The crash (or snap) zoom is a cinematography technique you’ll see quite often in big-budget films. Here's one way to create it in post using After Effects.

Every compression job in Adobe Media Encoder is logged in a hidden log file. This shows how long it took to compress a file, where the file is stored and what settings were applied to it. Learn more.

Both Apple and Intel CPUs support hardware accelerated compression for H.264 and HEVC. However, it is possible to accidentally turn this OFF by changing one setting in either Apple Compressor or Adobe Media Encoder. Learn more.

In the top left corner of the Final Cut Pro X interface, you may see this icon. What does it do?

This in-depth interview with Casey Neistat presents his philosophy of production, the tools he uses and what he thinks of our digital future.

Replicators are a great way to duplicate an element. What you may not know is that replicators can contain multiple elements. Learn how.

Sapphire plug-ins, published by BorisFX, let you create stunning organic looks unmatched by any host native effect tools. Here are some tutorials to get you started.

Adobe has quietly moved to monthly updates for all its media software. Here's what's new in the November, 2020, update.

Compression artifacts are caused by a data rate that is too low. But what do they look like? Here's an example.

This is a simple thing, but I find myself using it in almost every project: adding a gap in my timeline. Here's why I use these and how to create them.

The video for Andy Shauf’s “Clove Cigarette” has unusual visuals and complex workflow due to using Unreal Engine and photogrammetry. The creators discuss how they created it here.

Here's how to create interesting custom colors for animated Motion gadgets.

Mocha Pro's world-class tracker just got better meshes, tracking & scripting. Learn more.

Last week, Apple updated Compressor to support Big Sur and the upcoming switch to Apple silicon. Here are the details.

The Lumetri Scopes have a "Clamp Signal" checkbox. What does this do and how does it affect your video?

Buried in a folder at the bottom of the Keyer effect is Light Wrap. This makes the edges of a key look more organic by blending them with the background. Learn more.

Alan asked: What's the best way to organize editing a feature film? I told him that every editor ultimately creates their own system. But here are thoughts to consider.

When you move a particle system, say with keyframes, the particle system amplifies the movement.

Cinema 4D is a leading 3D design tool. This series of 20 short video tutorials gets you started in the right direction.

When adding effects to audio clips in Premiere (or Audition), the order in which those effects are applied makes a difference. Here's what you need to know.

One of the reasons I create my audio mixes in Adobe Audition, rather than Premiere or Final Cut, is that Audition has a panel that precisely measures the technical amplitude (loudness) of my finished mix to make sure it meets spec. Here's how.

Here are three tricks that make using List view in the Final Cut Browser a lot more useful.

This collection of examples and videos explores the fundamentals of story, plot structure and how filmmakers use them to create their own narratives.

The Loop behavior loops a portion of a video over and over and... over. Here's how to use it.

After a year like this one, any good news is welcome. So MotionArray has assembled twenty-two free After Effects showreel templates to kick-start your showreel.

In my continuing effort to optimize my network and local storage, I tested to see what difference journaling makes to data transfer speeds. Here are the results.

When I add still images to the timeline, I need to decide between using Set to Frame Size or Scale to Frame Size. What's the difference? Quite a lot, actually. Here's what you need to know.

Vowels are low frequency sounds, which give a voice its character, warmth and sexiness. Consonants are, generally, high frequency sounds, which make speech intelligible. Here's what you need to adjust.

Shooting a film or video without thinking about lighting is a recipe for disaster. Here are 5 lighting hacks for film and video that you can try when you need a few tricks to get the job done.

Inside the Motion Viewer are an adjustable grid, moveable guides and customizable ruler bar. Here's how to display and adjust them.

Red Giant is an industry leader in creating software for visual effects with a dedicated website for tutorials. Learn more.

Last week, at Adobe MAX, comedian Chelsea Handler co-hosted Sneaks, a preview of the futuristic tech Adobe engineers and researchers are exploring. Here's the full list.

Invented in the 1970's, and used daily today, the alpha channel is an indispensable workhorse for visual effects. But, what is it?

Hidden in the Text Inspector is an easy way to add depth to text. Here's how.

The show-runner is the lead producer on a film or video project who oversees every element of the project’s creation, from the initial pitch to the final edits and marketing. Learn more here.

