Final Cut Pro 4 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide [Paperback]

Lisa Brenneis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0321162234 | ISBN-13: 978-0321162236 | Publication Date: October 12, 2003 | Edition: 1

Final Cut Pro 4, a professional video-editing tool, is a major upgrade of Apple's Emmy award-winning editing software for film, high-definition video, standard-definition video, and DV. Final Cut Pro 4, introduces RT Extreme for real-time compositing and effects, powerful new interface customization tools, new high-quality 8- and 10-bit uncompressed formats, and for the first time in an editing system costing less than $100,000, full 32-bit floating point per channel video processing. Final Cut Pro 4 also includes three completely new integrated applications: LiveType for advanced titling, Soundtrack for music creation and Compressor for full-featured batch transcoding. Video that's edited with the tool can be outputted to any professional video format: TV, VCR, computer monitor, or the Web (in the form of Web streaming media). Final Cut Pro 4 for Max OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide introduces video producers to the comprehensive set of tools available in the video-editing tool. Step-by-step instructions lead readers through the basics and quickly into more advanced projects in video editing. All the important features of the application are covered in detail: the easy-to-use interface, plug-and-play capability, as well as a host of other features and tools that enhance workflow and productivity.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Final Cut Pro 4, a professional video-editing tool, is a major upgrade of Apple's Emmy award-winning editing software for film, high-definition video, standard-definition video, and DV. Final Cut Pro 4, introduces RT Extreme for real-time compositing and effects, powerful new interface customization tools, new high-quality 8- and 10-bit uncompressed formats, and for the first time in an editing system costing less than $100,000, full 32-bit floating point per channel video processing. Final Cut Pro 4 also includes three completely new integrated applications: LiveType for advanced titling, Soundtrack for music creation and Compressor for full-featured batch transcoding. Video that's edited with the tool can be outputted to any professional video format: TV, VCR, computer monitor, or the Web (in the form of Web streaming media). Final Cut Pro 4 for Max OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide introduces video producers to the comprehensive set of tools available in the video-editing tool. Step-by-step instructions lead readers through the basics and quickly into more advanced projects in video editing. All the important features of the application are covered in detail: the easy-to-use interface, plug-and-play capability, as well as a host of other features and tools that enhance workflow and productivity.

About the Author

Lisa Brenneis is the author of three previous editions of Final Cut Pro for Macintosh: Visual QuickPro Guide, the best-selling Final Cut Pro book. She has served as a teacher, author, panelist, virtual theater performer, and film production manager. Her production credits range from interactive digital media to educational films, animation to live action, documentary to poetic fantasy. Her clients have included Disney, MCA/Universal, the Getty Museum, the Library of Congress, the International Olympic Committee, and Mattel.

Product Details

• Paperback: 776 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; 1 edition (October 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321162234
• ISBN-13: 978-0321162236
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,827,224 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a good Final Cut Pro Book!!!, May 31, 2004

By 

C. Robinson (BRIDGEPORT, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Cut Pro 4 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide (Paperback)

So you just shot all your scenes, now what do you do? If you got an Apple then you should probably also have Final Cut Pro to go along with it, and if you got Final Cut Pro then you should have this book. You want to get right in and start editing your film/video, well look no further, here it is. A thick book filled with so much info your head will spin, but the best part...you ready for this.... It is actually very easy to read and you can start doing editing almost immediately. Capture/Log Store/Compressing/Titles/Input/Output/Transitions/Fade In/Audio - it tells you everything - Great Book for all Final Cut Pro users!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you own Final Cut Pro you have to have this book, August 4, 2004

By 

R. Neary "Pastor Gadget" (Beaumont, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Final Cut Pro 4 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide (Paperback)

I love Final Cut Pro (FCP), I have used it for the last 4 years and have found it to be an incredible program but the text that comes in the box is not realy that good, this is true for all three versions of FCP that I have worked with. Lisa Brenneis has done a great job in this version as she has done in others. This text has been a lifesaver for me many times. I could not imagine trying to work in FCP without it. For those who have upgraded from a previous version of FCP I recommend you also update to the current version of Lisa's book I have found that the quickest way to get my head around the many changes FCP has gone through is to read the upgraded text. Lisa has true mastery of FCP and understands how to communicate, which is rare in tech manual writers.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Look Elsewhere, November 15, 2004

By 

Only-A-Child - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Final Cut Pro 4 for Mac OS X: Visual QuickPro Guide (Paperback)

Beware, I have been editing on FCP4 for 12 months and this was the book I bought when I first started-I found it totally incomprehensible for a beginner. After a year of relatively sophisticated editing I still find the book virtually useless. Although packed with 700+ pages of writing, Lisa Brenneis somehow manages to turn simple concepts into mush. If you deliberately tried to write the most confusing description of each FCP operation it would be difficult to achieve Brenneis' level of mind-spinning prose. When she does not over-complicate an operation she glosses over the practical steps for implementation. We had a whole class abandon this book last fall. There could be a few very advanced users out there who actually fathom her illustrations and explanations but they would have no need for this monster. I suggest either the "Dummies" book or Apples training series.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.