Customer Rating: 
Summary: This book will get you up and running in no time!
Comment: This book is a truly rare thing - a primer for a complicated and rich application which cuts through the BS and gives you a real, practical working knowledge of the program in a series of easy, brilliantly designed lessons. If you are new to Final Cut Express, this book will have you up and running in no time. It also gives you a good foundation knowledge of basic film technique, so that when you start shooting in earnest, you'll have an idea of where to go. Bravo Diana Weynand!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Indispensable Guide
Comment: When I upgraded from my old PowerBook to a new MacBook I was dismayed to find that a new version of iMovie came with Leopard. After reading disparaging reviews of iMovie '08, I decided to upgrade to Final Cut Express even though my video editing needs are rather modest. After installing the software and seeing that the PDF user manual was over 1100 pages, I knew I wouldn't have the patience to go through it all and I wanted to order something simpler. With FCE4 being quite new, the only choice immediately available was Diana Weynand's book and I ordered it. Now that I've gone through the entire book, I can enthusiastically recommend it. At first I was dismissive of the DVD that came with it, thinking that it would just contain video demonstrations of various editing operations. It turns out, however, that the DVD contains the material for methodical exercises that take you through various lessons so that the book is really an instruction course, not just a guide. Going through the lessons with the book and DVD is actually fun even though I may never use some of the advanced functions FCE4 offers. I believe that for relative beginners like me this book is indispensable. I confess that I will now go through it again to clear up some of the material I didn't quite understand or have forgotten. Also, there are some questions Weynand's book left unanswered for me, but having the background I gained by studying the whole book made it easier for me to turn to the actual user's manual that came with the software. I'm very excited about FCE4, and I owe a lot to this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Training Manual
Comment: I am new to mac and wanted to learn final cut express since i bought a new panasonic avchd camcorder which does not import into the old imovie. The book is very informative with numerous practical exercises at the end of each chapter. This book combines great illustration and concepts with hands on exercises. The book also contains a dvd for more advanced features of fce 4. I have learned diligently and feel quite confident with the semi-professional videos i will be producing. This book comes highly recommended and is as intense and informative as you would expect for an official apple training manual.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Training From The Bottom Up
Comment: This training book covers it all. The enclosed CD also includes the lesson clips as well as advanced training. The book examples and screens match exactly with the software.
This is not a book to learn Final Cut Express in a couple of hours. Each of the 15 lessons takes 30-90 minutes but well worth it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good, but be aware
Comment: The book is good, thorough and detailed.
But, the "juicy" chapters where Final Cut is outshining iMovie and the rest of the lower lever video editors are on PDF files on the DVD, not included in the book itself.
This is a small annoying item for an otherwise very useful book.
Summary: This book will get you up and running in no time!
Comment: This book is a truly rare thing - a primer for a complicated and rich application which cuts through the BS and gives you a real, practical working knowledge of the program in a series of easy, brilliantly designed lessons. If you are new to Final Cut Express, this book will have you up and running in no time. It also gives you a good foundation knowledge of basic film technique, so that when you start shooting in earnest, you'll have an idea of where to go. Bravo Diana Weynand!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Indispensable Guide
Comment: When I upgraded from my old PowerBook to a new MacBook I was dismayed to find that a new version of iMovie came with Leopard. After reading disparaging reviews of iMovie '08, I decided to upgrade to Final Cut Express even though my video editing needs are rather modest. After installing the software and seeing that the PDF user manual was over 1100 pages, I knew I wouldn't have the patience to go through it all and I wanted to order something simpler. With FCE4 being quite new, the only choice immediately available was Diana Weynand's book and I ordered it. Now that I've gone through the entire book, I can enthusiastically recommend it. At first I was dismissive of the DVD that came with it, thinking that it would just contain video demonstrations of various editing operations. It turns out, however, that the DVD contains the material for methodical exercises that take you through various lessons so that the book is really an instruction course, not just a guide. Going through the lessons with the book and DVD is actually fun even though I may never use some of the advanced functions FCE4 offers. I believe that for relative beginners like me this book is indispensable. I confess that I will now go through it again to clear up some of the material I didn't quite understand or have forgotten. Also, there are some questions Weynand's book left unanswered for me, but having the background I gained by studying the whole book made it easier for me to turn to the actual user's manual that came with the software. I'm very excited about FCE4, and I owe a lot to this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Training Manual
Comment: I am new to mac and wanted to learn final cut express since i bought a new panasonic avchd camcorder which does not import into the old imovie. The book is very informative with numerous practical exercises at the end of each chapter. This book combines great illustration and concepts with hands on exercises. The book also contains a dvd for more advanced features of fce 4. I have learned diligently and feel quite confident with the semi-professional videos i will be producing. This book comes highly recommended and is as intense and informative as you would expect for an official apple training manual.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Training From The Bottom Up
Comment: This training book covers it all. The enclosed CD also includes the lesson clips as well as advanced training. The book examples and screens match exactly with the software.
This is not a book to learn Final Cut Express in a couple of hours. Each of the 15 lessons takes 30-90 minutes but well worth it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good, but be aware
Comment: The book is good, thorough and detailed.
But, the "juicy" chapters where Final Cut is outshining iMovie and the rest of the lower lever video editors are on PDF files on the DVD, not included in the book itself.
This is a small annoying item for an otherwise very useful book.