Blog Archives

Highlights and thoughts from BVE 2016 – London. (Includes more on the developing HDR standard.)

A summary of a panel discussion with part of the editorial team of “Deadpool” and how they edited the film using Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

An update on the latest storage trends – NVDIMM, object-storage, PCIe m.2 and encryption from Storage Visions 2016.

The status quo is tempting; but it’s a trap. Creative success lies with reinvention – discover how here.

Based on personal experience, far too many SEO companies are unreliable and incompetent, as Larry Jordan details here.

A tribute to Bruce Nazarian; musician, technologist and good friend.

A caution: don’t upgrade to El Capitan (Mac OS X 10.11) too soon. There are problems.

Reflections on ad blocking software, great content, and figuring out how to finance a news-based, web business.

We publish 3-4 hours of live video every week, sliced and diced for our website, YouTube, FaceBook and video streaming. Sometimes we use Apple Compressor other times we use Adobe Media Encoder. This commentary explains which and why.

A commentary that students today don’t read, therefore they need training in the tools of visual communication to keep up and get ahead in the media-rich world of tomorrow.

A blog on the expectations disconnect between buyers waiting for new products at lower prices and sellers needing revenue today to fund the development of tomorrow.

A summary of currently thinking on how and why to edit 4K (high-resolution) video, along with HDR (High Dynamic Range) and Wide Color Gamut video. Interviews with Michael Cioni, Michael Whipple and Bryan McMahan.

Story-telling is an art, but it is an art infused, driven and controlled by technology. Creatively understanding technology is essential in today’s visual world.

A discussion on how change is disrupting the media industry and what we can do to survive it.

A commentary on why Apple is alienating musicians by demanding they not be paid during the launch of Apple Music. [Updated with late-breaking news that Apple changed its policy and will now pay royalties.]

An essay on ways to set client expectations, and budgets, for creative projects.

A commentary on the recent 2015 NAB Show.

I’m in London this week attending BVE 2015 – an industry trade show that draws about 15,000 attendees looking to get their hands on the latest technology. There are about 270 exhibitors here with a good amount of traffic at …

“Creativity Matters.” This was the central theme at today’s Adobe Max 2014 keynote; and creativity requires collaboration. As Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe Systems said: “In our world, design is becoming more important, not less. We need to …

A detailed explanation of how to configure your Mac or Windows system for audio or video editing.

A detailed look at Adobe’s new updates announced at IBC 2014, PLUS an extended interview with Bill Roberts, senior director product management at Adobe, about the new software.

An in-depth analysis comparing Final Cut Pro 7 with Final Cut Pro X.

One of the most popular questions I get asked is: “I’m using Final Cut Pro 7. Should I buy Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X?” Let me start by saying both applications are used by professionals around …

Compressing video using WebM takes forever! Here is more information about why and some custom settings you can use to speed things up.

Recently, at the Supermeet at IBC in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, I was asked by the show organizers to discuss: “Is Final Cut Pro X Ready For Professional Use?” In thinking about this topic, I realized that this answer is more …

Thoughts on how to plan an interview, work with guests, and ask the right questions to get the most out of any interview.

[ This article generated a lot of technical comments. Be sure to view the comments in this blog to learn more. ] Updated: June 15, to reflect a variety of technical comments from readers. On Monday, Apple gladdened the hearts …

iOS devices only stream about 10 minutes of continuous video content when they are connected to a cellular data network, then they stop. This article explains why.

This afternoon, at the 2013 Adobe MAX, Jacob Rosenberg, Chief Technology Officer and Partner at Bandito Brothers gave a presentation showcasing the history and projects of his full-service media company.

This evening, at the Adobe MAX conference, I had an extended on-the-record conversation with Bill Roberts, Director of Product Management for Video and Audio Solutions at Adobe.

This morning, at the seventh annual Adobe Max conference, Adobe announced new versions of its products – all focused on the Creative Cloud and shipping June 17.

A commentary on how to pick the best video frame rate to shoot your project, with a look back at history.

Recently, I’ve been writing blogs about the challenges to editing as a career: Can You Still Have a Career in Editing Thoughts on the Ten-Worst College Majors But there is always room for one more creative person in our craft, …

Apple Insider has an excellent analysis on the future of the Mac Pro, and Macintosh computers in general. This is in line with my earlier blog about the future of the Mac Pro.

I’ve been thinking a lot about careers in media recently. It started with a recent blog I wrote, called: “Can You Still Have a Career in Editing?” which generated a LOT of comments, both pro and con. Then, I was …

In cleaning out my In-box as I dig out from the NAB Show, here are a small flock of completely unrelated thoughts; some from NAB, some not. – – – The week before the 2013 NAB Show, I had an …

Any NAB Show is too massive to be summarized in a single blog post. This show represents the current state of a multi-billion dollar industry composed of thousands of wildly different companies. I enjoy walking the halls just to learn about …

PART 1 of 3 – PLANNING For the sixth year in a row, our podcast – DigitalProductionBuzz.com – is the official podcast of the NAB Show. During the event, which starts Monday, April 8, we will be broadcasting live shows, …

Final Cut Pro X is in the news again. This time in the LA Times. Is this a signal of something bigger to come?

Three emails got me thinking today. The first was from Jack Reilly, of Future Media Concepts who is organizing Post-Production World at NAB. He’s asked me to host a Hot Panels session Wednesday at NAB on The Future of Editing. …

[ I wrote this blog a month ago at the request of a publisher who ultimately decided not to run it. I’m posting it here in hopes of starting a conversation about the subject. Comments are moderated and intolerant comments …

My first blog – A Whole Lot of Unrelated Stuff – was extremely popular. So, here’s the next edition. TABLE OF CONTENTS FCP X: Export a Batch of Projects FCP X: A Faster Way to Delete FCP X: Revised Alert …

OK. I’m impressed! Last November, the day they went on sale, I ordered a 27″ iMac to replace my main editing system. (Click here to read about the system I ordered.) It arrived the end of December and, as these …

The end of a year is a good time to look back and reflect on changes over the last twelve months, which is how this blog starts. Then, I included some of your comments. In my newsletter, I invited readers to …

One of the problems with writing a weekly newsletter is that, while it is easy to write detailed articles of a single subject, it is hard to write about interesting things that don’t require a lot of space. But every …

Multicam editing allows you to see and edit multiple images at the same time. This last weekend, I completed work on providing both video training and written articles covering multicam editing in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. So, …

I bought a new 27″ iMac when they went on sale Friday, specifically for video editing. And, because I’ve had a lot of requests recently, I wanted to tell you what I bought and why. WHAT SIZE IMAC? I bought: …

The 10.0.6 release of Final Cut Pro X, earlier today, is probably the most extensive update to the program since its initial release; with the 10.0.3 release coming in second.

PREAMBLE I teach technology. Specifically, how to understand and use the latest tools our industry provides to tell stories with media. However, from time to time I wonder whether this deep focus on tech is the best use of my …

What are RAIDs, SSDs, or The Cloud? And how do you use them to get the best performance from your editing system? This article explains what you need to know.