Final Cut Express Solutions

Rating:
Summary: Not Enough...
Review: After completing several projects using various versions of iMovie, I've recently made the switch to Final Cut Express to increase my editing capabilities.

I'm disappointed in this book, which was offered for $40 at the Apple store when buying the Final Cut Express software.

The text lacks in-depth information about FCE's video and audio filters, and fails to adequately cover the software basics. The authors' suggest their own website for more information, but there's nothing on it.

I'm going to try Tom Wolsky's book and hope for a better guide.

Rating:
Summary: Final Cut Express Solutions review
Review: Before you read Final Cut Express Solutions or invest in the Final Cut Express software, it's important to realize that Final Cut Express is not for everyone. Some people are quite happy with iMovie. And yet others want more latitude in their creativity. Final Cut Express does just that and Final Cut Express Solutions will show you how.

Personally, I find Final Cut Express to be intimidating. It's not as novice friendly as iMovie, but that's the price you pay when you get more creative options. Final Cut Express Solutions does a great job of walking you through the process of creating your own movie. The book has a nice flow to it; it doesn't just jump in with all the neat stuff you can do with footage. Final Cut Express Solutions tells you exactly what the steps are in creating a movie and explains what you're seeing, right from the very first time you open Final Cut Express.

The book uses a combination of text and screen shots to guide you through the various features of Final Cut Express. I find screen captures to be an absolute must in any software tutorial. And this book is heavy on screen captures, pretty much one for every command or feature that is being shown. There is also a CD-ROM that accompanies the Final Cut Express Solutions text, which provides project footage to show what the various features of Final Cut Express can do. You can even edit the footage for practice. In fact, the book refers to the footage as it shows you various features. I would recommend using the CD-ROM along with the book as indicated in the text of Final Cut Express Solutions.

Final Cut Express Solutions is organized extremely well and serves as a quick reference for various functions of creating a movie. Chapters follow a roughly chronological order in the process of making a movie, focusing on topics such as importing footage, editing, audio, and many more.

One requirement that is spelled out right from the start is that you'll need QuickTime Pro. You can buy QuickTime Pro directly from Apple (www.apple.com/quicktime) for $29.99. Final Cut Express works seamlessly with QuickTime Pro and is necessary for some of the topics that the book covers.

This is the only Final Cut Express guide I have reviewed, but I have reviewed one other Sybex book, iMovie 3 Solutions, an excellent book. Final Cut Express Solutions follows an identical format and feel and is also an excellent book.

Final Cut Express is not a book that you will read and then just put away on the shelf. It is an excellent reference book that you will need frequently as you delve more into the advanced features of Final Cut Express.

Rating:
Summary: Final Cut Express Solutions
Review: I had been using iMovie for about three years and started feeling that I had pretty much mastered it. Not that my movies were going to win any Oscars, but rather, my creativity was limited by what iMovie would allow me to do.

Apple must have heard me grumbling about iMovie and must have known I couldn't afford Final Cut Pro, so they created Final Cut Express. When I finally received this software, I realized I was over my head; I didn't even know how to begin using it. My solution was getting the book "Final Cut Express Solutions" by Jason Cranford Teague and David Teague.

One of my initial observations was the full-color pages throughout the book. Most software books are black and white and boring. I found myself looking forward to the next chapter because each chapter builds on previous chapters. As I progressed through the book, I used the project files and clips provided on the Companion DVD to help me learn each chapter.

The first chapter, "The Hardware Setup," was very informative. The authors take the time to advise what hardware is important to the success of your editing in Final Cut Express. Since then, I've purchased additional memory (I now have 768 MB SDRAM) and a 160 GB external FireWire hard disk for my iMac.

Audio is an area I need the most training with. Chapter 8 "Adding Audio," gives me exactly what I need to be able to fully utilize all the audio control Final Cut Express has to offer. I learned about room tone and world tone; recorded silence in interior and exterior areas respectively.

Titles! I was so limited with iMovie titles, that all my movies had the same look. Chapter 9 "Adding Titles and Finishing Up," offers a wealth of titling options. The authors even provided a section on "Creating Final Cut Express Titles in Photoshop."

A very unique and very powerful tool the authors use is the "Movie Night!" feature. At the end of each chapter (except Chapter 10), you'll find a purple box that highlights a movie where the authors talk about some unique editing features of that particular movie. What's really cool is how the authors use each movie to further discuss that chapters' topic. For example, in Chapter 9 "Adding Titles and Finishing Up," the authors explain how Alfred Hitchcock used a title sequence to capture the audience at the beginning of the movie "Vertigo."

I'm not a Final Cut Express expert yet, but with the guidance found in "Final Cut Express Solutions," I find my movie making abilities far beyond what I was doing with iMovie. The authors say it best, "That is what you will get out of this book: a thorough understanding of what it takes to get a movie made." If you have Final Cut Express, get this book. If you don't have Final Cut Express yet, get it soon, then get this book.