Spin is a very popular Behavior that gets elements in a Motion project to spin. What you may not know is that there is a hidden keyboard shortcut that helps you make the most of this move.

I was exploring the Boris FX website and discovered a gold mine of video tutorials for 22 different host applications and spanning more than 23 categories. Here's the link to learn more.

There's an unlimited range of looks and emotions we can evoke with the color tools in Premiere. Here's a technique using two tools I haven't worked with before to boost the emotion in a scene.

The reason we post videos to YouTube is that we want people to watch them. Here are six tips you can use to help viewers find your videos.

Looks are a very fast way to change the color "look" of a clip without requiring you understand how the color tools in Final Cut work.

If you've tried all the obvious things, but your subscriber count is still low, take a look at these seven tips.

A Replicator creates a pattern from a single object or a group of objects. Traditionally, we think of a pattern as a rectangle, but, with Motion, we have a lot more options.

If you’ve spent time with DaVinci Resolve, you may be curious about different ways to create animated titles. DaVinci Resolve Fusion titles are a great way to build your own animated title sequence. Learn more.

Adobe continues to improve its training and tutorial access inside Premiere. If you haven't seen what's available lately, here's where to look.

When Thunderbolt first came out in 2011, it was a niche interface. But technology doesn't stand still. Recently, Intel provided details in the soon-to-be released Thunderbolt 4. Learn more.

If you zoom into the timeline far enough, you'll discover three icons at the top of a transition that can save you time. Learn more.

This collection of videos explores how cinematographer Robert Yeoman keeps his comedies light and helped develop Wes Anderson’s quirky aesthetic.

Any shape, path or element that supports a border can have its boring white border replaced with one of hundreds of much more interesting styles. Here's how.

There are many different ways fog can help create a specific look and set a tone for your film. This article, featuring a video from Ryan Connally, explains more.

There are about a billion - maybe more - still image codecs for us to choose from. Which ones should we use? Here are some suggestions.

When sending an audio mix from Audition back to Premiere, don't use Multitrack > Export to Adobe Premiere. Why? Because you don't know what you are getting. There's a better way.

I fell into a trap this week, spell-checking titles in Final Cut Pro X. I thought I was correcting spelling, instead I was only correcting a list. Be cautious here.

The folks at Teradek, who make wireless video monitors, created a blog illustrating the benefits of wireless video monitors on-set. Here are the details.

Since the beginning of television, video used a horizontal aspect ratio. Since the beginning of cell phone photography and video, mobile users shot vertical video. Sigh...

The team at ToolFarm, a leading third-party reseller of After Effects Plugins and visual effects tools, published a blog showcasing tutorials to improve working with Mocha Pro. Here's a summary.

New in the 14.4. update to Adobe Premiere Pro is the ability to export proxy files, instead of high-resolution camera masters. The only problem is, it doesn't work. Here's what you need to know.

Human beings are more sensitive to changes in darker region compared to changes in brighter regions. This has a direct impact in both SDR and HDR. Learn more.

New with the 10.4.9 update is the ability to stabilize 360° video. Here's how.

A tagline is a short phrase marketers use to sell a product experience to a customer. Here's an article from PremiumBeat showing how to make these work for you.

While we can't apply textures to 3D objects in Motion, then have them move with the object, we can create the illusion of texture mapping, Here's how.

Here's how to download fonts from Google Fonts and use them in all of your personal and commercial projects for print, video, or anything else.

Hidden, but accessible with a keyboard shortcut, is the Zoom tool. This is often faster than using keyboard shortcuts to zoom into the timeline! Here's how.

Steven asks: I want to produce a deliverable HLG movie that I can watch on my HDR TV, an LG OLED. What format should I use?

Another problem that surfaced with the 10.4.9 update to Apple Final Cut Pro X is that chapter markers can no longer be exported - the checkbox is missing.

The folks at NewBlueFX announced a new program specifically designed for live streaming, with graphics integration: NewBlue Stream. Learn more.

Motion has a filter that can create a unique, visually-interesting background out of any still or video clip. Here's how to use it

Here's an interview with Zac Dixon, creative director for Identity Studios, on how they grew from an apartment to a team of amazing creative professionals.

As projects get bigger, finding faster ways to move around means you can get more done in less time. Here's a cool trick.

With the June, 2020, update to Avid Media Central, Premiere Pro editors can now connect and collaborate with Avid editors—no matter where they are located. Learn more.

