Edit Well: Final Cut Studio Techniques from the Pros 1^st Edition

Reviewed by Wayne LeFevre

Editor: Larry Jordan Publisher: Peachpit Press http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=9780321612182 Released: December, 2008 Pages: 336 $45 USD, $54 CND, £30 UK (Based on current exchange rate.) ISBN-10: 0321612183 ISBN-13: 978-0321612182 Audience: Beginner/Intermediate   Strengths: It’s a great book of tips and tricks—and some real jewels. Almost everyone but professionals should be able to get something out of it. It will take you step by step through most procedures, and the graphics are great. Covers all of Final Cut Studio, not just one application in the suite.

Weaknesses: Some lessons are understandably a bit difficult. Covers all of Final Cut Studio, so someone who is weak in just one area might be underwhelmed with only their interest.

 

Introduction

 

Edit Well’s editor Larry Jordan is perhaps one of my favorite tutors when it comes to video editing. He’s knowledgeable and entertaining, which makes it very easy to learn from him. The Lynda.com videos of him explaining Final Cut Studio 2 really are great, and I personally have learned a lot from him. Unfortunately, I believe he has stopped doing his “day job,” so–to–speak, and has stepped back from the down–and–dirty daily editing and taken up the mantle of instructor.

 

I think it’s a bit of a shame, myself. He’s now charging $10 a video for a brief 6 to 10 minute explanation of a video editing technique. Doing thousand dollar seminars in places like Dubai. It’s disappointing to aspiring editors and hobbyist like myself who can’t afford his normal offerings of late. It was with this in mind that I got really excited when I saw he was going to write a book called Edit Well: Final Cut Studio Techniques by Larry Jordan. I was then subsequently a small bit disappointed when the book finally was in print and arrived.

 

You see, Larry Jordan is simply the “editor” of this tip book. Actually, it is a bit more than a simple tip book, I’ll grant you that. Edit Well originally began as a PDF offering by Larry himself, and soon after was a pay-for newsletter from the publisher Peachpit Press—who happens to publish this book. I didn’t personally get much from the Peachpit site, but I have gained quite a bit from his excellent monthly newsletter and articles on his personal web site, http://www.larryjordan.biz.

 

This book, apparently then, is a compilation of that information. Some I have seen before, most I have not. All is very informative and well written. Only a couple of the techniques, however, is by Larry. I didn’t realize that when I got the book, or I might not have bothered. It is a bit spendy of a tome at $45! (Luckily it can be had online for around $30.)

 

Never–the–less, there are still some very good articles on the suite.

 

The entire range of applications in Final Cut Studio 2 is covered in Edit Well. Part 1 covers Final Cut Pro. Part 2—Effects. Part 3—3D in Motion. Part 4—Soundtrack Pro. Part 5—Color, and lastly, Part 6 is Additional Tools. There are 4 or 5 chapters in each separate section dealing with that particular tool.

 

Most, but not all the individual sections are created by the same editing artist. Part 1 dealing with editing, for example, is understandably the longest and has 6 chapters, each by a different editor. Part 5—Color, on the other hand, has 5 chapters each written by Alexis Van Hurkman.

 

All sixteen of the post-production artists that contribute to writing this book have very impressive resumes. All the chapters are easy to follow and the pages have nice clean, large graphics accompanying them. Some understandably can get a bit complicated in their particular topic, such as 3D in Motion. It can be quite a challenge to try to explain camera angles and 3D navigation in a book. This section of the book is perhaps the most complicated and difficult to not only understand, but I imagine to try explaining. Mark Spencer, however, does a great job in doing so

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There are some of the techniques that are pretty basic that can be easily, but there are some real gems. For instance, there is a chapter devoted to Final Cut Server. Final Cut Server is not something that I’ve found is readily discussed beyond the occasional review, so it’s been good to see print on it. (Even if the chapter is only approximately 8 pages long with many graphics.)

 

A few of the techniques are simply a rehash of the basic instruction that one gets while learning Final Cut Studio. This is a book that is not intended to teach the applications. It’s more along the line of an “Oh! So that’s how they do it!” type. Want to know how to make a scene softer with a slight glow, a–la any scene with Cybill Shepherd in the TV Series Moonlighting? Not a problem with the chapter on composites. There are many such techniques. I’ve talked about Final Cut Server, but how about basic management? I don’t know about you, but I could use a lot of help in just basic file management. I know where I should be putting everything, and a program like Loader goes far into making that happen. More often than not, I’ll just grab a quick photo from who knows where. Then when it comes time to archive and go on to the next project, what happens?

