Coming to New York I always get the same feeling of amazement. The New York skyline just appears from behind the tree's and waters of New Jersey and opens into a jungle of interstate off and on ramps filling with more and more cars until the one you're traveling in stops behind hundreds of others all having the same intent of traveling into the city. This is the Lincoln tunnel (if you're coming from the south). An insane waiting line to travel under the ocean, sometimes taking more than an hour to trespass.

This, of course, is all worth it when visiting this city. The giant skyscrapers and endless movement of people, all from different backgrounds, but yet all together on one small island, give this city it's unique appeal. On every block you hear people speaking in a different language, and after half a dozen blocks you enter a different world completely. Then there are the millions of tourists that visit New York City every year, each of them adding another element to the city. Sometimes they make areas such as Times Square almost unbearable to visit (of course I went any way).

But this weeks visit includes another attraction. MacWorld CreativePro Conference & Expo. Tuesday was the first day of my conference and expo visit. The Javits center wasn't as "dressed up" as the previous year but it still had the windows covered with PowerMac G5 posters, hinting at what was to come on the expo floor. It always is a great experience stepping into the huge entrance hall of the building which is constantly filled with light provided by the huge glass ceiling.

I spend the day sitting in a conference room listening to a presentation on the "Ins and outs of Final Cut Express". Not a bad start.

The 10am to 5pm tutorial started with the basics of FCE but ended up covering many editing techniques as well. The attendees came from all ranges of life including teachers, professional video developers, and a couple of people just wanting to learn more about making their own videos. For whatever reason. I was there because I have been interested in video editing for a long time. I haven't had much history except for a summer course last year, so this was really a kick in the rear to get started again.

Many questions ranging from basic concepts to rendering were discussed. The program started with the basics of importing video, setting preferences, then went on to organizing clips and video, and continued with editing techniques, animation and many shortcuts and tricks in between. Experience levels ranged from beginners to users that were at a slightly more advanced level. Questions ranged from help on understanding basic concepts of editing, to specific questions from users who had problems with their own machines.

I came away with a better all around understanding of the application, making me feel more comfortable with using the application for complete projects. I got what I wanted. A complete overview that was filled with tips wherever possible.

Steve Martin, the speaker at the tutorial, has a website called Rippletraining.com that provides several short video tips or tutorial videos for Final Cut Pro, Express, and iMovie. Several are free and others cost $1.99. "It is somewhat like the Apple store. 99c per song, $1.99 per tutorial." said Steve Martin shortly after Rippletraining.com went up during the tutorial. Several DVD programs are also available for any of the editing applications.

That's it for today. On wednesday I am planning on checking out the Apple Feature Presentation with Greg Joswiak, and then I'll attend the Level 1 conference presentations. I'll be checking in on programs ranging from creating realistic Photoshop images, to iMovies and possibly troubleshooting. The expo floor will open as well. I'll see you tomorrow for another edition of the MacWorld Report.

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