App Core & Main Menu

Video Controls

Clip Controls

Importing & Exporting

Customize number pad and arrow key shortcut default values for current time frame increments. +-1 frame is default for arrow keys. +-1, 10 and 100 frames for 1, 4, 7 and 3, 6, 9 on number pad.

Video File Queue allows you to add multiple videos into your project, sort their order and even clone/duplicate or delete them. Order is important when merging clips across multiple videos. It also features a plus button to add additional videos and two square arrow buttons to save or load project files.

Clip Queue lists the clips created from the selected video, sort their order and even clone/duplicate or delete or revert them. Order is important when merging clips into a single video. It also features a trash button to remove all clips.

Videos (all formats supported by Apple's AVFoundation... .mp4, .mov, etc... not .webm nor .mkv yet), project files and AUv3 plugin chains can be saved and loaded in Video Barbershop. Currently only .mp4, .mov and .m4v videos are exported. There are audio to video and video to audio conversion tools in the main menu as well, see the App Core & Main Menu column.

Define custom metadata fields to be leveraged as data input fields specific to videos or clips. All fields are text. Metadata can be short text, long text, single choice select or multi-choice select.

Selected video lists details of the video, such as the dimensions, codec, audio details, etc.

You can flag a clip in the Clip Queue. Any clip added or duplicated will be inserted immediately after the flagged clip. (This allows you to create Max Headroom repetitive stutters very easily.)

Exporting controls appear under the Clip Queue when you have at least one clip in the queue. More than one clip and you can merge clips. Clips from two or more videos and you can bulk export all clips. You can export clips as individual files. You can merge clips in a queue into a single file. You can merge all clips from all video into a single fine.

Define custom metadata macros to build complex output strings for reports by reusing logic and recursive references to other macros and metadata fields.

Export As field allows you to customize the selected video's default video filename clips will be exported as. Default is a double-zero padded {export_as}_{clip_index} filename for clips, if not customized in Settings.

If you hold the Opt key ⌥ and click the trash button for a clip, it will revert the clip back to the timeline as a green working clip. The previous clip will be flagged so that if you adjust and clip the working clip again, it will be added back in to its original position in the clip queue.

If you have defined custom metadata report templates, they will appear under the Clip Export controls. Command-click to select and toggle multiple reports to generate. Opt-click ⌥ any of the clips export buttons to generate JUST the reports that would generate when clips are exported that way.

Define custom report templates leveraging the metadata fields and macros, with a separate per file header block and per clip data row. I've developed an extensive markup language allowing for complex recursive logic and formatting with a simple piping flow:

{{variable ? fallback > functions}}

Preview player with current timestamp and scrub controls. Video can be played and paused via spacebar, frames incremented via arrow and number pad keys or mouse scrubbing on video timeline.

Selected clips feature a clip specific timeline as well as their own zoom controls. An additional button row below the clip timeline features clip specific controls and overrides. The preview player switches to play a preview of the clip itself.

Format selection for export allows for:

.mp4

.mov

.m4v

Codec is H.264/AVC for .mp4 and .m4v. Default for .mov is ProRes 4444 (supporting alpha transparency), but H.264, HEVC, ProRes 422, ProRes 422 HQ are also available for .mov.

Define export settings presets, such as video format, resolution, frame rate and bitrate quality, to speed your usual editing pipeline.

Capture video from any camera source your system recognizes. USB devices, webcams, even your iPhone can be used to capture video. Configure the device settings and the exported settings and see previews of the expected capture. Also know how much space it will take up on your hard drive before your start... and while its capturing.

Video timeline with zoom controls and mouse cursor timestamp scrubbing allows you to visualize where in the video clips were clipped from and preview the current video frame. Double-click clips to select them, or double-click a non-clip region to unselect.

Video preview player window pops out allowing you to leverage multiple monitors. Simple buttons allow you to see the preview at the full export size and aspect ratios.

Shift Clip Start/End Times controls bookend the Clip controls button bar. You can adjust the clip's start or end times via the mouse cursor or frame shift buttons. You can also split a clip into two, snap to the nearest clip or absorb the nearest clip, merging the two clips into one.

Resolution selection allows for "same as source" or the following presets:

160 x 120 (QQVGA 4:3)

320 x 240 (QVGA 4:3)

640 x 480 (NTSC/VGA 4:3)

720 x 576 (PAL 4:3)

720 x 480 (WVGA 3:2)

800 x 480 (WVGA 5:3)

800 x 600 (SVGA 4:3)

854 x 480 (SD 480p 16:9)

960 x 720 (720p 4:3)

1024 x 768 (HD XGA 4:3)

1280 x 720 (HD 720p 16:9)

1440 x 1080 (1080p 4:3)

1920 x 1080 (Full HD 1080p 16:9)

2048 x 1080 (IMAX 2K/Xenon)

3840 x 2160 (4K UHD 16:9)

480 x 480 (Square 480p 1:1)

512 x 512 (Square 512p 1:1)

720 x 720 (Square 720p 1:1)

1024 x 1024 (Square 1K 1:1)

1080 x 1080 (Square 1080p 1:1)

2048 x 2048 (Square 2K 1:1)

720 x 1280 (Portrait HD 720p)

1080 x 1350 (Portrait Instagram 4:5)

1080 x 1920 (Portrait Full HD 1080p)

1440 x 2560 (Portrait QHD+ 9:16)

2160 x 3840 (Portrait 4K UHD)

Customize the default file naming conventions for clips, merged clips and all merged clips, leveraging the metadata fields and functions.

