Customer Reviews

Final Cut Express For Dummies

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If you're the typical Mac enthusiast, you've dabbled in all the i-Apps, including iMovie. If you're like me, you've outgrown iMovie for many of your video projects. If you're also like me, you haven't got the kind of cash to splurge on Final Cut Pro, which costs as much as one arm, one leg, and some spare skin from the other leg. Final Cut Express fills the gap, allowing the video editor who works exclusively with the DV format a way to afford a powerful editing program.

The book being reviewed here, lest I forget and go off into Apple rapture, is Final Cut Express for Dummies. This book is a fine example of the For Dummies series of books from Wiley Publishing, Inc. Author Helmut Kobler is a well-known author on the subject of Final Cut Pro.

The For Dummies series of books is usually the way to go when learning a new application, in my opinion. This book is no exception. It's simply written, and well laced with a practical writing style that works well when mired in the complexities of a software application like Final Cut Express. The humor is not as prevalent as in other For Dummies books, but that's well compensated for in the straightforward way the information is presented. I definitely feel that I could use Final Cut Express to edit and output my next training or wedding video.

The book progresses in orderly and clearly written fashion, from importing, capturing and organizing your video media to editing basics and some more advanced techniques. Of special note is the nice way he discusses audio techniques within Final Cut Express. The first noticeable thing about any amateur video is the inadequate sound, and the author takes a fair amount of space helping you get the best audio tracks from your raw audio media.

Another great section is the ten tips for becoming a better editor, and the ten tips for making your editing easier. Nothing is worse than reading the Final Cut manuals, but not having any practical experience to using them in a real world way. These two sections go a long way toward helping the novice editor get a leg up on real-world application of the techniques that can be used in Final Cut Express.