Category: Video Editing

After Filming 1,000s of Presenters – The Confident Ones All Did This.

Some people seem to be able to get in front of a camera or phone, hit the record button and off they go!

Smooth, effortless, totally engaging all with the ability to maintain the presence of mind to deliver the message clearly.

I am not one of those people and in fact I have come across very few of those people in my own life!

Now also over the years I have posted a number of tutorial videos from creators covering how to appear natural in front of the camera.

I know that they were all helpful in some way but this week I came across a truly excellent video on the subject.

Its from a former BBC Television cameraman, Chris Goor, who has had the opportunity to observe thousands of people both pro and amateur in front of the camera.

His observations on the subject are incredibly insightful and this guide to appearing confident on camera is probably one of the best I’ve seen.

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5 Teleprompter Mistakes Beginners Make (Avoid These!)

I have actually spent the better part of the past few weeks checking out teleprompters because the one I have been using is a bit old now.

Of course it is not as though suddenly the glass on the prompter has worn out or anything like that!

The reason it has become a problem is that when I first bought it, the intention was (and still is) to use a mobile phone to scroll the text.

However over the past few years, mobile phones have gotten larger as far as screen size goes so that prompter has become a bit difficult to deal with.

We have to keep re-sizing the text down to fit the teleprompter screen but in doing so, the text gets harder to read.

So all of that has led down a seemingly endless teleprompter rabbit hole… but that a whole story in itself for another day!

Anyway, regardless of whatever difficulties may occur with them there is actually a whole world of techniques connected to using them so here’s a little advice on the matter.

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The Exact YouTube Strategy for 2026!

The guys at Think Media are currently running at about 3.4 Million subscribers on YouTube.

That tells me that when it comes to setting up and running a YouTube channel, they probably know what they are talking about!

One of the basic truths of YouTube is that the basic truths of YouTube are ever changing and evolving because of two main factors.

The first is monetization because at the end of the day, YouTube is a Google product and Google has to show both growth and profit for its shareholders.

The second is that human interaction creates stresses and applies forces to what is popular and what people are looking for and that circles right back to point number one!

Show me the money!

In light of that here’s an updated for 2026 start up strategy for YouTube as well as great tips for an already existing YouTube channel.

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Two Methods to Apply Facial Blur to a Video Clip in PowerDirector

Like most things in most video editing software these days, there is always more than one way to skin a cat.

So here’s a tutorial on a couple of ways you can blur out a face, or anything for that matter, in CyberLink PowerDirector.

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How to Master the Euphoria Aesthetic – Movavi

Just a quick little tutorial video here from the folks at Movavi.

It simply shows how to create the Euphoria effect that is so popular these days but also there is something else to take note of for any editing software.

You will see they add and effect then add another on top of that.

Finally they adjust the settings of one of the filters to achieve the final result.

The reality is that many, many inbuilt effects and filters these days have settings that you can adjust which can completely change what the effect is doing.

It is always worth the time to have a play with any filter or effect controls to just see what happens!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYX5zDnrFkE

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Pro Videos With Budget Gear? Here’s How

One of the technical aspects of shooting videos especially with a decent camera is that you have to get the setup and especially the lighting right.

In some ways, shooting with a smartphone is way easier because there is a basic difference between how a phone shoots and how a camera shoots.

The phone shoots on the basis of how it should be.

It uses internal software to attempt correction on the fly and give you the best result possible based on what it “thinks” is the best possible result!

The camera shoots on the basis of how it is.

It is assuming you know what you are doing and whatever or however you are shooting, that’s what you want!

At the end of the day, if the smartphone didn’t get it right, you have limited ability to correct.

If using the camera you didn’t get it right, you have greater freedom to correct due to a larger amount of data being recorded. (Even if you recorded it a bit wrong!)

Correcting footage that is not quite right is an art and science in itself and trust me, there will be tears before bedtime before you get good at it!

However to be honest I have started to cheat a bit using one of the newer tools in Filmora called Relight.

Check it out in the video below but essentially it works like a color correction/grading tool that can be applied to specific areas of a video without having to mask and track.

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How To Make Money on YouTube With a Small Channel

This is probably one of the most comprehensive and complete rundowns on exactly how you can generate income from a YouTube Channel.