Video scoped metadata controls form will allow you to enter values for the video scoped metadata you have define. Things like year of the video, tape quality, location thrifted, content type, etc, can be defined per video.

Clip Fade-In/Out controls bookend inside the Shift Clip controls. You can quickly fade to/from black by a given amount or at the mouse position. Audio is also faded. Advanced controls offer fade color customization options. You can additional fade to transparent, which preserves transparency, or no fade which only fades the audio.

Frame Rate selection allows for "same as source" or the following presets:

23.976 fps (NTSC)

24 fps (Cinema)

25 fps (PAL)

29.97 fps (NTSC)

30 fps

50 fps

59.94 fps (NTSC)

60 fps

Customize the minimum clip length allowed for the commercial break detection auto-clipping controls.

Video Luminance controls allow you to remap video luminance color values across all clips from the video. Advanced controls mode allows for custom settings and a graphical histogram, while regular mode offers simple presets to try to correct poorly captured VHS that appear darker than when viewed on TV, or a best guess calculation to darken blacks and lighten whites.

Clip Metadata form allows you to enter values for your custom defined metadata, scoped to individual clips. Examples might be commercial details, or noting a station stinger, or actors in the clip, etc. In reports, these are how you can set things like titles for YouTube chapter markers.

Quality export selection allows for customizing the video and audio bitrates and sample rates. There are a few presets for common uses, including "same as source" as well as:

Low (VHS LP)

Efficient (DVD)

Balanced (YouTube HD)

High Quality (Blu-ray)

Custom...

Define a clip background color scheme based on clip length to quickly identify different types of clips created from the commercial break detection auto-clipping controls.

Video RGB Hue adjustment controls allow you to adjust the color balance across all clips from the video. The Advanced controls feature a color histogram and expanded controls range.

Clip Luminance override allows you to override the Video Luminance setting for the individual clip.

Custom Quality setting offers a variety of options. The above presets are combinations of the following and can be easily adjusted in the Custom option:

Add videos to your current project. Supported video formats include, but are not limited to .mov (QuickTime), .mp4 (MPEG-4), .m4v (iTunes video), .3gp, .3gpp2. See Apple's information about AVFoundation for the full list or supported formats and codecs.

Video Brightness and Contrast adjustment controls allow you to adjust brightness, contrast, saturation and gamma values for all clips across the video. The Advanced controls feature a color histogram and expanded controls range.

Clip RGB Hue override allows you to override the Video RGB Hue values for the individual clip. Additionally there is a black out button (moon) which reduces the clip to solid black. Keyframe controls are available in the Advanced mode.

Video Bitrate:

2 Mbps (VHS SLP/EP)

3 Mbps (VHS LP)

4 Mbps (VHS SP / DVD Low)

6 Mbps (DVD Quality)

8 Mbps (DVD High / 720p Low)

12 Mbps (YouTube 1080p)

20 Mbps (Blu-ray)

35 Mbps (Broadcast HD)

50 Mbps (Archive Master)

Add videos to your current project from your history of the recently opened videos.

Video Aspect adjust controls allow you to alter the aspect ratio of all clips across the video to conform to the exported dimensions selected. Video is letterboxed by default. You can scale and position the video, with additional preset buttons to fullscreen, original size, set 4:3 aspect ratio, or stretch to fill for convenience.

Clip Brightness & Contrast override allows you to customize the settings for the specific clip. Keyframe controls are available in the Advanced mode.

Audio Bitrate:

96 kbps (Low)

128 kbps (Standard)

160 kbps (Good)

192 kbps (High)

256 kbps (Very High)

320 kbps (Max AAC)

Save and load optional project files. Project files are not required to work on videos in Video Barbershop, unlike many other video editing salons.

Video Audio Drift adjustment allows you to shift the audio track +-500ms for all clips across the video, as a base. Use with the Clips Audio Drift additional adjustment to add custom shifts per clip to fix audio drift across the whole tape.

Clip Aspect Adjustment override allows you to customize the aspect ratio settings per clip. Keyframe controls are available in the Advanced mode. (You can create a flying window transition using these controls and keyframing.)

Sample Rate:

32 kHz (Radio)

44.1 kHz (CD)

48 kHz (Video Standard)

96 kHz (High Quality)

192 kHz (Studio / Archival)

Add files via Finder right-click mouse menu, or drag and drop into the open app.

Clip Controls section features controls to create video clips, and has a button to clip the whole video. Advanced controls add the ability to punch out a clip inside a larger clip, splitting into 3 clips.

