Best (meaning, “fastest”) Way for a Professional Editor to Learn Final Cut Pro X?

[Franz Bieberkopf]

[Kevin Zimmerman] “… a miserable and daunting undertaking.”

Kevin,

According to Bill, it takes six months to find the bodies.
(https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/335/43078)

Franz

[Willy Pimentel]

Look for izzyhyman. Got up to speed ver y quickly
And Best of all, the intro Class is free

Willy Pimentel
Motion Graphics Editor
Macbook Pro 2011 thunderbolt/ TBolt Displey/ 2 SSD Hds /lacie Tbolt

[Anders Utterstrom]

Check out ripple training. These guys are good.

Anders Utterstrom
Chicago, Illinois

[Craig Seeman]

Free but I don’t think they’ve been updated for 10.0.6
https://www.izzyvideo.com/final-cut-pro-x-tutorial/

I think Ripple Training is very good.
https://www.rippletraining.com/categories/apple-pro-apps-tutorials/final-cut-pro-x-tutorials/apvs-fcpx.html

I suspect MacProVideo is also good given who the tutorialists are.
https://www.macprovideo.com/tutorials/final+cut+pro+x-suite

Larry Jordan is also good but it’s not something I’d equate with “quick.”

[Michael Hadley]

The Ripple training series is quite good. I’ve heard Larry Jordan’s is too. I’mm sure both will get you where you want to be.

I’ve been cutting on FCP since 2000. Made the switch to X in January. Never looked back. It’s really not hard to learn. It’s just different in some fundamental ways. My suggestion is to start with a real project that has a for off due date and jump in. Then do the training whenever you get hung up.

IMHO, if you don’t master to tape, FXPX 10.0.6 is superior to 7 in just about every respect. Good luck.

[Bill Davis]

Just to amplify my “6 months” comment….

I think that’s fair if what you’re trying to do is achieve what can fairly be called “mastery” – in other words, be the kind of operator for whom there are few if any weaknesses in understanding and operation of all the software’s modules.

Having said that – it’s perfectly possible to do professional editing in just a month or two of dedicated exploration.

The timeline isn’t really all that different other than understanding clip relationships, when and how magnetism helps or doesn’t, and some basic stuff like understanding how compounding works.

Other things like mult-cam and Motion interchange will be important to some – but not important at all to others.

Finally, you’ll spend a good bit of that full six months moving beyond just understanding the toolset to the more complex stuff like how to maximize your personal use of keywords and the underlying database.

One more thing to note. The amount of time and hassle you have adapting to X depends largely on how adaptable you are as an editor. The people who have the MOST trouble, seem to be those who resist coming to grips with the fact that things you’ve come to expect ALL editors do to in a similar way – X doesn’t.

If you can clear your mental decks, it’s faster. The more you demand it honor your prior experience, the bigger the fight you’ll have in store.

FWIW.

Know someone who teaches video editing in elementary school, high school or college? Tell them to check out http://www.StartEditingNow.com – video editing curriculum complete with licensed practice content.

[John Davidson]

I watched tutorial after tutorial from all the sources listed below. I refused to let myself touch the program for a set period of time while I kept watching these tutorials. By the time I saw a few ‘build your own transitions and generators’ tutorials, I was chomping at the bit.

In other words, observe the workflow until you get the passion to use it that you got as a kid to learning new software. Getting the car keys isn’t enough. You have to watch Dad drive it for a few years to really want to drive yourself. Then it won’t be a chore, it’ll be a joy.

John Davidson | President / Creative Director | Magic Feather Inc.

[Andrew Kimery]

[Kevin Zimmerman] ” I can come at it from either a FCPX for Avid Editors angle, or a FCPX for FCP7 Editors angle.”

Can you come at it from a “I’ve never used an NLE angle”? I’m being serious, not snippy. When I learn a new NLE (or return to an NLE I haven’t used in years) I try to approach it as a blank slate that’s never used an NLE before. Once I’ve learned how the NLE wants to be used and the underlying philosophy, for lack of a better term, then I’ll venture into the realm of “Well, I used to do X in my other NLE, how can I accomplish the same task / is there a comparable feature in this NLE?”

With that being said, I haven’t ventured much beyond the superficial with FCP X because it doesn’t behove me to know it. If/when that changes I’ll reevaluate of course.

[Richard Herd]

I’ll ask the obvious: Did you read the manual?

[Steve Connor]

[Kevin Zimmerman] “And good grief, it is a miserable and daunting undertaking.”

Exactly as I found trying to relearn Avid after using FCP for a number of years.

There are LOTS of free tutorials on YouTube and Ripple training is excellent

Steve Connor
‘It’s just my opinion, with an occasional fact thrown in for good measure”