The 2014 NAB Show is getting closer - more on that in a minute. But since everyone and their cousin is getting ready to update something, it makes it hard for me to figure out what to write about. On the other hand, it also makes April feel like Christmas. Just, um, with higher price tags.

I've got three new articles and one from the archives to share with you this week. New training, new Buzz interviews, new news on our NAB coverage. All kinds of good stuff.

By the way, the astute among you will have noticed we haven't done any webinars recently. That's because we are changing our webinar service provider and, between recording all our new training and getting ready for NAB, the team here just hasn't had time to get everything prepped and tested. Webinars will restart in April when we return from NAB. Sorry for the delay.

I'm delighted to announce the release of our latest training: Final Cut Pro X: Complete. This combines FCP X: Workflow & Editing with our latest all-new title: FCP X: Effects.

Everything you need to master Final Cut Pro X - all in one package for one great price. More than 23 hours of training spanning more than 200 movies. Focused, in-depth, with our trademark conversational style and humor.

This training is available today as a download or DVD for only $129! Even better - use NXLTR1401 as the Coupon Code during checkout and SAVE 10%!

Click here to order your copy!

One of the new features in Adobe Media Encoder that I really like is the ability to add watermarks to video.

A watermark is a small icon or text that identifies the source of the video.

They are so popular that we see them everywhere from broadcast TV to YouTube.

In this article, I show you how to create them in Photoshop, then apply them in Adobe Media  Encoder.

Watermarks have long been a feature in Compressor. However, in looking over my notes, I realized I haven't written about how to create them in the newest version.

One of the big features in Compressor is that we can create both still image and animated video watermarks.

In this article, I show you how to create a still image watermark in Photoshop and an animated video watermark in Final Cut Pro X. Then, we bring both into Compressor and apply them to a video clip.

This is a technique that I use in virtually every video I create. And I wanted to share it with you here.

Last week, when I was writing my review of SmartSound's SonicFire Pro, I discovered a potential problem when importing media into Final Cut Pro X.

So I wrote it up for this week's issue.

If you are in the habit of importing clips by dragging them in from the Finder, you need to read this article.

Interviews form the heart of many of the programs each of us works on. And interviews, as we all know, are a series of questions and answers.

But, how do you get the right answers? By asking the right questions!

Last summer, I taught a course in creating the short-form documentary and realized, during the course, that my students had no concept of how to ask questions.

So I wrote up what I learned in teaching them in hopes that it can improve all of our interviewing techniques.

The old adage is true: "You get what you ask for."

Here are the most popular articles, webinars, and audio interviews for the past seven days across all my websites.

Articles

We expanded this list to the Top 4 for more variety:

• Media Management is the Biggest Change in Final Cut Pro X v10.1 
• FCP 7: Pick the Right Version of ProRes 
• Color Correction: Make People Look Normal 
• Apple Releases Final Cut Pro X v10.1 

For an index of all our articles, visit here.

 

Webinars

• #119: 3rd-Party Plug-ins for FCP X 
• #118: Integrating Motion 5 with FCP X  
• #117: Media Management in FCP X 

This list is based on the webinars watched most often by our monthly subscribers. For a list of all our webinars, visit here.

 

Digital Production Buzz Audio Interviews   

• Michael Cioni: Is the New Mac Pro the "Missing Link" for 4K Media?
• John Swanbeck: Directing Comedy and Tips for Actors 
• Josh Apter: Shooting Video on an iPad

For a list of all the audio interviews we've conducted on The Buzz, visit here. 

With the release of Final Cut Pro X v10.1, Apple also updated Compressor to version 4.1 An all new interface, improved compression settings and better monitoring. So much changed, in fact, that we went back and re-recorded all our training for the new version.

• Better organized
• More informative
• Tighter focus on making your images look great.

These days, everything we do ends up on the web.
Which means that if we don't know how to compress our video to make it look good, all our work during production and post is wasted.

In this in-depth video training, Larry Jordan shows you how to make the most of Apple Compressor 4.1.

Whether you are a new or experienced, this training will help you make your media look and sound great!

Larry Jordan

Larry Jordan & Associates

P.S. I always love hearing from you. Feel free to write.