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3170 articles.

Compression and DVD and Standard-Def

DVDs are always standard-def, not high-def. So your AVCHD material will always look worse on a DVD than your source footage.

Working With Sony XDCAM EX Clips

The best practice – and the most reliable – is to transfer the ENTIRE contents of the SXS card to its own individual folder on your hard disk.

Understanding DPI

Donald Smith sent in the following explanation of DPI and I thought it would be something you might want to read.

Soundtrack Pro Workflow

Steps for audio editing and sound correction in Soundtrack Pro.

Soundtrack Pro Audio Files

Loading clips into an Audio File Project, reducing noise, and handling audio files in Soundtrack Pro.

Recapturing HDV Footage

One of our subscribers discovered one of the big differences between capturing in tape-mode, where you can combine multiple shots into one long clip, and tapeless, where each shot is stand-alone. In this article we examine how to avoid that problem.

H.264 Vs. X.264

H.264 and X.264 are two different development projects that result in two different codecs that both do the same thing: create H.264-compliant files.

Syncing Audio Using Sub-Frame Slipping

When trying to sync audio to video using sub-frame slipping in the Viewer, a subscriber writes that Final Cut is setting a new In for his audio in the Sequence without actually slipping the Audio. This technique, which can be used in Final Cut Pro versions 4 through 7, explains how to adjust for this.

Preventing Video Buzz in A Video Screen

A subscriber recounts the difficulties, and the workaround that fixed them, he experienced with Buzz lines cropping up in a project.

Display Multicam Angles to an External Monitor

A subscriber noticed that if there is a clip generator or any clip in a top track in the Timeline, the clip under the top track becomes invisible, making it impossible to edit using Playhead > Open Sync. He supplies three very helpful workarounds.

Selecting The Best Storage

Although there’s no universal answer for this question, in this article we look at what RAID system or otherwise, that I personally recommend using for various types of video editing.

Technical: Understanding The Broadcast Safe Filter

For those of you interested in a more technical look at the Broadcast Safe filter, Dennis Couzin, technical assistant to a video documentarian based in Germany, sent me the following article that he wrote.

Solving Problems With Capture Now 

I am not a fan of Capture Now, however, for some formats Capture Now is the best option. I like the workflow one subscriber suggests in this article.

FCP 7: Renaming a Clip

In this article a subscriber would like to change the name of a clip in a sequence in the Timeline without having to change the original source file. We take a look at the options (making a clip independent, using subclips, etc).

Burning Questions

In this article we examine my personal favorite method to burn DVDs (Roxio Toast) as well as the most reliable way to burn a VIDEO_TS folder.

FireWire Drives Can Slow Your System Down

Inevitably, adding too many FireWire devices will cause problems. In this article we discuss some things to think about to keep your system running smoothly and avoid, at all costs, the dreaded “beach ball” .

Protecting 16:9 Titles in 4:3 Title Safe

A subscriber, creating titles for a 16×9 movie that will go to SD DVD, writes in asking whether he keep his text in a 4×3 title safe grid. In response, we look at how Title Safe is defined.

FCP 7: Faster Rendering with ProRes

In this article we examine Final Cut’s usage of multiple processors to enhance rendering speed, the possible alternatives, and more.

Eliminating Compression Artifacts

An extensive email correspondence with editor/subscriber, Patrick Nugent, concerning some difficulties with video artifacting and the solutions he found, is summarized in this article.

FCP 7: Adding Chapter Markers to H.264 Files

Creating markers for H.264 is exactly the same as creating markers for a DVD. In this article we examine the technique to do just that.