People who are embarking on a post-production career or just trying to get up to speed for a multi-media project generally come to me with two kinds of questions: what’s the best software suite to invest in and how can I get up to speed quickly? The purpose of the ProAppsTrainer Store is to provide a secure, authoritative one-stop shop where aspiring Motion Graphics and Video Editing professionals can get recommendations on the best books from someone who teaches and uses these apps daily.

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Which Applications Should I Learn?
There are several major brands of NLE (non linear editing) software packages in use today. These include the Avid products (Symphony, Media Composer and Liquid), Grass Valley’s Edius, Matrox’s RT.X2 and AXIO systems, Media 100, Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier and Apple’s FCP. While each has pros and cons, I am a big fan of the Apple Studio approach as it delivers an extensive suite of applications in one reasonably priced box. FCP simply gives the most bang for the buck. If you’re on a PC, then I recommend Premier Pro from Adobe because of the way it integrates with After Effects. The Adobe bundle is another good value. If you’re on a tight budget, I recommend Sony or FCP Express. As for Motion Graphics, I recommend Motion for virtually everyone, but if you’re getting very seriously into mo-graphs or plan to specialize in the field, you’ll also need to master Adobe After Effects.

Mastering the Major Post Applications
Click the application that you’re interested in below. Each ProAppsTrainer Store Application Page provides links to the best online resources for the app and my recommended “course of study” for mastering it.
  • Final Cut Pro
  • Motion
  • DVD Studio Pro & Compressor
  • Sound Track Pro
  • Adobe After Effects
  • Adobe Photoshop
More Essential Reading for Post
Must-read books that cover pre-planning your production, shooting and understanding the intracacies of green screen compositing, special effects and HD delivery and workflow.

Production Essentials
Our Hardware and Expendables sections cover everything from gaffer’s tape (the best stuff on earth) to tape stock to software-specific keyboards that will help you learn keyboard shortcuts. Have a look around and if you have any suggestions or unusual finds, let us know.