Advanced Editing Techniques in Final Cut Pro 5
Review by Ryun Hovind
Author: Digital Film Tree

I've acquired many books and tutorials since FCStudio came out, but this book, with its 2 DVD set, comes across more like a hardcore "Editing For Hollywood" seminar than a simple book. Michael Wohl somehow manages to explain how to use FCPro's many features, from Media Manager to Multicam, while at the same time offering concise, valuable editing techniques for docs, comedies, and action flicks. You'll learn many of the FCP tools you once feared or shied away from, and at the same time you may just reevaluate how you edit.
Its important to note that the first chapter, (p. 11-17) is a must read for all editors regardless of which editing technology they use. It is a to-the-point summary of the craft of editing. A great refresher for long time editors and a stimulating layout for beginning and intermediate editors. This type of timeless knowledge is sprinkled throughout the book.
For those wanting confidence to edit in unfamiliar territory, this book has you covered. Ch. 1 - Editing Dialogue Ch. 2 - Editing Complex Dialogue, Ch. 3 - Editing Action, Ch. 4 - Chases & Fights, Ch. 6 - Editing Comedy. The first half covers editing all of these formats yet also offers insight into why and how quality editing can enhance a genre. It covers fiction to nonfiction, dialogue driven scenes to action oriented fights. It's all done with ample room for experimentation after a step-by-step procedure.
FCPro's "Multicamera Editing" is a chapter perfectly placed midway through the book as it uses this often "genre-oriented" technique to sequeway into the last half of the book which focuses on the more technical side of editing. The mystery of "Multicamera Editing" is revealed in great detail, with easy-to-understand directions showing you when it's most appropriate, what it can do for you, and how to manipulate it (ie from 4 to 6 to 9 clips at a time).
The always important issues of "Sound Editing" and "Audio Finishing" are dealt with next. Since I primarily use Soundtrack Pro these chapters were less relevant to me, but still offered some quick tips like hitting "Option-W" shows overlays in audio and adding real time audio tracks in "Final Cut Pro Preferences" menu. Somehow Michael manages to cram some great little tidbits about sound design, sound effects, master fader levels, and adding compression to dialogue in these chapters.
Media Manager seems to scare a lot of people and I'd be lying if I said this chapter was engrossing. It bored me to tears and deals with my least favorite aspect of editing.... organizing and backing up. He gets you through it fairly quickly though, and in the end I also am better acquainted with using MM to recompress files for offline editing (and vice versa), deleting files safely after backing up, and knowing several ways to see where a clip in your browser is stored. A technique I learned that is really helpful for those mounting external drives is this: If you goto the menu "Final Cut Pro - System Settings" and then click the "Search folders" tab, you can enter in one more folders that FCP will look for when a file goes offline. Instead of automatically bothering you, it automatically looks there first.
All in all, this book has a lot of diversity and covers an unbelievable amount of ground in its 634 pages. My DVD Studio Pro 4 book has almost 100 more pages and covers half the material in this one. The real value to this book to me was its discussion of why we edit how we edit, much like "In The Blink of An Eye" by Walter Murch. Many books will continue to train the basics, but a book like this actually mentors.

Ryun Hovind: ryun@immortalpictures.com
Ryun Hovind is a member of the Final Cut Pro Certified Editor.