Final Cut Books - Page 3

Final Cut Pro 5 Hands-On Training

Larry Jordan

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A fine companion for the beginner or intermediate Final Cut Pro 5 user 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Summary: A fine companion for the beginner or intermediate Final Cut Pro 5 user.

The Book:
Final Cut Pro (FCP) is a complex swiss army knife of an edit program and can be very intimidating to a beginner. There seems to be way too many layers, windows and other sharp objects on which to cut yourself. But once you appreciate its potential, you will put imovie in your old cigar box of treasures and only bring it out to share with the grandkids.

This book guides you through the maze with agility and style. The author, Larry Jordan, is an Apple Certified Trainer who specializes in FCP and DVD Studio Pro. He is a veteran producer, director, and editor of corporate and network programs. He prides himself as a teacher and it shows in the more than 70 step-by-step Final Cut tutorials and fourteen quicktime movies. He has refined his teaching in his workshops and takes pride in presenting the information in a friendly, organized manner. Larry seems to be one of those tireless types. I'll leave it at that.

The book is part of a H.O.T. (Hands On Training) series presented by publisher lynda.com/books. The founder, Lynda Weinman, a web graphics and design veteran, wrote the very first industry book on web design, Designing Web Graphics, way back in 1995.

"The best tip in the book is that FCP gives you lots of different ways to accomplish the same task... just learn the ones that make you productive so you can forget about how the tool works and concentrate on telling your stories."
Larry Jordan

The book's chapters walk you through the entire process, from organizing and editing to outputting your project. The title page of each chapter shows a table of exercises and a summary of what you'll learn. You follow along with each exercise with the FCP project files and media located on the companion DVD-ROM. Each chapter closes with a list of helpful keyboard shortcuts and a summary of what was covered.

Throughout the book are shaded boxes and pointers identifying features that are new to FCP 5, power tips, warnings, etc. The graphic design, layout, paper texture, etc., are all very pleasing and evoke the attention to detail found in every aspect of the book.

Also on the companion DVD are the fourteen movies of Larry talking us through various aspects FCP, including capturing media, filters and multi-clip editing. Each one is about fifteen minutes and all are helpful in grasping some of the more complex features of FCP. One of the movies I especially liked was Larry's demonstration of slip/slide and ripple/roll edit features. His description helps differentiate the tools and describes when to use each.

Even though there are brief exercises on bringing files into Soundtrack Pro and LiveType, the 478 page book deals only with FCP not the other applications found in Final Cut Suite.

This book is for beginner and intermediate users of FCP. It provides a solid foundation and fills in a lot of holes if you're self-taught. It is written as if you are attending one of Larry's classes, very conversational and punctuated with his opinions and personal preferences. If you like his style, you'll like the book.

I highly recommend Final Cut Pro 5 Hands-On Training to anyone wanting to learn Final Cut Pro.

PRO: Best book I've seen for beginning FCP training. A treasure.

CON: Who has time to go through it all, plus the movies. Just have to pace yourself.
NOTE: This is written my Jim Jewell and I'm posting it

Editorial Review:

With a multicam tool that lets you cut from more than 100 sources, real-time high-quality effects viewing made possible by Dynamic RT, the ability to capture more than 20 simultaneous audio channels, and more, it’s no wonder you can’t wait to start using Final Cut Pro 5. This hands-on guide will get you going! Using a series of project-based tutorials, veteran director, trainer, and author Larry Jordan guides you through every stage of video editing. His real-world experiences coupled with step-by-step lessons involving real projects, will help you quickly advance your editing skills and gain experience using Final Cut Pro 5. By working alongside the book and using the exercise files and QuickTime movies provided on the accompanying DVD, you’ll quickly progress through the basics and on to more advanced topics like creating transitions, animation, and titles, and choosing among filter and rendering options. 

Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Editing Techniques in Final Cut Pro 5 (Apple Pro Training)

Michael Wohl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In the only Apple-certified guide to advanced video editing techniques, award-winning filmmaker Michael Wohl delivers comprehensive training in the real-world skills that professionals use every day. Working through six hours of superb raw footage on two DVD-9 discs, you’ll learn to cut dialogue, action, comedy, chases, fights, interviews, documentaries, music videos, and multi-camera projects, as well as complete an entire audio mix.

