Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest operating system, is not for everyone. But it may be for you. This article describes what you need to know in deciding when to upgrade your system.
Final Cut has always allowed keyboard customization. This article shows some new “almost-secret” techniques buried in OS X that allow you to create customized keyboard shortcuts in ANY application.
In this article a subscriber brings Larry a question regarding the benefits of shooting on a HD camera for video that will be transferred to the web and Larry offers an explanation as well as an alternative.
Converting between NTSC and PAL video is tricky because they have different image sizes, frame rates, and pixel aspect ratios. Ideally, if you need PAL, shoot PAL. If you need NTSC and PAL, shoot PAL because it’s easier to move from PAL to NTSC, than the other way around. However, if you need to go from NTSC to PAL, this explains how.
Still images, especially when you move on them, create weird shimmer, or moiré, patterns. This article describes what they are and how to fix them.
Sheffield Softworks creates filters specifically designed for video retouching. They have a suite of products – Electronic Makeup Artist, Digital Coverup, and Look Sweet – which make the process of fixing your video much simpler, In this article, we take an in-depth look at each of the three, illustrate how it can best be used, and show you how to use it.
In this article Larry handles a question regarding whether a series of continuous time code cuts will translate into the OMF or be ignored.
Confused about all the options available in Sequence Settings? Well, this article can help. It may not explain ALL the different choices, but it will help you focus on the ones that are the most important.
The number one interface rule for Final Cut is “select something, then do something to it.” Well, I’ve discovered that virtually no editor knows what these selection tools can do. Which is a shame, because once you understand how these work, they can make a real difference in speeding up your work. This article explains how.
Moving horizontally in the Timeline is easy. Moving vertically is easy, too, once you know the secret. Here’s how.
Trying to figure out the best way to setup scratch disks is very confusing. In this dialog with Lachlan Coles, I explain ways to minimize problems. This isn’t the same thing as having Final Cut do what you want; but it does mean that your system will be both reliable and smooth.
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.
