The MacBook Neo is an incredibly affordable laptop with a seriously powerful A18 Pro chip inside. But here’s the catch: Apple thermally throttles that chip to keep temps in check, and it slows it down significantly. Today I’m going to show you how to fix that with a simple $10 mod that can improve performance by 10 to 20%.

Baseline Performance Before the Mod

Before touching anything, let’s establish what the Neo can do out of the box.

Video export test: Exporting a 10-minute video in DaVinci Resolve at 4K, 50 Mb/s takes 11 minutes and 30 seconds. The performance cores hover around 2.2 GHz because the MacBook immediately throttles once it hits 100°C.

Gaming test (3DMark Solar Bay Extreme): This benchmark tests graphics performance for higher-end games with ray tracing. The Neo scored a “Good” rating with an average frame rate of 8.8fps and a max of 11fps.

Dropping the ray tracing and running the regular Solar Bay (not extreme) gave a “Great” rating with a much better average of 28.7fps and a max around 35fps. Worth noting: the Neo has an A18 Pro, not the newer A19 with improved ray tracing.

The Neo isn’t slow by any means, but if you’re doing pro work or gaming on this thing, it’s leaving performance on the table. Let’s fix that.

What You Need

This mod costs about $10 in materials. Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1.5mm thick thermal pad at Amazon
• Pentalobe screwdriver at Amazon (for the bottom screws on the MacBook)

How to Do the Thermal Mod

Flip the Neo over with the trackpad facing you. Unscrew all the bottom screws, keeping in mind that the 2 screws near the trackpad in the bottom middle are slightly longer than the rest. Set those aside separately so you know exactly where they go back.

To remove the bottom panel, just slide it backwards away from you and it pops right off. No drama.

Here’s the good news: you don’t need to remove anything else. Look at the strip along the top of the interior and that’s your entire motherboard. The CPU and GPU are located on a chip roughly in the center of that strip.

Cut a piece of thermal pad approximately 3 to 4 inches long by 2 inches wide. The thermal pad already has adhesive on it, so peel the backing and stick it directly onto the motherboard over the chip.

That’s literally it. Pop the bottom panel back on, screw everything back in, and you’re done.

Why This Works

By adding this thermal pad, you’re dramatically increasing the cooling surface area of the laptop. The CPU is now essentially in contact with the aluminum case of the laptop, turning that aluminum body into a giant heat sink.

Yes, the bottom of your laptop will run warmer. But in all of my testing, it’s not uncomfortably warm and won’t damage anything. All you’re doing is warming up a chunk of metal.

Performance Results After the Mod

Here’s where things get interesting.

Video export test: That same 10-minute 4K DaVinci Resolve export now takes 10 minutes and 31 seconds, with performance cores holding a higher 3 GHz thanks to reduced thermal throttling. That’s about a 10% speed improvement for $10 in materials.

Gaming test (3DMark Solar Bay Extreme): The modded Neo jumped to an “Excellent” rating with an average of 9.9fps and a max of 25fps. That’s roughly a 20% performance improvement in graphics.

Regular Solar Bay: Also scored “Excellent” with an average of 31.3fps and a max around 38fps.

A 10 to 20% performance boost for $10 is genuinely awesome. I’m a big fan of this mod.

What About the Warranty?

If you’re worried about voiding your warranty, I wouldn’t stress too much. If you ever have an issue and need to bring it into an Apple Store, just open the Neo back up and remove the thermal pad before you go. No harm done.

Want to Get More Out of Your MacBook?

If you want to know which MacBooks I actually recommend for creative work like video editing, check out my M5 MacBook Buyer’s Guide for Video Editing and my M5 MacBook Pro review for video editors.

And if you want to level up your actual editing skills, grab my Edit Videos Like a Pro guide. It’s completely free and covers the biggest rules I follow to create better videos.

The MacBook Neo has been getting a lot of attention lately, and honestly it makes sense why. You can pick one up for $600 brand new, or as low as $500 with an education discount. Meanwhile, a refurbished M4 MacBook Air will run you around $760. So with a $160 to $260 price gap between these two computers, is it worth saving up for the Air, or should you just go with the Neo?

That’s exactly what this post is going to cover. I tested both laptops using DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and Final Cut Pro, so let’s get into it.