Usually creators like this are pretty secretive about actual numbers and like to make it all seems way better or easier than it really is!

Refreshingly, this video is quite upfront about the amount views you need to generate income from YouTube ads (Adsense), sponsorships, affiliate links and digital products.

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How to Color Grade a Documentary in DaVinci Resolve (Step by Step)

If you have ever thought that your project was getting a bit too complicated and things were beginning to spin out of control, check this out!

One of the steps I often refer to in any project is that of getting yourself and your assets organized.

I know I bang on about this because I am already thinking to myself, “Have I typed that exact sentence before?”

That’s how you can tell you are repeating yourself!

Anyway I wanted to add this one to this weeks Roundup because it illustrates just how important that organizational step really is.

Even a small project will spin out of control without it so look at this project and imagine what the result would be!

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DaVinci Resolve 21 FREE – New Features Effects you don’t want to miss

So since DaVinci Resolve 21 came out of Beta and into full release most of the talk around town has been confined to the Studio (Paid) version.

Recently the Free version was similarly updated into full release mode so here’s a rundown of whats new and improved in that version.

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Professional Live Streaming with Wirecast

Creating professional live streams no longer requires expensive broadcast equipment or a dedicated production team. With Wirecast, creators, businesses, educators, houses of worship, sports organizations, and event producers can turn a Mac or Windows computer into a complete live production studio.

Whether you’re streaming a podcast, worship service, sporting event, corporate meeting, or live show, Wirecast provides the tools needed to produce high-quality multicamera broadcasts with ease.

Why Choose Wirecast for Live Streaming?

Wirecast is a powerful all-in-one live streaming and video production platform that combines professional-grade switching, graphics, recording, and streaming capabilities into a single solution.

Key benefits include:

• Support for unlimited live camera sources
• Multicamera live production workflows
• NDI® and IP camera integration
• Built-in graphics and overlays
• Remote guest participation
• PTZ camera control
• ISO recording capabilities
• Simultaneous streaming to multiple destinations
• Available for both Mac and Windows

From beginners creating their first livestream to experienced broadcasters producing complex events, Wirecast scales to meet virtually any production need.

Produce Professional Multicamera Streams

Wirecast makes it easy to manage multiple camera angles and sources from a single interface.

Users can switch between cameras, add graphics and lower thirds, share presentations, display screen captures, and integrate remote guests into a seamless production.

Popular applications include:

Podcast Production

Create engaging multi-camera podcasts with professional graphics, guest interviews, and live audience interaction.

Corporate Events

Stream presentations, webinars, training sessions, and company meetings with broadcast-quality production values.

Houses of Worship

Deliver high-quality worship services with multiple camera angles, graphics, lyrics, and remote participation.

Sports Streaming

Capture live sporting events with instant replay workflows, scoreboards, and multiple camera feeds.

Wirecast Studio Features

Wirecast Studio provides powerful live production tools for creators and organizations looking to elevate their broadcasts.

Features include:

• NDI® input support
• Screen capture
• IP camera connectivity
• RTMP, SRT, RTP, and streaming protocol support
• Built-in streaming destinations
• Graphics, audio, and video asset support
• GPU-accelerated encoding
• Virtual Camera and Microphone output
• Up to 2 remote guests
• Integrated stock media library

Wirecast Studio is ideal for content creators, churches, schools, businesses, and livestreamers looking for professional production tools at an accessible price point.

Wirecast Pro Features

Wirecast Pro includes everything in Studio while adding advanced production capabilities for larger and more demanding workflows.

Additional features include:

• Cloud multistreaming
• ISO recording
• PTZ camera control
• Sports production tools
• Multi-track audio recording
• Up to 7 remote guests
• 1-17 slot multiviewer output

Wirecast Pro is designed for professional broadcasters, sports organizations, production companies, event venues, and advanced livestream producers.

Wirecast Studio vs Wirecast Pro

Choosing between Wirecast Studio and Wirecast Pro depends on your production requirements.

