Book and Tape Reviews

QuickTime Pro 4 for Macintosh & Windows - Visual Quickstart Guide
Judith Stern & Robert Lettieri (1999, Peachpit Press, www.peachpit.com, 359 pages, $18)
If you want to learn how to use QuickTime Pro, this handy guide will help. Every task is broken down into logical, easy-to-follow steps, with plenty of screen shots and diagrams to aid understanding.
From the most basic concepts ("What Are QuickTime and QuickTime Player") to the most advanced tasks ("Creating Panorama Thumbnails with QTVR PanoToThumbnail"), this comprehensive tutorial guides you along the entire learning curve. All aspects of this complex tool are broken into 18 logically defined chapters. The book has an excellent index, and three helpful appendices provide a comprehensive list of keyboard shortcuts for Mac and Windows users, a guide to configuration options and a list of useful resources.
If you wish to distribute video as a stream or as computer files on removable media, and QuickTime is your format of choice, then Visual Quickstart Guide will serve as a great reference book. 4.5

Producing & Directing the Short Film and Video
Second Edition
Peter W. Rea and David K. Irving (2001, Focal Press, www.focalpress.com, 374 pages, $40)
This how-to book provides you with beneficial information, even if you aren't looking to make professional films or videos. It gives a clear overview of the processes involved in professional level production, while also delivering a set of organizational tools that you can apply to productions at any level.
The informative guide opens with descriptions of producer and director responsibilities, as well as a graphical overview of the complete filmmaking process. By maintaining a dual-stream paradigm throughout the book, the authors realistically present and explain the actual process of making short films and videos. The book breaks down the entire process. It explains how to create and use such "milestone" documents as treatments, storyboards, stripboards and budgets, and explains the whole process in the context of three actual example productions. The authors have created an indispensable tool for any producer, regardless of experience level. 5

Final Cut Pro A to Z
Steve Martin (2000, Intelligent Training Solutions, www.intelligentmedia.com, 3 Tapes, $99)
In the three-tape set, Final Cut Pro A to Z, Intelligent Media's Steve Martin takes the viewer on a comprehensive, feature-by-feature, screen-by-screen overview of Final Cut Pro, one of Apple's popular editing software programs.
The instructional guide begins with preferences and default settings. A to Z gradually moves into more complex subjects, including three-point editing, special effects, audio editing and effects, animation and more. Most of the program uses an on-screen computer desktop, with the trainer in an inset window.
In addition to all the features in Final Cut Pro itself, the tapes demonstrate third party plug-ins as well as advanced compositing and nesting sequences. The program contains many tips designed to streamline the editing process, save time, and improve the quality of your work. Taped in front of a live audience, Final Cut Pro A to Z, thanks to Martin's enthusiasm and knowledge, keeps the viewer engaged and excited.