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Do not waste your money on this book. It is a horribly written instruction manual for Final Cut Pro. I had to buy this book for a course and the course instructor couldn't even decipher its inept attempt to explain how to use the program. The book comes with a CD full of exercise files but no where in the book does the author explain how to download video from your video camera into the program. The instruction in the book is unorganized and difficult to follow and the author leaves out key steps in explaining how to use the program. There are online tutorials that are much better at explaining how to use Final Cut Pro 5 than this book, so don't buy the book and save yourself some money and a headache.

Wonderful book. Out of the five books I purchased, this is the only one that a non-technical wizard understood and learned from w/o a headache. After struggling with the dense tome that I was issued via a class this book made it all make sense so I could get to editing with some understanding of what I was doing. Thank you Mr. Jordan, your book is the best. I keep it on my desk for when I want a question answered in your standard clear, concise, and informative style. Your book saved me from fear of technical things failure.

I am new to fcp pro and am working in fcp 5.1 [will eventually upgrade to 6]. My issue with alot of the reading material on fcp is that it is simply too convoluted!!! It's hard to follow.
Not so for Mr. Jordan's book - He writes in a clear - concise manner and actually makes learning more abt this genius of a software an adventure,fun!
For that I say thank-you and ditto to all of the other reviews of this book, written here. IF you are newbie to fcp I would highly recommend this book.

I bought this book for a college class. The teacher requires that we read certain chapters to supplement her lectures.

The author has a funny writing style, which makes it easy to read. And there are lots and LOTS of screen shots and examples to help you through the exercises.

Enjoy! I recommend this book. It will teach you everything you need to know (including a handy table at the end of each chapter with keyboard shortcuts).

This book is well organized and easy for folks new to FCP. It has the basics and some advanced features. I had to learn FCP quickly as I was responsible for making my son's varsity basketball highlights video. The book covered file organization, how to insert video and stills into the timeline, add audio, make special scenes of B&W to color, slow motion, transitions, credits, and export the movie. The video was a hit. It was very gratifying to see the kids and parents reaction.

Summary: A fine companion for the beginner or intermediate Final Cut Pro 5 user.

The Book:

Final Cut Pro (FCP) is a complex swiss army knife of an edit program and can be very intimidating to a beginner. There seems to be way too many layers, windows and other sharp objects on which to cut yourself. But once you appreciate its potential, you will put imovie in your old cigar box of treasures and only bring it out to share with the grandkids.

This book guides you through the maze with agility and style. The author, Larry Jordan, is an Apple Certified Trainer who specializes in FCP and DVD Studio Pro. He is a veteran producer, director, and editor of corporate and network programs. He prides himself as a teacher and it shows in the more than 70 step-by-step Final Cut tutorials and fourteen quicktime movies. He has refined his teaching in his workshops and takes pride in presenting the information in a friendly, organized manner. Larry seems to be one of those tireless types. I'll leave it at that.

The book is part of a H.O.T. (Hands On Training) series presented by publisher lynda.com/books. The founder, Lynda Weinman, a web graphics and design veteran, wrote the very first industry book on web design, Designing Web Graphics, way back in 1995.

"The best tip in the book is that FCP gives you lots of different ways to accomplish the same task... just learn the ones that make you productive so you can forget about how the tool works and concentrate on telling your stories."

Larry Jordan

The book's chapters walk you through the entire process, from organizing and editing to outputting your project. The title page of each chapter shows a table of exercises and a summary of what you'll learn. You follow along with each exercise with the FCP project files and media located on the companion DVD-ROM. Each chapter closes with a list of helpful keyboard shortcuts and a summary of what was covered.

Throughout the book are shaded boxes and pointers identifying features that are new to FCP 5, power tips, warnings, etc. The graphic design, layout, paper texture, etc., are all very pleasing and evoke the attention to detail found in every aspect of the book.

Also on the companion DVD are the fourteen movies of Larry talking us through various aspects FCP, including capturing media, filters and multi-clip editing. Each one is about fifteen minutes and all are helpful in grasping some of the more complex features of FCP. One of the movies I especially liked was Larry's demonstration of slip/slide and ripple/roll edit features. His description helps differentiate the tools and describes when to use each.

Even though there are brief exercises on bringing files into Soundtrack Pro and LiveType, the 478 page book deals only with FCP not the other applications found in Final Cut Suite.

This book is for beginner and intermediate users of FCP. It provides a solid foundation and fills in a lot of holes if you're self-taught. It is written as if you are attending one of Larry's classes, very conversational and punctuated with his opinions and personal preferences. If you like his style, you'll like the book.

I highly recommend Final Cut Pro 5 Hands-On Training to anyone wanting to learn Final Cut Pro.

PRO: Best book I've seen for beginning FCP training. A treasure.

CON: Who has time to go through it all, plus the movies. Just have to pace yourself.

NOTE: This is written my Jim Jewell and I'm posting it

I used to think the Apple training books were the best, but the HOT (Hands On Training) books, especially those authored by Larry Jordan, are even better. Mr. Jordan explains everything with such ease that it put other authors to shame. And the graphic design and layout of the book, coupled with the use of color in just the right places and a very legible typeface, makes reading these books a joy. Yeah, that's right...a joy to read a 'how-to' book. Who would have thought?

I'd give this 6 stars if I could, just to send a signal to other 'how-to' authors and publishers that this is HOW IT'S DONE.

I found this book to be really helpful when I started using FCP. Everything was written in a manner that was easy to understand, it also contains everything you can do with the program. The instructions include editing, tools usage, transitions, capturing, etc...The book is thorough and the author isn't boring, which is great since there's a lot to remember!