Blog Archives

One of the promises Adobe made when it went to its new subscription pricing was to make much more frequent updates to all their software. This evening, less than five months after the initial CC release, Adobe emphasized its promises …

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

Easily a third of all the emails I get every day deal, in one form or another, with video formats, image quality, and output. Whether you edit with Final Cut, Premiere, Avid, or any other video format the issues are …

I get emails almost every day from readers suggesting tips and tricks for Final Cut Pro X. Most are questions about how to do things, which form the basis of the articles I write for my newsletter every week. However, …

This evening, Adobe released their Creative Cloud update to all their audio and video products. You can learn more here: http://www.adobe.com/products/creativecloud.html This release is a big deal for several reasons: Adobe’s shift to a subscription pricing model for all its …

[ 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.

mFlare, from MotionVFX, is a fascinating new plug-in from MotionVFX that creates lens flares. In fact, it is probably the most comprehensive lens flare generator I’ve ever seen.

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 afternoon as part of the 2013 Adobe MAX, Adobe held a press conference featuring Adobe CEO Shatanu Narayen and Adobe SVP and General Manager of Digital Media David Wadhwani.

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.

Here’s a collection of short ideas that are not worth a complete article, but can still improve working with Final Cut Pro X.

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.

Recently, I’ve had a lot of emails from editors with problems uploading (Sharing) files to YouTube directly from Final Cut Pro X. So, I did some checking and discovered that the problems were caused by Google. In early April, Google …

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 …

I love live production, always have. It’s how I got started in this industry. There’s nothing like saying “Fade Up” with millions of people watching to truly focus your attention. My love of live production is one of the two …

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 …

This morning, the folks at Sorenson Media announced the release of Sorenson 9. I had a chance to chat with them a few days beforehand to get their take on the new version. The latest version of Squeeze sports several …

UPDATE: Monday afternoon (4/8) our podcast, Digital Production Buzz, will interview Bill Roberts, Director of Video Product Management for Adobe. You can hear this interview LIVE at 2:00pm Pacific Time. Learn more at NABShowBuZZ.com This evening, Adobe revealed the next …

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 …

Of all the questions I am asked each day, this is the most popular: “When will Final Cut Pro X be ready for professional use?” Sigh… Right now! Final Cut Pro X is ready for professional use today. Editors have …

One of the web mailing lists I that I read regularly is IMUG – a great resource for anyone involved in media production or post. This morning, Paul Isbicki asked “…do any video pros REALLY believe that APPLE will make …

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 …

Storage is critical to all media editing and I’ve written a lot about it. So much so, that it is hard to find where to start and which articles are important to read. To help, I’ve collected the important ones here …

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 …

I have a new blog on Post Magazine called: “Don’t Waste Your Money on Faster Storage.”  You can read it here: www.postmagazine.com/Post-Blog/2012/December/Dont-Waste-Your-Money-On-Faster-Storage.aspx I get a lot of questions about what’s the “fastest” storage – and I wanted to explain that …

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’ve gotten a lot of questions recently on USB 3 vs. Thunderbolt, so I wanted to share what I’ve learned.  (By the way, I updated this to provide clarity on USB 3 speeds.) Thunderbolt and USB 3 are both protocols …

This morning, Apple updated Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor, with a variety of bug fixes. Probably the bug fix that would be most valuable to many people – based on the number of emails I received on this …

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: …

A question I get asked frequently is: which of the current Macs should be used for video editing. So, I wrote a blog about it and posted it on Post Magazine. You can read it here: Are the New Macs …

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.

Last week, I was speaking at Postapalooza, at the Soaring Eagle Resort in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Spread across a series of spectacular fall days in the Midwest, surrounded by editors from all over the country who wanted to learn the …

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.

After a two-year hiatus, and thanks to the generosity of Avid Technology, “2 Reel Guys,” the video series that I co-executive produce and co-host, went back into production last week to create 13 new episodes.

Passing thoughts on FCP X that don’t need an in-depth article. COLOR BOARD KEYFRAMING I got into a discussion recently on whether we can keyframe color correction settings with Final Cut Pro X’s Color Board. So, I went off to …

One of the cool parts of what I do is discovering new companies. Except, well, actually, I didn’t discover these guys, they sort of reached out, grabbed me by the shoulders, shook hard and said: “Hey! Pay attention!” I can …

Earl Nottingham got this idea started when he wrote: I’m sure you’re familiar with the CALM act which sets new standards for how loud television broadcasts can be (especially commercials). My question: What is the video creator’s responsibility (if any) …

At this week’s Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group meeting, Apple presented the latest features in Final Cut Pro X at the meeting. (It was a nice demo, but no new features were announced.) However, I did pick up …

June 21, 2011. Apple released Final Cut Pro X and our industry changed overnight. It’s been a year since that release, and I’m interested in your comments on the impact, if any, that Final Cut Pro X has had on …