Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4 (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

If you're ready to get serious about editing video, you'll want Final Cut Pro, and this self-paced, Apple-authorized guide is the best place to start learning it. In Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4, master teacher Diana Weynand delivers a comprehensive course on Apple's high-end video editing software. Each chapter represents a complete lesson in some aspect of Final Cut Pro—with a project for you to complete, a review section to test your knowledge, and bonus exercises to reinforce the lessons.

After getting acquainted with the software's interface, you'll dive into chapters on marking and editing, inserting and adjusting edits, working with clips on the timeline, and more before moving on to advanced topics like creating transitions and motion effects, and filter and rendering options. All of Final Cut Pro 4's powerful new features are covered, including real-time color correction and effects, video signal analysis, and improved previews. The accompanying DVD includes all of the lesson files and materials needed to complete the book's projects.

From the Back Cover

If you're ready to get serious about editing video, you'll want Final Cut Pro, and this self-paced, Apple-authorized guide is the best place to start learning it. In Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 4, master teacher Diana Weynand delivers a comprehensive course on Apple's high-end video editing software. Each chapter represents a complete lesson in some aspect of Final Cut Pro-with a project for you to complete, a review section to test your knowledge, and bonus exercises to reinforce the lessons.

After getting acquainted with the software's interface, you'll dive into chapters on marking and editing, inserting and adjusting edits, working with clips on the timeline, and more before moving on to advanced topics like creating transitions and motion effects, and filter and rendering options. All of Final Cut Pro 4's powerful new features are covered, including real-time color correction and effects, video signal analysis, and improved previews. The accompanying DVD includes all of the lesson files and materials needed to complete the book's projects.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 872 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press; Pap/DVD edition (July 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321186494
• ISBN-13: 978-0321186492
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #512,576 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for learning Final Cut Pro 4, October 22, 2003

By	V. Maciulski - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is the official Apple Pro training course for Final Cut Pro 4. All of the lesson files for the training are on the included DVD-ROM. Upon completing the course material in this book, you can become a certified Apple Pro by taking the certification exam at an apple Authorized Training Center. If you had to pay for classes to get certified, you would pay thousands of dollars, so this is a great bargain for those who are motivated to follow the book's course.

You don't have to be on the path to certification to use this book. If you're a hobbyist, beginner or pro who wants to learn more about Final Cut Pro 4, its all in here.

The book begins by explaining the Final Cut Pro interface including the projects, bins, timeline and canvas. It tells you how to open, hide and quit FCP.

There are chapters on marking and editing clips, editing in the timeline, trimming, master clips, subclips and markers. There are chapters on capturing video, importing and exporting, working with audio, mixing audio tracks, and creating a music soundtrack.

Toward the end are the chapters on adding filters, building composite images, creating motion effects, adding text and graphics, and creating an animated title. The last chapter is on finishing and outputting. Each chapter builds logically on what came before.

Each chapter begins with a section called "Preparing the Project." It tells you what to open on your desktoop and in what order to be able to do that lesson. They all end with a section called "What You Have Learned." That section lists the specific tasks in the chapter and all of the keyboard shortcuts associated with those tasks. (Nice touch.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good start, January 5, 2004

By	Olivier Bonin "madmomad" (San Francisco CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is simplifying a lot the basic understanding of FCP 4, and is very easy to go through. But there's no in-depth explanation of what the functions are. Nothing in details about capturing and exporting. No real explanation on how the files outside FCP are being handled, and what kind of space it will take on your hard drive.

Obviously this book is good to read if you've never touched FCP. In a week you will go through it. You don't even need to do the exercises, as the book shows you every single menu and has visual representations of all the functions it's taking you through. And in this way this book is worth having.

But going through it I thought I was missing a lot of technical details, which is hopefully covered in the advanced version.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely The Best, August 3, 2003

By	denny callahan (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

From the very beginning this books takes your hand and slowly walks through
this complicated video editing software. I had no previous experience, but found myself amazed at the repetitive training techniques and helpful self learning exercises. The DVD contains video clips, audio segments and complete sequences which the book slowly guides you through each of the 21 lessons. At the conclusion of each lesson is a review and a practice exercise which truly tests your ability to grasp the previous material. I continue to be amazed at just how much Ive learned in such a short time. I recommend this Apple training course highly to anyone who is interested at any level of their current editing ability.