Ganging two movies together in Final Cut Pro means that you can easily compare, frame-by-frame, two different movies. One in the Viewer and the other in the Timeline. This has been a feature of Final Cut for many years, but its hard to find. This article explains how to do it.
Trashing your Final Cut preference files also deletes all the entries in your Effects > Favorites folder. Which can be a bummer. This technique provides a fast and easy way to backup your Favorites prior to trashing preferences so you don’t lose a thing. Cool.
Where to store files is always a question. This short tip helps you determine where to store your media and project files for DVD Studio Pro.
Down-converting HD to SD using Compressor provides better image quality than using Final Cut Pro. This article shows you why.
Understanding how to read the Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope are essential to getting the best possible pictures out of Final Cut Pro. This article gives you an overview of how to read them and what they mean.
Until version 5.1.2, the scopes in Final Cut were notorious for being almost, but not quite, accurate. That all changed with 5.1.2. and they’ve been enhanced in FCP 6. This article provides a more technical discussion on the quality of Final Cut Pro’s scopes, especially in regard to Color.
The video scopes in Final Cut, while accurate, don’t show the entire picture. If you use the scopes in your work, you need to read this warning.
Trying to figure out the best way to setup scratch disks is very confusing. In this dialog with Lachlan Coles, I explain ways to minimize problems. This isn’t the same thing as having Final Cut do what you want; but it does mean that your system will be both reliable and smooth.
Moving horizontally in the Timeline is easy. Moving vertically is easy, too, once you know the secret. Here’s how.
The number one interface rule for Final Cut is “select something, then do something to it.” Well, I’ve discovered that virtually no editor knows what these selection tools can do. Which is a shame, because once you understand how these work, they can make a real difference in speeding up your work. This article explains how.
Confused about all the options available in Sequence Settings? Well, this article can help. It may not explain ALL the different choices, but it will help you focus on the ones that are the most important.
In this article Larry handles a question regarding whether a series of continuous time code cuts will translate into the OMF or be ignored.
Sheffield Softworks creates filters specifically designed for video retouching. They have a suite of products – Electronic Makeup Artist, Digital Coverup, and Look Sweet – which make the process of fixing your video much simpler, In this article, we take an in-depth look at each of the three, illustrate how it can best be used, and show you how to use it.
Still images, especially when you move on them, create weird shimmer, or moiré, patterns. This article describes what they are and how to fix them.
Converting between NTSC and PAL video is tricky because they have different image sizes, frame rates, and pixel aspect ratios. Ideally, if you need PAL, shoot PAL. If you need NTSC and PAL, shoot PAL because it’s easier to move from PAL to NTSC, than the other way around. However, if you need to go from NTSC to PAL, this explains how.
In this article a subscriber brings Larry a question regarding the benefits of shooting on a HD camera for video that will be transferred to the web and Larry offers an explanation as well as an alternative.
Final Cut has always allowed keyboard customization. This article shows some new “almost-secret” techniques buried in OS X that allow you to create customized keyboard shortcuts in ANY application.
Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest operating system, is not for everyone. But it may be for you. This article describes what you need to know in deciding when to upgrade your system.
Here’s a simple technique to apply a filter to a portion of clip — then use the Slip tool to move it where you need it.
The quality of slo-mo footage processing can vary by the level of equipment you possess. However, does this mean that you should upgrade? There are three possible answers here: Yes, No, and Maybe.
This article grew out of a reader question about how to create special effects in Final Cut.
Creating smooth moves on stills is at the heart of many documentaries. Final Cut makes creating moves easy. But smoothness is sometimes much harder to achieve. Take a look at what these editors have to say about the best way to get your images to move.
Smoothcam, Final Cut Pro’s motion stabilization filter, can really smooth out some very shaky shots. But it can take a long time to do so. This article shows you what you can do to speed this process up.
Apple has announced a new version of its operating system for next year – 10.6 (Snow Leopard). This article looks at what this may mean for Final Cut Pro users.