Specs Overview

First, let’s talk about what we’re working with. The MacBook Neo I tested is the base model, rocking Apple’s A18 Pro chip, a 256 GB SSD, and 8 GB of RAM. That’s also the maximum RAM it supports, since you can’t upgrade it. Eight gigs is not a lot.

The M4 MacBook Air I’m comparing it to is a slight step up from the base config. It has a small GPU upgrade from 8 cores to 10 cores, 512 GB of storage, and most importantly, 16 GB of RAM. Twice what the Neo offers.

Screen Quality

Screen quality matters a lot for photo and video work, and this is one area where the two laptops actually differ quite a bit. Both the Neo and the Air hit 500 nits of brightness, which looks great. But when I tested them with a Spyder color calibrator, the results were clear: the Neo covers 98% of sRGB and 73% of P3, while the Air covers 100% of both sRGB and P3.

For most video editors working in the sRGB color space, both laptops will look fine. But if you want to do any advanced color work or edit in HDR where you need to see a wider range of colors, the MacBook Air is the better choice.

Ports

Both laptops have two USB-C ports, but they’re not equal. On the MacBook Air, both ports are Thunderbolt. On the Neo, one port is USB 3 and the other is USB 2.0. In practical terms, this means you can copy footage from a memory card using either port on the Air, but on the Neo you’ll want to stick to the rear port for faster transfer speeds.

DaVinci Resolve Performance

I loaded the same project on both laptops in DaVinci Resolve, a mix of 4K, 6K, and RAW footage. The Neo handled playback well overall, but scrubbing through 6K and 8K Open Gate footage showed some lag, about half a second to a full second of delay as the slower processor and SSD tried to keep up.

The M4 MacBook Air, on the other hand, played back and scrubbed through everything smoothly, including Open Gate and RAW clips, with zero slowdown. I’ve been using this laptop for over a year and it still impresses me every time.

Render speeds told an even bigger story. Exporting a 10-minute video with all that footage took the Neo 11 minutes and 31 seconds. The M4 MacBook Air did the same export in 5 minutes and 18 seconds. Roughly half the time.

If you want to learn more about what makes DaVinci Resolve run well on Mac, check out my M4 MacBook Air long-term review for video editing.

Premiere Pro Performance

Premiere Pro is a different story. In my experience, it prefers a faster processor and more RAM, and the Neo’s 8 GB showed its limits here. Scrubbing around the timeline was noticeably rougher than in Resolve.

Rendering that same 10-minute video in Premiere Pro took the Neo 1 hour, 10 minutes, and 8 seconds. That’s not a typo. Dramatically slower than Resolve on the same machine.

The M4 MacBook Air handled the same render in 11 minutes and 18 seconds. Slower than Resolve, yes, but still very reasonable. The extra 8 GB of RAM and faster processor made a big difference, though I’ll be honest, Premiere isn’t quite as smooth as Resolve on either machine.

Final Cut Pro Performance

Final Cut Pro is legendary for running well on pretty much every Mac, and the Neo is no exception. It struggled a little with Open Gate and RAW footage while scrubbing, just like in Resolve, but it was still usable.

The M4 MacBook Air handled Final Cut like a breeze. The only real hangup I noticed was with RED RAW footage, which is a hardware encoder limitation for that specific codec, not really a knock on the laptop overall.

In terms of render times: the Neo finished in 12 minutes and 18 seconds. The MacBook Air came in at 4 minutes and 10 seconds, which was actually faster than both Resolve and Premiere on the same machine. Impressive.

So Which One Should You Buy?

Here’s my honest take: if you are truly on a tight budget and $500 is your limit, the Neo is still a capable machine. It can handle real video editing work and it’s not a bad laptop by any stretch.

But if you can save up an extra couple hundred dollars, the M4 MacBook Air is the better choice for video editing. You get significantly more power, twice the RAM, a better screen, better ports, and much faster render times. The difference in real-world editing performance is substantial, especially in Premiere Pro where the Neo really struggled.

If you’re still figuring out which Mac makes the most sense for your budget and workflow, check out my M5 MacBook buyer’s guide for video editing, which walks through several price points and what you actually get at each one.

And if you want to make better videos regardless of what laptop you’re editing on, grab my free Edit Videos Like a Pro guide. It’s completely free and it covers my biggest rules for creating better edits.

