I'll be moving to FCP4 in the fall. I know it comes with a complete set of manuals. I went to buy a book to get started learning the basics and there are SOOOOOO many of them. Everything from Final Cut Pro 4 for Dummies to the Apple training series.

So, any recommendations as to where to start?

Thanks.

I've used www.vtc.com because it's visual. If you bought the FCP program you already paid for a basic manual.

The VTC site is cool because it's Quicktime videos of FCP while the guy talks you through it. I prefer visual learning as do most people, I think.

Murph

the peachpit press stuff across the board is pretty useful primarilly as a resource on the fly... from Illustrator and Photoshop to FCP and Flash

I'd highly recommend Final Cut Pro 4 by Diana Weynand, in the Apple Pro Training Series. I've just worked through it myself (having never used FCP before) and found it a very effective way of learning. It includes a DVD with files for each of the 21 lessons.

FCP is very complex and I doubt that any book (or course) is going to provide any more than a foundation, but I feel in a good position to really start learning how to use it now.

I've got three recommendations:

1) Jerry Hofmann on Final Cut Pro, because it teaches editing as well as using FCP, and it's very well written with lots of advice suitable for all levels

2) Kevin Monahan's Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro, because if you want to do effects, this is the best FCP based book to teach you how, and it's more than worth the cost of the book for the free filters you get with it that I wrote especially for Kevin - Telly's FX

3) Tom Wolsky - I have his FCP3 book and it's a great guide to the application itself and the FCP4 version looks just as good.

Graeme

Like Christopher said, you should already have the basic manual that came with FCP. It's a good solid reference.

I'd second a video training like the VTC or th PowerStart cd's from DVCreators (which you can find used on eBay and places like that) and like I said, even if it's for FCP 3 it will still give you a good, basic education in editing and the Final Cut Pro environment.

Jerry Hoffman has a DVD out that I liked a lot. His books are also good, he has a great style and he's very accessable.

Tom Wolsky's books are good because they are project oriented. You can get the FCP 3 or 2 book cheap used and it will still do you right because the basics are the basics.

If you are totally new to editing there I cannot recommend Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro by Michael Wohl enough. He starts off by explaining editing and only then gets into FCP.

I wasn't overly impressed with Monahan's Motion Graphics book. Wasn't anything I didn't already know about although there were some good tips. It's an intermediate to advanced book--- get the basics down first and most of the stuff he talks about is covered in other books at a more introduction level.

When you have the basics down tehn you can go to the higher level books but at this point a FCP 3 video or book will get you started on the basics and you need that before you can go anywhere or get into advanced features.