Final Cut Express 4: Visual QuickStart Guide

Here to ensure that users start taking advantage of Final Cut Express 4's powerful editing capabilities immediately is a thoroughly updated task-based guide to the program from best-selling author and digital video expert Lisa Brenneis. Users who are eager to make effective, compelling videos but don't want to invest heavily in training or equipment will welcome Lisa's simple step-by-step instructions, strong visual approach, and sound professional advice. In short order, they'll find themselves editing video; applying special effects and transitions; mastering the program's compositing, titling, and audio tools; and outputting their finished work. Readers will also learn about all that's new in this major upgrade: importing iMovie 08 projects, open format Timeline, built-in AVCHD and more.

Customer Reviews:

The kindest Cut of all

By G. W. Marsh "G.W." - December 29, 2009

I neglected to read the reviews on this page before I purchased the book, and had I done so, would not have added this book to my library. That would have been a great loss.

I bought the software for Final Cut Express 4 three months ago and have struggled with a learning curve that seemed at times vertical. Particularly annoying was that the highly recommended book I bought at the time included a DVD which I at first thought was a good idea, but came quickly to realize that chopping about in someone's deadly dull movie is no fun at all. I dreaded doing the lessons. Worse, they tied me to the computer, for without the computer the book went from irritating to useless.

Recently I stumbled across Lisa Brenneis's book. Brilliant! Fun to read lucid prose written in an engaging and conversational style and sans the labored jokes other series include; an intuitive index which really enables you to find things (the above mentioned h.r. book has a thwarting index)... read more

Not for beginners, but so good for advanced

By supa-cutter of cali "sidewalk editor" - May 5, 2009

I'm fairly experienced with Final Cut, but every once in a while i get stymied by some odd event or set of procedures. That's when i reach for this reference manual. The book isn't really designed like a over-arcing tutorial guide, like a step-by-step from beginning to end, and maybe that's what some reviewers desire. It does have step-by-step guides, but for very specific events. It covers the basics, but for beginners, the entire final cut suite of products can be like hitting a brick wall - you have to be patient and keep editing, and the wisdom will eventually come. It's not easy, but i found this guide helps me.

And reviewers should really lay off the personal attacks on authors, that's just ugly.
...just you wait until Zombie Charles Dickens comes knocking on your door... read more

Not a How to Book

By OQ "OQ" - July 11, 2008

This is not a "How to" book. It explains the functions but not the procedures, It does not tie anything together and gives no examples at all on how to do anything with Final cut express, It just explains what the particular function does. The photo's are terrible. Unfortunetly it was the only book avaliable on Final Cut Express at the Big Block type bookstores. I knew from the get go I was not going to enjoy this book, The software PDF manual is way better to bad that's not in print..

AVAILABILITY
Merchant	Format	Price
Amazon US	Paperback	$0.90 - $34.99
eBooks.com	Digital (PDF)	$27.99
BookByte	Paperback	$22.49
eCampus	Paperback	~~$18.33~~ discount!