Software Inventory 2014

I thought the start of the new year would be a good time to review the software I use most frequently at MediaStorm.

The Essentials

Adobe Premiere Pro CC (starting at $19.99 a month) – Back in October of 2012 MediaStorm announced our decision to use Premiere Pro, not FCP X. With the advent of CC, the updates are faster and the software keeps getting better.

Aperture (Mac App Store, $79.99) – Aperture is Apple’s workhouse picture-editing software. While it’s due for an update, we’ve been relying on Aperture for the better part of a decade. For an extensive guide to Aperture see the MediaStorm Post-production Workflow ($14.95).

Keyboard Maestro ($36.00) – Keyboard Maestro is a macro utility. When a user inputs a single keyboard shortcut, Keyboard Maestro will respond with a series of predefined actions. This small application really increased my logging speed last year. See MediaStorm Guide to Super Fast Logging with Premiere Pro and Keyboard Maestro.

PluralEyes ($199) – Essential software for syncing multiple audio or video sources. See MediaStorm Guide to Creating Multi-Camera Sequences in Premiere Pro, Part 1.

Final Cut Pro 7 – Apple’s venerable editing software is no longer available for purchase nor is it in heavy use around the office. But with nearly 40 TB of legacy projects, it’s still critical to have a copy on our production stations.

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MediaStorm’s Guide to Custom Final Cut Shortcuts

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Frequently when working in Final Cut, I need to find the source of a clip. The most obvious way to do this is to right-click on the clip and select Reveal in Finder. But I’d prefer to use a faster method, specifically a keyboard shortcut key. To find a function’s shortcut, enter a keyword into the Help>Search field window. You’ll see all of the menu items that contain the word ‘reveal.’ Use the down arrow key to select Reveal in Finder. A large blue arrow points to the item under the View menu. Notice that there’s no shortcut key to the right of the menu. This indicates that Apple has not assigned a default keystroke to this task. Not to worry. Final Cut provides a straightforward method for customizing your keyboard with new shortcut keys. Choose Tools>Keyboard Layout>Customize or Option-H. Final Cut launches the default keyboard layout window. This tool illustrates each…

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