I was very sceptical about this book. A Visual guide on something as complicated as Final Cut Pro? I must admit, Lisa Brenneis has done a fine job. She’s turned something difficult into something relatively simple.

Brenneis starts “Final Cut Pro for Mac OS X Visual QuickPro Guide” with the very basics of the application and of video editing in general. Some of what she’s telling in the first few chapters will be known to most video editors, even if they migrate from Final Cut Express.

But then the book quickly turns into a real reference guide. Although the book’s name would suggest it, Brenneis didn’t turn this into a boring tutorial. She naturally makes extensive use of screenshots, which makes the book extra easy to follow.

Brenneis covers projects where clips were taken without first explaining how to capture video. This means she relies on the fact that you have clips on your system --there is no companion web site, as far as I could make out, not is there a DVD-rom containing some material to work with.

On the other hand, you’re not forced to take each chapter in sequence, as with Apple’s Pro Series. Unique to this book is the coverage of importing files like Photoshop images and iMovie clips into Final Cut Pro.

The book becomes really serious when Brenneis explains editing and effects, as well as in the final chapters where she explains how to manage complex projects.