Choose Wirecast Studio if you need:

• Professional multicamera streaming
• Graphics and overlays
• NDI workflows
• Basic remote guest support
• Streaming to major platforms

Choose Wirecast Pro if you need:

• ISO recordings
• PTZ camera control
• Sports production tools
• Additional remote guests
• Advanced monitoring and audio workflows

Get Started with Wirecast Today

Whether you’re streaming from a Mac or Windows PC, Wirecast delivers the flexibility, power, and professional features needed to create engaging live productions.

Explore Wirecast Studio and Wirecast Pro to find the subscription that best fits your workflow and start producing broadcast-quality live streams from virtually anywhere.

Need help selecting the right Wirecast solution? Contact the live streaming experts at Videoguys at 800-323-2325.

Edit Videos Like ChatGPT with AI – PowerDirector

This is to me, a very welcome development in the way A.I has been gradually worked into the average video editing workflow.

It is interesting to see how all of this has evolved over time beginning with automation seemingly being the ultimate goal.

It appeared as though the vision was that ultimately the A.I. would be autonomously doing pretty much all the work from start to finish.

Of course that never really took off and it all ended up settling for the A.I. tools we have at the moment.

Personally I think a lot of those tools are kinda useless but the good news is that they are being treated as tools to be used by editors… not as editors!

In the video below you can see in PowerDirector what I think is a very hopeful end game for A.I. and video editing.

They are calling it “intent based” A.I. which is a fancy, schmancy way of saying chat based A.I. within the program to carry out tasks.

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10 Editing Cuts Every Video Editor Should Know

I never pass up an opportunity to offer something on the Friday Roundup that takes us all back to basics.

It is so easy these days to get caught up in whatever flavor of the month (year?) that’s being bandied about by influencers and marketing departments,

The truth is that any of these latest and greatest “whatevers” are all ultimately going to rest on the basics.

So in light of that here’s an excellent revisiting of the basic cuts you can use in editing and what purpose each one serves.

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Designing a Movie’s World: Mise-en-scène Explained for Beginners

I have to be honest with this entry, there is pretty much nothing here to learn about home video shooting and editing.

In fact if we take it all up a notch and move it to say, YouTube long form video content, still basically nothing to learn!

The only reason I have added it for this weeks Roundup is that I found it to be fascinating so thought maybe you might too.

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How to Copy Video from a DVD Disc into PowerDirector

So back in the day, pulling video files off a DVD was a relatively normal kind of thing to do!

Of course we would never try to rip files off copyrighted materials but at that time a lot of us were using DVDs as storage.

Since then things have changed and frankly they have changed monumentally for the better!

The whole DVD thingy was a complication none of us needed!

There are however many, many people these days that have a lot of footage stored on old DVDs still and for some of them they are getting to the point of needing to move or upgrade that storage.

Remember that the original promise of DVDs being a long term storage solution turned out to be a bit of a lie!

The actual predicted time at the longest is 10 to fifteen years but that includes those DVDs being stored in a protected environment involving a fairly stable temperature and as close to total darkness as is possible..

Of course as DVDs have gone the way of the Dodo, modern video editing software has to some degree sidelined actions connected to dealing with them.

Most still retain a straightforward approach to authoring and burning discs but when you try to go the other way, not so simple!

You can see how to do it in PowerDirector below.

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How to Record Screen in Filmora 15.6

Filmora recently updated to version 15.6 and as part of that update they added enhancements to the Screen Recorder tool.

The app has had an attached screen recorder for as long as I can remember and this is the first time in my memory that it has been updated or changed in any way.

The module itself is actually a standalone piece of software that is launched from inside the Filmora interface and has always been a pretty good piece of kit.

I don’t do many screen recording type videos myself so I thought the best way to show you all about it is to leave it to someone who does.

So here ya go!

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I Let AI Make My Thumbnail (Because I Suck At It)

One particular stumbling block for many YouTube creators, TikTokers, Insta-hopefuls and others is that of thumbnails.

The harsh truth is that those platforms may very well present your video to an audience for their consideration, but your thumbnail and title are going to finish the job and get that click.

Now don’t go thinking that I am in some sort of position to be educating anyone on thumbnails!

Trust me, nothing could be further from the truth!

I certainly know they are important but I have no idea how to design one that actually works.

Which brings us to this video from Gripps2211 demonstrating an A.I. service I can get on board with!

