Free Tutorials

3217 articles.

Smart Conform in Final Cut Pro 11

A somewhat hidden feature in Final Cut Pro 11 is Smart Conform. Apple describes this as an easy way to “make social media-friendly versions of projects in square or vertical formats.” Apple Help states: “Smart Conform analyzes the contents of …

Creating Titles in Adobe Premiere Pro v2025

There are two principle ways to create titles in Premiere: Manually or using After Effects templates. Let’s take a look at both in this illustrated tutorial.

The Center of the Media Industry is Shifting

However, just as with the storyline of Sunset Boulevard, the film and the show industry isn’t fading … it’s just changing. Yes, our industry is under stress, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t signs of hope sprouting up everywhere, as this commentary by industry-veteran Andy Marken illustrates.

Apple Updates Final Cut Pro to version 11.0.1

Earlier this month, while I was on vacation, Apple updated Final Cut Pro to version 11.0.1 to fix four bugs. Here’s the list.

Insiders Speak: The Coming Impact of AI on Media & Post

I’m skeptical about whether AI will benefit those of us in media. But I’m only one person. So I emailed more than a dozen developers and industry leaders to get their opinions. Here’s what I learned.

Caution: Apparent Incompatibility Between Microsoft Office 2021 and macOS Sonoma (14.x)

Ken reported a compatibility problem between macOS Sonoma and Microsoft Office 2021. Here are the details.

OWC’s Thunderbolt 5 Storage Roll-out Continues

At CES, OWC announced a series of new products designed to maximize the performance of Thunderbolt 5. These included faster RAID storage, longer Thunderbolt cables and a new multi-port hub. Here are the details.

Caution: Problems Exporting Stills Containing a Magnetic Mask in Final Cut Pro 11

Last week, I demoed how to create a magnetic mask to remove a background. Later, I exported a still frame from FCP to promote the webinar. At which point, the weirdness started. Still frame exports don’t come close to matching Final Cut. Here are the details.

How to Stabilize Shaky Video in Final Cut Pro 11

Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan explains what video stabilization does, the options available, and how to apply stabilization to your own video.

How to Use Generators as Visual Backgrounds in Final Cut Pro 11

Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan what visual generators are in Final Cut, how to modify them and ways to use them.

Create Striking Visuals Using Blend Modes in Final Cut Pro 11

Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use blend modes to fix image problems, enhance an image or create a surreal effect.

Create and Format 3D Text in Final Cut Pro 11

Editing may tell stories, but visual effects make those stories eye-catching. In this short video, Larry Jordan illustrates how to create and format 3D text. Plus, how to convert 2D text into 3D.

Four Cool Ways to Use Blend Modes in Final Cut Pro

Twelve years ago I wrote a detailed article on how to use blend modes in Final Cut Pro. But there is more we can do now and, in this tutorial, I want to showcase four different ways to use blend …

Storage Predictions for 2025, From Larry O’Connor at OWC

Last week, Larry O’Connor, Founder & CEO of OWC, made three predictions about storage for 2025. Take a look and see if you agree or not.

Larry Jordan’s Most Popular Tutorials for December 2024

Here’s a list of my most popular tutorials for December, 2024. Yet what I find most intriguing is how many older tutorials are still very popular.

Larry Jordan Reflects on 2024 With Thoughts for 2025

2024 is over. 2025 has just begun. Last year was mess, and the tumult in media production and post is likely to continue. Here are Larry Jordan’s reflections on the year past and year to come.

Review: OWC Thunderbay 4 — 4-drive HDD RAID

Recently, I purchased an OWC Thunderbay 4 RAID. To go with the RAID enclosure, I also bought four Seagate Iron Wolf Pro 16 TB drives. Over the last two weeks I conducted a wide variety of performance tests and, in many cases, the results surprised me.

“Video Journalism: Multimedia Storytelling for Journalists” – A Ken Kobré Interview

Ken Kobre released a highly revised 2nd edition of his book: “Video Journalism: Multimedia Storytelling for Online, Broadcast and Documentary Journalists.” Since I got my start in TV news a long, long time ago, this is a subject near to my heart. In this interview, Ken explains why he wrote this book and why it is so necessary today.

Real-World Speed Tests for Different HDD RAID Levels

This tutorial measures and illustrates the difference in speeds between different HDD (Hard Disk Drive) RAID levels. This also provides definitions of these different levels and recommendations on which to use for your storage.

Performance Test: Thunderbolt 2 vs. Thunderbolt 3 for HDD RAIDs

High-performance, high-capacity storage is at the heart of everything we do as media editors. Clearly, performance improves with each generation of gear. Equally clearly, none of us have unlimited budgets. These tests compare the benefits of migrating from Thunderbolt 2 storage to Thunderbolt 3.