A few bullet point suggestions for subjects ranging from trying to up-res from SD to HD without losing detail to getting Compressor to launch.
Larry explains in this article why a subscriber is having difficulty with a video transfer from his Sony hard disk recording unit (HVR DR60).
SSD (solid-state drives) are the latest fashion in hard drives. Impervious to vibration, with no mechanical movement, they are ideal for computers in rugged situations. But are they good for editing? This article provides answers to that question.
Creating stills that you can do moves on in Final Cut is tricky. My email In-box will attest to that. This article describes what you need to know to make sure your images are the right size and how to import them.
Judging by my email, handling still images is by far the most confusing part of editing video — especially because the computer creates images using square pixels and video uses rectangular pixels, in a variety of shapes. This article explains everything you need to know to create great looking still images for your next video project.
It’s enough to drive you nuts. Every time you start-up your computer, Final Cut Pro launches as well. It’s time to stop the start! And this article shows you a very easy way to do just that.
During my recent seminar tour, I had a lot of fun showing how to take advantage of the audio clean-up power in Soundtrack Pro.
In this article Larry fields a question from a subscriber having trouble exporting a multitrack and directs him to the suggestion of another subscriber.
Mixing audio files in Soundtrack Pro is like editing video files in Final Cut Pro — there are lots and lots of files involved. Which means that if you don’t pay attention, things are going to get lost. This article explains what you need to know to keep track of everything.
Moving multi-track files from Final Cut Pro to Soundtrack Pro for mixing can cause problems, unless you understand how Soundtrack Pro handles linked files. This article explains.
I’ve done hundreds of hours of audio editing in Soundtrack and have discovered a wealth of features that make editing audio in it a breeze.
This technique occurred to me while I was developing my training DVD for Lynda.com on Soundtrack Pro because scripts in Soundtrack Pro have a quirky, potentially dangerous, behavior that surprised me until I did some research on them.
When you are ready to lay your final projects back to tape, the best way to do so is to use Print to Video. However, Edit to Tape is required if you need to record at a specific timecode on your tape. But this requires laying Timecode on your tape first. This article explains how.
Stuttery audio generally is a problem with bad preference files. But, on a MacPro, it can be caused by putting your capture card in the wrong slot. This article describes the problem and what you need to do to fix it.
The article describes how to view and change subtitles in DVD Studio Pro.
Surround sound mixing is even more of an art than standard stereo mixing. In this article, we take a quick look at channel allocations and some general thoughts to getting the right mix.
Audio that slowly drifts out of sync is often due to a mismatch between the sample rate at which you shot the video and the sample rate at which you captured the audio.
Most of the time, we edit using the final image quality from our cameras. But, in the case of HD-CAM SR, that may not be possible, as those video files are HUGE! In this article, a reader asks how to use EDLs when trying to capture tapeless media. Depending upon how the off-line, low-resolution images were created, this story has either a happy, or very sad, ending. You can read the options here.
As our industry moves quickly to tapeless media and acquisition, properly archiving your footage can make the difference between happiness and heart-ache. In this article, I outline what you need to know about archive formats.
What makes for an effective technology teacher? What should we focus on? How do we avoid the “fear of the unknown” in our students? In this philosophical musing, I reflect on what I’ve learned about teaching technology for almost a decade.
Here are a series of tips to create great looking text in Final Cut Pro.
Here’s another technique that grew out of a recent webinar — creating cast shadows using Boris Title 3D. Title 3D is bundled with your version of Final Cut, so you already have this installed on your system.
If you’ve tried matching text sizes between Final Cut and Motion, you’ve discovered they aren’t the same. This article explains why.
Many times we need to use the same text formatting for multiple text clips. Here’s a fast and easy way to create text favorites, including drop shadows, that make the whole process simple.
Here’s a simple technique that creates a very interesting effect using one of the ugliest generated texts in Final Cut.
Simply editing a text clip to the timeline isn’t enough. If you are planning on keying your text, use superimpose instead. This article shows you the three-step process and tells you why its important.