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Sony ZV-E10 in 2026: 3 Mistakes Beginners Make

About two years ago now I stopped using mobile phones for shooting video and moved up to using a Sony ZV-E10.

At the time it was touted as the ideal camera for what I was shooting and additionally my brother in law said we should get it!

Now that would seem a little foolish on the surface, that I would be just listening to my brother in law, but in reality he is actually a pro cinematographer.

On top of that he advises the Taiwan education ministry on their art department purchases nationwide with regards to what audio-visual equipment they use.

So at the end of the day, I totally lucked out with the ZV-E10 and it has served me very well but that’s just me and my situation.

If you don’t happen to have a handy brother in law to call upon then there is an article here on How to Choose the Right Video Camera.

If you are looking to get a camera then I think the video below is quite valuable NOT because it is talking about the same camera I have.

The value lies in the process shown on how to choose and especially how to choose for what you are going to be doing with it.

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DaVinci Resolve Podcast – Hidden Resolve 21 Features, Audio Fixes Viewer QA

Probably a timely point at which to tune in to a decent DaVinci Resolve 21 Q&A so I guess Jason Yadlovski is as good as any!

Actually the real reason is that DaVinci Resolve 21 has been out for a few weeks now and users have had a chance to go into it a bit deeper by now.

Most of the YouTubers that cover Resolve have done their “Whats new” videos and have tried to anticipate viewer questions but at the end of the day its best to ask them directly.

So these are some of the most common questions being asked about DaVinci Resolve 21 and mostly, what the answer are.

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The Roland V-1-4K is a compact yet powerful 4K video switcher designed for content creators, corporate AV, education, houses of worship, and live event production. It delivers professional-grade video and audio capabilities without the complexity of traditional broadcast systems, making it an excellent choice for both experienced operators and first-time users.

Five HDMI inputs with built-in scalers allow you to connect cameras, laptops, presentation systems, and other video sources without worrying about matching resolutions or frame rates. Five HDMI outputs—including dedicated Program, Preview, and Multiview outputs—plus two independently scaled outputs provide the flexibility to connect monitors, projectors, recorders, and external displays with ease.

As a leader in professional audio, Roland equips the V-1-4K with XLR microphone inputs, embedded HDMI audio support, RCA outputs, and a dedicated headphone output for monitoring. This integrated audio workflow helps simplify live productions and livestreams while maintaining professional sound quality.

One of the V-1-4K‘s most impressive features is Region of Interest (ROI) cropping. Using a single 4K camera, you can create up to four independent HD camera angles, giving your production a dynamic multi-camera look while reducing equipment costs and simplifying setup.

For graphics, Roland’s free Graphics Presenter software makes it easy to add lower thirds, titles, logos, and images directly into your production. When it’s time to stream, simply connect the USB-C output to your computer and the V-1-4K appears as a webcam source for OBS, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other popular streaming platforms—no additional capture device required.

With dedicated hardware controls, physical buttons, and Roland’s signature T-bar transitions, the Roland V-1-4K provides a fast, reliable, and intuitive production experience for professional 4K video switching and livestreaming.

Learn more about the Roland V-1-4K and find the right live production solution at Videoguys.

5 Easy Editing Tricks for More Powerful Storytelling

Most beginning editors start off learning the basic concept of making cuts in their videos to create a finished project.

Once they have learned to do that, the emphasis tends to go a little off course at that point and they start drifting into that vast wasteland I like to call, transitions!

The problem is that their intended goal is that of keeping the viewer engaged but the whole “transitions” thing leads them off into the undergrowth, possibly never to be seen again.

The real key to all of this is learning why and when to cut rather than how.

If you take a look at the video below on editing techniques to improve storytelling you will notice that in most cases he uses a straight cut.

No fancy swirly, spinny transitions or masking effects, just straight cuts.

The difference is where and why each cut in being made and what purpose it is serving to the story.

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How to Design J-Cut and L-Cut Transitions in Powerdirector

One of the absolute basics anyone should be learning as a new video editor is the use of J-Cuts and L-Cuts.

You should learn why they are the most common cuts in pro editing and how to do them.

So for the second part of that equation, the how, check out the video below because although they seem kind of simple, they are pretty easy to mess up!

As far as the why goes, heres the short version.

