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Premiere Pro is dead (to me). Long live DaVinci Resolve!

In an alternate timeline, no pun intended, Final Cut Pro 8 was a brilliant upgrade to Apple’s storied non-linear editor. FCP 8 introduced cutting edge innovations, 64-bit performance, and Apple’s trademark interface refinements without sacrificing existing features or compatibility with FCP 7. Six years later, with Avid in bankruptcy, Apple built on the runaway success of FCP 8 with FCP 9, an app so flawless that its users ascended to a higher plane of existence, their cinematic visions inspiring peaceful resolutions to all the violent conflicts on Earth. But here in this universe, Apple released FCP X, and I switched to Adobe Premiere Pro.... More »

Entertainment Weekly premieres trailer for Jack of the Red Hearts [Video]

I recently had the opportunity to edit the theatrical trailer for the award-winning feature film, Jack of the Red Hearts, starring Famke Janssen (X-Men) and AnnaSophia Robb (Mercy Street, The Carrie Diaries). The film will be released in theaters on February 26 at AMC locations across the country. I began cutting this trailer in Adobe Premiere Pro CC but switched to BlackMagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 12, not for color correction, mind you, but for editing and delivery. My endless frustrations with Premiere Pro are well documented, but the final straw was the 5.1 surround sound mix.... More »

10 Easy-to-Fix Things That I Can’t Believe Adobe Hasn’t Fixed in Premiere Pro CC

When FCP Classic was EOL’d in 2011, I was one of the first among my circle of editors in LA to give Premiere Pro a shot. Technically, Premiere had been around for quite a long time, but for Mac users, it was never even a contender. Plus, if you were like me, you mostly associated Adobe’s video products with Flash, which I loathed long before Steve Jobs famously published his thoughts on the subject.... More »

Nature Conservancy: Restoring the Escalante River (Interview with the editor)

Earlier this year we shared a handful of photos and stories from our experience shooting in the remote and beautiful Escalante region of Utah for The Nature Conservancy. In addition to the still photos, we captured video and interviewed key players in the conservation effort going on in the region. We were tasked with the unique job of with creating a video that not only highlighted the voices of the people in the region, but also starred the Escalante River and the ecosystem around it as a main character — one who the cast of characters we encountered are all trying to strengthen and preserve.... More »

Time-lapse Calculator app now available for iOS

Use my 99¢ iOS/iPadOS time-lapse calculator app to quickly determine the shutter interval (time between shots) that you should set to achieve your desired clip length for a given recording duration. iOS app includes additional features for your iPhone or iPad. Besides serving as an intervalometer, my time-lapse app estimates the memory card storage that will be required for RAW or JPG image files, based on the megapixel count of your camera. I’ve also shared some time-lapse photography examples and video editing tips for Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Premiere Pro CC.... More »

Adobe Premiere Pro CC Gripes and Wish List

Update October 15, 2014: The list portion of this post is current through Premiere Pro CC 2014.1 (8.1). I have placed check marks and notes next to items that have been fixed since the initial release of CC. August 16, 2013: I switched from Apple Final Cut Pro (versions 1 through 7) to Adobe Premiere Pro as my primary NLE in 2012. Since then, Premiere Pro has improved by leaps and bounds. Yet, it remains stubbornly rough around the edges and is, to quote C-3PO, “not entirely stable.” I use several Adobe apps on a daily basis, and I remain optimistic that Adobe will continue to make my Creative Cloud subscription worthwhile, but they need to release more frequent and substantial updates.... More »

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 to CC: Wish List Scorecard

Premiere Pro CC is the first major release that began development after the FCPX debacle, and it shows. It caters directly to Final Cut switchers. That’s a good thing. There’s a reason that Final Cut gained supremacy among Mac users while Premiere settled into its place as a second-rate Windows alternative. At this point, I recommend Premiere Pro CC to Mac users who must inevitably say good-bye to the venerable and rapidly graying FCP7. Your Final Cut Pro 8 has arrived.... More »

Why Adobe Premiere Pro needs background rendering

The CS6 version of Adobe Premiere Pro went a long way towards winning me over after Apple stranded the FCP7 community with the release of FCPX. I still have many, many gripes, including major stability concerns in the Mac version, but I believe Premiere is close to being awesome. So it is a shame that it is still missing an important feature: background rendering.... More »

Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac: CS6 Gripes / CS6.5 Wish List (FCP switcher)

Updated on May 7, 2013 (after the announcement of Adobe Premiere Pro CC): Overall, I would recommend that disgruntled FCP7 users make the jump to Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s a 64-bit, cross-platform NLE that’s as close to Final Cut Pro 8 as you’ll find. It integrates with AfterEffects and the rest of the Creative Suite in ways that no other editing application can match, and with the introduction of the excellent Creative Cloud service, it’s easy and affordable to stay up to date.... More »

Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 Gripes / CS6 Wish List (perspective of an FCP switcher)

This is not a comprehensive review of Adobe Premiere CS5.5. It is just a list of negatives: my gripes, wishes, and personal preferences. Adobe has since released Premiere Pro CS6 and, to their credit, they made a number of the improvements that I was hoping for and added some excellent features.... More »