Download Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro (2nd Edition) eBook

I'm not sure what book a couple of reviewers were reading but to say this book is not good for beginners seems odd to me. I am an absolute beginner and I thought the book did a fantastic job! It is easy to read and has great examples. One reveiwer said "notice how often he uses the word 'I' and that his way was the only way". Well guess what? The author is one of the designers of the software so I think he qualifies to use the word 'I' and probably knows a lot more about the subject than the reviewer. This insinuation that the author was an ego maniac was insulting. He was very helpful and gave lots of tips and advice to beginners that allows us to avoid some of the common pitfalls and mistakes that most beginners go through. He shows several ways of doing each task but recommends using his technique because that's the way the software was designed to be used!
If you want to learn the ins and outs of editing and the most efficient way to use FCP, this is the book for you.

If you are serious about Film Editing, you are probably already been looking at books like Shot by Shot by Steven Katz, and checking out local training courses. You may also be trying to learn how to use Final Cut Pro, and checking out the many books on that topic.
This book could save you a lot of time and effort, by combining both subjects into one. It teaches, from a completely practical viewpoint, how to frame and edit shots. It also discusses how to use Final Cut Pro in order to achieve the right effect. There are also sections on sound, special effects and distribution - and again, all are realistically explained.
At every point, real-world editing examples are used, so it's not simply a discussion of every menu option. There are plenty of screenshots, and even though it doesn't cover the very latest version of FCP, everything is still 100% relevant.
After working through the huge pile of paper that is the FCP manual set, this book should be next on your list. It will tell you which features you will actually need to know, and pass on some very useful cinematic editing information at the same time.

I picked up an advanced copy from the author at a Bay Area Final Cutters meeting. The book is different from most other FCP books in that it covers some basic editing techniques in a real world setting using FCP2. Rather than just go over every feature of the program, it tackles the craft of video editing using FCP. This makes it a great complement to the Lisa Brennis' excellent FCP2 Quick Pro Guide, which covers most of FCP2's functions.
For example, Michael explains different ways to use the Trim and Edit tools in editing a sequence as well as different approaches to logging clips. It also goes over issues of continuity and pacing how to deal with these problems in a non linear editing system. All this for me (at least) was worth the price of the book.
This book might be too basic for seasoned NLE editors. But it definitely will be a big help to begining or intermediate FCP editors looking to polish their craft .
I would have given the book 5 stars, except that I felt that the author should have devoted a little more space to areas such as exporting and importing from After Effects and ProTools. These were covered briefly. Also the CD included with the book should have had some examples of the exercises in the book. (The CD had some basic tutorials on FCP) I feel I would have benefited more from some Quicktime movies, illustrating the techniques covered in the book.
Despite the cons, I feel this book is a good buy and covers a lot of areas missing in the current crop of FCP titles. It doesn't cover everything in FCP, but what it covers it covers well.

When I got this book I openned the first few pages and kept going on. It seems to me that anyone who helped create a program will certainly know how it works or that's what we think. Micheal is and editor with many years of experience and he shows you the different ways you can use FCP. Don't buy this for problem solving to FCP, buy it as a good reference book when you need to learn different ways to edit. It's like a good cook book , you can always pick it off the shelf and look for something new to cook.

This book bridges the gap for those of us who didn't grow up in the broadcast or movie industry and have been struggling as computer geeks trying to make our videos look great. Sure, we understood the software basics, but Michael Wohl introduces what editors really do, what their contribution to a video is, and how to pull this off using Final Cut Pro. Reading it was one of those moments when someone turns a light on. Yea, I guess you can tell that I recommend it -- I gave one to each member of my staff for Christmas.

The previous review says that this book is solely for professionals, but I couldn't disagree more. The whole first third of the book goes over the basics of the film language and step by step introduces you to editing concepts starting with really simple ones and then moving on to more complex ideas. Then it goes into how to apply those concepts using Final Cut Pro.
I found the writing style especially accessible and clear. I think it's essential reading for anyone using FCP regardless of their skill level.
It's also one of the only books out there that isn't version specific so it won't be obsolete whenever Apple decides to revise the software.
All around a great book about filmmaking and editing.
p.s. take a look at that reviewer's other reviews -- she pans three different FCP books, maybe it's the software that she doesn't like, not the books.