.
Even though Soundtrack Pro is, at its core, a surround-sound audio editing system, sometimes you just need mono (single-channel) audio out. The only problem is… how? This quick article explains what you need to know.
In this article I discuss the criteria I use in judging which camera to buy, as well as factors that may not be that critical in making the decision.
In this article, various problems with playback are addressed and answered.
Larry diagnoses a subscriber’s problems with burning DVDs and makes recommendations (altering compression bit-rates, etc.) towards finding a solution.
When compressing an H.264 file, whether in QuickTime, Final Cut Pro, or Compressor, an option you may see is called “Frame Reordering.” This article explains, briefly, what it is and when you should use it.
Nothing drives us more nuts than having to wait for our systems to render transitions and effects. Reader Don Smith sent in this technique for reducing the time you spend waiting for Final Cut Pro to render.
JPEGs are highly compressed, which means they often show blockiness or other image artifacts. However, they tend to have smaller file sizes. TIFFs are uncompressed with great image quality. However, their file sizes tend to be lots bigger. All things being equal, I recommend using TIFFs.
Preference settings have changed in FCP 5. This article shows you how to optimize your setting to get the most from your editing system.
Apple changed the algorythms FCP uses for scaling and rotation for FCP 5. This explains what the changes are, how to use them and how to convert to the new settings.
With FCP 5’s support for HDV, you need to change the size of images you import. Here are new scan numbers you should use.
With the release of Final Cut Pro 7, we got a new export menu option – Send. In this article, I take a first look at the differences between Share, Send, and Export; and explain which one to use.
As you know, most versions of Final Cut Pro are tied to work best with certain versions of QuickTime. However, as time passes, it gets harder and harder to remember all the different permutations. Here’s a quick link to a website that has the answers.
The issue of converting to ProRes is addressed along with a walk-through of the pros and cons of the different version.
When I was writing my first book on Final Cut Pro a few years ago, I developed a nine-step editing workflow that answered the question: “What should I be doing right now?” However, over the years, I’ve learned more and Apple has released new software, so this nine-step process has become a bit outdated. Today I want to revisit and update it. Especially for editors that are new, or just getting back into the industry, my hope is that in following these steps, you’ll have a better way to keep track of what you should be doing “right now.”
Apple released Final Cut Studio (3) on July 23, 2009. This is a quick look at the announcement and an exclusive interview with Richard Townhill, Director of Video Application Marketing for Apple, about the new software suite.
Video is hard enough to understand. Throw in fields, frames, field order, and interlacing and it’s enough to make you cry. In this article, I explain what you need to know to successfully navigate around the land mines.
“Interlacing” is a term that confuses many people. This article explains what it is, how to work with it, and how to remove it in both video and stills.
By default, Final Cut only displays one field of video – this makes images much easier to view while editing. But, sometimes, you need to see both fields. This very, very short article explains exactly what you need to know.
One of the biggest challenges editors face is getting organized at the start of a project, then staying organized during a project. Here is a collection of tips and techniques from a variety of readers than can give you the system you need to get on top of your project.
This technique describes an interesting effect combining a traveling matte and a pond ripple filter which allows you to color an effect as it moves across the screen.
Over the last few versions, Apple has added new options in Final Cut Pro that make finding clips a lot easier. In this Technique, I want to show you what some of them are. Whether you are looking for clips in the Viewer, the Browser, or the Timeline, here are some very cool, and little known, techniques.
A quick technique to use when you need to find a specific clip.
Here’s a secret technique that allows you to add the default transition to any number of selected clips in the timeline — all at the same time!
This technique shows you how to get the most from your FireWire drives, from partitioning through formatting to daisy-chaining.
Trying to decide what hard drive to buy? This article explains the differences between FireWire and SATA, and how to select the one that’s right for you.
Flip cameras, and other inexpensive devices, capture footage in a variety of unusual formats. This article explains what you need to know to work with it inside Final Cut Pro.
The world of HD is awash in incompatible formats. Worse, it has eight different frame rates. And selecting the wrong frame rate in After Effects can make your video uneditable in Final Cut Pro. This article explains what you need to know.
Three of the most powerful keyboard shortcuts in Final Cut Pro are blocked because OS X uses the same three keys differently. This article shows you how to remap the OS shortcuts to release the power in Final Cut.
How do you capture the screens from a game. There are a number of screen capture utilities on the market. This article explains which works best on the Mac for capturing a game.
Gamma settings control the gray-scale midpoint. The reason this is significant is that Macs, video, and Windows all use slightly different settings. This means that video that looks good on one system, may look washed out or too dark on others. Snow Leopard, however, has changed the rules. In this article, I explain what gamma is, how to use it, and where to set it.