Using your Sony camera as a webcam is as easy as connecting a USB cable from your camera to your computer. Seriously! No capture card required, and this works on both Windows and Mac. In this guide I’m going to cover all the settings and show you the best ones for the highest quality.

I’m using a Sony a7S III for this tutorial, but this applies to basically all Sony cameras: the a7V, a7IV, a7C II, FX3, FX30, and more.

Step 1: Update Your Camera Firmware

The first thing you need to do is make sure your camera is running at least firmware 5.0. That’s the version where Sony added the USB streaming feature. Download the firmware update from Sony’s website, grab your camera and a memory card, and it takes about three minutes. Easy.

Step 2: Get the Right USB Cable

Once your firmware is updated, you’ll need your camera, a computer, and a USB cable. Here’s the important part: you need at least a USB-C SuperSpeed 3.2 cable if you want the maximum video resolution and quality.

The webcam feature will technically work with a slower USB 2.0 cable (like one that comes with an iPhone), but your resolution will be limited to 720p at 30fps. The camera will actually warn you about this when you plug it in. So grab a fast USB-C cable.

Step 3: Set the Camera to USB Streaming Mode

Before you connect the camera to your computer, open the menu and do the following:

Go to the yellow setup toolbox, then USB, then USB Connection Mode, and select USB Streaming.

While you’re in there, also make sure USB Power Supply is turned on. This way your computer will power the camera through the cable and keep the battery from dying during a long call or stream.

Exit the menu, plug one end of the USB-C cable into your camera and the other into your computer.

The first time you do this, the camera will show a message saying the USB streaming function always operates in movie mode. If you don’t want this to pop up every time, check the “Don’t Show This Again” box and press OK. Your computer may also ask if you want to allow the connection. Press Allow.

Step 4: Select Your Camera in Your App

With everything connected, open whatever app you use for video calls: Zoom, Google Meet, OBS, anything. Your Sony camera should appear as a webcam option. Select it and it’s immediately working. The camera screen will show HD1080P 30P in the top left corner.

But if you want the highest quality, including 4K, there are a few more settings to tweak.

How to Enable 4K USB Streaming

You might try going to the Image Quality/Recording menu to change the resolution, but those settings will be grayed out when USB streaming is active. Instead, here’s where to go:

Go to the green network globe icon, then Streaming, then USB Streaming. From here you can change the output resolution and frame rate up to 4K at 30fps.

One quick note: I would skip the 4K 15P option. 15 frames per second looks terrible. I honestly have no idea why Sony includes it.

How to Record While Streaming at the Same Time

Still inside that same USB Streaming menu, you’ll see a setting called Movie Record During Streaming. Enable this and the camera will output your live stream while simultaneously recording a separate video file to the memory card.

This is super useful if you want to stream at a lower resolution for reliability while also capturing a higher quality recording to upload later or hand off to a client.

When this setting is enabled, you can go back to the red shooting camera menu under Image Quality/Recording and change the recording format to 10-bit, which will be much higher quality than what you’re streaming.

How to Control the Look of Your Image

Unfortunately, you can’t enable S-Log3 for live streaming, so you won’t get the full dynamic range you would when recording normally. If you want to learn more about shooting in S-Log3, check out my post on my favorite Sony picture profile.

But you do have some control over the look of your image, and these settings apply to both the live stream and the recorded video to the memory card.

Go to the pink Exposure/Color menu, then Color/Tone. From here, you can access the Creative Look menu, which has a bunch of presets that tweak contrast and saturation.

My recommendation is to choose Neutral (NT), and then press the right button on the back of the camera to bring up individual sliders for contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation, sharpness, and clarity.

Here are my specific settings:

• Contrast: 0
• Highlights: -5
• Shadows: -2
• Sharpness: 4
• Clarity: 0

This gives you a punchy, high-contrast image without being oversaturated or over-sharpened. Basically, it’s going to look dramatically better than any webcam you’ve ever used before.

Want to Go Even Deeper on Your Sony Camera Settings?

If you want to get your Sony camera completely dialed in for video, check out my post on the best Sony a7S III and FX3 menu settings. And if you’re serious about getting the most out of your camera, my Edit Videos Like a Pro guide will help you take that footage and turn it into something you’re really proud of.

