[adamfishercox]

I just got FCS2, and I am SO lost. First off, whenever I import any files into Final Cut Pro, they play fine in the viewer, but once on the timeline they don't have any sound save for a regular beep beep beep beep. Is that normal?

Motion LOOKED simple enough, at least to edit some text. OH NO! This palette came up that won't let me make the text any bigger than 288 point! And I can't edit any text if it's not on top.

Now I know there are (probably simple) ways to do this, but I'm a FC newb. How long will it take before I can actually USE it? What's the learning curve? And where can I go to get help? (The built in help is woefully UNhelpful.)

[Moonray]

If I remember correctly it beeps when your media does not have the right bitrate for your output format and fcp hasn’t converted it yet. (This must be easy to google for.)

I did a fcp project last year and after a while it wasn’t that difficult any more. I would have done the next in about half the time I think.

Oh, and instead of using the online help look for the pdf manual, some chapters are worth reading.
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[JonoMarshall]

If I remember correctly it beeps when your media does not have the right bitrate for your output format and fcp hasn’t converted it yet. (This must be easy to google for.)

Sort of yeah, if the media needs to be rendered, it will beep... native file formats are .mov and .wav aren't they? (Sorry, been a while since last FCP project!)

FCP was a fairly steep learner for me, I used to struggle with masking, using the correct video format, etc. Try to nail the basics with a couple of your own projects and learn one 'extra' thing at a time if possible? (Tweening, cutting, layering, working with the viewer/timeline correctly would be the basics IMO.)

[Art Vandelay]

It comes with a tutorial DVD. You should take a look at it. Also, Apple's FCS2 site has tutorials too.