Fun way to learn Final Cut Studio 2?

[kaidomac]

I am picking up Final Cut Studio 2 (FCS2) and want to jump right into learning it intensively. Does it come with any good training materials, or is there a good book or video-tutorial website you'd recommend? I hate reading boring technical reference manuals, I want something that is fun to read or watch and educational at the same time. I have a subscription to VTC.com (online video training), but they only have tutorials up to 5.0 right now. Lynda.com's tutorials are looking pretty good; I've used them in the past with good results.

Basically I'm looking for anything that will give me a fun and comprehensive introduction to FCS2, from scratch - audio, video, color correction, the works. Not a technical manual, but rather a training guide that will explain all of the parts while teaching me the ideas behind it...for example, I have no background in audio editing whatsoever, but I want to learn how to use it effectively as well as learn all the little details involved with the program inside-out.

Suggestions appreciated!

[bigants]

Larry Jordan has great tutorials on Lynda.com I think A tutorial on color is very close to release but I I'm not sure how far off the Soundtrack Pro tutorials are. If you want a great tutorial on Motion 3, try creativecow.com

[twocargar]

I have many of the PeachPit Press books including the one for FinalCut studio. The books include a DVD of demo files as well. Good stuff available at your local major book seller and AppleStores.

[ROHELA]

I am a very satisfied customer of MacProVideo's series of FCP instructional videos. Here is how they describe the basic FCP video "Learn Final Cut Pro/Express from Michael Wohl - one of the original designers of this amazing piece of software!" I love this video.

But most important, and this surprised me, was the video on capture and storing video from your camera and creating logs. This is not as simple, or trivial, as it would first seem.

There is also a video on Color that I have not purchased.

When I first became a customer of MacProVideo I made some borderline unreasonable requests and they responded with cheer and a helpful attitude. I am very impressed with their customer service.

The only negative is that they provide a video viewer to work with their DRM, and to manage downloads. It works well.

They offer discounts to user groups, so check if your group has one.

They also offer a bundle that I wish I had purchased.

And to repeat, no I have no affiliation with MacProvideo other than being a satisfied customer.

Philip Lipetz

[kaidomac]

I am a very satisfied customer of MacProVideo's series of FCP instructional videos. Here is how they describe the basic FCP video "Learn Final Cut Pro/Express from Michael Wohl - one of the original designers of this amazing piece of software!" I love this video.

But most important, and this surprised me, was the video on capture and storing video from your camera and creating logs. This is not as simple, or trivial, as it would first seem.

There is also a video on Color that I have not purchased.

When I first became a customer of MacProVideo I made some borderline unreasonable requests and they responded with cheer and a helpful attitude. I am very impressed with their customer service.

The only negative is that they provide a video viewer to work with their DRM, and to manage downloads. It works well.

They offer discounts to user groups, so check if your group has one.

They also offer a bundle that I wish I had purchased.

And to repeat, no I have no affiliation with MacProvideo other than being a satisfied customer.

Philip Lipetz

Wow, I watched a demo clip of it and I'm very impressed! The style reminds me of VideoCopilot videos. I like VTC a lot, and also Lynda, but they can get boring sometimes - almost like watching a video of reading a manual. What I enjoy the most is when they explain concepts and then how to use the tool to support the concept...for example, I watched the SmoothCam clip and he explained what it did and why & when you should use it, then proceeded to show how to use it. I think I'll go with your suggestion and get a bundle deal, thanks much!

[EyefulPower]

I use lynda.com.
The best web-based training available. You can subscribe yearly, monthly or per application. Free previews.

They update the site regularly to keep abrest of the latest versions.