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Final Cut Express 4.0

Get the apple certified training manual for 30 bucks and read it

Written by JB from West Chester

Sep 25, 2008

This product is great if you know how to use it. You Cannot just flip the switch and edit in FCE if you do not understand basic editing terminology and concepts. This program offers many ways to do the same things depending on your preferences and that is excatly what makes a software intuitive. There is a training book for like 30 bucks (less on ebay)that comes with a DVD with project files and extra pdf lessons on more advanced features that will teach you everything you need to know and more. Oh, and for the guy that couldn't render his XML, Option R will render the entire sequence (audio and video)in an active timeline. Just select the timeline as the active window and press Option R or go to sequence drop down and click render all. and for the guy that said you couldn't use itunes music. right click the empty grey section of the browser select import>files then select the itunes song you want to import (need to know where your computer stores the actual file, ususally in the user section of your harddrive). or drag directly from itunes to desktop and then desktop to FCE browser. GET THE BOOK!

92 of 101 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Not Worth Upgrading

Written by WM from meridian

Sep 24, 2008

I am a film student, and have used studio and express. 3.5 works great if you are only using DV and HDV. There are no new features in 4.0 that make it worth buying.

52 of 80 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Amazing!

Written by JB from Louisville

Sep 24, 2008

I absolutely love this video editing software. Much better than iMovie '08.

26 of 49 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Do not buy this product

Written by MW from Niles

Sep 13, 2008

What a piece of garbage. I thought the strength in Apple was their graphic arts programs, but this Final Cut Express doesn't even come close to the quality of the PC based Pinnacle software. I have tried multiple ways to get my home movies that I converted to DVD to import into Final Cut Express and it will not work. I continue to get error messages, with no solutions.

53 of 135 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Sticking with Windows version on Parallels

Written by LS from Nashua

Sep 9, 2008

FCE has a learning curve and then you find you can't do things you could on Windows versions like attach DVD chapter marks to Mpeg2 or other formats than QT Movies that are very large. It's not as intuitive to use as a package like Cyberlinks Director which I'll run with parallels. It allows everything to be done in one pass to make a DVD. Plus Apple doesn't have a trial download and won't take software returns so you need to read the user manual or something before committing.

48 of 82 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

I want my money back.

Written by JS from Texarkana

Sep 4, 2008

After upgrading from 3.0 to 4.0 I lost more than half of what I had.
More than half of the special effects were no more. Gone. How is possible
to sell an item that is less than its previous product was ?????

Now I am in a mess trying to get 3.0 loaded back on. and I am out $100.
boy, Apple didn't even kiss me.

123 of 156 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Awesome!!!

Written by CB from Union City

Aug 31, 2008

When I first bought it I was really exited.. but when I opened it I saw that it was really hard and impossible to use. I had a problem with rendering the files.. so I was like 2 months not using it. Then I found out how the rendering worked.. and just taking a look at the apple tutorials I realized that it was really easy to learn how to use it and that it was awesome!!! It really is!!

43 of 59 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Very Good

Written by TR from Lafayette

Aug 25, 2008

FCE 4 is very good for people who are just starting to make semi professional looking films. It's pretty easy to use and it won't take you long to master it. I highly recommend it. If you can afford, definitely go with Final Cut Studio of Adobe After Effects. There is only one problem. When importing AVCHD directly into Final Cut, it was very hard. It made the rendering really slow and it was very hard to work with. Just import it through imovie and it's fine. Livetype is great, too. This product is a 4.5/5.

44 of 52 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Very Good for those who can't afford FCP

Written by SE from Seaton

Aug 20, 2008

I work in media for my church and have used iMovie for years. The latest version no longer met my needs and the price of FCE4 made it possible to purchase which we did spring of 2008. I also purchased the Apple Training manual which is a great help in getting started. The learning curve is steep and in my life, I never have enough time to really learn a program before I actually use it.

I have created several videos now and have learned more on each project. I think the possibilities are great with this for those of us who need a good video editor with lots of features without a lot of cost. I learn more with each use and hope to complete the training manual and LiveType sometime between videos.

I highly recommend FCE4.

55 of 62 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

This is NOT an Upgrade to IMOVIE - But Worth learning !!

Written by SP from Miami

Aug 13, 2008

To the people saying that this is not easy to use you are correct but only if you don't pick up a book or minimum take a 1 hour free class at the Apple Store.

