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WELCOME BACK!
 Happy July! I have LOTS of news this week - new training, new webinars, new articles, editorials, gossip, news and notes, plus a top-secret keyboard shortcut...
APPLE RELEASES
MAC OS X 10.9.4 UPDATE
 Last week, Apple updated Mac OS X to version 10.9.4 to fix a number of bugs. According to a note from Todd Kopriva, part of the After Effects team at Adobe, "The Mac OSX v.10.9.4 update fixes some very large GPU bugs that affected Premiere Pro and Adobe Media Encoder (and a lot of non-Adobe applications, too)."
While the standard rule of upgrading applies: NEVER update your OS in the middle of a major project; if you are between projects, running OS X 10.9.3 and, especially, if you are running Adobe software, installing this upgrade sounds like a good idea.
NOTE: It is also a good idea to make sure any critical software you are running supports the new version. (See my problems with Adobe Media Encoder, below.)
LARRY PREPS NEW FINAL CUT PRO X TRAINING!
 Over the last week, I created new training covering the Final Cut Pro X v10.1.2 update. This includes 16 new or updated movies covering all the new features. Plus, a brand-new training video showing how to use FCP X to collaborate between editors and an updated keyboard shortcuts list!
Subscribers to our Video Training Library have free access to all this new training. It will start to post by noon tomorrow (Tuesday). If you purchased our Final Cut Pro X: Complete training on or after June 26, which is the day before Apple announced the new update, you'll receive the update for free.
Our training update has a normal price of $12.99. All existing training customers have the option to upgrade for only $9.99. I'll have all the upgrade details in next week's newsletter. We are still getting the files ready to post. It will release by the end of this week.
There are LOTS of new features in the software, including much improved media management. And this training will get you up to speed in a hurry.
Now is the perfect time to buy my Final Cut Pro X: Complete training. Buy today, get this update free!
TOP SECRET KEYBOARD SHORTCUT
I'm, ah, not supposed to tell you, but, well, as long as you don't tell anyone else... With the 10.1.2 update, Apple added a keyboard shortcut to automatically delete Final Cut's preference files.
Here's the secret: Quit Final Cut. Then, press and hold Option+Command while launching Final Cut Pro X from the Dock. In a second, you'll see a message asking if you want to delete preferences. Click the Delete Preferences button and you're done.
FCP instantly resets all preference files to their factory default settings and continues launching. Once the app starts up, you'll need to reset any custom preferences that you use in your editing. This does not reset any custom keyboard shortcuts.
I've rewritten my FCP X Trouble-shooting Guide to reflect this change. EDITORIAL: ADOBE MEDIA ENCODER WON'T LAUNCH... AND I CAN'T FIND OUT WHY!
I was planning to write an article on Adobe Media Encoder's latest features for this week's newsletter. I like AME more and more these days, however, for whatever reason, AME (2014) won't launch on my iMac running OS X 10.9.4. I uninstalled the application - twice, cleaned up my system with a Safe Boot and Repairing Permissions. I even spoke nicely to my computer. Na-da. So, I went to Adobe's website to get some technical help. THAT was a mistake! Adobe, you need to spend serious time getting your Support site in order! It should not require a phone call to India, or calling in favors from a friend, to get a simple technical question answered. It is IMPOSSIBLE to find an answer on Adobe's support web site - and, when I do, it is often out-of-date, covers the wrong subject and doesn't solve my problem. This is unacceptable. Try this for yourself. Go to Adobe's website. Click the Search button. Type "Adobe Media Encoder 2014 won't launch." What are the first five hits? * 2009: Beginner's Guide to Streaming Live Video * 2014: Installing the 2014 Release of Creative Cloud * 2011: Adobe Media Encoder CS5.5 Bug Fixes * 2011: Beginning Flash Media Server 2011 * 2011: Installed Codecs in Adobe Media Encoder The FIRST hit is from 2009??? Really?!!Adobe has received deservedly hard knocks over its phone-based support services. But, they also need to look seriously at improving support over the web. Every time I've tried to use their website for technical questions, I get nonsense in response. (Yes, I could contact my friends at Adobe and get personal attention. But, that doesn't fix the issue of a badly-designed and implemented tech support website.) I solved my problem by reverting back to an earlier release of Adobe Media Encoder. Which means I can't write about the new version for a while. It is hard for professionals to take Adobe seriously when Adobe is not serious about support.
SHORT NOTES
 I was wandering about Apple's website, researching my FCP X training update and discovered this interesting trivia. The latest version of Final Cut Pro X has about 700 menu options, including commands, contextual menus, and other buttons and selectors. From those 700 menu options, Apple has created 442 assignable keyboard shortcuts available in Final Cut Pro > Keyboard Shortcuts > Customize. Whew....
 Dylan Higginbotham, CEO of Stupid Raisins, recently interviewed legendary editor and effects creator Patrick Sheffield about his Emmy-nominated editing on Tim's Vermeer, a project produced and directed by Penn & Teller. Here's the interview link.
PR Maven, Andy Marken, has a client, Nanotech, that is testing online 4K streaming ads. Specifically, they want to look at analytics, processes and procedures. They will be running the ads at no charge and no obligation. If you are interested in being part of the test, contact Aaron Taylor - EVP, NanoTech.
