Larry Jordan's Newsletter

Oct. 3, 2022

My big news is the release of my latest book: "Final Cut Pro Power Tips!" Published by New Riders/Pearson, this book is packed with 500+ tips, techniques, and hidden gems; plus hundreds of keyboard shortcuts. It covers everything up to the latest version of Final Cut.

This is an essential reference for Apple Final Cut Pro editors that can turn you into an editing powerhouse. The formal announcement comes tomorrow, but I wanted to give you the first sneak peek. Extensively organized and deeply indexed.

Link: Larry Jordan: Final Cut Pro Power Tips

My lead story grew out of my product review of the ViewSonic VP2776 Color Pro monitor. The ViewSonic makes lovely images, but it isn't a "Retina display." Which caused me to wonder just what is a Retina display? And the answer is that it isn't what you think.

Link: What Makes a Monitor a Retina Display?

As I was writing this week's newsletter I realized that the reason there's so little news is due to IBC last month, combined with the upcoming release of macOS 13 (Ventura). Developers are holding off making any announcements until Apple releases the next version of macOS in a few weeks.

In the news:

Avid announced the latest update to all versions of ProTools. Features include tight integration with Celemony Melodyne software via ARA 2 (Audio Random Access) for quick vocal tuning and creating harmonies, re-voicing instruments, fixing rhythm timing, and much more. Aux I/O enables flexible routing of audio to and from Pro Tools to a variety of software and hardware simultaneously. Also new in the 2022.9 release are: quantize Toolbar controls in the Edit and MIDI Editor windows, X/Y sliders for fine-tuning timecode overlay position in the video window, increased marker count from 999 to 32,000, and lots more.

Link: https://www.avid.com/pro-tools

AJA Video Systems updated HELO Plus to version 1.0.1. This is a compact, advanced H.264 streaming and recording stand-alone appliance able to stream up to 1080p60 to a Content Delivery Network and/or record simultaneously. Two separate streaming destinations can be set up and recordings can be made to a combination of SD card, USB storage and NFS or CIFS network storage. HELO Plus offers high quality streaming with ultra-reliable performance for any critical streaming need, including eSports, news, sports, education, creator, & live events.

Link: https://www.aja.com/products/helo-plus

What I like best about my latest book is that it is designed like an encyclopedia. You can quickly jump to the information you need, learn it, then get on with your life. You don't need to read it cover-to-cover to benefit from it.

Link: https://www.peachpit.com/store/final-cut-pro-power-tips-9780137928798

A quick reminder that my webinar this week - on Wednesday - looks at how to Animate Text Using Apple Keynote to create animated text for Apple Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro. Keynote is far easier to learn than Motion or After Effects, plus its free for Mac users. Plus, it is really, really fast.

Link: Register for Larry's FREE Weekly Webinar

Sorry it took me so long to post my recent Ask Larry webinar. Things are a bit crazed at the moment. This was a fun session covering a lot of hardware issues.

Link: Webinar 339: Ask Larry Anything

Recently, I got into a conversation with the PR folks at ViewSonic about their computer monitors for video. The upshot was that they loaned me a VP2776 Color Pro monitor to review. If you are into images, this monitor is amazing. But, it has one big limitation. Here's my review.

Link: Product Review: ViewSonic VP2776 Color Pro monitor

Within weeks, Apple will release the latest version of macOS - Ventura. MY STRONG suggestion is that you not upgrade when this update is released. Instead, wait a month or two for Apple to fix all the bugs. Here are the details.

Link: When Should You Upgrade to macOS Ventura?

It isn't hard to write a book... but it is very hard to finish writing a book. The process is intense and takes a team of experts to complete. Still, the author remains at the center. The editorial team at Pearson fully supported my vision for a different way to write a book and how it should look. The end result is even better than I imagined. If you edit with Final Cut Pro, you'll find this book invaluable.

Until next week, stay safe, stay hopeful and edit well.