Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop by Tom Wolsky
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Book Reviews of Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop
Book Review: Got FCE? You Need This Book!
Summary: 5 Stars
O.k., you're a smart guy, and you've pretty much figured out Final Cut Express on your own. It wasn't all that difficult, was it? Well, if you're like me, you're using the app, but unless you've gone through this book, you're doing everything the slow and painful way, and you're missing many of Final Cut's best features. For instance, did you know that you can easily toggle the icons in the Browser window so that they become thumbnails? Scrollable/scrubbable thumbnails? Your project probably has a dozen or so clips which you neglected to rename, all with names like 16647_100000534815180_6712_6100491_n, so instead of having to drag each clip to the Viewer (or in your Finder) to see what's on it, you can simply hover the pointer over the thumbnail and use your scroll ball or track pad to see it. That tip, to me, was itself worth the price of the book.
My complaint with the other FCE manuals -- such as Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 4-- is that they begin at too basic a level, as if written for someone who has never seen a computer before. They tell you that the window that says "Viewer" at the top is called the Viewer, and you can view clips in it. This book assumes that you already have an idea of what the Timeline is for, and it quickly gets down into some of the more abstruse features. Most manuals are too tedious to wade through, because they're too slow. This book is not at all slow.
The other FCE books I've seen also fail to provide workarounds for the basic shortcomings of the software itself, such as the fact that you can't make a movie in Apple's QuickTime X (using your built-in camera or screen-capture) and import that same clip into Apple's Final Cut Express. What good are the other books if you are stuck at importing a clip before you even get started editing?
I consider this to be the best of the Final Cut Express manuals, and it's nice to see that Wolsky has as much a mastery of grammar as he does of video editing. My only caution is that he uses terms --such as "marquee dragging"-- that would only be familiar to someone who is familiar with Photoshop or the like.
The question is, though, is this book as helpful as the video tutorials available on line, and in particular the tutorials by a certain video guy? (He doesn't sell through Amazon, so I doubt if I can mention the specific name.) The answer to that is that the guy's advanced video course costs $80. This book takes you just as far for only $25. It's your dime.
Book Review: Great
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a total beginner to video. I am very familiar with apple logic pro software and I usually buy the apple books to learn with. I decided to try Tom Wolsky's book based on some of the reviews I read. Final cut express is a powerful editing program and this book covers everything. I was able to edit and upload full videos about halfway through the book. I have still not completed the book and I will be going back through it again because there is so much information I can't remember everything ... and there are a few things that I just don't quite grasp in the text editing areas. I'm not sure if the apple book would be a little more clear explaining this. But I feel certain if I go over this again it will sink in. If you want to see and example of one of my videos go to [...]. This was my first music video and it took me less than a week to finish....Final cut can handle all 16:9 video ... this example is using the letterbox feature.
So all in all I recommend this book.....it got me up an running!
Book Review: Tom's the best
Summary: 5 Stars
I've gotten each new edition of this book, even though there aren't a huge number of changes. It's just nice to see the updates he's made and draw from his rich knowledge and experience with Final Cut Pro/Final Cut Express/iMovie, and the new nuances he throws in with each edition.
You can already learn some key points to keep in mind about the latest version of FCE in the Excerpt from the front of the book available for viewing on Amazon. It's worth the price of the book right there!
Tom works so hard providing lucid and practical support on the Apple Support page for FCE, and no doubt uses that to enhance the next edition. You're going to be getting his free advice sooner or later, so you might as well throw a few bucks his way and give him some credit for all that you will benefit from his wisdom. I've bought several of the other FCE books over the years, but Tom is the best.
Ron Carlson
Book Review: With Tom's guidance, I learned FCE
Summary: 5 Stars
I was able to quickly learn how to edit my clips into a smooth flowing video complete with music and text due to Tom's efforts. I'm a visual person, so I did have his DVD Class on Demand in addition to this book. Together these two avenues worked perfectly for me as they complement each other beautifully. Tom writes in an easy to understand manner and in his DVD, he comes across as though he is right there in the room with you.
This book takes you by the hand and guides you through everything from importing the clips onto your computer to setting the preferences to exporting the completed video to YouTube.
I compared several books before selecting Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop and I know that I made the perfect choice for me.
Book Review: Do you have FCE? Then get this book!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this book after getting frustrated using Final Cut Express, and realizing it wasn't going to be quite the same easy experience I had with iMovie.
I tend to be rather handy with computer programs, but FCE's interface, as Wolsky's book explains, is NOT 'plug and play.' If you're like me, and tooled around with iMovie (and noticed the inherent limitations iMovie has), you upgraded to FCE with the promise of more powerful editing tools.
Since FCE has the same layout as the professional grade (and aptly named) Final Cut Pro, there is quite a steep learning curve. I thought "Final Cut Express 4 Editing Workshop" makes sense of what I needed to know to effectively use the tools presented.