Both the J-Cut and the L-Cut are cut points where either the video cuts just before the audio or the audio cuts just before the video.

Youll see in the demo below which is which so I am not to ramble on about it here!

The reason it is so powerful and is used like flour in a bakery is that they both mimic real life.

In real life, you are constantly receiving visual and auditory information but you are rarely receiving both visual and auditory information from one source at the one time.

If a dog barks at you when you are on the street you will most likely hear the dog before you see the dog.

If you are in a crowded room at a party you will be seeing then hearing then hearing then seeing and only on a very few occasions will the hearing and seeing happen simultaneously.

J-Cuts and L-Cuts reflect that reality of life and provide a very polished and professional edge to your videos without your audience being aware of why that is.

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6 AI Tools That Make Video Editing 10X Faster

These are six tools in PowerDirector that I can totally get onboard with.

Its not because they are A.I and all the cool kids are using them or that they are creating my videos for me!

Its because they do what I want A.I. to do and that is to take boring, repetitive or just plain fiddly tasks off my hands and get them done painlessly.

A.I as a tool for creators and not a replacement of them is where we should be going right now.

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How to Improve Audio Quality in Filmora (4 Easy Steps)

This is a run-through of some of the main audio tools you can find in Filmora 15 at the moment.

I say at the moment because Filmora gets updates pretty fast so who know whats coming next.

Anyway I dont think I need to bang on and on about the importance of audio in video creation.

Its one of those invisible factors to the audience that makes them think something is wrong without really identifying what it is thats wrong.

Whether they realize it or not, they quickly switch off.

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What’s New in Filmora 15.6 – Teleprompter and Pen Tool Animation

When I added the item above, showing the audio tools of Filmora 15, I mentioned half seriously some thing about them updating frequently.

As so here we are! There is a new update to Filmora 15 which takes it to version 15.6.11.

In this new version there are a couple of very interesting enhancements to at least two of the tools already in the program.

The first is that they have added a teleprompter capability to the screen capture module.

This module is actually a stand alone program that you can, obviously, use to capture whatever it is you are doing on you computer screen.

What they have done is add the capability of having a teleprompter style overlay running while you are doing you screen capture.

This is a great feature for people using the program to do demonstration videos who can now read their script or cue sheet while doing the demo.

The second one is very cool and although is presented as an enhancement to the Pen tool (which it is) it is actually a way to manually draw motion paths.

So rather than try to explain it just watch Jacky’s video showing what it can do.

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Fix Wrong Aspect Ratio Color Match Photos with AI! (Easy NoteGPT Tutorial)

Last week I spoke about no longer using A.I. features as part of the selection process for video editing apps.

This week I have another video tutorial showing why I no longer consider A.I. capabilities as being a particularly important part of that process.

These days there are many, many iterations of A.I. models for us to use and each of them have their own specialities, strengths and weaknesses.

Including all of them into an editing program’s interface would just be silly at this point especially given they are all easily accessible online.

So here’s another super quick and effective A.I. workflow from Gripps2211 working inside Corel VideoStudio and using external A.I. to manipulate his assets how he wants.

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Learning Resolve? Don’t Make These Beginner Mistakes!

There are two main hurdles you have to get over if and when you start editing videos for whatever reason.

The first is actually learning how to work your way around the editing software you are going to be using so that you can actually edit!

The second and less obvious is that without a workflow, things can go downhill at an alarming rate!

Knowing where to start and why, followed by the next logical step in the sequence and why will get you to where you want to be way faster and without a whole lot of pain and with your sanity and enthusiasm for the activity (relatively!) intact.

Here’s great video from Casey Faris that walks through each step of the correct sequence and why and gives a great foundation to get you started off right.

On top of that he is also offering access to his free course for beginners which I recommend wholeheartedly.

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VHS Tape Effect – DaVinci Resolve

Like most effect specific tutorials, I always watch and learn from them on the basis that I probably wont actually use that effect!

I know that seems a bit strange but what I am more interested in with these kinds of tutorials is how the effect is achieved, not the effect itself.

I have found over the years that whilst learning how to pull off an effect, you inevitably go through a bunch of steps involving tools and settings within the software.

The key here is to learn the tools and not so much the effect.

