Here’s a great technique you can use if your camera only shoots 4:3, but you want it to look like 16:9. This works for any standard-def video format; you don’t need it when shooting HD, because HD is already 16:9.
Having problems with Apple Final Cut Pro 7? This article provides dozens and dozens of techniques you can use to optimize your Final Cut 5, 6, or 7 system; plus trouble-shooting tips to prevent problems.
You can trim everything using the Arrow tool. But you can trim faster and more accurately using the Roll and Ripple tools. This article shows you how.
This is a great technique when you have a large image, but only want to display portions of it moving around the frame.
Travel mattes are a fascinating multi-layer effect with countless uses. Here, we use a travel matte to blur portions of an image to prevent identification, or to draw attention to the portions that are in-focus.
It’s frustrating! You buy a hard disk only to discover you can’t move your data from one drive to the next. Here’s a personal case story, along with options on how to fix this problem.
The National Association of Broadcasters sent me the following memo, which I am posting as it has relevance for all of us involved in media production.
In this answer to a newsletter reader’s question, we look at the process of transcoding (converting) video from one format to another. We specifically talk about what is the right format to transcode into.
With the release of Final Cut Pro v5.1.2, Apple added 53 new filters. Here’s an article that shows you how to create interesting “trail” effects.
A subscriber writes in requesting info on a program that would be able to track time by client, as well as project and function. Larry refers him to a pair of very useful suggestions from other subscribers.
The afternoon that Final Cut Studio (3) was released, July 23, 2009, I spoke with Richard Townhill, Director of Video Application Marketing for Apple, and the public face of Final Cut Studio. In fact, Richard is responsible for all the ProApps in Apple, including Final Cut Studio, Aperture, and Logic Studio. Probably no one in Apple has more direct control over the future of the product than he does. For this reason, it was good to get his take on the latest release. This article is based on our conversation.
You may not know it, but there’s a fiber optic audio connection built into every Mac. This article describes what it is, where it is, and how to use it.
It would be great if we didn’t have to render. But, since we do, what can make it go faster? This article explains what you can do to help and what won’t make any difference.
An editor, Gene Thomas, faced a problem with a timecode break when a pair of clips he was recording stopped capturing in the middle. In this article we take a look at timecodes, how multiclip reads them, how to manually change them, and other fun stuff.
Here’s a very quick tip that describes how to display thumbnails in the Browser, how to create poster frames for a thumbnail, and how to scrub around inside a thumbnail.
Through edits are marked by red “bow-ties” which indicate cuts in a track where there’s no change in video or audio. This brief technique provides three different ways to get rid of these edits.
Working with still images in Final Cut Pro is very, very confusing. Not least because video ignore the DPI settings of your image. In this short article, I explain what you need to know to size your images appropriately.
In this article Larry advises a subscriber who downloaded a beta version of Soundbooth and believes there may have been an error in his workflow.
Simply editing a text clip to the timeline isn’t enough. If you are planning on keying your text, use superimpose instead. This article shows you the three-step process and tells you why its important.
Here’s a simple technique that creates a very interesting effect using one of the ugliest generated texts in Final Cut.