You’re filming a wedding. Awesome.

But what shots do you actually need to capture to create an incredible wedding film?

That’s exactly what this guide is going to show you. This is the complete wedding videography shot list that I’ve refined over 15+ years of filming weddings.

Download your free shot list PDF here:
https://get.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

Save it to your phone or print it out so you never miss a moment on a wedding day.

Why You Still Need a Shot List

You’ll hear people say that wedding films are art and shouldn’t be boxed into a checklist.

That sounds nice… but it’s not practical.

Every wedding has critical moments you cannot miss. You would never stop recording before the kiss, right?

This shot list is your foundation. It guarantees you capture everything essential. Then your creativity builds on top of it.

Think of this as the minimum coverage required for a great wedding film.

Download it here before we dive in:
https://get.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

The Core Framework: Wide, Medium, Tight

This is the most important concept in this entire guide.

For everything you film, get:

• Wide shot
• Medium shot
• Tight shot

If you follow this rule, editing becomes dramatically easier because you always have variety.

1. Establishing Shots

Start every location with establishing shots.

These shots tell your audience where they are and provide context.

• Drone wide shots of venue
• Gimbal shots walking in
• Medium shots with foreground elements
• Tight shots of details like architecture

If you’re using a gimbal for these shots, this will help you get smoother footage:
how to use a gimbal

If there are multiple locations, you need establishing shots for each one.

2. Groom Prep

Start by establishing the room using your wide, medium, tight framework.

Then capture:

• Groom interacting with groomsmen
• Laughing, talking, joking
• Putting on dress shirt (window light is best)
• Cufflinks
• Tie adjustments
• Jacket going on

Pro tip: Always get a mix of wide, medium, and tight for each action.

Moody Thoughtful Shots

This is one of the most powerful shots you can get.

Have the groom:

• Look out a window
• Look down
• Look at camera

These shots become emotional storytelling gold during editing.

If he wrote a letter or you want to do a quick interview, this is the perfect time.

3. Bride Prep

Same structure:

• Establish the room
• Show the bride early
• Capture interactions with bridesmaids

Hair & Makeup Rules

Only film the second half of the process.

Avoid:

• Hair extensions
• Fake eyelashes
• Contour application

Focus on:

• Hairspray
• Lipstick
• Final touch-ups

More Moody Shots

Before the dress goes on, get those same emotional shots of the bride.

This is also the best time for:

• Letter reading
• Interview

Dress Shots

• Zipper going up
• Mom or maid of honor helping
• Bridesmaids’ reactions to the dress

4. First Look

This is one of the most emotional parts of the day.

Capture:

• Groom waiting (moody shots)
• Bride walking up (gimbal works great)
• Reaction from both

Huge tip: You can ask the bride to pause so you can reposition. You are allowed to direct.

If possible, have:

• One camera on groom
• One camera on bride

Then let the moment breathe. Capture everything naturally.

5. Ceremony

Start with establishing shots:

• Empty ceremony space
• Guests arriving
• Hugs and greetings

Processional

• Front aisle angle
• 50mm lens works great
• Capture everyone walking in

Main Ceremony

• Two tripod cameras (both sides)
• Close-ups during vows
• Reaction shots of family

The Kiss & Exit

• Center aisle for the kiss
• Walk backward filming exit

Do not stop recording.

The celebration right after is one of the best moments of the entire day.

6. Portraits

Focus on movement, not just poses.

• Walking together
• Spinning
• Dipping
• Hands running along arms
• Kissing shoulder

You can get all of this in about 5 minutes.

7. Reception

Establishing + Details

• Wide of room
• Centerpieces
• Decor details

Grand Entrance

• Wedding party
• Couple entrance
• Wide + tight shots

Dances

• Wide for context
• Tight for emotion

Toasts

• Speaker close-up
• Guest reactions

Events

• Cake cutting
• Bouquet toss
• Garter toss

Dance Floor

Go handheld and keep moving.

• Medium and tight shots
• 20 to 30 seconds per group
• Work around the floor in a circle

Watch for:

• Important guests
• High energy moments
• Dance circles

8. Exit Shots

Could be:

• Sparklers
• Bubbles
• Glow sticks

Capture:

• Guests lined up
• Close-ups of props
• Couple walking through
• Wide shot of car leaving

Final Thoughts

If you capture everything on this list, you will have everything you need to create an incredible wedding film.

