newbie needs fcp book? dvd course? online tutorial? + disclaimer
 

i just bought fcp studio to use on a dedicated fcp which i plan to set up next week at the office. i bought a refurbed dual 2.0 (the one w/8 ram slots/nvida 5200fx graphic card).

though i have sat in the producers chair in plenty of fcp (and avid) sessions, i have never actually driven the boat.

any suggestions to assist in the fcp learning curve?

books? dvd course? online tutorials?

any thoughts and suggestions would be great.

be assured, i will be taking as much footage as i can load/store and will "practice" by cutting demo reels and material for my website.

i was just hoping that those of u with years of expereince could point me in the right direstions.

lastly, this is my disclaimer: i really don't want to be a fcp editor. i am a writer/producer who over the past 14 years that i have been out on my own, i have been forced by a changing market to add to my skill list.

not that i mind shooting much (not all) of my own footage (pd150/dvx100a/upcoming hvx200). in time i'm sure i will appreciate the idea of cutting demos for my clients to droll over as they see where the budget monies are spent. i just want it to be said, i really liked sitting in the producer's chair. some of the best moments i have ever had in my entire life, has been in an edit room w/a quality editer. finding the film among the reels of footage and breathing rhythm and insight into the footage has been very gratifying. this move to fcp is just another tool for me but not my vocation. i am a writer/producer. i just know more about shooting docs and hopefully, eventually, i will know more about using fcp. there i said, boy, do i feel better!!!

thanks in advance to any and all who care to share.

be well

rob katz
harvest film

Well Rob, thank you for sharing the insight. I came at doing producing from the shooting/editting end so your experience is interesting.

I learned FCP by starting with the small book that came with FCP dedicated to being a tutorial. If you are the type of learner that can use tutorials, then I think you'll find it gives you enough to get started. Then, in each practice project you do, take the time to look up in the online help, how to do the thing you want to do but don't know how to do. If you get bogged down with too many things you can't figure out, skip some. If you can't find it in the online help, do some searching here and post the question if there's nothing similar.

After a half dozen or so projects, go visit Ken Stone's web site. Once a week or so depending on your time, pick an article of interest and try out doing it.