Blog Archives

This evening, I was speaking – remotely – with the Arizona Final Cut Pro Users Group. And I was asked, as happens often, “Does Apple still care about professionals?” This is a hard question, because the answer is changing. But …

This is a First Look at Autodesk Smoke 2013 – Pre-Release Trial 1. It explains the software, why you should care about it, and how to get started with the free trial.

Since I wrote my blog on the MacPro (read it here), Apple presented its keynote at this year’s WorldWide Developer Conference. Shortly after that, when the Apple Store reopened, not only were the new Mac portables listed, but the MacPro also …

I am a huge fan of keyboard shortcuts. For tasks that I do over and over, Bam!, hit it with a keyboard shortcut and, Poof!, it’s done. What’s not to like about keyboard shortcuts? Even if you prefer doing everything …

The fever of excitement surrounding the launch of a new Apple product is the envy of every other consumer company in the world. Rumors, gossip, and eager anticipation create a potent mix for marketing.

Providing a first look to a package as complex and full-featured as Adobe Audition CS6 is a lot like doing a first look at Premiere Pro CS6 – there’s a lot of the program that you just can’t cover in anything shorter than a book. These are the highlights.

Adobe Prelude CS6 is a brand-new application for Windows and Mac that shipped last week with the rest of the Adobe CS6 update. According to Adobe’s website: “Adobe® Prelude™ CS6 software streamlines your production tasks.

To get right to the essentials, the reason behind the update is speed – and more speed. Sorenson showed me charts that compared the new Squeeze versus the old Squeeze and, depending upon the video format involved, speeds were 2 to 5 times faster than earlier versions.

Posting copyrighted music to YouTube can lead to embarrassment – even when you are legally entitled to do so. YouTube’s Content ID often causes problems with royalty-free music, as this article explains.

Larry Jordan released a new version of Final Cut Pro X training that includes closed captions. Shortly after the release, Allan Freeman wrote, both to say thanks and take us to task. So here’s why we created closed-caption training.

The ink was barely dry in the web browser of my post on being a great interview guest, when Michael Cox wrote a reply on how to be a great interviewer. While I don’t agree with all his suggestions – and I’ll let you know my concerns at the end – this is a good list that I wanted to share with you.

As host of the Digital Production Buzz for the last five years, I’ve interviewed more than 600 industry executives. I write this Thursday night from my hotel room in Las Vegas. The NAB trade show just ended and during the last four days, I interviewed more than 100 industry executives for The Buzz for our NABShowBuzz.com special coverage.

Autodesk announced a major reworking of the legendary Smoke – “Smoke 2013.” This article provides highlights from the press event announcing the new software.

Apple provides a first look at coming new features in Final Cut Pro X to Larry Jordan.

A first look at Adobe Audition CS6, and how the Digital Production Buzz is using it at the 2012 NAB Show.

Apple updates Final Cut Pro, Motion, and Compressor. Here are the details.

The Digital Production Buzz is getting ready to cover the 2012 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Here’s an overview of what we are doing and the gear we are using for our coverage.

Sal Guarisco sends in a personal story on how he configured an LTO-5 tape drive for media archiving on his Mac.

Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Photoshop… Composite modes work virtually every where. This video training shows you what they are, how they work, and how to create killer effects.

The Digital Production Buzz is covering NAB in-depth for the fifth year in a row – join us at www.NABShowBuzz.com for all the details.

This last week I was in London — at the Broadcast Video Expo in Earl’s Court 2 in Kensington, doing presentations and recording interviews. Here I share conversations with EditShare, ProTools, Lightworks, and AJA.

There’s a segment of videographers that can easily migrate to the power of Final Cut Pro X: iMovie users. Let me show you how this works.

Today, Apple announced the latest update to Final Cut Pro X. Following its announcement last September that the next major version of the software would include support for multicam editing and broadcast monitoring, this update delivers on that promise.

For the last few months, I write several new articles a week covering Final Cut Pro X. There’s a lot of misinformation out there about what the program does and doesn’t do. My step-by-step techniques are designed to show you exactly how make the most of the program.

