Final Cut Pro 3 & DVD Studio Pro Handbook (Digital Filmmaking Series) 1st Edition

In my initial review of this book (8/23/02, just after it shipped), I noted that the included DVD's contents didn't match the tutorial in the book, making the package "worthless". The publisher has now posted on their website a list of corrections to the filenames & organization, and the author has sent me a replacement DVD with all of the problems fixed. I can now justify giving the book the five-star rating that it deserves for its clearly-written, interesting and useful content.

All the previous reviews people are talking about things like the labels on the clips. You need to write those labels in yourself. That was designed from a teaching stand point. You have to start working right from chapter one with the tutorials. They all build on each other.All I can say is this my second time though the book. A lot of the things people are unsatisfied about, are missed due to hasty studying. You have to label those clips yourself, right from the start! That book has helped me tremendously. I made the same mistakes the first time through the book. Final Cut Pro is very complicated, first time through you are going to miss things.You are getting taught with this book. Making it though the book is not easy,however once you do make it. You will have a very good skill. This author is a teacher! The way he writes makes you think! He really takes you through at a good fast pace, and it is tough for the student(reader) to keep everything staight. There are so many details. Everyone tends to think that it is the author who is incorrect, I can tell you from experience that it is the reader, not the author or the book. I get that, Ohhhhhhhhhhh Yes, now I get it. But it took me the second time through.This book gets you rolling. This book will get you right into it. You will learn extremely fast. If you take the free downloaded manual from Apple with this book you are set. Even better is Lisa Brenneis's and the DVD studio Pro manual too. I had these manuals for a year and did not get anything going. Then I got the Watkins book. I thought the same thing hey these clips are not labeled, I was in chapter four or five, I thought it was the author. No NO No you have to lable the clips yourself. And chapter stops are on page 289. You finish Adam's tutorials you will be able to take the book, computer, camera hook them all together and get very nice work accomplished. It is not an easy study it takes effort. Once you learn it, you can do a big project. You learn a lot from Adam Watkins, he is good teacher. I would easly buy this book again, I would only buy it sooner.My past I used imovie for two years. I bought FCP and did not due a project for a while. Then I got Adam's book and started to get my hands dirty right away. I am not afraid to do anything with final cut pro. I learned a lot. The tutorial is great, good beat beat sound to set clips to. I can match sound and a clip together. I learned an awful lot from this book.

This book is badly structured, verbose and chatty. A seasoned editor could have reduced it by at least 20 percent. More important, the book omits crucial features in FCP 3/DVDSP, such as using Markers to indicate Chapters. As a matter of fact, the subject of Chapters in DVDSP isn't even touched upon!Further, in spite of the title, the book is heavily biased to FCP, with just a few scant chapters on DVDSP.I'm very disappointed and consider this book a waste of money.

First thing I had to rename all of the files on the DVD to get started with the Tutorial. It was a problem but I over came it. Things worked out ok, then came chapter 7. This chapter was very confusing. He tells you to select the wrong tracks, he forgot to tell you to set up certain things in the canvas before you started the chapter and then he leaves you with a whole bunch of questions. The final project of this chapter left me more confused then before I started it. The DVD chapters do nothing for me that I didn't learn in the tutoral that came with the DVDSP. He gives us only 2 chapters on DVD Construction. I mean they dont even tell you how to make chapter tracks. Or outputing a master DLT for mass duplication. If you are trying to find a book that helps you beyound the manuals you get with these 2 softwars. Look for other books. If you are a beginner to FCP and DVDSP also look elseware. This book helps with shortcuts and Editing with DV only. He never touches on the un-compressed cards or outputing for true broadcast video in component or SD. I am sorry I spent the money and the time on this one.

So I got this book and first thing out of the box you have to rename all of the files on the DVD.... Great.....This really gives me a bad feeling about the whole book after this point. Then you spend about 3/4 of the book on FCP3.. which is fine, the writing is clear and easy to read, but ..... they only have 2 chapters on DVD Construction. I mean they dont really even talk about how DVD studio pro works. they dont even tell you how to make chapter tracks. If you are trying to find a book that helps with DVD studio pro don't buy this book it is a waste of money and time.