Introduction

It’s been a turbulent few years in the editing world and it is only now that the turmoil of recent times is beginning to subside.

When Final Cut Pro X was released it was controversial, it was a radical departure from what had gone before, and even though it showed huge promise that promise was to be realized later, further down the road. The initial release was not regarded by many as a full release, more like a working beta with plenty of bugs to be ironed out

That new day has now arrived—at the time of writing, we are 3 years into the development of Final Cut Pro X, and this editing application has proven itself to be reliable and well-capable for serious professional use.

The application is stable and performs well on a suitably specced machine. You don’t need a top of the line Mac to run Final Cut Pro X, though plenty of RAM, fast drives or SSDs do make a big difference.

For old school editors the transition can be difficult while the new concepts are learned. The basics are the same, however, there are different ways of working particularly when it comes to dealing with the database which sits at the heart of this edit system.

For those new to editing, recognize that you are working with tools which are far more sophisticated than the upright or flatbed film editors of yesterday that so many of the great movies were cut with. You can do anything with Final Cut Pro X—from a 30 second commercial to a feature film. The purpose of this book is to open your mind to the possibilities that Final Cut Pro X offers and show you the technical processes step-by-step, so you understand the key functionality on offer. Unless you know what the tool can do you can’t use it properly.

I edit with Final Cut Pro X daily and weekly for paying clients. This is my post-production tool. Some say “learn all the editors out there” I say “learn one which works for you.” And for me it is Final Cut Pro X which works for me. This is exceptionally quick for organizing and cataloguing footage, compiling an edit and fine-tuning the edit, and then, of course, outputting the material.

You need to know the essentials and it is these which this book will teach you. If you’re just beginning with Final Cut Pro X this is a fantastic time to dive in deep with the software which is now full-featured and ready to cut at whatever level you need. The tool is good now go make it work for you.

“Go fly with this software, it’s got wings.”

Rick Young

Harrogate UK

February 2014