Peter, at Idustrial Revolution sends a note to say they have released XEffects Snapshots. This is a media rich template plugin with a unique onscreen 3D animation control system. Snapshot automatically freezes video, inserts it into a frame and positions it onto a background in 3D space. All with just a couple of clicks. Priced at $99. Here's the link.
NEW WEBINARS THIS WEEK:
ADOBE PREMIERE PRO AND AUDITION
June saw major product updates. Now that my travel schedule has slowed down, I'm looking forward to restarting our weekly webinars. This week, I present the new features in the latest release of both Adobe Premiere Pro CC (2014) and Adobe Audition CC. Premiere has seen the most work, with new After Effects integration, built-in masking and tracking, master clips and much more. Audition has also seen its share of updates, including full support for Dolby, as well as a variety of visual improvements to multi-track editing.
Here's the link to learn more and register:
Remember, watching the live webinar is FREE! And subscribers can view any webinar for free at any time via our Video Training Library.
FEATURED BUZZ INTERVIEW: PHILIP BLOOM
 Two weeks ago, our podcast, Digital Production Buzz, ran the first of a two-part interview with Philip Bloom on shooting 4K media. This week, I'm featuring the second part. In this interview, Philip shares his thoughts on the "best" 4K camera, as well as the challenges involved in editing high-resolution media.
This is must-hear listening for anyone trying to figure out where the future of cameras and video are going.
Listen to Philip's second interview here.
Listen to Philip's first interview here.
Listen to the entire program here.
We've added also text transcripts for each show courtesy of Take1.tv. Transcripts can be found on the show page.
Buzz website: www.digitalproductionbuzz.com
FOUR NEW ARTICLES THIS WEEK!
I have four new articles, and one retooled one, covering optical media, Final Cut Pro X, and the security of your data.
Plus, as always, I've updated our Top 3 Lists. Enjoy your week and chat with you next Monday.
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COMMENTARY: RETHINKING DVDS
 The tech world is moving past DVDs and optical media faster than media creators wish it would. And, every week, I get questions about how to create DVDs. In this think-piece, I provide three options for us to use moving forward, as well as an analysis of why media creators find themselves in the position of catching up to technology - again. |
SECURITY: THE DATA WE DON'T KEEP
Security is on my mind recently. Taking my training hat off for a minute, and putting my business hat on, I am constantly aware that, as a business, we have a responsibility to keep our customer financial data safe. So, in this article, I explain what information my company collects about readers and customers. More importantly, I tell you about the information we don't collect. Because, frankly, there's no reason we need to know it. |
ARTICLE: FINAL CUT PRO X (v.10.1.2)
New Keyframe Behavior
 Another new feature in Final Cut Pro X (v.10.1.2) isn't really a feature, its a bug fix. But, it fixes a really gnarly bug that makes keyframe animation a LOT easier. In this article, I explain what the fix is and how things are working now. If keyframes are a part of your editing life, you need to read this article. |
ARTICLE: FINAL CUT PRO X (v. 10.1.2)
Setting Audio Levels
An old friend from Final Cut Pro 7 returns to Final Cut Pro X with this latest update: the ability to change audio levels on an absolute or relative basis. This is a feature I used a lot, so I'm looking forward to explaining how it works. This is actually really useful for even simple editing, so take the time to read the article. |
UPDATE: FINAL CUT PRO X (v. 10.1.2)
Trouble-shooting and Trashing Preferences
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ALL-NEW AND UPDATED!!
FINAL CUT PRO X 10.1.2: COMPLETE
This title contains everything you need to learn Apple's
Final Cut Pro X v.10.1!
This title includes both: * FCP X: Workflow & Editing * FCP X: Effects All in one place, for one great price!
Start with initial setup and media management to editing, effects, and output, there's no finer training on the market. * Need to get started in a hurry? We condensed everything you need into one chapter.
* Need to learn just the new features? We've got you covered.
* Need in-depth training on everything you need to know to become a video editing pro? Start at the beginning and work your way to the end.
You'll be amazed at how much you learn!
THIS TRAINING INCLUDES ALL THE NEW FEATURES IN THE FCP X 10.1.2 UPDATE.
Over 200 movies, more than 22 hours of training! Each movie is laser-focused to get you the information you need exactly when you need it. (The average movie length is about seven minutes.)
One title - everything you need - available right now.
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 Here are the most popular articles, webinars, and audio interviews for the past seven days across all my websites. ArticlesWe expanded this list to the Top 4 to add variety: For an index of all our articles, visit here.
Webinars 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 For a list of all Buzz audio interviews, click here. |
BRAND-NEW TRAINING
Learn Apple Compressor 4.1
 Apple continues to update Compressor with an all new interface, improved compression settings and better monitoring. This application has some much new stuff inside that we went back and re-did all our training for the new version. - Better organized
- More informative
- Tighter focus on making your images look great.
NEW TRAINING NOW SUPPORTS
COMPRESSOR 4.1.2
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.x. Whether you are a new or experienced, this training will help you make your media look and sound great! |
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