This week, I
replaced my trusty 2013 27" iMac with a 2017 27" iMac I had sitting around. Yeah, I know... well, some people collect cars. The big difference was that the 2013 iMac had 32 GB of RAM, while the 2017 model only has 8 GB. Let me tell you, the performance difference with
less RAM is dramatic. My current system feels MUCH slower. My 2013 system had a 3.5 GHz i7, while the 2017 iMac has a 3.8 GHz i5. The difference between an i5 and i7 is not insignificant, but the difference in speed should compensate, especially for file i/o tasks.
So, I
ordered more RAM, which will arrive this week. I'll let you know if it makes as big a difference as I expect. (Yes, both systems have Fusion drives.) I mention this because I think there's a "sweet spot" for video editing that ranges from 16 - 32 GB of RAM. We can work with less, but the system will feel slow. We can work with more, but in most instances, our system won't need it. Time for me to spend some money and test my theory.
Thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on my
training survey last week. There were hundreds of responses and comments. I've read all of them and, while in general, most folks are pleased with what we are doing, there are some great ideas that I'm now thinking about.
In fact, I came up with
one more training/education idea I need your opinion on. This survey is quick! Only six questions, all multiple choice. We can implement this fairly quickly, depending upon votes - so I'm looking forward to your answers.
Here's the link to my
new survey. It should take about a minute to complete.
Yesterday, I was tramping in the mountains near us, shooting video with a
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema 4K Camera for next week's webinar: "
Using High-End Media." I was shooting 4K media using both Blackmagic RAW and ProRes 422 codecs so I could compare the two. I'm hoping to hike the hills again later this week shooting with a Panasonic EVA-1, just to give us more media to play with. While my results will not cause
Philip Bloom to feel the least bit threatened, most of my shots were in focus, so we can work with that. All my live
webinars are free - learn more and
sign-up here. I have two events, one for
Final Cut and the other for
Premiere. Each one week apart.
I have
two different articles for you this week. The first looks at the Broadcast Safe effect in
Final Cut Pro X. This is a great tool to keep your video levels safe. However, this is a tool that not everyone needs. I explain how it works and how to use it in this illustrated tutorial.
Then, as I was wrapping up last week's webinar "
Get Organized for Editing in Adobe Premiere," I discovered two new techniques in creating proxy workflows in Premiere that make
this technique even more valuable. So I wrote up a new procedure. If you edit in Premiere you need to read this because it explains how you can easily take your edit on the road without relinking media. Details below.
That's about it. It's been a relaxed week with the July 4 holiday here in the US. Time to get back to work. Please spend a minute
with my survey on a new training idea. I'd be grateful. I'll chat with you next week. In the meantime,
edit well.