Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4 (Voices That Matter) [Paperback]

Jerry Hofmann (Author)

Book Description

Series: Voices That Matter | Publication Date: October 20, 2003

Final Cut Pro is the only nonlinear editing tool available that supports the entire range of editing formats. Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro is broken up into a collection of hands-on seminars that focus on teaching a specific aspect of Final Cut Pro. Dealing with version 4, each seminar begins with a lesson that covers the concepts and techniques contained in that seminar. Hofmann then guides the reader step-by-step by applying those concepts and techniques to edit an award winning short film, The Midnight Sun. With this book, users will learn to convert footage from many different sources, manage their footage, edit the content, adjust sound, and output to different sources. If the reader chooses to work through the book cover-to-cover, they will put together an entire short film that includes basic editing, audio, compositing, and various effects. However, if readers just wishes to learn a specific aspect of Final Cut Pro, they will be able to go right to the seminar that covers it, open the source files from the DVD, and pick it right up.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

"FCP is not hard to learn but it is complex and Jerry takes this complex subject and guides you gently and with humor through the many obstacles you might encounter if you had not read this book. It's not enough to just tell us how to use the new tools in FCP 4. Where this book shines is in the telling of WHY we 'make the cut.'"
Michael Horton
President, Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group (lafcpug)

"No other book that I have read deals with so many facets of Final Cut Pro while allowing editors to maintain their own workflow by working on one project throughout the book. New editors will be able to establish their own editing style, while experienced ones will be able to see the new features within a realistic context. In all honesty, I can’t recommend any other book that would better address this subject. Jerry’s is one of the first to address Final Cut Pro 4, and even if there were several other entries, Jerry’s reputation and use of a single project as the example for all topics would make this book the obvious choice for learning Final Cut Pro 4."
Christopher Boldon
Filmmaker and Apple Computer instructor

"As an FCP instructor, teaching comes naturally to Jerry (I've seen this phenomenon happen in person where we've instructed at industry-related conferences) and his abilities to convey tangible information carry out into this book quite well."
Marco Solorio
Owner, OneRiver Media

"As an instructor, I would recommend this book to my students primarily because of the DVD dailies. Students, assistant editors, and amateur filmmakers can now afford the tools, but cannot find the material with which to work. This book provides the assistance to get started and the material to practice."
Michael Knue, A.C.E.
Instructor, Department of Entertainment Studies, UCLA

"The book provides a good mix of being both a reference book for commands and preferences, and a tutorial book with the follow-along editing project. None of the books I currently own covering previous versions of FCP offer this mix successfully."
Rob Chinn
Leader, Indianapolis Final Cut Pro User Group

From the Back Cover

Final Cut Pro is the only nonlinear editing tool available that supports the entire range of editing formats. Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro is broken up into a collection of hands-on seminars that focus on teaching a specific aspect of Final Cut Pro. Dealing with version 4, each seminar begins with a lesson that covers the concepts and techniques contained in that seminar. Hofmann then guides the reader step-by-step by applying those concepts and techniques to edit an award winning short film, The Midnight Sun. With this book, users will learn to convert footage from many different sources, manage their footage, edit the content, adjust sound, and output to different sources. If the reader chooses to work through the book cover-to-cover, they will put together an entire short film that includes basic editing, audio, compositing, and various effects. However, if readers just wishes to learn a specific aspect of Final Cut Pro, they will be able to go right to the seminar that covers it, open the source files from the DVD, and pick it right up.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 600 pages
• Publisher: New Riders Press (October 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735712816
• ISBN-13: 978-0735712812
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,637,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!, November 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)

This book is the best one out there, in my opinion, on Final Cut Pro. The DVD material is great, and really allows you to edit together something interesting. While doing so you learn not only the functions of Final Cut Pro, but also editing technique, which was very valuable in my limited experience in editing. It is also a great reference book, helping explain certain features, and covering the history of Final Cut Pro.

This is an all around great book, and you will not go wrong with buying it!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have for every FCP user, April 22, 2005

By 

The DV Show "Brian" (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)

Pages and pages of useful information for the beginner and seasoned user. Packed with Final Cut Pro how-to's and quick fixes. As a professional editor this book is always by my side in case I run into a problem.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book from a master communicator, February 7, 2004

By 

R. Lindeboom "theboomer" (Paso Robles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro 4 (Voices That Matter) (Paperback)

Jerry Hofmann is one of the most respected FCP experts in the world, both teaching at the University of Colorado at Denver and holding the distinction of being the top posting guru at both Creativecow.net's FCP forum and Apple.com's Final Cut Pro forums. This is the only book available in which you get to build a complete movie from start to finish. You get all the media files on the book's DVD-ROM disc and by working through the chapters, you will actually understand the process and rationale behind the editing process -- as well as learning the basics of how FCP works. This is unique among all the FCP books we've seen on the market. (You won't find this feature in any other NLE book that we know of for any other editing package.) You also end up creating a 21 layer composite by the end of the book, (the production company logo that ends the film) -- and to learn this type of information, you would have to buy both books 1 & 2 in the Apple Pro series books. Media Manager is also covered in this book, a powerful process that allows editors to both save time and work in the preferred methodology of major editing pros such as Walter Murch, editor of the FCP-edited 'Cold Mountain' film with Nicole Kidman. This is not just a basic entry-level book on how FCP works -- this book will teach you not only how FCP works and the various function keys, etc., but more importantly, how these processes work together to make you an editor. This is not just a 'How To' book but also includes the 'Why' of the editing process. This entire book is one inter-woven tutorial, broken up into topical sections, and is a rich 'Hands-On' experience yielding a finished film as your destination. A great piece of work, Jerry.

Ron Lindeboom
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