“Final Cut Pro 3 for Dummies” has been released by Wiley Publishing Inc. Written by two digital video pros — Helmut Kobler and Zed Saeed — the book takes you through all the steps of the digital editing process.
You’ll learn how to capture video and audio from digital video cameras, music CDs, and other sources; edit video and audio clips into stories; animate titles and add transitions; and record your final masterpiece back to video tape, DVD disk or digital files destined for the Internet. Advanced topics include Final Cut Pro’s impressive visual effects features, which let you combine (or composite) multiple video images together.
Kobler himself is a digital-savvy filmmaker who used Final Cut Pro in his last project, a science fiction made-for-television feature called “Radius.” Most of the film — from the editing to the visual effects to the sound/music — was done on the Mac, including Kobler’s PowerBook G3 500. See our June 18, 2001 article for details on the film and its creation.
Saeed is also the co-author of “Final Cut Pro 2 Bible” and “After Effects 5 Bible.”
“Final Cut Pro 3 For Dummies” (ISBN: 0-7645-1654-X; 410 pages) has a manufacturers suggested retail price of US$24.99 US. If you can’t find it at your local bookstore, you can order it directly from Wiley Publishing.