This shot list removes stress, gives you confidence, and lets you focus on being creative.

Download the full shot list here:
https://get.whoismatt.com/weddingshotlist

Save it to your phone and use it at every wedding.

If you want to go deeper into editing your footage, check out my full guide:
Edit Videos Like A Pro

If you want your Instagram Reels to look as sharp and professional as possible in 2026, your export settings matter more than ever.

In this guide, I’ll walk you step-by-step through the best export settings in Adobe Premiere Pro, plus a few critical phone-side tweaks that most creators completely miss.

I’ve also created free custom sequence presets, export presets, and a safe zone template to make this process even easier.

Let’s jump in.

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Step 1: Set Up the Correct Sequence Settings

Before exporting, your sequence needs to be correct.

When creating a new sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro, use:

• Resolution: 1080 x 1920 (Vertical 9:16)
• Frame Rate :
  • 23.976 fps
  • 29.97 fps
  • 59.94 fps

Choose the frame rate that matches your footage.

As of mid-2025, Instagram supports native playback from 24fps up to 60fps, so you no longer have to worry about forced 24 → 30fps conversion.

For this example, we’ll assume 23.976fps.

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Step 2: Use a Safe Zone Template (Very Important)

Instagram overlays buttons and UI elements over your Reel. If your text or important visuals are too close to the edges, they will get covered.

That’s why I recommend using a safe zone overlay template.

Simply:

1. Place it on a layer above your edit.
2. Position your text and important elements inside the safe area.
3. Disable the overlay before exporting.

This alone will make your content look more professional.

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Step 3: Best Export Settings in Premiere Pro

To export:

• Go to Export
• Or press Command + M / Control + M

Format

Choose:

HEVC (H.265)

Why? Because most modern smartphones record in H.265, and Instagram expects this format.

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Basic Video Settings

Click Match Source to pull in:

• 1920 x 1080 (Full HD vertical)
• Correct frame rate
• Progressive
• Square pixels (1.0)

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Advanced Quality Settings

Click More…

Enable:

• ✅ Render at Maximum Depth
• ✅ Use Maximum Render Quality

These improve overall clarity.

For Performance, choose:

• Hardware Encoding (if available)

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Step 4: The Perfect Bitrate

This is critical.

You want:

• High enough bitrate for quality
• Low enough to avoid unnecessarily massive file sizes

Recommended Bitrates

• 24fps or 30fps: 30 Mbps
• 60fps: 50 Mbps

This matches or slightly exceeds what phones typically record at.

For Bitrate Encoding:

• Choose VBR, 1 Pass

Why not Constant Bitrate?

On Mac, Constant Bitrate can force software encoding, dramatically slowing export times.

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Step 5: Transfer to Your Phone

After exporting:

• Use AirDrop (Mac)
• Or Dropbox (works on everything)

Now comes the part most people skip.

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The Secret to Even Higher Quality on Instagram

You should NOT upload your Reel directly through Instagram.

Instead, Instagram prioritizes uploads through their Edits app.

Step 1: Open the Edits App

Import your finished video.

You do NOT need to re-edit anything.

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Step 2: Export at 4K (Yes, Even Though It’s 1080p)

Inside the Edits app:

• Choose 4K at 30fps

Even if your video is 1080p.

Why?

Because exporting in 4K forces Instagram to allocate a higher bitrate when re-encoding your video, preserving more detail.

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Step 3: Send Directly to Instagram

This is crucial.

You must press:

Send to Instagram

If you export to camera roll and upload manually, you will not get the quality boost.

When done correctly, Instagram will automatically process your video at higher quality.

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Final Checklist for Maximum Reel Quality

✅ Sequence: 1080 x 1920
✅ Frame rate matches footage
✅ Export in HEVC (H.265)
✅ 30 Mbps (24/30fps) or 50 Mbps (60fps)
✅ VBR 1 Pass
✅ Maximum Depth + Maximum Render Quality
✅ Use Edits app
✅ Export as 4K
✅ Send directly to Instagram

Do all of this, and your Reels will look noticeably sharper than most creators on the platform.

If you want the free presets and safe zone template, grab them here.

And if you found this helpful, make sure you check out my other export guides!