Final Cut Express 2 Editing Workshop, Second Edition
Product Description
Nonlinear, or digital, editing involves the manipulation of digitized video. Software applications permit the editor to cut, splice, make transitions, and edit film more precisely than was ever possible with conventional film editing techniques. Final Cut Express 2 is an inexpensive version of Apple’s Final Cut Pro software, the leading nonlinear editing program for the Mac platform. In its first year, Final Cut Express proved to be a compelling alternative for hobb… More >>
Final Cut Express 2 Editing Workshop, Second Edition
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Marc S. said :
March 10, 2010 at 12:38 am
Granted, Final Cut Express is a complicated program, but I can’t help feeling that these lessons are more confusing than they have to be. For example, I find the author will sometimes embrak on a project without really explaining (in layman’s terms) what it is we’re about to do. It’s almost as if I have to catch up to the point of the lesson. He’ll also leave out certain details that might be basic to him, but are not to the novice (like switching back to the “Select” tool before embarking on a certain task.) Conversly, he’ll sometimes go into way too much detail about all the different ways one could perform the same function. To be honest, I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten through a whole lesson without being thoroughly confused or just not getting the results I’m supposed to. In short, I just can’t help feeling that there is a more consise and logical way to teach this program.
With all that being said however, you can’t help but pick up some knowledge as you go through the lessons. For myself, I’d venture to guess I’m retaining about 20%. Which is still 20% more than I knew before I got the book. And because it is organized in a workshop form, you do feel compelled to follow through.
Bottom line: If there’s another Final Cut Express workshop book, I’d strongly consider it. If not, it’s still not a bad thing to have.
Rating: 3 / 5
M. A Peddycord said :
March 10, 2010 at 2:00 am
Ok, I admit…. this book looked really cool at first glance (the chapter on the Brady Bunch theme showed promise), but when I actually got into the book, it was hard to follow, and I felt the author’s bias shadowed over the book. He continually made reference to things he wished they had in the software that weren’t there and other opinionated things like that. I really wanted to like this book because of the little movie talking about the differences between iMovie and FCE2. That was about the only thing that was valuable in this entire book. The video footage was unbearable. I wish it could have been better!
Rating: 1 / 5
G. E. MACLAREN said :
March 10, 2010 at 2:16 am
Except for the little chat (on the DVD included) about how FCE differs from iMovie, there is not much quality in this book. The video footage included is awful. There are many typos, and the index is VERY poor. (Look up “Sequence.”) This book was so bad, I purchased another title — “Final Cut Expess Solutions” by Jason and David Teague to learn FCE. It’s a much better book. I wish someone like Wolsky and/or the Teagues would make a good video about using FCE — similar to the tutorial that came with my copy of FCE.
Rating: 2 / 5
D. Johnson said :
March 10, 2010 at 4:10 am
This book was very helpful. Helped me understand the whole process greatly, while giving specific help. Easy to read and understand.
Rating: 5 / 5
Bob Buyer said :
March 10, 2010 at 4:39 am
I am new to FCE. This boook clearly explained how to use the application and answers questions you have when you get stuck.
Rating: 4 / 5