Unlike other software books, Wohl teaches you to use Final Cut Pro’s advanced features while you explore the art of crafting a story on film. So, for example, rather than just learn how dynamic trimming works, you’ll learn why it works and in what situations you’d want to use it. And as you perfect your split edits, you’ll learn to match angles, cut for reactions, and use cutaways and inserts effectively in dialogue. You’ll discover how editing choices make comedy funny, drama moving, or chases suspenseful. Along the way, Wohl shares valuable tips on creating polished transitions, refining rough edits, and fixing screen direction errors. The book also covers audio editing and finishing, managing clips and media, transcoding video, and working with film and 24p—all in the context of making you a better editor and a more effective storyteller.

• DVD-ROM includes lesson and media files for over 40 hours of training
• Focused lessons take you step-by-step through practical, real-world projects
• Accessible writing style puts an expert instructor at your side
• Ample illustrations and keyboard shortcuts help you master techniques fast
• Lesson goals and time estimates help you plan your time
• Chapter review questions summarize what you’ve learned


The Apple Pro Training Series is both a self-paced learning tool and the official curriculum of the Apple Pro Training and Certification Program. Upon completing the course material in this book, you can become a certified Apple Pro by taking the certification exam at an Apple Authorized Training Center. To find an Authorized Training Center near you, go to www.apple.com/software/pro/training.


About the Author
Michael Wohl is best known as one of the principal designers of Final Cut Pro, a role he held for more than five years. As a director and editor, he has won numerous awards including the coveted CINE Golden Eagle award in 1993. Michael’s films have been featured in film festivals worldwide, and his first feature, “WANT,” will be released on DVD in 2006. He has taught classes on editing, directing, and digital filmmaking at institutions including the American Film Institute, UCLA, and Pixar University, and has been a featured speaker at film festivals and conferences including DV Expo, South by Southwest, and Macworld Expo.

Apple Pro Training Series: Advanced Color Correction and Effects in Final Cut Pro 5 (Apple Pro Training)

Alexis Van Hurkman, DigitalFilm Tree

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Final Cut Pro is a serious tool for serious (usually professional) editors. If you're like most users, you already know the software's interface, are well-versed in editing basics, and are interested in just one thing: going as deep as possible with the software's tools and features. In this comprehensive guide, award winning experts from post-production house DigitalFilm Tree deliver hard-to-find training in real-world color correction and effects techniques using Final Cut Pro 5 . With the help of these experts, you'll learn invaluable advanced effects techniques, including motion and filter effects, keying and compositing, creating animated titles and how to apply effects to nested sequences. In the extensive color correction section of the book, hands-on tutorials will guide you through scene-to-scene color matching, and correcting for broadcast specifications. Finally, you'll learn to harness LiveType's capabilities (and media library) to create professional and compelling opening titles. Each chapter in this self-paced, Apple-authorized guide represents a self-contained lesson, with a project to complete, a review section, and bonus exercises to reinforce what you've learned. The accompanying DVD includes lesson files and all the materials you'll need to complete the book's projects.

Alexis Van Hurkman is a writer, director, visual effects artist, and colorist. He was also the lead writer of the Final Cut Pro User Manual for versions 2,3, and 4, and of the Shake User Manual for versions 3.5 and 4. As a postproduction artist, Alexis has contributed effects for and color corrected a wide variety of commercial and independent projects, including a collaboration with Harrel Fletcher and Elizabeth Meyer on The Forbidden Zone. Most recently he completed the feature Four Weeks, Four Hours (www.alexisvanhurkman.com)

DigitalFilm Tree is a research and development-based post production facility, specializing in cutting edge digital workflows and consulting services. Located in Hollywood, California, DigitalFilm Tree’s credits include Miramax’s “Cold Mountain”, Fox-Searchlight’s “Napoloen Dynamite”  and NBC’s hit show “Scrubs” . For this book DigitalFilm Tree engaged some of its top color correction and effects experts for contributions and feedback (www.digitalfilmtree.com)

Final Cut Pro 4 Bible

Zed Saeed, J. J. Marshall, Jeffrey Chong

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

If Final Cut Pro 4 can do it, you can do it too...

If you’re serious about video editing, this book and Final Cut Pro 4 are the tools you need. The QuickStart tutorial lets you get your feet wet right away. If you already have some experience, dive right into organizing media, editing, color correcting, rendering, creating final output, and more. You’ll learn all about video editing fundamentals, and you’ll discover how Final Cut Pro 4 turns your Mac with OS X into a professional studio.

