Customer Reviews

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

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

 

 

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."

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.

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!

This book creates more problems for the student that it is supposed to resolve.

Okay in FCP your faced with with a very intricate and complex program, so you expect the information given to be accurate and helpful?

Yes so did I. Examples abound of inaccuracies:

- Pg 16 "Loading in the Video Files" from the DVD, "Locate the folder labeled 'Rubins's tutorial Files'" You can't because it doesn't exist, but expect to waste some time trying to find it!!

- Editing/Insert Page 65 "..stop just after Chris finishes his line with the word no" He never says "no", but that cost me about two hours of looking through the DVD, previous clips and the script, because the book can't be wrong you keep looking!

- "Review.." Page 83 "compare your edits to mine" His "edit is in the tutorial folder", it's not!!! That doesn't exist, it is in the FCP Project Files v3.0 another waste of time searching. But wait there's more!! Click on the file and get messages that the files went off line, the media is off line, they are not there, so you can't get them to make the comparison. Nor can you get him by e-mail to find out what is wrong.

Bad enough huh! No I'm afraid not, page 83 "we'll be using it, [the missing file], as the starting place for the next chapter" So that kind of rules out any lingering chance of DVD/book/student interactivity in the rest of the book!!!!

Considering that the book is supposed to be for beginners, who generally follow instructions word for word and step by step, until familiarity allows them the opportunity to experiment. This book because of it's constant inaccuracies and presumptions retards ones development and delays the familiarity factor. All the way up until page 83 of the 270 page book, when it stops being interactive and goes back on the shelf. Wonder what was in last two thirds of the book?

Good luck if you get it!!1

This book will teach you about editing--real editing--and not just how to move shots around with software. It doesn't take too much computer power to edit a project, whether its theatrical movie or your home videos. People have done it in Hollywood for 100 years with basically a razor blade and tape. I use Final Cut Pro to cut everything I ever need to cut. After 20 years of developing and using computers for "nonlinear" editing, I finally have software that is easy and suitably powerful. In many ways it is an easier tool than most "beginning level" consumer products.
My very simple methods are results-oriented. I do not want to turn everyone into a professional filmmaker, but I do want people to see how powerful and simple video literacy can be. Remember: this book will make you a fine editor and teach you the basics of FCP, but it is not a comprehensive book about FCP. There is a lot in there that I think is confusing for people starting out. This is a book about how to edit video using FCP, not how to use FCP to do everything ever. In just a few chapters, with the tutorials on the DVD, you'll be cutting any material you could have ever wanted to cut, like a pro (if that is your goal), or just as a comfortable, competant editor (ready to move to more encyclopedia-like volumes of information when you're hungry for it). This book is fun and direct. I look forward to your feedback.

I wanted to work with Final Cut Pro but found all the highly touted books STILL TO DIFFICULT to start out with. My experience was nothing more than being able to work with a simple package like iMovie. I was SAVED by this terrific book. As a teacher myself, I know you have to learn hands-on in a methodical manner; you don't need to learn the "whole ball of wax" the first time around (like other books somewhat force you to do). Michael Rubin knows this and has crafted the perfect book for those ready to take the next step. DON'T HESITATE TO BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP! The included DVD gives you all the source material to work and practice with! BRILLIANT!!!