Larry Jordan's Newsletter

Jan. 9, 2023

"Never make buying decisions based upon rumors." This maxim came to mind this last week reading all the breathless reports on different rumor sites: "Everything We Know About [X]," or "The Date, Time and Location for Every Apple Announcement in 2023," or this timeless classic from Forbes: "Don't Buy [X], Apple Has Something Better."

Why, it's enough to get your heart racing with delight. Such assurance. Except... remember all those great products supposedly arriving in October and November last year? "The New Mac Pro Will Absolutely, Positively, Guaranteed Be Announced In October." Or, "Wait, We Meant November." Nope. "Positively Coming Before Christmas... for sure."

For the first time in 22 years, Apple did not ship any new Macs in the fourth quarter. All the rumor sites were wrong - even though they were so certain!

Does this mean that Apple is incompetent? No. It simply means that the perfect storm of pandemic, supply chains, geopolitical tensions and the always-hard business of inventing new technology make it incredibly difficult for any company - even one as competent as Apple - to create, build and ship products in the quantity required to meet the demands of a global market.

Rumor sites exist to generate page views. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're wrong. Sometimes they just make it up. In the meantime, never make buying decisions based upon rumors. There's no harm in dreaming about the future - just don't plan on it. We can only buy what Apple ships.

My lead story presents a true story of an ethical dilemma. What should an editor do if they take a job only to discover that it's dishonest? What's your advice?

Link: A Question of Editorial Ethics

In the news:

Canon released a video showcasing all their CES news, with a corporate theme of "Limitless is More."

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NNZnS_lF6U

Avid released updates to its MediaCentral workflow platform, including the new MediaCentral | Acquire IP-based ingest scheduler, along with remote collaboration and improved hybrid working support. These innovative capabilities empower media companies to accelerate production on premises and in the cloud.

Link: https://www.avid.com/products/mediacentral

Webinars return this Wednesday with a session on Final Cut Pro Power Tips! (Premiere editors, my next webinar will do the same for Premiere.) In this session, I explain how to set preferences for best results, look into secrets of the multicam Angle Editor, then explain how to create great looking chroma-key, slow-motion, and mask effects. This will be a deep dive into some of Final Cut's power tools. Best of all, registration is FREE!

Link: Register for Larry's FREE Weekly Webinar

I have three more tutorials this week; subjects which I haven't written about for more than ten years. Time to correct that. The first looks at how to open, switch between, and close multiple projects inside Final Cut. Sounds simple - but there's a lot of hidden power here that can speed your editing.

Link: How to Open, Switch Between, or Close Multiple Projects in Final Cut Pro

Next, I have a pair of articles - one for Premiere and one for Final Cut - that look at how to stabilize hand-held footage. The one thing you don't want to see is an entire audience throwing up while watching your film. That would be bad. Here's how to fix it.

FCP Link: Stabilize Shaky Video Footage Using Apple Final Cut Pro

Premiere Link: Stabilize Shaky Video Footage Using Adobe Premiere Pro

CES just wrapped for 2023. Lots of new tech announced, but most of it of limited use to media creators. One of the take-aways is that 8K video seems to be losing traction, thank goodness, along with ongoing debate about the value of higher-frame rate movies. New monitors are coming from Samsung, Dell, LG and others; in addition to whatever Apple is working on. So there is much to look forward to this year. But, though the tech may change, the process of telling stories remains the same. Just remember, audiences (and clients) don't care about the gear you use, but care passionately about the stories you use it to tell.

Until next Monday, stay safe. Stay healthy and edit well.