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FCPX Certification a SCAM
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My favorite certification “scam” is Avid’s. You can’t even take the certification test without buying a class. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been working on Media Composer for a decade. Its just silly.
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Eric- feel free to send me the details about the training center you went to privately. You can contact me via the the details in my signature. I’ll make sure the appropriate folks look into it.
Noah
FCPWORKS – FCPX Workflow
Call Box Training -
Tim,
Not letting the AATC people involved off the hook at all, buti also feel there also should have been a bit of consumer due dilligance involved here as well.
I and others have posted here on the Cow about the fact that the certification tests are no cakewalk. So it’s not like the information isn’t out there for anyone who cared to look. All they had to do was search right here on the Cow!
And IIRC, the course descriptions for the old Level 1 Certifications are more aligned to the the prerequisites description being quoted here. If they were left in place as the old tests were retired, that’s unacceptably sloppy, but perhaps not a sign of any desire to willfully mislead or defraud anyone.
just thinking out loud.
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.
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Why of course!
All those Apple Building wraps in 2014 at NAB. The constant Apple ads in all the trade magazines. And in on-line Apple banners in video centric web sites. The fully sponsored Apple conventions. The constant stream of DEEP DISCOUNT offers to draw in the “rubes” The the classic signs of a company not confident of the quality of the product alone to build a loyal customer base, and Apples acknowledgement that the software needs to be constantly flogged like shaving cream!
FCP X users are “rubes” who have to be constantly convinced of the quality of our software compared to others who just let the product quality speak for itself without needing any hype? Is that it?
(You live in an interesting mental world, my friend and I’m kinda wondering now if you perhaps enjoyed the Bizarro Superman comic issues a bit too much as a kid?)
; )
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.
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All the facilities that offer training have these 3 day options. These need to be blessed by Apple. They are based on the books that are blessed by Apple. There are hour amount estimates to complete each chapter. These marathon 3 day sessions are designed around these figures. There are people that can work that long and absorb that much and spit it out on a test. There is always a low percentage of people who pass the exam following the 3 day session unless they went in knowing most of it already.
Passing the test does not make you an editor. It means you know the interface. Pretty well. If you continue to use it. Other wise, unless you have exceptional longer term memory, it will fade.
Apple now charges $250 to take the exam at an approved training facility. There are only 11 people listed in the LA area on Apple’s FC pro listing site. Which just shows you, it has little to do with getting gigs. Passing a test does not make you a pro.
That said the book covers the interface with a lot of detail. It’s very tedious to learn that way because you are not editing something you are invested in. And the book uses pictures based on specific media. You can use it as a reminder but other tutorials will teach a feature as an example – not quite as specific. If you are not good at test taking and following very very detailed instructions you will not do well.
If you want to pass the test and want help from a training site, I suggest you go through the book by yourself. Take notes. And list stuff you don’t get. The class will be a review and the instructors tend to be very good. That said, you will now be surrounded by other students who have no idea how to use the program.
I think you’d be better served going through the book yourself, Take notes and find someone in your area who is experienced and pay them for a private session to cover stuff you don’t get. Or do a google search or try ripple training on line.
Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.
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So, that said. Do you believe Apple’s description of the requirements for the course are neglectful? That’s what it all boils down to. Can a reasonable person be expected to have a shot at certification with only a basic knowledge of video editing terminology and a basic understanding of an OS even be permitted to take a course like this? In fact, basic editing terminology isn’t even required. Just “highly recommended”. Nothing about editing experience with NLEs in general or prior training. It’s a hard test even for seasoned FCP X editors. I personally think that the neglect falls a bit in Apple’s court. Bill points out that there are many resources that should have clued him in that this was beyond his knowledge, but as a beginner, you’re not aware of these resources.
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I don’t personally feel that their prerequisites are necessarily off. It does seem that the instructor probably should have said something along the lines of “Make sure you study that book we gave you, this is a difficult test”. I went into the Logic exam with practically no experience in it, but our instructor mentioned several times that if we wanted to have any hope of passing, we needed to study and practice with the book. I studied like hell, and at the end of the three days I passed the exam. It’s entirely possible to pass after just three days, so long as you study nonstop for those three days. It’s not fun, but it is possible.
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NickZimmerman.net
Certified in FCPX, Logic Pro X, & Motion 5
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Yes if you’re an upper percentage student it is possible.
I don’t think that stressing and cramming for a test is the best way to learn. You need to develop a workflow using the different functions.
When you really start to master a tool, it becomes an extension of your mind. It becomes fluid.
I think the exam should be an actual edit. Here’s your media. Ingest what you think you’ll need to tell your story. Make sure to use media that will allow u to use a defined set of FC operations. Set up your library/event/project.
Organize the browser. Edit using operations on the list. Finally export. Doing not test questions.
Then I could see it being worth the kind of prices they are charging. The instructors should be helping people when they get stuck not coaching them to read the chapters and feeding them the steps that are clearly presented in the book.
If you know you are a slow learner then go through the book first. The book should be augmented with video clips showing the operations. That’s all the instructors really do. They demo a bit and then talk you through the steps in the book. Fall behind feel frustrated. Know it already. Feel bored.
I think you should pass a test to get into the class. Again doing not testing. Show me how to do these three kinds of edits. Show me how to add a keyword. Show me how to add gain. Show me how to adjust opacity etc.
Mac Pro, macbook pro, Imacs (i7); Canon 5D Mark III/70D, Panasonic AG-HPX170/AG-HPX250P, Canon HV40, Sony Z7U/VX2000/PD170; FCP 6 certified; FCP X write professionally for a variety of media; teach video production in L.A.
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