Guest
January 7th, 2006, 12:46 PM
A gentleman by the name of Paul Farmer sent me an email asking the following -
- - - - -
Derek-
Hi, I'm new to the board and new to digital and NLE. I've been shooting Betacam SP forever and editing linear with the UVW series machines. Now this old dog has to learn new tricks as my camera is getting to old to keep repairing. My question is: Assuming I know the basics of editing, how long can I plan on it taking to get up to speed on Final Cut Pro 5? I just got a PowerMac Quad with 4GB RAM and a 30" HD Monitor. So I've got the hardware but I'm going to keep the old machines around until I master NLE. Also, can you recommend the best tutorial for FCP whether in book form or DVD. Thanks in advance Derek!
- - - - -
We agreed to post my reply here for the benefit of the DVinf.net community and so he could hear from other’s who had WAY more experience than I do.
Here’s my reply:
In my opinion, FCP is very intuitive. With your years of experience with shooting and editing, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with how quick you will feel at home in FCP. Depending on how much time you spend with it, I think you could get “up to speed” in as little as a weekend.
You are starting with the best equipment available with the latest version of OSX and FCP so that will make it even easier.
As far as books go:
I would get these two to start with and do the following. Read the first chapter of each and proceed with the one you feel the most comfortable with. OR, if you can find a bookstore with both, sit down with a cup of coffee, browse through each of them, and buy the one you like the best. One mistake I made early on was buying a bunch of books at once. That’s fine if you can go through them quickly and/or need them for references, but software changes so quickly today, you don’t want to buy 3 FCP 5 books, only have time to read one, and then see that FCP 6 was just introduced! –
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 5 by Diana Weynand
Final Cut Pro 5 Hands on Training (a.k.a. HOT) by Larry Jordan
This book is put out by Lynda.com, which is owned by Lynda Weinman. I’ve always liked her books. They flow very well.
So starting with one (or both) of these books would be a good beginning for the “book tutorial” route.
A Recent Option – On-Line Video Tutorials:
I like Lynda’s stuff, so naturally, I like her site an an on-line library of video tutorials (http://www.lynda.com). For $25 per month (there are other options as well) you can choose from a very complete library of software titles. Her FCP 5 title was just recently added. With your computer set-up, you can have the on-line FCP video tutorial going and FCP open as well. You can follow along at your own pace while doing the exercises on your own. I REALLY like learning from video, so this is my preferred route.
On-Line Forums – Like this one:
I would frequent this forum and watch what other people are posting. Another great thing to do is click “search” and type in something you may be interested in or have a question about. The great thing about forums is all of the excellent information that stays in place over time. It becomes a huge reference library for problem solving. Chris Hurd and the moderators here have done a great job on DVinfo.Net.
Other stuff I would recommend:
Experiment as much as you can in FCP. Cut, Edit, add filters, transitions, etc. You won’t break anything and diving in “by doing” will really teach you quick. Each of the books I mentioned above comes with footage and projects that you get to edit. First do what the author says, then do what you want!
I would buy a different mouse than the one that your G5 came with. Personally, since I have a Mac, I like to stick with the Apple Brand for everything I get (when I can). I like the “Mighty Mouse.” It’s not nearly as robust as some of the other mice on the market, but I’ve got two of them on two different G5’s and like them quite a bit.
I would also recommend a LogicKeyBoard (http://www.logickeyboard.com)
I’ve got the “FCP Apple Pro “G5” keyboard (LKBU-FCP-APG5-US)I. on both of my computers. All of those shortcuts are great. I tried one other brand and it did not work. The LogicKeyboard has worked perfectly and I’ve been using them both for well over 6 months.
I hope you (and others) find this helpful information. I also hope some other experience DVinfo.Net members add their opinions to this thread.
- - - - -
Derek-
Hi, I'm new to the board and new to digital and NLE. I've been shooting Betacam SP forever and editing linear with the UVW series machines. Now this old dog has to learn new tricks as my camera is getting to old to keep repairing. My question is: Assuming I know the basics of editing, how long can I plan on it taking to get up to speed on Final Cut Pro 5? I just got a PowerMac Quad with 4GB RAM and a 30" HD Monitor. So I've got the hardware but I'm going to keep the old machines around until I master NLE. Also, can you recommend the best tutorial for FCP whether in book form or DVD. Thanks in advance Derek!
- - - - -
We agreed to post my reply here for the benefit of the DVinf.net community and so he could hear from other’s who had WAY more experience than I do.
Here’s my reply:
In my opinion, FCP is very intuitive. With your years of experience with shooting and editing, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with how quick you will feel at home in FCP. Depending on how much time you spend with it, I think you could get “up to speed” in as little as a weekend.
You are starting with the best equipment available with the latest version of OSX and FCP so that will make it even easier.
As far as books go:
I would get these two to start with and do the following. Read the first chapter of each and proceed with the one you feel the most comfortable with. OR, if you can find a bookstore with both, sit down with a cup of coffee, browse through each of them, and buy the one you like the best. One mistake I made early on was buying a bunch of books at once. That’s fine if you can go through them quickly and/or need them for references, but software changes so quickly today, you don’t want to buy 3 FCP 5 books, only have time to read one, and then see that FCP 6 was just introduced! –
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Pro 5 by Diana Weynand
Final Cut Pro 5 Hands on Training (a.k.a. HOT) by Larry Jordan
This book is put out by Lynda.com, which is owned by Lynda Weinman. I’ve always liked her books. They flow very well.
So starting with one (or both) of these books would be a good beginning for the “book tutorial” route.
A Recent Option – On-Line Video Tutorials:
I like Lynda’s stuff, so naturally, I like her site an an on-line library of video tutorials (http://www.lynda.com). For $25 per month (there are other options as well) you can choose from a very complete library of software titles. Her FCP 5 title was just recently added. With your computer set-up, you can have the on-line FCP video tutorial going and FCP open as well. You can follow along at your own pace while doing the exercises on your own. I REALLY like learning from video, so this is my preferred route.
On-Line Forums – Like this one:
I would frequent this forum and watch what other people are posting. Another great thing to do is click “search” and type in something you may be interested in or have a question about. The great thing about forums is all of the excellent information that stays in place over time. It becomes a huge reference library for problem solving. Chris Hurd and the moderators here have done a great job on DVinfo.Net.
Other stuff I would recommend:
Experiment as much as you can in FCP. Cut, Edit, add filters, transitions, etc. You won’t break anything and diving in “by doing” will really teach you quick. Each of the books I mentioned above comes with footage and projects that you get to edit. First do what the author says, then do what you want!
I would buy a different mouse than the one that your G5 came with. Personally, since I have a Mac, I like to stick with the Apple Brand for everything I get (when I can). I like the “Mighty Mouse.” It’s not nearly as robust as some of the other mice on the market, but I’ve got two of them on two different G5’s and like them quite a bit.
I would also recommend a LogicKeyBoard (http://www.logickeyboard.com)
I’ve got the “FCP Apple Pro “G5” keyboard (LKBU-FCP-APG5-US)I. on both of my computers. All of those shortcuts are great. I tried one other brand and it did not work. The LogicKeyboard has worked perfectly and I’ve been using them both for well over 6 months.
I hope you (and others) find this helpful information. I also hope some other experience DVinfo.Net members add their opinions to this thread.