Final Cut Pro HD for Dummies - Paperback

by Helmut Kobler (Author)

Edit video like a pro

"Save it in the edit" is a common saying among film professionals. Editing makes the difference between boring vacation movies and exciting travelogues...between the whole dull news conference and the highlights on the evening news. Whether you're a budding Spielberg, a proud parent who wants two-year-old Junior's every feat documented for posterity, or a band that wants your music video to rock, Final Cut Pro HD For Dummies tells you what you need to know to edit regular digital or high definition video like a pro. It covers the basics of capturing, importing, and editing digital videos, with detailed how-to for:

• Organizing your media
• Navigating the audio and video Timeline tracks and selecting clips and frames on the Timelines
• Getting fancier with split, roll, ripple, slip, and slide edits
• Working with audio, including mixing, editing out scratches and pops, and using filters to create effects
• Using Soundtrack to compose a musical score, even if you don't know the difference between horns and strings
• Apply transitions such as 3D simulation, dissolve, iris, stretch and squeeze, and more
• Adding text for captions, opening titles, and closing credits
• Color-correcting video
• Compositing, rendering, and outputting your final product to tape, CD, DVD, or the Web

Three bonus chapters online go into more depth about rendering, customizing the interface, and managing media so you can refine your skills even further.

Final Cut Pro HD For Dummies was written by Helmut Kobler, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker, owner of K2Films, and a frequent contributor to Macaddict Magazine. Having this book next to your editing equipment is the next best thing to having him sit next to you and guide you through the editing process.

Front Jacket

Create professional, high-definition videos using tips from the pros

Edit video clips, add soundtracks, create special effects, and put it all on DVD

Got a story to tell? Movie-making is easy with Final Cut Pro HD, and this handy book puts a real filmmaker at your elbow to talk you through the process in plain English! Soon you'll be cranking out professional quality movies in regular digital or high definition format and distributing them to all your adoring fans.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• Get in, get out information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Equip your Mac for Final Cut Pro
• Import video, audio, and still pictures
• Composite video clips
• Remove background noises
• Color-correct video
• Put movies on tape, DVD, or the Web

Back Jacket

Create professional, high-definition videos using tips from the pros

Edit video clips, add soundtracks, create special effects, and put it all on DVD

Got a story to tell? Movie-making is easy with Final Cut Pro HD, and this handy book puts a real filmmaker at your elbow to talk you through the process in plain English! Soon you'll be cranking out professional quality movies in regular digital or high definition format and distributing them to all your adoring fans.

The Dummies Way

• Explanations in plain English
• "Get in, get out" information
• Icons and other navigational aids
• Tear-out cheat sheet
• Top ten lists
• A dash of humor and fun

Discover how to:

• Equip your Mac for Final Cut Pro
• Import video, audio, and still pictures
• Composite video clips
• Remove background noises
• Color-correct video
• Put movies on tape, DVD, or the Web

Author Biography

Helmut Kobler is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker who has recently finished his latest project -- the sci-fi action adventure Radius. (You can see scenes from Radius in many of this book's figures.) Helmut's a confessed Mac addict (he writes many features and reviews for MacAddict magazine, in fact) and has been using the Mac since 1987. In a past life, he directed and produced award-winning video games for PCs and the Sony Playstation.
If you want to know more about Helmut's film Radius -- and the 2-disc DVD that it's featured on -- visit the Web site, at www.radiusmovie.com.