 

The next project happens. A project or two down the road you hit a spot where you can slow down and start to think about putting everything away. Guess what? If your anything like me you have no idea where all the little files went to your project, much less the main video! Try to bring up a project from a couple of projects ago just to clean it up and archive it, and suddenly you realize that half of the media is offline and nowhere to be found. Luckily, this book has chapters on media management, managing archives, even what equipment works best with Color versus Final Cut Pro.

 

From the Publisher

 

Edit Well: Final Cut Studio Techniques from the Pros is the book that in-the-trenches editors have been waiting for. It offers a holistic approach to using the tools in Final Cut Studio for those who are responsible for a variety of tasks beyond just straight editing. Written by the preeminent experts and practicing professionals in their fields, contributors include Kevin Monahan, Mary Plummer, Mark Spencer, Tom Wolsky, and Alexis Van Hurkman, to name a few. Each chapter features each pro’s own insight on a particular tool in the Studio, whether it be Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Motion and its 3D capabilities, or Color, a ground-breaking addition to the Studio for professional color grading.

 

Inside the book you’ll find:

 

• Practical, step-by-step techniques that cover the complete digital video workflow: editing, effects, motion, audio, color correction, and DVD authoring.

•  Hard-to-find techniques on using Color and the 3D capabilities found in Motion.

•  Expert insight and commentary by top professionals and trainers.

• Best-practice methods in editing, with tips on when and how to use a particular tool in real-life scenarios.

•  Keyboard shortcuts to help you simplify your workflow.

•  References to video tutorials and audio interviews of top Final Cut Pro editors around the world, available for free on the companion Web site.

 

The Table of Contents:

 

•   Part 1: Final Cut Pro: Editing

-   01: Customizing the Final Cut Pro Interface

-   02: Techniques for Smarter Selection and Trimming

-   03: Transitions: Beyond the Straight Cut

-   04: Exporting Still Images from Final Cut Pro

-   05: Removing Pull-down frames with Cinema Tools

-   06:  An Archiving Solution for Final Cut Studio 2

•   Part 2 Final Cut Pro Effects

-   07: Blending the Light Away with Composite Modes

-   08: "Film It Up" with Composite Modes and Filters

-   09: Using Masks and Mattes in Final Cut Pro

-   10: Adding Stability in SmoothCam

•   Part 3: 3D in Motion

-   11: Foundations of 3D in Motion

-   12: Using Cameras and Navigating in 3D space

-   13: Animating Cameras in Motion's 3D Space

-   14: Animating Cameras in Motion's 3D Using Behaviors

•   Part 4 Soundtrack Pro

-   15: Clean Up Your Audio

-   16: Sound Advice: Mixing

-   17: Media Management in Soundtrack Pro 2

•   Part 5: Color

-   18: Setting Up Your Color System

-   19: Roundtripping with Color

-   20: Using Curves Controls in the Primary In Room

-   21: Adjusting Red,  Green,  and Blue Channel Curves

-   22: Making Color Adjustments in the Primary In Room

•   Part 6: Additional Tools

-   23: Hidden Secrets in LiveType

-   24: International Versioning and the Power of LiveType

-   25: Creating Stories in DVD Studio Pro

-   26: Final Cut Server: Ten Ways It Can Help Manage Your Media

•   Index

 

Conclusion

 

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone that is still learning Final Cut Studio. It does have some basic stuff, but if you can look past that, you will find some real value. If your looking for some of Larry Jordan’s personal knowledge, well, not much of it is here. I’m frankly a little surprised that he is not charging for his monthly newsletter. No, I take that back. He is charging for his past issues! Alright, I’m a little surprised that he is not charging for dropping in on his web site. Then again, you couldn’t order the 5 minute $10 tutorial videos if you couldn’t. Luckily, there are many other editors out there that are willing to part with some of their knowledge for less, and luckily it looks as if some are even in this book.

 

It’s not as jam-packed as my favorite tip book, Final Cut Studio On The Spot by Focal Press. It is a bit easier to read, however, and lots of pretty color photos. So know that while I consider it not to be exactly a must-have, it can make your learning the ins and outs of Final Cut Studio a lot easier. That can be all the difference in the world.