Inside Final Cut Express
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Section Two is broken into six segments which are a bit longer (averaging about 30 minutes each), and walks you step by step on how to edit a full promo video for a skateboard company. As I mentioned before all of the footage is on the DVD and so there is not problem with following along.
Another plus for this training series is your ability to jump from one lesson to another quickly and easily. This made possible through the “always on screen” navigation. Even though you have your typical VCR type controls to navigate through a lesson once it starts, the bad thing about the navigation is you don’t have the ability to easily step through certain segments on disc. Instead you have to push the “Advance 10 second/Reverse 10 second” buttons. I would much rather have the controls step us through the major sub chapters of the lesson. But that is just a minor problem with the series.[an error occurred while processing this directive]
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| A look at the screen interface of this training disc. Click for large image (1024 x 768). |
The only other problem you may have with the training series is that it will only play on a PC or Mac, no standalone DVD player. This could cause problems for you during the real world portion of the training if you only have one computer, or only have one screen (1024 x 768 minimum required). Fortunately, I have a dual screen set up and have multiple computers near each other, so I can watch the training on one screen while easily jumping back and forth to the application.
But I haven’t done a review of Final Cut Express have I? Nope, but remember what I said at the beginning of this review, Final Cut Express is just a watered down version of Final Cut Pro. Everything Noah Todd shows you how to do in this training series, can easily be done in Final Cut Pro as well. So for those of you looking for a very beginner lesson in Final Cut Pro, this might be something for you to consider as well. Be warned that not every feature in Final Cut Express looks exactly like Final Cut Pro, so it could be confusing at times for the newbie.
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| Instructor/Editor Noah Todd. |
For all of the information covered (and the free footage for you to work with), the price of $149 (lowered from $199) is a bit steep. I could see that for Final Cut Pro, but for the Express version, you are almost paying as much for this DVD training as you are for the entire program. This could be a hindrance for some people. For those who do make the purchase, I think you will find that the money spent is a good investment.
For more information on Final Cut Express or other titles from Digital Media Training, visit the website at www.digitalmediatraining.com
When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products Stephen Schleicher can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at schleicher@mindspring.com. You can also visit him on the web at www.mindspring.com/~schleicher
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