This is a question I get asked all the time. So, last week, I sat down with Adobe to learn the answer.

Adobe has modeled Premiere after Final Cut Pro 7. But, what specifically does that mean? What's new in Premiere that FCP 7 doesn't have?  And should editors consider using it?

In this article, I write up what I learned. You'll find it interesting reading.

RAIDs are essential to video editing. They provide incredible speed, massive storage and, depending upon how it is configured, data security if a drive fails.

But, recently, a conversation began that said there may be better ways to configure a RAID for video editing.

So, I asked the experts and compiled what they told me into a single article. I've included informed opinions from:

• Promise Technology
• OWC
• G-Technology
• Drobo
• A leading storage consultant
• And a developer that writes RAID drivers

If you work with media, you need to read this article. At the very least, read this to better understand how to plan your storage for the future.

This is a technique that I didn't know about two weeks ago, but it makes a BIG difference in getting the best performance from your gear.

I advise against creating partitions when working with single hard drives, but that is not the case when working with RAIDs.

In this article, I explain why you need to care, what you need to do and the performance boost that happens if you do.

In this case, this last week, I've followed my own advice and reformatted all my RAIDs specifically because of what I learned in this article.

Library Properties are new with the 10.1.2 update to Final Cut Pro X.

They also make managing media and render files a lot easier.

In this excerpt from last week's webinar, you'll learn what Library Properties are and how to configure them to make managing your media easier and more efficient.

OK, well, it's like this. Um, I wasn't paying proper attention.

A new feature that appeared in Mavericks (OS X 10.9) was Finder tags. And, because I had my hands full learning lots of other stuff, I didn't pay any attention to it.

Until this week, when I discovered that Finder tags now tie directly into Final Cut Pro X. This forced me to do some homework and learn that Finder tags can help us organize and find media in very fast and efficient ways. 

Which is really cool. So I wrote an article that describes what these are, how they work and how they integrate into Final Cut Pro. (Even if you use Premiere, tags can help you organize your media.)

(Now, hurry up and read this before OS X 10.10 comes out and everything changes, again....)

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

Articles

This list expanded to the Top 4 to add some variety:

• FCP X: When to Use Optimized, Proxy or Native Media  
• FCP X 10.1: Manage Projects 
• FCP X 10.1: Manage Libraries
• Create a Dual-Boot Mac OS System Disk

For an index of all our articles, visit here.

 

Webinars

• #124: Multicam Editing in Final Cut Pro X
• #125: Make Things Move in Motion 5
• #57: Introduction to Motion 5

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 

• Philip Bloom: Picking the "Best" 4K Camera  (Part 2)
• Philip Bloom: On 4K Video (Part 1)
• Zack Arnold: The Craft of Editing

For a list of all Buzz audio interviews, click here. 

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.

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!

Larry Jordan

Larry Jordan & Associates

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