I’ve avoided control surfaces for years. I’m not sure why: part of it has to do with the fact that I have edited in so many different locations, on so many different systems for clients and for teaching, that I prefer working with just the keyboard and mouse/trackpad that I know will always be there. I’m also very used to using keyboard shortcuts to speed up my workflow, and just didn’t thing that a piece of hardware could make me faster – and I feared forgetting my shortcuts!

Well I’ve been getting more curious with all the new options coming out over the past few years, and Iain Anderson’s article about the Monogram Creative Console right here on this site, combined with an attractive holiday discount, finally pushed me over the edge: I ordered the “Video Console”, a fairly hefty investment, even with the discount, in order to have 3 separate orbiters specifically to control color grading with wheels in Final Cut Pro.

I love the modularity and sturdiness of the components, and thanks to the integration with Command Post, setup is straightforward and there are an incredible number of commands you can map to buttons, dials, sliders, and other hardware components.

Check out the video above to see how I’m currently using it and let me know if you have found a control surface useful in your own editing or grading workflow.