There's a tool hidden in Final Cut that offers a faster way to select the best section of B-roll for your projects. We know how to trim the edges of a clip. But, Final Cut also allows us to trim the content of a clip - using the Slip tool. Here's how.

ND (neutral-density) filters reduce the amount of light passing through a lens, making it easier to shoot in brightly-lit conditions. This articles illustrates how they can help your shots.

Nothing adds character to text like making it look worse. A lot worse. A hidden feature in Motion makes "distressing" your text simple and fun. Here's how.

Adobe posted a series of tutorials on how to repair footage in After Effects. This webpage has sample files and short video tutorials.

The Slip tool is one of those tools in Premiere that you either use constantly, or you puzzle over what it does. For me, it's my favorite trimming tool. Learn more.

In a recent update, Apple added support for ProRes RAW in Compressor. Learn more.

Hidden in an unusual place inside Final Cut Pro X is Comparison Viewer. This can make effects like color matching a whole lot easier. Here's how it works.

If you, like me, were skeptical about the value of "vertical video" (that is, with an aspect ratio of 9:16, rather than 16:9), Apple, in conjunction with director Damien Chazelle, has created a video that will change your mind.

A key group of new features in the 5.4.6 update to Motion are 60 new 3D objects in the Motion Library. Each of these elements can be rotated in any direction, unlike video, which is always 2D.

We can create LUTs using Photoshop. However, what if you need a radically different look for your media? That requires a 3rd-party LUT utility. Learn more here.

Last week, Apple continued the evolutionary growth of Compressor – to version 4.4.7 – along with updates for FCP X and Motion. Here are the details.

There's a feature in Premiere that's turned off by default that you might want to enable if you use markers a lot. Here's what it does.

With the latest update to Final Cut Pro X, we can now quickly apply audio crossfades between two or more selected audio clips. Here's the process.

According to the emails I'm getting, Blackbird is "the world’s fastest, most powerful professional cloud video editing and publishing platform." Learn more.

The Anchor Point is that part of an element that determines where it will scale or rotate. By default it is at the dead-center of an element. Here's how to move it.

Motion Array is an all-in-one professional filmmakers platform, with unlimited asset downloads, exclusive Premiere Pro plugins, real-time video collaboration and more. Here's an overview.

The work area bar is a hold-over from the days of slower computers, but, even today, it can save you time. Here's how to use it.

Last week, Apple introduced support for the VP9 codec in Safari (Mac version) in the fourth beta of macOS Big Sur. Learn more.

You've been editing like a mad fiend and the project is done. Now, you need to gather everything together for final backup and archiving. But, with media and files scattered across your system, just how are you going to do this? Easy, watch.

Jourdan Aldredge has compiled an excellent discussion on the benefits and challenges of 8K. This new format is coming - now we need to get ready.

I've written before that working with audio in Apple Motion is a frustrating experience. However, this hidden interface makes finding and timing multiple audio clips a lot easier.

These 10 quick and easy After Effects tricks are essential for any motion designer!

A new feature in the July, 2020, update to Premiere Pro is the ability to close all projects EXCEPT the one you are working on. Here's how this works.

Apple released a developer video focused on the benefits and performance of moving to Apple GPUs for upcoming Macs. Here are links and details, especially for graphics and games.

Most of the time, when you make changes to a clip in the timeline, it does not change the source clip in the Browser or any other iterations of the source clip in the timeline. With one exception...

Cision recently discussed how to promote your blog content across social media platforms. This included Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Learn more here.

When you use the Freehand mask tool to hide, or reveal, portions of an image, you are actually creating a Bezier curve. This leads to some very interesting options.

FXFactory publishes visual effects software and tutorials for major NLEs. If you haven't visited their News & Tutorials website, your are missing some great tools.

One of the most powerful color correction / grading tools that we have is the skin tone line. Once you know how to use it, it is easy to quickly fix color problems and make your on-screen talent look great.

Macroblocks are at the heart of MPEG and H.264 video compression. But, what is a Macroblock?

The key concept you need to understand about 360 VR video is that you edit as little as possible. However, you can still add transitions. Here's how.

We often focus on the art of editing, but what about the art of not editing? Here is a list, and links to, the top ten one-take music videos, according to MotionArray.com