Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 2 [Paperback]

Diana Weynand (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321256158 | ISBN-13: 978-0321256157 | Publication Date: March 22, 2004

The only Apple-certified source for Final Cut Express 2 training. Apple's feature-rich DV editing software is designed for the complete beginner, the aspiring filmmaker, the educator and the experienced DV editor alike. The new version features RT Extreme for real-time compositing and effects, a brand-new user interface, real-time color correction tools and enhanced audio editing capabilities. You will find a comprehensive course delivered by the instructor who trains the trainers: Diana Weynand. A self-paced learning tool, as well as the approved curriculum for all Apple-certified trainers on the product, Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 2 offers step-by-step instruction in all aspects of the revolutionary app that's bringing professional-level editing to the masses. Each chapter represents a complete lesson--with a project to complete, a review section, and bonus exercises to reinforce the lessons. Weynand takes readers through every aspect of editing with Final Cut Express 2: editing basics, trimming, filters and effects, titling, the Voice-over tool, color correction, audio editing, outputting, and more. You can work through the book from cover to cover or they can pick just the sections that interest them most. Either way, they'll find just what they need to begin making movie magic on their Mac.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Diana Weynand is an award-winning producer, director, and editor. Her training company, Weynand Training International, is a leader in providing training services and curriculum development for emerging technologies to the entertainment industry, as well as being an Apple Authorized Training Center. Diana has written numerous books, including Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4, Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express, and Final Cut Pro for Avid Editors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 648 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (March 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321256158
• ISBN-13: 978-0321256157
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,958,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Diana Weynand is an award-winning producer, director, editor, and co-founder of Weynand Training International (www.weynand.com), an Apple Authorized Training Center and a leader in training and curriculum development for emerging technologies. Diana was supervising editor for The Barbara Walters Special, director and co-producer of the Emmy nominated PBS series, Cinematic Eye, and online editor for Real World. She is the author of four best-selling books on Final Cut Pro (including Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro for Avid Editors and Final Cut Express HD), and the co-author of Secrets of Videoblogging and How Video Works. A well-known columnist, she also writes on High Definition production.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Final Cut Express, March 26, 2004

By 

Brian Redman (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 2 (Paperback)

I recently picked up a copy of Final Cut Express when I bought a miniDV camera to record some 16mm home movies to disk. I captured the DV stream with iMovie because that's what I was familiar with and was able to do simple cutting and splicing using FCE2 by just feeling around. I could see however, I was fumbling and there were obviously easier ways to accomplish even the simple things I was doing, let alone 99% of FCE2's features.

After getting my feet wet with the home movies I wanted to do something *interesting* with 5 hours of videocam footage I had recorded years ago thinking "some day I'll make a little movie from this". For this I needed to become familiar with the FCE2's capabilities. I read through the documentation that came with FCE2 but I didn't really get it. I wasn't familiar with the terminology, the concepts were foreign to me. So I grabbed a copy of the Apple Pro Training Series Final Cut Express 2 book and committed to learning some things. The book comes with a DVD containing lesson materials.

Some of the material in the first lessons was basic even for me as I'm familiar with the Mac interface. In some cases I would just read through the exercises and not bother using the computer. But the exposure to the basic terminology was already useful.

After those first few chapters I found pretty much every exercise valuable. I appreciated the author's style of repetition and reinforcement of concepts and techniques. When I completed a lesson I was satisfied that I had learned something I would use. With my own project in mind, I would visualize how I'd apply what I had learned but was glad I didn't go off and start working on my own stuff until I had finished the book.

When I did complete the lessons I was comfortable with FCE2, which before I opened the book appeared almost hopelessly complicated. With the lessons under my belt I was able to get more out of the FCE2 documentation because I understood the terminology and what questions to ask. I was also able to read through online discussions and understand what people were asking and suggesting.

Having read the book and, most importantly, done the exercises I felt I was really taking advantage of FCE2 when I used it for my project. Even if I didn't remember everything I read I remembered I had read there was a way to do this or that and found the details easily. Sometimes I'd refer back to the book but most often I used the FCE2 help document or just looked in the menus.

I found the book a great way to come up to speed with Final Cut Express 2. After completing the book I was able to make good use of FCE2 to take boring footage, modest effects, an incredible soundtrack and nice titles to tell a story in an entertaining way. The book made FCE2 accessible, FCE2 made my project a reality, and I'm very pleased with the results.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A thorough grounding that will need supplementation, December 24, 2005

By 

M. J. Mccaffrey "Matt OneLANE" (Conn., United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 2 (Paperback)

Let's start with the basic, should-be-obvious premiss: the Final Cut video editing platform is NOT "iMovie Complete"...except in the sense that it is completely different. The differences between Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro are in certain capabilities -- Express is not a "dumbed-down" version of Pro, it just lacks certain capabilities. The interface is a professional non-linear editing (NLE) tool whose efficient use is not obvious at first launch, unlike iMovie.

That being said, there is a significant learning curve for anyone picking up the FInal Cut Express tool for the first time. Diana Weynand's training course is a thorough grounding in nonlinear video editing using Final Cut Express. She presumes that the reader has been given this tool and the underlying Macintosh platform as a black box, and is expected to produce a finished product from it. In my view Weynand does a superb presentation, estimating with accuracy how long each lesson will take, covering a specific set of objectives, and reinforcing skills learned in earlier lessons when appropriate. All sample materials (with the exception of one chapter where one practices video capture using one's own set-up) are provided on the DVD bound with the book. It was sometimes disconcerting to work through a lesson with the author's tone implying that the work would be carried through in the next lesson -- only to start from scratch on a different project in the next chapter. The reinforcement, however, is that each project needs to be treated as though it is on its way to final production.

Two points I noted: (1) As in a classroom course, the lessons in this book teach one how to produce the example videos, using the example material. It does not serve well as a reference for ongoing production. A second book or reference guide (perhaps one of the Visual Quickstart guides) is necessary for ongoing work. (2) Comparing this book (covering FCE) to one's experience learning iMovie with the aid of David Pogue's excellent "Missing Manual for iMovie" is completely misplaced and unhelpful. Weynand provides a grounding in a professional-level NLE suite, and sorry to say, that takes much more time and concentration than learning iMovie (which I love for certain projects).

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, EASY TO UNDERTAND, June 24, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 2 (Paperback)

This is my first experience with a self paced course...this book was really terrific...got me started and now I'm editing like a video professional...the lessons are well paced, easy to understand....literally talks you through the operation of the whole editng process as if the instructor is right there in the room with you...for someone who had never edited before I found this book amazing...highly recommend it to anyone who needs help with Final Cut EXpress...great software program too!