Final Cut Pro ~ Education

[John Rodgers]

I am just getting back into shooting & editing after 15 + years away. I just purchased the new version of Final Cut Pro.

Does anyone have any suggestions on either a DVD education series or some from of interactive education?

[Shaughan Flynn]

Software training online-tutorials for Adobe, Microsoft, Apple & more
Ken Stone's Final Cut Pro

[David Knaggs]

Originally Posted by John Rodgers

... a DVD education series ...

Ripple Training

[Shaughan Flynn]

And cross posting is bad mmmmk.

[Greg Chisholm]

Originally Posted by John Rodgers

I am just getting back into shooting & editing after 15 + years away. I just purchased the new version of Final Cut Pro.

Does anyone have any suggestions on either a DVD education series or some from of interactive education?

the peachpit press apple pro training series books are great. the come with a dvd with the actual projects for each chapter so you can work along with the book.

I have used Lynda.com and ripple training as well but i think the apple pro series is top notch.

my 2 cents

greg

[Robert Bale]

Hi, i just want to ask, i recently went to the world tour for final cut studio, they show us lots of interesting features using all app with in the studio, i am looking for a training dvd, on these, i can use FCP fine, but would like to find a DVD on the new features.

[Dan Magnafichi]

John,
I was also in your situation and I agree with Greg, the Peachpit Press books are GREAT! I bought a book for each application in Final Cut Studio and besides being a very thorough and easy to follow step-by-step learning process they are also great as references when you actually start working on projects and need to review how to do certain functions. I also have used Linda.com and Ripple training and while they give you brief watchable instructions on certain functions you can't beat the hands-on process of the Peachpit books. You can buy them through Apple or directly from Peachpit and also slightly cheaper through Amazon.

Good Luck,
Dan

[David Knaggs]

Originally Posted by Dan Magnafichi

I also have used ... Ripple training and while they give you brief watchable instructions on certain functions ...

Hi Dan.

I have a number of the Peachpit books and they certainly are good, but your comments about the shallowness of the Ripple Training DVDs compel me to ask this question:

Which specific Ripple Training DVD or DVDs did you study exactly?

I know they have a little "free" section on their website where anyone can access a handful of some very early tutorials which, yes, offer "brief watchable instructions on certain functions".

But their core training DVDs, on all parts of FCS, I find to be extremely comprehensive. Their DVD on Soundtrack Pro, for example, I consider to be a masterwork on the subject. My Peachpit book on Soundtrack Pro was good (and I'm sure that there would be a newer one out since I got mine), but it was the Ripple Training DVD that really opened my eyes to the extremely powerful tool that Soundtrack Pro truly is. I'd probably only been using about 10-15% of its capabilities before this. A bit like driving a Ferrari at only 15 miles per hour! And they provide full practice media so that you can follow along. Which is 100% "hands-on".

I found their training DVD on DVD Studio Pro to be similarly outstanding. Their Compressor training DVDs are by Brian Gary. Nothing superficial there. Brian Gary also wrote the Peachpit book on Compressor, which Robert Lane and others heartily recommend.

Similarly, I so enjoyed the Color Correction section, written by Andrew Balis, in one of my earlier Peachpit books that I sought out further work by Andrew on the subject and found his Ripple Training DVD on Color Correcting in FCP. After I studied that, I had no more questions or problems with color correcting with FCP and, more importantly for me, a far better command of the aesthetic possibilities with the tool of color correction.

As to the comment about Lynda.com, I haven't studied their paid FCS tutorials, so perhaps others who have thoroughly studied them can comment. I did study Lynda's tutorials on Shake, however and found them to be very good (far, far better than the 10 hours of DVD tutorials I bought from another company, which I shan't name).

The reason I'm making this post at all, rather than letting those comments slide, is because I think it's vitally important for a newcomer to make informed decisions about their training in FCS. It's no trivial matter and I think it's quite essential, if you want to make a living out of video, to find a structured training program that will get you up to real competence.

Some prefer learning from books, others prefer learning from videos or DVDs. It's purely a personal preference based on, "What works best for you?" I think some newcomers will learn best from books and manuals and other newcomers will be inclined to learn better from audio-visual training (videos and DVDs).

My personal preference for FCS training is a combination of training DVDs (Ripple) and the instruction manuals provided by Apple (there is a sticky by Robert Lane at the top of this forum showing how you can access these manuals directly). I like to be walked through the practical, real-life workflows, step-by-step, by real experts while I follow along with the practice media. In terms of what I use day-in and day-out to make my living (corporate video), I find these DVDs to be complete. But I also like, on occasion, to dive into a particular manual if I seek a more comprehensive understanding on some particular point. But that's just me.

While Dan has rightly praised the Peachpit books to newcomers, I challenge his curt dismissal to those same newcomers of the two paid video training alternatives and have to ask, in the case of the "core FCS training" DVDs by Ripple which I am intimately familiar with, which actual DVDs by Ripple is Dan basing his advice on?