This one for example is how to manually recreate an old VHS tape effect.

Personally? Couldnt care less about an old VHS tape effect!

How Daniel gets there? Very interesting.

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Shoot This for Practice

I stumbled upon this great video for this week’s Friday Roundup that I thought might be of interest.

For many of us, we are mainly involved in documenting things with our videos or perhaps just presenting information and that’s fine.

However some of us may be thinking of taking things a bit more towards the creative side of video as well.

In doing so it is very easy to get caught up in the technicalities of shooting video that is more creative.

The key word here is creative, not technical.

So in the video below there are some exercises you can do as a video maker that are designed to strip out the technical and just concentrate on the creative.

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Video Edit by Chat

As I was watching this video showing the new Video Edit by Chat feature in CyberLink PowerDirector, it got me thinking about a few things.

First up, OK, you can manipulate some video to an extreme degree using A.I. these days and we all know that, so thats nice.

But the real light bulb moment for me was when I actually watched this in progress where clearly the video was being uploaded to the A.I. server to be processed.

That made me wonder exactly how much time or effort would I be saving by doing this from inside the video editing app I am using?

Wouldnt it be just as easy to deal directly with the A.I. website myself?

I think these are important points to consider when you are making a choice as to which video editing app you may want to work with.

They are all banging on about A.I. at the moment but really, would you actually use it and if you did, is there really any advantage to having it accessible from inside an editing app you own?

Personally I think its kind of irrelevant and any choice for a video editor should be made on the basis of its ability to just edit the damn video!

Click Here to See the Video

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How to Use a Mask to Change the Texture or Color of a Video Element in PowerDirector

This is a fairly complete demonstration of the masking capabilities available in CyberLink PowerDirector.

More importantly it gives a clear understanding as to why certain masking operations are effective in any video editing app and why sometimes, they are not!

Masking still images is easy but when those pesky things keep moving around like in video, things can take an awkward turn.

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Audio Editing Tips to Improve Your Videos (Filmora Tutorial)

This is a video from the folks at Filmora covering some of the audio tools available now in Filmora 15.

They make a very important point here about getting the audio right in any video you make.

Less than ideal video will always be forgiven if there is interest in the subject and the audio is good.

Conversely, if the video is of high quality with interest in the subject but the audio is bad, just say goodbye to that viewer!

Nine time out of ten the person watching a video with poor audio will not really pinpoint what it is about the video they dont like.

They just get a sense of something being off and they stop watching.

So it really helps to get that audio as good as you can.

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Stop Buying Random Gear for Your YouTube Studio Setup

When most people start out on their video creation journey, they are usually aware that at some point there will have to be a step up in the equipment department!

In fact if you take a quick look around whatever platform you are working on, there will be a ton of things that people promote as being necessary for that quality jump they may be looking for.

Unfortunately, a lot of the time that advice is pretty much random and not really aimed at a sensible progression towards a more professional look.

I know this because I was one of those that was flappin about trying to get my videos looking better.

So in the video below Gabriel covers this subject but more importantly gives a sequence of upgrading that absolutely makes sense.

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How To Film Cinematic Videos on the Samsung s26 Ultra (Ultimate Guide)

For about a year or two now there have been quite a few mobile phones capable of shooting in more advanced modes.

By that I mean shooting with total control over the camera settings and more importantly, shooting in LOG format.

If you are not familiar, LOG files end up being just like the MP4 files you are used to but the method of capturing the information from the camera sensor is very different.

Instead of wasting effort trying to make it all look pretty for you as you shoot, a video file shot in LOG is devoted to capturing the most amount of information possible.

After that, when you import into your editing software, you can then manipulate them to your desire.

The beauty of LOG files is that you can engage in very extreme color corrections, color grading and other adjustments and they take it just fine.

Of course all of this technical stuff tends to make people avoid this type of video file capturing but in reality it is not that complicated.

Check the video below for a run-though which, although dedicated to the Samsung s26 Ultra, covers all the bases when shooting in LOG.

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If I Had a Dime for Every Time a Director Used This Composition

One of the rules of both photographic and video shooting is the the Rule of Thirds.

Simply put it means that you place your subject or the main focus of the frame at a point to the left or right third of that frame leaving the other two thirds more open.