To have the freedom of more control over your movie you are going to have to do a little more work but it is worth it.

If you are trying to throw together a quick vacation video then stick with IMOVIE.

I have used the last 3 versions of IMOVIE and also used Final Cut Pro 4 and 5.

FCE fits right in the middle and there are tons of free plug ins and effects that you can get that more than make up for all the " missing " extra from the old versions plus you can now edit with all the modern camera and type types.

If you want to learn editing then get FCE 4 other than that you will be happy with IMOVIE

95 of 107 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Not worth it unless you are really making films

Written by SW from Kettering

Aug 9, 2008

This is a joke. It's not intuitive unless you have take a class or studied the manual. You can't use iTunes music in the video like you can in iMovie. It's cumbersome to make manipulate video like you can in iMovie. I spent the $199 thinking I'd recover some of the features they took out of iMovie when they made it "better" only to realize that it set me back a bunch of money and time.

61 of 111 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Great program. Don't let the "hard to use" comments slow you down.

Written by DC from Marysville

Jul 29, 2008

I have read many of these "its hard to use" comments. Listen, yes it is a more intense program then iMovie. It is NOT difficult to you, you simply need to learn the basic ways it functions. Once you do that you will almost instantly unlock the ability to use FCE in awesome ways. SO, yes, if you want to step up and be able to make awesome, professional looking videos, purchase FCE BUT before you leave the apple store, sit down with a apple genius and have them show you the basic functions and way the program operates.

106 of 117 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

NOT FOR AMATEURS

Written by GF from las vegas

Jul 28, 2008

For those writing reviews on how difficult this program is, its a much more advanced workstation then iMovie. unless you know more then the average on rendering, manual cuts etc, dont bother getting this. its meant for the more advanced editor and is a great tool.

48 of 57 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Time to upgrade

Written by AJ from Billings

Jul 28, 2008

Don't spend the money on FCE. Just go all out and get Final Cut Pro. It's got so many more options and little things that make all the better. If you are native to iMovie '08 then I'll just warn you right now that this is an actual editing program and not some funky compilation thing. I can't stand the new iMovie and if you think that's what you're getting into with this then you're dead wrong.

36 of 56 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Note 2 Rookies

Written by RC from Polson

Jul 25, 2008

Final Cut is editing software for advanced use. And now with capabilities of editing AVCHD ALL MY DREAMS CAME TRUE. I thought I was gonna be forced to edit using something other than Final Cut. To all you rookies complaining about it being hard to use thats because it gives you total control over the editing process.

22 of 30 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Buy a "Guide to..."

Written by CC from Cape Town

Jul 25, 2008

I've been using FCE for some time now: it delivers all I need. Yet I'm surprised some posts here complain about FCE not being "intuitive". Of course it's not unless you understand editing principles, how editing packages work, its interfaces and so on.

If you understand very little about editing, use iMovie - it's very simple. But if you want "semi-professional" options, buy a "Guide to..." with FCE and be prepared to spend a day or two working through its Lessons before you even try editing your own footage. You'll be rewarded in the long run and be all the wiser for not seeing FCE as an "upgrade" from iMovie. They couldn't be more different.

32 of 41 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

Unbelievably difficult

Written by AK from HAYFIELD

Jul 17, 2008

I cannot tell you at how difficult this software is to understand if you are upgrading from imovie08. I got to grips with imovie literally in seconds. This is so un-intuitive you would not believe.

I am a complete Mac convert who is not happy. Apples video tutorials gloss over the important starting points like when you import an XLM file from imovie, how come it says unrendered?? I rendered the thing for iDVD. So how do you render it. The tutorial doesn't mention anything about rendering? Also how do you add a soundtrack back in that's lost when importing from imovie. It just doesn't say anywhere. Or am i just a bit simple?????

47 of 109 people found this useful

Final Cut Express 4.0

I don't get it

Written by JM from ANCHORAGE

Jul 16, 2008

This is the most frustrating software I've encountered in 30 years of using a computer. I'm sure it works, I just can't figure out how. I'm not normally a manual reader, but I've been forced to the manual for Final Cut. The manual is 1,000 pages long....I'd say this is software for a person who is learning to edit by taking a class and having an instructor to explain it. But for the lone wolf on the wild frontier, better find something else.

47 of 83 people found this useful