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.
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.
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.
Down-converting HD to SD using Compressor provides better image quality than using Final Cut Pro. This article shows you why.
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.
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.
Technical Guru Graeme Nattress presents a lucid, and illustrated, explanation of why colors in DV, Betacam, and DVD are handled differently. If you do any kind of color work, you need to read this article.
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.
Making sure you have the right equipment – and figuring out what equipment to buy – is probably the question I get asked the most. So, I put this article together to help you build the studio of your dreams.
Transcriptize is a new piece of software that takes the text transcripts automatically generated by Adobe Premiere or Adobe Soundbooth and formats them so people, rather than computers, can read them. PLUS, it allows you to a great trick to import those text transcripts into Final Cut Pro to speed your editing.
When you are working with tapeless media during production, and recording to cards, the basic workflow is to copy the card to your hard disk then ERASE THE CARD! (Sorry, I come from a tape background and that word “erase” is just plain scary…) So, it makes sense that when copying the card to your hard disk you take every precaution to do so safely. Here’s a review of a product that can help: Imagine Products’ Shotput Pro.
Adobe Premiere can create text transcripts of your media files. prEdit takes those transcripts and allows you to edit a rough cut for either Premiere or Final Cut just using those transcripts. For editors wading through a ton of material trying to find just the right quotes, this software can make your life VERY easy, as this product review explains.
NewBlue is new to the Mac, but not to creating effects. They’ve been producing video effect for Windows users for years. This product review takes a look at several of their new plug-ins for Final Cut Pro/Express/Motion. Featuring a very easy to use interface, there is a lot to like.
get is the new kid on the block — an almost magical piece of software that searches your audio files looking for words you type into a typical text entry window. If you know “you’ve got the file around here somewhere,” but haven’t a clue where it is, get is for you, as this product review explains.
Editing is all about storage. Successful editing requires storage that is big enough and fast enough to keep up with your work. One company that specializes in meeting the needs of video editors is Dulce Systems. Here’s a look at the new RAID, the Pro Q.
Data Robotics makes a family of RAID products that can be very useful in a video capture and editing environment. This is a review of their latest unit – the Drobo S – which directly attaches to the computer via FireWire. I find these units to be especially useful on set when shooting tapeless media.
The Drobo line of storage products offers a lot for video and audio editors. Their newest product – the Drobo FS – doesn’t help editors, but it CAN help around the office, as this detailed review explains.
Data Robotics released a new storage unit: the Drobo Elite. In this detailed product review, we examine how it works, how well it works, how fast it works, and what its limitations are.
Drobo has been making a lot of noise in the market with its new storage hybrid – part RAID, part expandable hard drive. I’ve been using one for a couple of months now and in this review, I put it to work and discover that it can serve a very useful role in editing, but not in the place you would expect.
You know the drill. The client didn’t have the money for makeup when they were shooting the video, then is horrified to discover in post that their star/kid/sweetie has a humongous zit that spoils all the close-ups of the video they dumped in your lap to edit.