I have lots of goodies for you this week - news, cautions, tips, updates, videos, webinars - all sorts of interesting stuff.
Let me start with the most important.
Apple updated Final Cut Pro X to version 10.4.2 last week. This is an important update because it fixed a very nasty bug in 10.4.1 that would
randomly select and/or delete clips in the timeline. The problem is that this update requires High Sierra (10.13.x), while FCP X 10.4.1 did not. (The update is free and available in the Mac App Store.)
While 10.4.1 fixed dozens of bugs in FCP X 10.4, and would normally be worth the update, this random selection bug is a reason to avoid this version. So, if you have 10.4.0 and you don't want to update your OS to High Sierra, then stay with 10.4.0. If you have 10.4.1 I recommend you update to 10.4.2 and High Sierra.
Or, you can
create a dual boot disk to run those apps that don't work on High Sierra with a second partition for High Sierra and FCP X 10.4.2. Here's
how to create a dual boot disk. (The interface has changed a bit, but the basic operation is the same.)
Thinking of
software problems, the last several versions of
Compressor seem unable to create an MP4 file that can be opened in QuickTime Player 7. The same files can be opened easily in QuickTime Player X. However,
Adobe Media Encoder creates files that can be opened in both programs with no problems. If you are creating MP4 files in Compressor, be sure to test them in both Players to see if they work. For the last several months, I'm doing all my MP4 compression in Media Encoder while Apple figures out how to get Compressor working properly. (By the way, Compressor handles QuickTime movies perfectly.)
I have two new videos this week on using the
new closed captions feature in FCP X 10.4.2. These are both excerpts from my
webinar training last week that took a detailed look at how captions work. This was a fun session - you can download a
copy here.
As I was researching this webinar, I also discovered
two key definitions that Apple forgot to put into their help files that explain the differences between
captions and subtitles. FCP X now supports both, so I updated my article to include these.
Read the article here.
Thinking of articles, I have
two blogs this week that are designed to give you something to think about: one looks back and the other looks forward. Both of these first originated as part of my "I'm Just Thinking" segment on the Digital Production Buzz. Both were fun to write and, as always, I'm
interested in your opinion.
Thinking of The Buzz, last week's show took an
in-depth look at future technology that we need to watch today: external GPU systems, drone flying, Cloud-sourced animation tools, digital recorders and ProRes RAW. This show gives you a better understanding of what's coming so you have time to take advantage of it.
Oh! I decided to try
AudioBurst, the audio search company I
wrote about last month. So, I put the past year's worth of Buzz shows on
AudioBurst. You can search for audio content from our interviews as easily as a text search.
Check it out here and let me know what you think.
Finally, this week's webinar is one of my favorites: "
Job Hunting Tips - or -
Everything You Know About Job Hunting is Wrong!" Students are graduating and looking for work - and the rest of us are always watching for new opportunities. This webinar will help you focus on what it takes to market yourself and
find the right job. I give this lecture at USC every semester where it attracts hundreds of engineering students and extremely positive feedback. If you know someone who is looking for work, please encourage them to attend - both
sessions are free and they truly can change your life.
This week wraps up finals week at school, plus, I'm working on some interesting product reviews for next week's issue. I love working with students, but I hate grading papers. Sigh... time to get back to work. Chat with you next week. In the meantime,
edit well.