It was not your normal day. Before the doors to MacWorld opened, I had the chance to sit down with Gary Adcock, founder of Studio 37, who lives somewhere beyond the high-end of today’s market. “So, Gary,” I asked, “is …

[Updated 12/13 with clarification on Promise and more info on the incremental cost.] I needed to buy more storage for my editing system – as if needing more storage for video editing is a surprise or something… Anyway, I decided …

I posted a brief video on YouTube, “Polishing edit skills and books for editors & directors” in which I recommend some books about editing and directors. Perhaps because I was thinking about the recent release of my own book, “Final …

The latest Government Video Expo opened today in Washington, DC, and, as in years past, our podcast, the Digital Production Buzz, has a team of reporters covering the event.

Apple released a 10.0.2 update to Final Cut Pro X late Wednesday.

Improve the performance of your Final Cut Pro X system, and some common trouble-shooting tips.

Tom Keith’s voice was magical … summoning helicopters, gonzo moose, a startled cow, a man falling sixteen stories into tapioca pudding… it was a voice that created magic out of puffs of air.

With one eye firmly on the existing Final Cut Pro 7 user base, Avid today announced Media Composer 6 using the phrase “Committed to the Professional.” When Avid CEO Kirke Arnold opened the press conference this morning, her opening remarks …

Apple announced this afternoon that Steve Jobs had died. It is the end of an era, but not the end of a company. I met Steve Jobs only once – in 1992. There was only time for a brief chat …

With the release Tuesday of Final Cut Pro 10.0.1, Apple added the ability to import and export XML files. While not a direct benefit to FCP X editors, indirectly, this is huge. Let me explain why. Video, and film, editing …

[Updated Sept. 21 with a few extra details and the link to the free trial.] [Updated with a link for the QuickTime update.] [Updated with more information on Roles, and clarification on Davinci and AutoDesk.] [Updated with clarification on XSAN.] …

According to MacRumors, and confirmed by two other sources, Apple is now offering FCP 7 (and the entire Final Cut Studio (3) suite) for sale. You can read MacRumors here. While only available on an 800 number – 800-MY-APPLE – …

Watching the 3D Glee Concert Movie set up a wide range of thoughts on how to shoot and edit musical performances.

Is Final Cut Pro X truly the new future of non-linear video editing?

We are all looking forward to the release of Lion on Wednesday this week. So I thought I’d dust off a few thoughts from operating system upgrades from year’s past – just to prevent any problems. First – and most …

Some interesting news this morning. FIRST Apple has quietly notified developers that it is preparing to offer volume purchases for business customers via the App Store. MacNN has more about this. The significance of this is that volume purchases of …

One of the problems of being in the middle is that I can see both sides. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I can appreciate their point of view. My blog this morning – Who’s Accountable – touched a …

Like many of you, I’ve been losing sleep this last week trying to figure out what’s going to happen to my business after the debacle of the Final Cut Pro X launch. I read in a blog last night that …

Long-time newsletter reader and Final Cut Pro developer Alex Gollner (Alex4D) posted a blog late yesterday about a secret meeting between Apple and some of its enterprise customers in London. You can read the entire blog here. Here’s a summary …

Think about what YOU do – are you a Final Cut editor, OR are you an editor that uses Final Cut? Are you defined by the technology you use or the stories that you tell? So, let’s slow down and take stock. Apple has given us an opportunity to make a choice.

My email has been filled with such a sense of loss in recent days; a deeply loved member of the family died unexpectedly before their time. “Such a loss.” “What a waste.” “So unnecessary.” “They will be missed.” The words …

Apple responds to market complaints about Final Cut Pro X.

Since Apple launched Final Cut Pro X last Tuesday, I’ve had more than 3,500 emails that range from “I’m enjoying FCP X and creating useful projects,” to “FCP X will destroy my ability to make a living.” (And, ah, far …

Final Cut Pro X is released – and Larry Jordan has a first look.

There are about 85 emails in my in-box this morning with links to a speech I gave at the April Final Cut Pro User Group about my reactions to Apple’s presentation of Final Cut at NAB. While I stand by …

Bill Frank invited me on his radio show this morning – Brainstormin’ KKZZ AM 1400 – to talk about improving video. His show is geared toward the amateur audience, rather than the pros, so I put together a list of …