Released recently is a new addition to
the arsenal of Final Cut Pro based books, 'Final Cut Pro 6 Beyond
the Basics' by Michael Wohl. This book is massive in length coming
in at 678 pages and is designed to bring the editor from the
basic workings and editing techniques used in Final Cut Pro to
the next level of mastery.
Typical of the Apple Pro Training
Series of books is an accompanying disc full of media and project
sources which enable you to follow along on a variety of projects,
each exploring a new phase or skill level designed to enhance
your understanding and use of the many options and tools within
Final Cut.
Additionally, typical of the Pro
Training Series is that how you use this book is very much up
to you. While it can never hurt to follow along sequentially
from beginning to end, it is understood that if you have purchased
this book, some chapter focuses may be more of interest, or need,
than others. Thus, skipping to anywhere in the book can be just
as beneficial as a start to end read. Keep in mind that simply
following a bunch of tutorial steps will not necessarily teach
the understanding of what and why you are taking those steps.
Anyone can follow the numbers but it is up to the user and reader
of this book to confirm that they understand the purpose of the
given directions so that this comprehension can be applied to
their own project sequences.
Beyond the Basics is divided into
5 major sections, Advanced Editing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects,
Color Correction and Project Management. Each of these sections
contains several chapters relating to that specific aspect of
the editing workflow. Chapter 16's lesson on Tapeless Importing
and Outputting is very well done. Unfortunately, the short section
on creating video for HD DVDs is no longer relevant since Toshiba's
decision to give up the ship on HD. In the Visual Effects section
a well written lesson on Nesting Sequences is also a stand out
and will help those who may be bewildered as to how to efficiently
and creatively work with nested sequences. Mixing and roundtripping
from Final Cut Pro and Soundtrack is the major focus of the Sound
Mixing lessons and the lessons covering Variable Speed were well
demonstrated.
Retaining the belief that this
book is intended for the editor already familiar with Final Cut
Pro, I was dismayed that not much was covered on the use of HD
or HDV footage and codecs. There was no mention of Pro Res in
the index but maybe it was hidden here somewhere and I just didn't
see it. The media reflected several genres of footage from surfing
videos, motorcross, dancers and a bar scene. While several clips
were widescreen most of the media was shot in 4:3 720x480. In
my opinion, it is time, and especially in a book aimed at the
more advanced user, to stick to downconverted HD or HDV 16x9
footage for media resources. That said, 'Final Cut Pro 6 Beyond
the Basics' by Michael Wohl is a comprehensive course for those
who feel the need to go beyond the knowledge and skills they
already possess.
Steve
Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 6 and
underwater videographer. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater
Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater
Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International
Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan
Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver
of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The
Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's
Atlantis production, the History channel's MegaDisaster show
and other networks. Steve is one of the founding organizers of
the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition and leads both underwater
filming expeditions and African safaris with upcoming excursions
to Indonesia and the Coco Islands, Costa Rica in 2008, Kenyan
safari in Africa and the Red Sea for 2009, and Truk Lagoon in
Micronesia for 2010. Feel free to contact him if you are interested
in joining Steve on any of these exciting trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com
copyright © Steve
Douglas 2008
This article
first appeared on www.kenstone.net and is reprinted here
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