Clip Aspect Adjustment override Advanced mode also includes setting a backdrop image. You can replace the video with a single image or apply the image as a backdrop. The image can be set to be affected by other color adjustments, blended with the video, or be unaffected as a backdrop. If set as a backdrop, it will be letterboxed into the dimensions (preserving transparency), unaffected by video scaling.

Channels option allows for Stereo or Mono.

Convert audio file to video menu utility generates an .mp4 video using the audio track, at the resolution and frame rate you desire and 192k audio bitrate.

Commercial Break Detection and auto-clipping controls are found in the Advanced mode of the Clip Controls. Calibrate the base black brightness and silence level then automatically clip the entire video.

Clip Audio Gain controls allow you to adjust the clip volume. There is a mute button, and the Advanced mode features the keyframe controls.

When merging clips from multiple videos, the settings from the FIRST video are used for any of the "Same as Source" export option settings. Yes, actually, you can merge different videos from different types of sources, like a portrait iPhone video with a clip from a VHS tape at 640x480... it just works, as Apple is fond of saying.

Convert video file to audio menu utility generates an audio file of your preferred format with a full range of customizable audio settings, or simply choose from a few basic preset combinations. Among the presets is one specific to WhisperX and audio optimized for subtitle translation... if you are into that kind of thing.

Screenshot Camera button is the final button in the Video Controls buttons bar. This saves a .png image of the current video or clip being previewed. The image will be fully representative of the exported video if a clip is currently selected (text overlay, watermarking, etc). Transparency is also preserved.

Clip Audio Drift controls allow you to add an additional shift to the audio track +-500ms for the clip. This is in addition to the shift applied in the Video Audio Drift controls.

Open a diagnostics window to show performance and inner workings details if things are getting wonky... help to send to me to help diagnose bugs for future fixes.

Is anyone actually going to read this? I will be shocked. Give me a buzz on Bluesky if you are this criminally insane.

Clip Audio Unit v3 plugin chain controls allow you to build an AUv3 plugin processing chain to affect the audio. Apple's Audio Unit system and 3rd party plugins are available to you to clean audio, remove clicks and hums, add distortion effects, etc. You can also save and load plugin chains for quick use in future projects.

Extensive Help information window for all the controls in Video Barbershop, including a separate window for the metadata report template language.

Audio Spectral Analysis visualizer is available in the Clip Audio Unit plugin chain controls. Color coded EQ Equalizer bands overlay over the preview video with coloring and frequencies matching the AUGraphicEQ plugin. This is NOT a normal Graphic EQ, it is vertical with two sides, left side is closer to traditional power levels, but tuned more to what you hear, while the right side represents changes in power... allowing you to find the frequencies where clicks exist... then eliminate them with the AUGraphicEQ plugin.

Each control section in Video Barbershop (video controls and clip controls) offer Help Info word bubble button in the lower-right corner with information and tips and tricks for using those controls.

Clip Video Enhancement controls feature simple presets to sharpen SP, LP and SLP/EP VHS tapes with degraded video clarity. Advanced mode features finer controls for Denoise, Sharpen and Sharpen Radius, as well as keyframe controls. This is not AI "magically enhance" your video controls. VHS will always look bad... embrace those flaws and enjoy that nostalgic charm... but these controls can make it look better.

Each controls section may have Advanced/Regular controls button in the lower-left corner. Streamlining controls for regular users, but offering more options for advanced users.

Clip Watermark controls allow you can layer an image above the clip's video. It is designed as a simple overlay frame, assuming you have a transparent .png fitted as you need. Scale, position and change the transparency and blending modes in the Advanced controls, if not. (Can be used as a watermark, correcting glitches, or even a fast transition by using the previous clip's last frame, and keyframing it away.)

Social media links to YouTube, Reddit, Instagram and Bluesky can be found in the Help main menu.

Clip Text Overlay allows you to apply and position text over your clip. Customize the font, color, position, drop shadow and background color. Advanced mode opens up more controls and features keyframe controls. I've added a unique "typing" feature that keyframe lerps between empty text and full text by typing out each letter. Pushing out the settings to all clips only updates the settings, not the text itself, so you can change the style easily across all your clips. Add subtitles or bottom thirds. Also supports emojis.

Slider input controls feature up and down arrow buttons to increment values by one unit at a time, while the text display itself is selectable and editable directly as well.

Many controls have a special [+📚] button. This will duplicate the settings for that control to ALL clips in the currently selected video. Holding the Opt key ⌥ will switch to [+📚📚] which duplicates the settings to ALL clips in ALL videos.

Many Clip controls feature Keyframe controls in the Advanced mode for that control, in the top right. You can keyframe settings and lerp from one to the other in a couple standard ways: step, linear, ease in, ease out, ease in and out. Move the cursor to a new position in the clip and add a keyframe. A keyframe will automatically be added to the start of the clip too. Toggle the lerp mode button, and note the transition is applied from the previous keyframe INTO the current keyframe.