You can read more about following and breaking that rule here: Breaking Composition Rules in Video but there is one particular breaking of that rule discussed below.

That is to have the subject constantly centered in the frame and by doing so a slightly surreal aspect is introduced.

Then, when you use that center shot in conjunction with motion, either by tracking the camera or the subject moving, along a space shaped like a long hallway you have just created a classic shot.

One of the best proponents of this is Wes Anderson who just loves him some center framing although it is used all over the place and for some very good reasons.

Heres why.

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DaVinci Resolve 21 FREE – New Features Effects you dont want to miss

All the talk over the past few weeks about DaVinci Resolve moving up to version 21 has actually been about the paid Studio version of the software.

In fact that version is now at 21.1 I believe having had an update since being released into the wild.

In the meantime the free version has remained at version 20 until… well it appears, until now!

In this video you can get to see what is new and what has been updated in the free version of Resolve 21.

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June 18, 2026

How I’d Fix This Bad Audio (Step-by-Step)

One of the reasons I do all of my color corrections in DaVinci Resolve is that I don’t have to rely on what I see on the computer screen to guide me.

I know that every computer screen, tablet screen or mobile screen is going to display the results differently so what I see on my screen tells me almost nothing.

However, with a simple understanding (like mine!) of the very basic tools in the DaVinci Resolve Color Page plus knowing how to read a few of the scopes, I can color correct and even color grade with confidence.

However when to comes to audio unfortunately there are no equivalent tools you can rely on.

You just have to listen to what you have, know what needs to be fixed and understand which tool is going to do that.

The only way I learned how to do that was to watch people doing it over and over until I could stumble along on my own.

So in the spirit of stumbling around trying to work it all out, here’s someone that actually knows what they are doing!

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Freshen Your Creativity by Experimenting with Templates – PowerDirector

The vast majority of the editing I do these days is for a very small number of clients and pretty much all of that is for online content.

Each one of those clients and myself included understand that the look and feel of those videos has to remain consistently branded because that what the audience expects.

Now that’s all very well for them but for me as an editor it begins to narrow down my outlook on the task of editing so I end up thinking only in terms of what I have been producing recently.

Sometimes I need to break out of that thinking and one of the tricks I use and you can use it too, is to go into whatever video editing software you are using and have scroll through the project templates they offer.

Now don’t get me wrong here, I NEVER use included templates from any program in my projects!

What I do is use those templates as inspiration for ideas to get started on any project where I need to get outside of my own little bubble.

Remember that those software companies paid professional designers to style those templates so they are at least technically correct as a starting point.

Here are some shown in CyberLink PowerDirector.

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How to Remove Video Background Without Green Screen 2026

OK so the bottom line here is that this is a poorly disguised promo for the Movavi Video Editor and includes a little bit of a hatchet job on their competitors… those crazy kids!

Anyway apart from that I have to admit that the results they show are fairly accurate as far as the clip they used goes.

However you also have to take into consideration that all of the A.I. background removers will deal with the task differently so it will very much come down to the clip itself and not the tool.

I have used all of the tools mentioned and have had good and bad results with ALL of them.

At the end of the day I am not (and nor should you!) going to choose video editing software on the basis of available A.I. tools.

All of the A.I tools in any video editing software actually connect to remote services anyway and nine times out of ten, if your usage is low, you are better off dealing directly with one of those A.I. sites.

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Wondershare Filmora 15.5.10: AI Vocal Remover and More

Another week and another update from Filmora, how unusual!

The good news is that they have seemingly caught up with whatever A.I. tools they want to introduce and develop and are back to more practical things.

For example they have added a new system for adjusting the speed of clips and segments within those clips.

You can still use the old Speed Ramping module but this new system offers control from the timeline itself.

Of course they just cant let that A.I. stuff go altogether so there is also new new tool to separate vocals from from an audio track as well!

You can see all the new stuff in action in the video below.

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How to Get Perfect Green Screen Backgrounds Using AI

This is another valuable video in my opinion from Gripps2211 that bridges the gap between legacy editing software like Corel VideoStudio and current AI technology.

One of the reasons I like to add this stuff to the Friday Roundup is that to some degree it counters the idea that you must have all the latest bells and whistles to be editing videos.

