Final Cut Pro 2 for Macintosh: Visual Quickpro Guide

Final Cut Pro is a serious program for serious editors. So is the User's Manual. If you're as easily confused and intimidated as I am, this books for you! Brenneis does a great job explaining some of the stuff you're going to use the most without bogging you down in all the details of the User's Manual. You'll be happy you bought this!

After cutting on film for many years I took the leap to digital editing with Final Cut Pro. I was lost until a friend showed me this book. This is not like other computer manuals written by antisocial engineers, it is easy to read, clear and concise. Even though it is a technical subject it never got too geeky for me.I'll be sure to get the version 3 book as soon as it comes out.

First off, it's good to point out that the title includes the words 'QuickPro', not 'Quickstart', What this means is, unlike other quickstart books, the book doesn't assume you're a dummy. It instead assumes you have some non-linear editing experience. It's intended at getting an experienced editor up to speed with Final Cut Pro. Coming from AVID and Premiere, this book was great for me. Having said that, it could be possible for a beginner to learn Final Cut Pro using this book, possible, but not the book's intention.The book doesn't have tutorials, but you can still follow along on your computer, or, because they're lots of screen captures you can read it away from the computer and simply imagine you're at the computer. The writing is clear and concise, and the topics are organized well. And the book is cheap!! Recommended.

i just purchased fcp 2.0 couple of weeks ago and its user manual (800+ pages) was just too much to digest. after a friend told me about this book, i ordered it and it is a great alternative to the official manual! this book would definitely help you on your project. highly recommend to any new fcp users.

Most everyone I know that uses Final Cut Pro owns this book, and reads it far more frequently than the Apple FCP manual itself. That alone is enough to recommend it to any FCP user. Let's get out of the way what this book is, and what it isn't. What it is, is a well written, clear and concise how to book on setting up and using Final Cut Pro. It covers what's most critical (such as logging and capturing, and basic editing and transitions) in excellent detail. And it skims over other areas that most users aren't going to get into very quickly (image stabilization, video filters, etc.). What the book is not, is a "Classroom in a Book" style book, where a new user can just read it from front to back and follow the book while running through exercises. The other thing it is not is a replacement for the Apple FCP manual. Using this book as a reference can sometimes be frustrating as a result. But I use that criticism lightly, as that isn't the real aim of this book. Many people that get into FCP find the Apple FCP manual itself very dry, and daunting. Those are the people who this book is best suited for. Not the total beginner (though a beginner will soon get into it) and not for the most advanced user looking for detailed references.