Customer Reviews

Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

After buying the FCE programme I started wading through the 1000 plus pages on-screen manual and got bog downed very quickly.

I was up to about page 350 and fortunately Tom Wolsky's book turned up in the mail before I threw a tantrum and gave up. Problem with learning from the on-screen instructions is that it's not in a useful order so can't practice what they're saying as haven't learnt how to set up and capture yet.

Mr Wolsky's book is in a sensible order. It starts with setting up the computer, then to capture then to edit etc. The DVD that goes with the book, gives you the material you need to practice on until brave enough to start on your own.

Another problem with the manual is it doesn't give you value comments. By that I mean it tells you what the button or command does but usually no information on when to use it or why. Mr Wolsky does. This is so useful at the beginning stage when you need everything set up right or it probably wont work and he's got comments and recommendations on why and when to use a particular setting.

I'd been swapping my short-film-making efforts over from iMovies, so I was quite impatient at having to go right back and start again to get even vaguely close to where I had been. So did appreciate how well-ordered the book was to get me back editing again as soon as possible. Then I carried on with the next few chapters on sound and applied that to my efforts.

I got bogged down for quite some time with the Boris Calligraphy chapter and came to a grinding halt. Then concluded I didn't need to know about twirling, swirling, multi-coloured, rotating text and got moving again. All I needed was 3D text that fades in and out and could ignore the rest. I don't think this is an indictment on the book, more that I was looking for what I needed to get my film effort progressing.

So only got up to chapter 12 so far. Once I've applied that to my movie I shall read the rest and see what I need. And that really is a strength of the book that I can do that - rather than having to absorb it all at once.

Also appreciated that the examples given to practice on in the DVD don't look like professional takes. It's got useful stuff that relates to me - like cutting out the footage where you knocked the camera and how to cope with sound that's jumping all over the place.

Mr Wolsky's book has told me everything I need to get started. (Although I still havent figured why I cant use the editing keyboard commands like F10, F12 etc for insert and over-write, must have missed that bit somewhere.)

I should also point out that now Ive some idea what I'm doing I can now use and appreciate the on-screen manual, but as a complete beginner it was soul-destroying.

I plowed through the book in order of the lessons & I can't imagine having learned FCE any other way. While learning, I produced 2 new TV commercials for a local New Orleans gardening & gift shop, & I'm ready for more. The veteran video guys at the tv stations couldn't believe we did the spots in the attic of the store on an iMac. I couldn't have done them in iMovie--and I couldn't have done them so quickly without this book.

I've gotten each new edition of this book, even though there aren't a huge number of changes. It's just nice to see the updates he's made and draw from his rich knowledge and experience with Final Cut Pro/Final Cut Express/iMovie, and the new nuances he throws in with each edition.

You can already learn some key points to keep in mind about the latest version of FCE in the Excerpt from the front of the book available for viewing on Amazon. It's worth the price of the book right there!

Tom works so hard providing lucid and practical support on the Apple Support page for FCE, and no doubt uses that to enhance the next edition. You're going to be getting his free advice sooner or later, so you might as well throw a few bucks his way and give him some credit for all that you will benefit from his wisdom. I've bought several of the other FCE books over the years, but Tom is the best.

Ron Carlson

I bought Tom's earlier book on FCE 2, and it was the best purchase I've ever made for any of the software I use. Tom writes like an editor and an artist. He writes in a manner creative people can understand. Practical and to the point. I have been in the broadcast production industry for 28 years and I can tell you Tom is the real thing. If this book doesn't help you then you should find another hobby.

P.S. Ignore the idiotic one star rating. The book is in English.

Final Cut Express has a bit of a learning curve to work through. I'm only half-way through this book, and its worth is already more that I paid for it. I'd already been through most of the online help, and also another FCE4 book that I had purchased, when I bought this one. It has provided many valuable insights that have made it possible for me to actually become productive with Final Cut Express.

I purchased this book after getting frustrated using Final Cut Express, and realizing it wasn't going to be quite the same easy experience I had with iMovie.

I tend to be rather handy with computer programs, but FCE's interface, as Wolsky's book explains, is NOT 'plug and play.' If you're like me, and tooled around with iMovie (and noticed the inherent limitations iMovie has), you upgraded to FCE with the promise of more powerful editing tools.

Since FCE has the same layout as the professional grade (and aptly named) Final Cut Pro, there is quite a steep learning curve. I thought "Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop" makes sense of what I needed to know to effectively use the tools presented.

This review is just for the Kindle edition:
The book constantly refers to the DVD for examples, but if you buy the Kindle addition it is not provided. There is no link to download the Disc.

Tom Wolsky is very deliberate but thorough in explaining the operation of FCE 4, so it's easy to follow with him as he walks through all the features, the setup and the interface of FCE. Apple has given us an impressive piece of editing software, but as with all software, you need to know where to go to get what you want done. This book makes that process less confusing, and offers helpful video clips to let you practice what you learn. Of all the books that claim to teach you skills for FCE, I would definitely recommend this one.

First off I"m a photographer, not a video guy, but like many photographers I am getting into video. I got a job recoding a seminar and needed a quick turn-around. This book is written like a college text book. Like every text book I ever read this is a super dry read. I guess I'm use to Scott Kelby's books, that are written to get one the info fast and to the point, and keep you awake with a bit of wit and humor. This book is super boring and the author stays too neutral (it's like he's afraid to state an opinion). Rather than suggest solutions he simply says "there are many options", or "try a few and see which you prefer".

As for exporting he states this is the easy step and devotes only a few pages on the subject, but with all the options with compression types and rats, exporting from FCE4f is anything but easy.

I learned so much more by watching the free FCE4 videos at "Izzy Video" on the web. He gets one up and running super fast; and he's not boring.

Admittedly my five star review is biased, but I would appreciate if you didn't rate and review my book based on a stupid mistake on the Amazon web site, which after some time we have still not been able to get corrected.

All the best,

Tom Wolsky