Customer Reviews

Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express HD

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

To date, this the only book that covers FCE 3.5 HD & I strongly recommend it. The intended audience I think is FCE users who would like to make more professional home videos but I think new filmmakers would also benefit from the lessons. If you're interested in mastering advanced topics like color correction, you'll have to pick up other books in this series. Overall though, this an excellent book for the beginner trying to learn FCE as well as how to craft a cinematic experience.

To learn more about how I'm using FCE for my first short film, visit www.kasemkharsa.com/empire.

Final Cut Express HD by Diana Weynand is a useful handbook for FCE HD video editing. It shows from the beginning how to edit with this software. In my opinion the book is good for beginning editors. For me it is concentrated too much to basic functions. I would have liked to learn more about color correction and audio processing.

It is also a pity that LiveType teaching is on DVD so that is difficult to learn from DVD and practice LiveType software at the same time. In any case I am satisfied with the book and DVD and I will learn from them more in the future.

Jorma Uusi-Vähälä

Kerava

Finland

Excellant and useful book. My only complaint is the first couple of chapters are basic Mac OS how to stuff and a waste of time/space. Be sure to read the Appendices on the DVD though

I have been eagerly waiting for this book. It is an excellent segway for those whose needs have grown from IMovie HD. The chapters are concise and just short enough that you can put it down and begin a new chapter the next day. I look forward to learning this program and this is the best way to do it. Their questions and answers at the end of each chapter is an excellent way to review what you have learned. A suggestion- take notes as you learn. Lots of information in each chapter.

The title above states it all; the book doesn't go through each and every scenario possible, which it claims to do.

The book could've gone much more in depth to answer questions that I had as I followed each step. For instance, explain the options of each codec setting, kHz rates, data rates, key frame setting, setting for frames per second, audio options, the PAL and NTSC settings and which to choose when importing footage.

Overall the book does help in certain cases but not very specific. I'm looking for another book that can go more in depth.

This book is really helpful if you have never worked with Final Cut Express (or apple at all). The authors teach you how to use the software in hands-on lessons, covering all the basic tools one would like to use. It's fun, and I was eager to finish the book to start working on my own projects.

Only two complaints: sometimes the book is toooo basic, i.e., it takes 10 pages to say something it could be accomplished in 3; and at some point I got tired of working with the same practice videos.

If you're an experienced iMovie user wanting to learn FCE, then this book is not the best one. It's a useful tutorial book for a class, but simple references like creating slow motion clips, importing media from iMovie or iTunes, switching around clips, etc. are simply not easy to find using the index of this book.

I highly suggest Final Cut Express HD for Mac OS X (Visual QuickStart Guide) as a much better reference guide. And if you can find some audiovisual tutorials about FCE, those would work better for you than this book.

I am new to FCE and a new user of an iMac. I am only on chapter 5 but I find this book very easy to follow and understand. Up to this point, I am being given an overview of each area of FCE and how to use them as well as keyboard shortcuts. The books starts with an introduction to the iMac OS X which was very helpful to me as a new user. At this point, I would highly recommend this book to a new FCE user as well as a new iMac user.

Just at chapter 6 and have found that the program is simple and easy to follow. Did not start with iMovie so I have no experience, which is why I feel the step by step guidance and building a previous learning is great. Good stuff for beginners.

This book is a great tool to get started with more advanced video editing, something that iMovie just can't handle. So if you've outgrown iMovie and have moved into Final Cut Express then this book will certainly give you a step by step learning process that will introduce Final Cut Express HD. The DVD that comes with it is very helpful as well because it contains enough content to be able to actually edit videos and add sounds, etc. Highly recommended.