Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro [Paperback]

Michael Wohl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2001

No wonder Apple';s Final Cut Pro is such a hit with desktop filmmakers:It combines powerful video-editing and special-effects software with anaffordable price tag. If you have the software, learn to use it like a pro. Film editors, production professionals, and students alike will findEditing Techniques with Final Cut Pro an invaluable resource, thanksto its practical and efficient cinematic strategies for working with FinalCut Pro and other tools.

Author Michael Wohl is a professional film editor and was one ofthe original designers of Final Cut Pro. In Editing Techniques withFinal Cut Pro, he takes a unique approach, blending hands-on productiontips with professional strategy and artistic techniques. Wohl talked to anall-star lineup of top film editors (see the list below) while writing thebook; each chapter ends with an interview with a seasoned industry insider.From guidelines on editing to suggestions for improving work flow,Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro ventures beyond the basics andteaches you how to edit like a pro.

Editors interviewed in Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro:Brian Berden (Blue Velvet, Natural Born Killers); Curtiss Clayton(Drugstore Cowboy, Made); Hervé Schneid (Delicatessen, TheCity of Lost Children); Steven Mirrione (Swingers, Traffic);Valdís Óskarsdóttir (The Celebration, FindingForrester); Chris Tellefsen (The People vs. Larry Flynt, Flirtingwith Disaster); John Wilson (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & HerLover, Billy Elliot); Paul Hirsch (Star Wars, MissionImpossible); Walter Murch (American Graffiti, Apocalypse Now, TheEnglish Patient)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

So you've got a new DV camera, a shiny new Mac, and you're itching to make your first film. The only problem is that you don't know a script from a storyboard, or a WS from an MCU. Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro might be just the thing you need to say "Action!" with confidence and bring that certain polish to your production.

Clearly written and lavishly illustrated, this excellent handbook features over 425 pages and 9 chapters covering everything from the basics of production and what an editor does, the language of film and editing, the planning needed when preparing to edit, and the use of Final Cut Pro itself, from beginning through advanced techniques and effects like ramping the speed of a clip, compositing computer animation over a clip, picture-in-picture, color correction, creating titles, and much more.

This is not a book for the experienced user, but it is a solid handbook for beginners who intend to get serious. Offering far more information than just how to use Final Cut Pro for editing, Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro is almost misnamed. While the focus of the book is editing, there is so much useful information here on preproduction and production that it is simply a wonderful handbook on how to make a good digital video film.

Apple's Final Cut Pro, now up to version 3.0, has helped fuel the next evolutionary step in video production. By integrating powerful software with their hardware technology, Apple has put video postproduction into the hands of almost anyone who can afford a camera, computer, and software. Access to the equipment, however, doesn't mean a windfall of Oscar winners. Learning how to make a good film requires generous amounts of both talent and technical mastery. This book won't infuse you with talent, but you'll walk away with a clear understanding of how production and postproduction techniques work, and how to produce a finished piece that looks finished. --Mike Caputo

From Library Journal

A member of the original Final Cut Pro design team and a professional video editor, Wohl is highly qualified to write about using this digital video editing software. Although his instructions specifically pertain to Final Cut Pro, Wohl also conveys a great deal of information about general video editing techniques, providing examples on when and why to use each. Sidebars explain editing and computer terminology, and interviews with well-known film editors add real-world interest. Recommended for larger public libraries and academic libraries supporting TV/film programs.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Education (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201734834
• ISBN-13: 978-0201734836
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > Final Cut

More About the Author

Michael Wohl is an award-winning filmmaker and author of twelve books on storytelling and post-production with Final Cut Studio. He currently teaches at UCLA and has also taught and designed curricula at AFI and San Francisco State. He has taught more than 300 seminars and sessions at film festivals and tradeshows around the world including Sundance, SXSW, DV Expo, NAB, IBC, Interbee Japan, MacWorld Paris, and many others.

Michael is well-known as one of the original designers of Apple's Emmy Award-winning Final Cut Pro software. As a member of the original team, he worked alongside the engineering team providing the perspective of the real-world editor, focusing on workflow, usability, and interaction design. He produced the original training and demo materials used for the first several Final Cut Pro releases, administered the original beta program, and initiated the in-house editor program.

In addition to the many books you can buy here at Amazon, you can download and watch extensive training videos on Final Cut Pro, Motion, Color and Compressor at http://www.MacProVideo.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great supplement to other FCP books., October 26, 2001

By 

Dennis Cham (Redwood Shores, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro (Paperback)

I picked up an advanced copy from the author at a Bay Area Final Cutters meeting. The book is different from most other FCP books in that it covers some basic editing techniques in a real world setting using FCP2. Rather than just go over every feature of the program, it tackles the craft of video editing using FCP. This makes it a great complement to the Lisa Brennis' excellent FCP2 Quick Pro Guide, which covers most of FCP2's functions.

For example, Michael explains different ways to use the Trim and Edit tools in editing a sequence as well as different approaches to logging clips. It also goes over issues of continuity and pacing how to deal with these problems in a non linear editing system. All this for me (at least) was worth the price of the book.

This book might be too basic for seasoned NLE editors. But it definitely will be a big help to begining or intermediate FCP editors looking to polish their craft .

I would have given the book 5 stars, except that I felt that the author should have devoted a little more space to areas such as exporting and importing from After Effects and ProTools. These were covered briefly. Also the CD included with the book should have had some examples of the exercises in the book. (The CD had some basic tutorials on FCP) I feel I would have benefited more from some Quicktime movies, illustrating the techniques covered in the book.

Despite the cons, I feel this book is a good buy and covers a lot of areas missing in the current crop of FCP titles. It doesn't cover everything in FCP, but what it covers it covers well.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WOW! Best FCP Book yet!, November 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro (Paperback)

I have been a professional editor for more than 10 years and I recently migrated from AVID to Final Cut Pro. I wanted a book to supplement the manual and actually bought 4 different FCP books to glean what I could from each of them.

This one REALLY stood out. It's extremely well written, uses excellent examples that really help to illustrate the concepts and features and much more than just teaching you how to use FCP, it really teaches you how to edit.

WELL WRITTEN
Okay, maybe I'm a bit of a geek, but I couldn't put this down. I read it from front to back like a good novel. (Complete with my wife repeatedly asking me to come to bed :-) After I was done, I was so jazzed, I couldn't wait to get back on my computer!

EDITING TECHNIQUE
Although much of this was review for me, Michael really explains the language of film very concisely and very practically. He includes a recipe of commonly used editing "phrases" and teaches you not only the rules I learned in film school but also the ways modern editors have reinvented some of them. For newbies to editing, this section alone makes this a MUST HAVE.

FINAL CUT PRO
He uses such good examples, it's really awesome for understanding not just how the tool works, but why there are so many different ways to do each thing, and which one is right for your situation. Maybe it's because he helped to design the software or maybe he's just a great instructor but I found the lessons crystal clear, even when he's explaining some of the super-complicated features like multi-track trimming or replace-editing. Some of it may be over the head of new editors, but this makes experienced folks like me feel like we got our money's worth too.

GREAT BOOK
I don't think any book can make you a great editor, that takes years of practice, but I do think every so often there's a technical book that's not just good at teaching you about a technical subject, but is just a good book that inspires you in ways beyond anything the author could have intended. Editing Techniques with FCP is definitely that. Thanks Michael!

Oh- I almost forgot! Between each chapter is an interview with a high-profile film editor about their style and techniques! Great stuff! Especially the interview with WALTER MURCH!!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect mix of editing theory and practical advice, November 9, 2002

By 

J. T. Kennedy "g4john" (Sammamish, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro (Paperback)

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.