Inside, you’ll find complete coverage of Final Cut Pro 4

• Understand the fundamentals of video editing and what makes a quality production
• Navigate the revised Final Cut Pro interface and customize the Preferences, Easy Setup, and Preset functions
• Capture and organize media and manage your projects with the Browser window
• Use media management tools, work with sound, and use Soundtrack, Apple’s new sound editing application
• Animate text with LiveType and work with transitions
• Explore how Final Cut Pro 4 works with analog video in broadcast situations
• Use Final Cut Pro with Photoshop and After Effects®, and edit film with Cinema Tools
• Learn to troubleshoot Final Cut Pro 4

Bonus DVD includes

• All media required to complete the QuickStart tutorial
• Adobe® Photoshop®, After Effects®, and Illustrator® tryout versions
• Demo versions of Joe’s Filters, Boris FX, Boris CONTINUUM COMPLETE, CGM DVE, and Aurora Sky, plus more

Final Cut Pro 5 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide

Lisa Brenneis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Final Cut Pro already outdated or is it? 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great hands-on manual but the FCP 6 book just came out. The reality is there aren't enough changes to make this version obsolete. If you still need a manual to work in FCP then this version will get you 99% of the way.

Long time Premiere Pro User 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I recently upgraded to the Mac Pro System from my PC for my digital editing and I needed the Final Cut Pro System but since I was not familiar with the system I needed a little assistance navigating through the programs so that I can use it effectively. I am so pleased with the purchase of this book. It is so through and even though I have been editing for years it is still useful for me when it comes to navigating and using advanced features of Final Cut Pro. You do not have to be an avid reader to appreciate this book and nor do you have to be a pro to appreciate the book because you can skip through and target your weaknesses because the the book is laid out just that way. A smart buy for the novice to the intermediate.

Editorial Review:

This newly updated guide from Lisa Brenneis, an undisputed master of the digital video medium, provides task-based, step-by-step instructions along with loads of visuals and time-saving tips that will help busy readers quickly find what they need to know about Final Cut Pro. Topics covered include essential editing operations and media-management strategies, transitions and motion effects, filters, rendering options, and more. This must-have reference also addresses features new to version 5: including higher quality effects, RT Extreme with Dynamic RT, closer integration with Apple's other creative tools and more.

Behind the Seen: How Walter Murch Edited Cold Mountain Using Apple's Final Cut Pro and What This Means for Cinema (VOICES)

Charles Koppelman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The first volume to reveal the post-production process of a major motion picture (Cold Mountain) edited entirely in Final Cut Pro!

• Offers a rare inside glimpse at the creative process of one of cinema's giants: threetime Academy Award-winning editor Walter Murch.
• Includes anecdotes from the director, edit staff, and producers; photos, emails, and journal entries from Murch; and behind-the-scenes insights.
• Accounts from Apple's Final Cut Pro team about what they think about the future of it in feature films.

As the first software-only desktop nonlinear editing system, Final Cut Pro sat the film industry on its ear when it debuted back in 1999. Now it's shaking things up again as editor Walter Murch, director Anthony Minghella, and a long list of Hollywood heavy-hitters are proving that this under-$1,000 software can (and should) be used to edit a multi-million dollar motion picture! This book tells the story of that endeavor: the decision to use Final Cut Pro, the relationship between the technology and art (and craft) of movie-making, how Final Cut Pro was set up and configured for Cold Mountain, how the software's use affected the work flow, and its implications for the future of filmmaking. More than anything, however, this is Murch's own story of what seemed to many a crazy endeavor-- told through photos, journal entries, email musings, and anecdotes that give readers an inside view of what the film editor does and how this particular film progressed through post-production. The book includes, in his own words, Murch's vision, approach, and thoughts on storytelling as he shapes Cold Mountain under the intense pressures of completing a major studio film.

With Academy Awards for his work on Apocalypse Now and The English Patient, sound and film editor Walter Murch is one of the few universally acknowledged editing masters in cinema. Along with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola, he is one of the founding members of the Northern California cinema community. Author Charles Koppelman has been writing screenplays and directing video and film since the early 1980s, including the independent feature film, Dumbarton Bridge, award-winning documentaries, and commercials.

Final Cut Pro 4 for Dummies

Helmut Kobler, Chad Fahs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Perfect For Newbies 5 out of 5 stars.
13 of 14 people found this review helpful.

This is a great reference for anyone who has never edited video before. I don't have any experience with Final Cut Pro or any other editing program, but this book covers everything I need to know to create my own videos. It begins with basic editing tips and moves on to things like high-tech transition effects. The CD that comes with it also has several different plug-ins you can use to spice up your movies.

Don't bother 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

Don't bother getting a DUMMIES book for Final Cut Pro. There are better books that achieve the same thing and can take you from ground zero to a point of understanding and knowledge that cost nearly the same. For instance, "Final Cut Pro 4 for MAC OSX is a great book". Even if you've never editing anything before don't waste money on DUMMIES. It's a good series for many things of course but not in this area.

