Beginner's Final Cut Pro: Learn to Edit Digital Video [Paperback]

Michael Rubin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2002

With Final Cut Pro fast becoming the de facto standard for professional video editing, it's easy to believe the software is too "high-end" for beginners. But this isn't the case--Final Cut Pro is the ideal tool for novices and students, if you have the right teacher. Enter Beginners Final Cut Pro: Learn to Edit Digital Video. Now, with no prior video knowledge, you can learn the language of editing in just a few hours and master the essential tools to edit like a professional. Whether you're an aspiring professional filmmaker or a weekend hobbyist looking to improve on your iMovie projects, the tutorials and information in this book will help you make the leap to sophisticated, "Hollywood"-style editing.

Written in an approachable, friendly style by best-selling author and entertainment-industry veteran Michael Rubin, this real-world tutorial demystifies the process of using Final Cut Pro. Starting with the basics, like mastering control of frame-by-frame movement of video, the book methodically adds tools and builds complexity. The final chapter helps you make the transition from mastering the tools of Final Cut Pro to facing many of the real-world scenarios that beginners encounter as they use FCP with low/no-budget productions. Throughout the book, Michael shares invaluable tips based on his hard-won digital video experiences using Final Cut Pro and in the trenches of Hollywood and (the more frightening) family projects. When you're finished with the book, you'll be able to build effects tracks or add music and prepare your project for output to DVD. Final Cut Pro for Beginners includes a companion DVD with more than 4GB of video clips you can use for illustration, hands-on exercises, and or your own experiments.

With Final Cut Pro software and this tutorial to lead the way, you'll be fluent in no time--ready to go wherever your movie-making interests lead.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

With Final Cut Pro fast becoming the de facto standard for professional video editing, it's easy to believe the software is too "high-end" for beginners. But this isn't the case--Final Cut Pro is the ideal tool for novices and students, if you have the right teacher. Enter Final Cut Pro for Beginners. Now, with no prior video knowledge, you can learn the language of editing in just a few hours and master the essential tools to edit like a professional. Whether you're an aspiring professional filmmaker or a weekend hobbyist looking to improve on your iMovie projects, the tutorials and information in this book will help you make the leap to sophisticated, "Hollywood"-style editing.

Written in an approachable, friendly style by best-selling author and entertainment-industry veteran Michael Rubin, this real-world tutorial demystifies the process of using Final Cut Pro. Starting with the basics, like mastering control of frame-by-frame movement of video, the book methodically adds tools and builds complexity. The final chapter helps you make the transition from mastering the tools of Final Cut Pro to facing many of the real-world scenarios that beginners encounter as they use FCP with low/no-budget productions. Throughout the book, Michael shares invaluable tips based on his hard-won digital video experiences using Final Cut Pro and in the trenches of Hollywood and (the more frightening) family projects. When you're finished with the book, you'll be able to build effects tracks or add music and prepare your project for output to DVD. Final Cut Pro for Beginners includes a companion DVD with more than 4GB of video clips you can use for illustration, hands-on exercises, and or your own experiments.

With Final Cut Pro software and this tutorial to lead the way, you'll be fluent in no time--ready to go wherever your movie-making interests lead.

About the Author

Michael Rubin is an entertainment-technology inventor, entrepreneur, graphic designer, editor, digital video advocate, and maybe a few other things. He has written and published four books, including The Little Digital Video Book and NONLINEAR: a field guide to digital video and film editing. In the past, Michael has worked on numerous feature films and TV programming, including Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky and the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove.

Product Details

• Paperback: 280 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; Pap/DVD edition (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321118022
• ISBN-13: 978-0321118028
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,848,736 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Effective, straightforward and to the point, August 11, 2002

By 

John D. Mandes (Hershey, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginner's Final Cut Pro: Learn to Edit Digital Video (Paperback)

Michael Rubin takes an unconventional approach to teaching a beginning Final Cut Pro user what makes this application tick. The how-to of FCP is presented as lessons with hands-on exercises on the included DVD. Rubin's style is readable and engaging. He never talks down to the aspiring FCP user. He is easy to understand and easy to follow. In the interest of not confusing the novice nonlinear editing student, Rubin has chosen to ignore or gloss over FCP's more advanced or complicated features. Although this is definitely good for beginners, intermediate users might feel cheated. (This is the only reason I rated the book 4 stars instead of 5.) If you are a beginner, you can't go wrong with "Final Cut Pro for Beginners."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Pros and Cons witht his book, November 4, 2003

By 

Gerald W. Williams "Geedub" (Temecula, Ca USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginner's Final Cut Pro: Learn to Edit Digital Video (Paperback)

Let me get the bad stuff out of the way first. Michael Rubin should fire his editor! There are things in this book that will drive you nuts when you try to follow the instructions. For example... he tells you to load files that are not there; he tells you to mark the edit when you hear the word "no," and the word "no" is never mentioned; or he starts explaining an application that he never instructed you to open or even how to open it. For a beginner who is depending on thoroughness and accuracy, this can be extremely frustrating.

Now for the good stuff, the book is laid out and explained in terms that make it easy for a beginner to follow. Lots of pictures and side notes are a big help. With the exception of the editing problems mentioned above, you will get a solid grip on the basics of FCP. When you finish this book, you will be able to do just about any project, short of professional editing.

The book has a lot of good points; however, before I completely finished the book (4/5ths of the way through), because of frustration, I bought the Apple learning series and will use that as my reference.

Again, considering all you will learn from this book, it's not a bad investment, but just not the best.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for the Beginner, October 8, 2003

By 

N. Banucci (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginner's Final Cut Pro: Learn to Edit Digital Video (Paperback)

This book started off as a snore fest, but after the first chapter, the author really explains every beginning thing about FCP very nicely. The whole book is laid out with the exact steps you should take when learning the program for the first time.

It is a book for the absolute BEGINNER at Final Cut Pro, and that is who it was written for. Great book!