I started with Premiere 6.5 - then went on to Premiere Pro 7.0 which I use now. I have never taken a training class or any video courses and manage to do alright. It just takes a little time to learn the 3 or 4 tools you need to do good video. If you're going to do encoding i.e. wmv's you are going to want to get a separate program - I use Cleaner XL -
These are as simple of examples as I have ready but I have made some impressive dvd's -
www.cheerihoes.com/stupidcoeds/trailer2.wmv
www.cheerihoes.com/stupidcoeds/trailer3.wmv
www.cheerihoes.com/stupidcoeds/trailer4.wmv