Editorial Review:

* Covers rendering, compositing, transitions, adding titles, audio and video filters, and advanced effects, as well as basic digital video editing information.
* Includes instructions on outputting the final product to videotape, DVD, CD-ROM, or even onto the Web.
* Provides practical, real-world solutions to managing media and incorporating various special effects into unique video/film productions.
* Includes a DVD packed with first hand commentary and project examples from the personal files of author Helmut Kobler, an independent filmmaker.

Final Cut Express for Dummies

Helmut Kobler

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Moving Up to FCE, the Dummies way! 5 out of 5 stars.
90 of 91 people found this review helpful.

If you're the typical Mac enthusiast, you've dabbled in all the i-Apps, including iMovie. If you're like me, you've outgrown iMovie for many of your video projects. If you're also like me, you haven't got the kind of cash to splurge on Final Cut Pro, which costs as much as one arm, one leg, and some spare skin from the other leg. Final Cut Express fills the gap, allowing the video editor who works exclusively with the DV format a way to afford a powerful editing program.

The book being reviewed here, lest I forget and go off into Apple rapture, is Final Cut Express for Dummies. This book is a fine example of the For Dummies series of books from Wiley Publishing, Inc. Author Helmut Kobler is a well-known author on the subject of Final Cut Pro.

The For Dummies series of books is usually the way to go when learning a new application, in my opinion. This book is no exception. It's simply written, and well laced with a practical writing style that works well when mired in the complexities of a software application like Final Cut Express. The humor is not as prevalent as in other For Dummies books, but that's well compensated for in the straightforward way the information is presented. I definitely feel that I could use Final Cut Express to edit and output my next training or wedding video.

The book progresses in orderly and clearly written fashion, from importing, capturing and organizing your video media to editing basics and some more advanced techniques. Of special note is the nice way he discusses audio techniques within Final Cut Express. The first noticeable thing about any amateur video is the inadequate sound, and the author takes a fair amount of space helping you get the best audio tracks from your raw audio media.

Another great section is the ten tips for becoming a better editor, and the ten tips for making your editing easier. Nothing is worse than reading the Final Cut manuals, but not having any practical experience to using them in a real world way. These two sections go a long way toward helping the novice editor get a leg up on real-world application of the techniques that can be used in Final Cut Express.

Editorial Review:

Create slick videos with sound effects, moving titles, and more
Import video and still pictures, tackle the Timeline, and become a movie-making machine
Do you dream of becoming a movie mogul? Dive right in with this friendly guide to low-budget video editing on your Mac! Before you can yell "action," you'll be importing and organizing all types of media, sizing video clips, jazzing up your productions with filters and special effects, and outputting them to DVD, videotape, or the Web.
The Dummies Way
* Explanations in plain English
* "Get in, get out" information
* Icons and other navigational aids
* Tear-out cheat sheet
* Top ten lists
* A dash of humor and fun

Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro (2nd Edition)

Michael Wohl

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A perfect mix of editing theory and practical advice 5 out of 5 stars.
12 of 12 people found this review helpful.

If you are serious about Film Editing, you are probably already been looking at books like Shot by Shot by Steven Katz, and checking out local training courses. You may also be trying to learn how to use Final Cut Pro, and checking out the many books on that topic.

This book could save you a lot of time and effort, by combining both subjects into one. It teaches, from a completely practical viewpoint, how to frame and edit shots. It also discusses how to use Final Cut Pro in order to achieve the right effect. There are also sections on sound, special effects and distribution - and again, all are realistically explained.

At every point, real-world editing examples are used, so it's not simply a discussion of every menu option. There are plenty of screenshots, and even though it doesn't cover the very latest version of FCP, everything is still 100% relevant.

After working through the huge pile of paper that is the FCP manual set, this book should be next on your list. It will tell you which features you will actually need to know, and pass on some very useful cinematic editing information at the same time.

Editorial Review:

Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro, 2nd Edition is an insightful and practical guide for intermediate to advanced Final Cut Pro users who want to extend their use of the tool to achieve sophisticated storytelling. The second edition of this popular book by professional filmmaker and editor Michael Wohl includes an entirely new chapter on finishing and outputting video to a variety of formats for both film and the Web; a major new section on color correction, including color photo illustrations; and a comprehensive look at how to create effective sound design. A unique blend of editing theory and practice, this book opens the readers' eyes and ears, making them more perceptive movie viewers and giving them the essential film vocabulary they need to advance their work to the next level and develop their own editing style.