New ! Thoughts on Hosting and Monetizing Video Streaming
This Q&A article discusses the reasons for hosting your own content, rather than posting it to YouTube. It also suggests ways we can get additional revenue from our projects. (Published: Jun. 2010)
New ! Importing 16:9 Videos Into iDVD
QuickTime does not always properly display 16:9 video. This means that iDVD may not accurately compress your video in the correct image aspect ratio. This article explains what you need to do to fix this problem. (Published: Jun. 2010 ; QuickTime v. 6.x, 7.x)
New ! Setting Audio Record Levels on a Video Camera
Setting the correct audio recording levels on a video camera is crucial to obtaining the best sound during production. This short article explains some of the choices and what you need to know. (Published: Jun. 2010)
New ! Creating Surround Sound Mixes
Surround sound mixing is even more of an art than standard stereo mixing. In this article, we take a quick look at channel allocations and some general thoughts to getting the right mix. (Published: Jun. 2010 ; Soundtrack Pro v. 1.x, 2.x, 3.x)
New ! Accessing a Locked-up Computer
What do you do when you have locked yourself out of your own computer? Well, besides screaming and yelling... This short article shows you the backdoor you can use to get access to a computer you are locked out of. (Published: Jun. 2010)
New ! Gear Report: Covering the NAB 2010 Show for The Buzz
In this post-NAB 2010 report, I show how we covered this huge trade show for the Digital Production Buzz. 16 reporters, crew of 22, live hourly audio brodcasts, and daily one-hour show specials. This goes into the gear, the process, the file naming conventions ... everything. (Published: Jun. 2010 ; Soundtrack Pro v. 2.x, 3.x)
New ! Review: Data Robotics Drobo Elite
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. (Published: Jun. 2010)
New ! A Fiber Option Connection Built-Into Every Mac
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. (Published: Jun. 2010)
New ! Jittery Video Playback
Here's a short article that describes what to do if you are experiencing jittery video playback. We look at what could cause it and how to fix it. (Published: Jun. 2010 ; Final Cut Pro v. 5.0x, 5.1x, 6, 7.x)
New ! Crisis du Jour: What's Happening to Final Cut?
You know the drill. Someone at Apple coughs and suddenly the rumor mill is filled with frenzied statements that the doom of Final Cut Studio is at hand. "The Death of Final Cut" rumors have gotten to be as regular as spring floods or a plague of locusts. (Published: May 2010 ; Studio Suite v. 3)
New ! Commentary: A Plea for Better Metadata Support
Recently, I got an email from John Bertram, an editor in Toronto, on why metadata support is crucial to the next generation of Final Cut Pro. (Published: May 2010 ; Studio Suite v. 3)
New ! Embedding Metadata in H.264 Video
This article is based on research done by William Aleman, who sent instructions and links on how to embed metadata into H.264 files. Some interesting reading! (Published: May 2010 ; Compressor v. 3.0x, 3.5x)
New ! Product Review: Data Robotics Drobo S
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. (Published: May 2010)
New ! Thinking About Storage -- Why Don't Drives Hold What They Sa
Have you ever wondered why a 1 TB drive never has 1 TB of free space? Or why a 500 GB drive stores much less than 500 GB? Well, it isn't your imagination, it's that engineers and marketers use two different numbers - but the same words - to measure the storage capacity of a hard drive. (Published: May 2010)
New ! How You Connect Your Drive Determines Its Speed
In the past we obsessed about the rotational speed of a hard disk, how much cache it had, or even the controller chip it used. While these are important, they pale in significance when compared to the impact of how you connect your drive to your computer. (Published: May 2010)
New ! Gear Report: Covering the NAB 2010 Show for The Buzz
In this post-NAB 2010 report, I show how we covered this huge trade show for the Digital Production Buzz. 16 reporters, crew of 22, live hourly audio brodcasts, and daily one-hour show specials. This goes into the gear, the process, the file naming conventions ... everything. (Published: Jun. 2010 ; Soundtrack Pro v. 2.x, 3.x)
New ! Crisis du Jour: What's Happening to Final Cut?
You know the drill. Someone at Apple coughs and suddenly the rumor mill is filled with frenzied statements that the doom of Final Cut Studio is at hand. "The Death of Final Cut" rumors have gotten to be as regular as spring floods or a plague of locusts. (Published: May 2010 ; Studio Suite v. 3)
New ! Audio Gear for The Buzz at the 2010 NAB Show
As we gear up for the 2010 NAB Show - where the Digital Production Buzz is the Official Podcast of the event - I thought you'd be interested in the gear we are using and how we are using it. Next month, I'll report on what we did. (Published: May 2010 ; Soundtrack Pro v. 3.x)
Formatting Scripts for Voice-Over Talent
Here are a series of tips, written by a professional voice-over talent, that you can use to make sure your voice-over scripts are organized, easy to read, and run correctly to time. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Final Cut Pro v. 4, HD, 5.0x, 5.1x, 6, 7.x)
Compressing Different Video Formats into One QuickTime Movie
I ran into an interesting problem over the weekend that I want to share with you because the solution is more complex than at first blush. Here's the problem: I was asked to create a video for posting on line. The video had two components: me on camera talking, and screen shots, both of which were different sizes and formats. This article describes the process of creating a single, compressed file composed of multiple format video. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Compressor v. 3.0x, 3.5x)
Technique: Testing Your System for 64-Bit Support
Here's a short article that explains what you need to know about 64-bit memory support, along with some software you can use to toggle between 32-bit and 64-bit modes. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Not Applicable)
Disclosure and Thoughts on Product Reviews
This article spells out the rules I use for reviewing products -- both software and hardware. It is my goal to provide objective, fair, and honest reviews you can trust. Reviews based upon life in the "real-world." This article explains the rules I use in determining what products to review and the role that potential sponsorship plays in determining what I review. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Not Applicable)
Commentary: A Love Letter to LiveType
With the release of Final Cut Studio (3), Apple signaled that LiveType was not long for this world by no longer bundling it with the suite of software. However, FCP 7 still supports LiveType files. This is a shame, as I truly like working with LiveType. This article details what makes LiveType fun to use, and features in Motion that would help us make the transition. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; LiveType v. 1.x, 2.x)
A Method of Decreasing Audio Echoes
One of the hardest emails to read starts: "After years of work, I'm finally ready to submit my project to a festival. All I need to do is get rid of the audio echoes and I'm done." The sad part is that is not a lot that can be done to reduce echoes -- except for the ideas in this article. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Final Cut Pro v. 6, 7.x)
Improve Your Timeline Zooming
New with Final Cut Pro 7 are two shortcuts: Zoom In/Out at Playhead on Timeline. However, they don't do anything until you assign them to a keyboard shortcut. But, what if you want to assign them to your mouse? This article shows you what you need to know to do it. (Published: Mar. 2010 ; Final Cut Pro v. 7.x)
