For those who are just becoming familiar
with the complexities of Final Cut, for those who wish to review,
or for those who have intentions of becoming Apple Certified
for Final Cut Pro, this is the must have book. From the very
beginning through to the end, all that would be covered in the
Apple Certification exam can be found in here.
Using entirely new footage taken
from the USA Network's television series 'Monk', Seaworld's 'Belief'
documentary and BBC's 'Living Color' the Final Cut Pro 6 book
is a real update from the Final Cut Pro 5 version. Arriving with
631 pages and the tutorial media DVD, there is a great deal of
information to be covered and Ms. Weynand provides a thoroughly
comprehensive tutorial book.
Since this manual is part of the
Apple Pro Training Series and is meant to bring the student editor
up to date and running with Final Cut, it naturally starts at
the beginning with basic video editing tools and techniques and
progresses smoothly interchanging the supplied media footage,
as needed, in order to demonstrate the plethora of skills required
to edit with Final Cut Pro. However, no editor that I know of
uses all the diverse options that Final Cut Pro offers and, it
has been my experience that when one hasn't used a tool or technique
in a long while, it is often forgotten or simply left undiscovered.
Thus, if you consider yourself an intermediate or advanced editor
do not think that this book as little to offer. On the contrary,
with the more skilled editor having a solid grounding in Final
Cut Pro, various techniques and options will be easier to understand
and accessed more frequently. Final Cut Pro 6 is divided into
several sections, 'Creating a Rough Cut', 'Refining the Cut',
'Supporting the Process', 'Completing the Cut', and 'Adding Effects
and Finishing'. Each of these sections is separated into chapters
according to its relevance and, be assured, that what you need
will not be overlooked.
Like its predecessor, there is
a heavy emphasis on learning and using the keyboard shortcuts
while, at the same time; alternative methods for utilizing any
number of the myriad tasks and tools are also provided. In fact,
that is one of the major strengths of the book. Alternative options
or at least the awareness that there are options, have proven
time and again to speed and make more efficacious a workflow.
When used with the media disc, each chapter provides a tutorial
for using each of the many alternative techniques.
For those who intend to become
Apple certified, at the end of each chapter are a series of review
questions confirming what you have learned in that chapter. Many
of these questions are the same or similar to those that you
will find when you take the Apple certification test making this
book all the more valuable.
The Final Cut Pro 6 book is written
in a very straightforward manner, the exposition clear and precise.
Tasks and techniques are written with a step-by-step approach.
The graphics are in real world color and are easy to see and
read. While the Smooth Cam filter has no mention, and very little
attention paid to the mixed formats ability of Final Cut 6, should
you start the book from the beginning, by the end, you will find
yourself familiar and comfortable with most everything you need
to know. I would strongly recommend that you copy the media from
the supplied disc to your hard drive rather than run it off the
disc. It will play back considerably smoother for you and you
can pace yourself however you may like.
Awhile back I took the previous
version for Final Cut 5 and, just for the fun of it, worked with
it from cover to cover. I found it beneficial in a number of
ways. There is always something to learn or be reminded of. The
Apple Pro Training Series for Final Cut Pro 6 is heads and tales
better than working with the manual that comes with Studio 2
and I look forward to seeing the complete series as they are
released. And there you have my bottom line.
Available
in lafcpug Store for $34.64
Steve
Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 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, and a recent History channel MegaDisaster
show. 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 Kenya, Bali &
Komodo, & Lembeh Straits in Indonesia in 2007, the Coco Islands,
Costa Rica & Vietnam in 2008 and safari in Africa for 2009.
Feel free to contact him if you are interested in joining Steve
on any of these exciting trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com
copyright © Steve
Douglas 2007
This article first appeared
on www.kenstone.net and
is reprinted here with permission.
All screen captures and textual references are the property and
trademark of their creators/owners/publishers.