Of course thats nonsense but the problem is the marketing tends to turn our brains to mush and we lose sight of the fact that it IS nonsense!

The reality is that there are old iterations of video editing software out there that are more than capable of running on modern machines and have all the tools to be effective.

So the question is, why waste time and money on updating to the very latest and greatest when you could just use that software in conjunction with the vast array of online A.I. tools at no extra cost!

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The 10% Studio Rule

One of first things you may need to address as a content creator for any online service like YouTube is that you may have very limited resources, one of which may in fact be space!

Not all of us have the luxury of a large spare room in out house or apartment we can just set aside for videoing purposes!

In light that here’s another video from GabrielVIP on the subject of maximizing value out of very limited space for shooting content.

This is a particularly good video for that because he goes into shooting distances, lens selection and the arrangement of lighting in detail.

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Making Videos in Resolve 21 – Full Course for Beginners

Well in a move that shocked absolutely no-one, Casey Faris has just release his updated Resolve Course for Beginners.

Similarly unsurprising it is of course free!

Generally speaking Casey does this either annually after Resolve has been updating for a while or whenever a new, full version is released.

This one is as a result of DaVinci Resolve moving from version 20 to 21 with the public release Resolve 21 coming out of Beta in the past week or so.

If you are using Resolve or if you are considering switching to it as your editing program then this is definitely the video for you.

For those that are already using the program this isn’t just an intro to any of the new features or changes to settings etc.

It is great way to take a fresh look at the program from a pros perspective and maybe learn a few new tricks or, like me, find out there was always a much easier way to do something!

For anyone new to Resolve then this is a no-brainer.

There is simply no way you can kind of stumble around the DaVinci Resolve user interface and think that somehow you are going to end up working it all out!

There is just too much going on in there for that to ever happen and all you will probably do is deepen the confusion!

Casey is a great teacher and is always careful to explain things thoroughly as he moves along.

On top of that he also provides free access to download all the assets he uses for each step so you can follow along as he goes.

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How Music and Sound Design Made This Intro Great

This is a video that is quite obviously operating at a level that you and I are probably not operating at!

However I wanted to add it to this weeks Friday Roundup because although the techniques may be a little out of reach, the concepts behind them are major and basic.

We have probably all heard the statement that the most important part of video is audio and this video really shows how that works for real.

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Use This YouTube Video Description Template for More Views Money (2026)

Now I am not saying it is impossible to be successful on YouTube these days but!!!!

The deal is that you have to get just about everything right to even get your foot in the door.

There things that you can control yourself and there are things that remain in the hands of the algorithm gods.

The trick is to take any aspect of the video, your channel or the YouTube interface that you can control and maximize whatever you can.

In the video below you can see exactly how and more importantly, why you should handle the Description section with care and attention.

In the video they mention a link to the template for video descriptions, that link is HERE

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Best SoftBoxes for Under $150

I would like think that my journey in creating reasonably good looking footage for social media content was like a sailing trip through the Bahamas… but that’s not how it really went!

It was probably more like a lost and panicked meltdown dragging myself sobbing through swamps of Louisiana but fortunately I managed to get there in the end.

My two main bugbears when I look back on it all were lighting and audio with most of the other problems I had stemming from one of those two.

I spent hours (weeks?) faffing around with trying to deaden the sound in the place I was videoing before I finally worked out that if just used a modern lav mic with noise canceling, I didn’t need to do any of that!

I use this one Hollyland Lark M2 and of course there are others and I could spend more hours researching in circles but at the end of the day it really does the job.

The other big problem was that although I had a good camera to shoot with, my footage always looked kinda bad.

Again I faffed around with all sorts of settings in the camera and other stuff all to no avail.

Ultimately I discovered I had a lighting problem and not a camera problem and that the answer to that problem was a good quality light on a stand with a softbox.

My choice at the time and what I am using today is this light, the Godox SL60W on a solid lighting stand with a Wellmaking 34 Softbox.

Once I started using that setup, my life became so much easier!

So the thing with softboxes is that there are a gazillion choices out there as far as size, shape and price go so in the video below you can see some choices but more importantly, why certain features may or may not apply to your video style.

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June 4, 2026