DV for Teachers » iMovie

New 64 bit Final Cut Pro? | Philip Hodgetts

Tim Merritt — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:55:13 +0000

Philip Hodgetts, long a Final Cut authority, asks if the rumors about a new 64 bit Final Cut Pro might be true and speculates on what that would mean. It’s only speculation, and the comments include lots of wishful thinking, but it’s informed speculation. After the unveiling of the new iMovie for iPad and the praise it’s had, there’s apparent reason for anticipation.

Regain the Timeline in iMovie ’11

Tim — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:25:03 +0000

Well, here’s some good news. It’ll only work on the latest iMovie announced yesterday, which means a $49 upgrade or the purchase of a new Mac, but it’s good nonetheless.

When Apple radically changed iMovie between the ‘06 and ‘08 releases, one of the biggest criticisms was the abandonment of the traditional editing timeline. […] Well, if you’ve been pining for a “real” timeline, it’s time to re-evaluate iMovie ‘11. With a couple of clicks, you can have it back. Here’s how.

This is very welcome. The difficulty of adjusting to the no-timeline interface, and its audio limitations, has meant that I install the older iMovie on all the newer Macs I configure. That may no longer be necessary. I’ll have to get my hands on iMovie ‘11 and play with it to know for sure though.

Via TidBITS Media Creation for posting this.

Shot and Edited on an iPhone 4

Tim Merritt — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 13:15:02 +0000

John Gruber pointed to this video made entirely on an iPhone 4: “Apple of My Eye” – an iPhone 4 film on Vimeo.

Further evidence that it’s not the tools, but how you use them.

Target Disk Mode Saves the Day Again

Tim Merritt — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:18:11 +0000

Helping a student burn a DVD on a laptop that for some reason wouldn’t accept the blank DVD. I hooked the MacBook up to an iMac in the lab with a firewire cable, booted the laptop while holding down the T key, and voila! The MacBook’s drive mounted on the iMac’s desktop, and I could access the DVD project and start burning. The latest MacBooks don’t have firewire any more :( but the Pro series and desktops do. Useful.

Converting AVCHD files for iMovie

Tim Merritt — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:23:58 +0000

Macworld’s Chris Breen offers valuable info in Converting AVCHD files for iMovie. The lack of direct support for AVCHD in out-of-the-box iMovie stinks though. Camcorder manufacturers often include Windows-only conversion utilities, and one commenter suggests installing them using VirtualBox, a free Windows operating system virtual machine. That’s a lot of hassle for an increasingly common video format that will rapidly become ubiquitous.

Tricks with iMovie and iDVD

Tim Merritt — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:40:16 +0000

I didn’t know about these nice tricks.

Add locations to Maps in iMovie
Extra Keyboard-plus-mouse shortcuts
Change clip speed
Smart titles, maps, and photos

Chapter markers and send to iDVD (and turn off Auto Play)
They’re from Jeff Carlson, author of Peachpit’s iMovie ‘09 and iDVD for Mac OS X Visual QuickStart Guide. Well done.

Ken Stone: iMovie 09 In-Depth

Tim Merritt — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:34:10 +0000

Well, I am re-evaluting my opinion of the not-so-new “new” iMovie. I was so used to the older version, iMovie HD, which had been expanded but not fundamentally changed, since it was introduced in 1999 (Ten years? Yow).

Ken Stone, a source for so much great Final Cut information, posted the most complete one-page overview of iMovie I’ve ever seen. He loves it:

So why am I writing about iMovie 09 if I work in FCP? The answer is simple. At the demonstration I saw a number of features in iMovie 09, that I wished were in FCP and I wondered if there was a way to use iMovie 09 in conjunction with FCP, utilizing some of its features to supplement the FCP workflow, most importantly in the rough cut phase of editing, as ‘09’ has an amazing skimming/edit tool. iMovie also sports a new and modern tool for exact clip trimming, the Precision Editor, and it’s stunning. And, iMovie provides full Real Time playback, no rendering required, ever.
[...]
iMovie is very intuitive and easy to use, despite the fact that it has some very advanced features, features that it would be nice to see incorporated into Apple’s other editing application, Final Cut Pro. iMovie is a very modern editing application and it works in a much more visual way than editing applications that were first created over a decade ago. This graphical aspect of iMovie is more persuasive and powerful than one might first suspect. And don’t let the fact that iMovie ships in the iLife package and comes free on new Macs fool you, this is an amazingly modern and capable editing application.

The article has 25 sections in a single page, all linked for easy navigations, and it’s full of screenshots to illustrate just what Ken likes and why. Ken even provides instructions for downloading and saving the page for offline use—printed it would go to more than 120 pages!

This is not only a detailed examination of iMovie but a great and generous example of technical writing

TidBITS on the iMovie ’09 8.0.1 Update

Tim Merritt — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:19:23 +0000

I had my first workshop for iMovie 09 last week. I’ve used the earlier version of iMovie for years, and had allowed some reviewers negative comments to scare me away from the update. It takes getting used to, but it makes its own sense once you start working with it. Its biggest weakness: its audio capabilities remain less flexible than the older version.

To make the new iMovie work better for you (I guess it’s not so new, now that its been out a year and a half), Jeff Carlson of the indispensable TidBITS posts four little-known improvements to the 8.0.1 update to iMovie 09:

Split Clip Keyboard Shortcut
Interlacing Bug Fixed
Enter Coordinates for New Map Locations
HD Export Options

TidBITS Media Creation: iMovie ‘09 8.0.1 Update Brings More than Just Bug Fixes.

Ars Reviews iLife ’09: making the cut with iMovie and iPhoto – Ars Technica

Tim Merritt — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:24:55 +0000

I used to use iMovie much more often; now I do almost all my video editing in Final Cut Pro. Many in the college either use our small Mac lab for video and DVD creation or have their own Macs now. The new iLife, which incorporates iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, and more, has achieved hit a sweet spot in power and usability. It’s still not a piece of cake for those used to Windows, but it’s stable, flexible, and really easy. Read through this exhaustive review from uber-tech site Ars Technica for a solid learning experience whether you’re a Mac rookie or experienced user.

Ars Reviews iLife ‘09: making the cut with iMovie and iPhoto – Ars Technica.

69 really useful OS X timesavers | News | TechRadar UK

Tim Merritt — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:53:45 +0000

There are alternatives to some of the paid apps they link to in this nice list of quick tips. Regrettably I don’t have time at the moment to link to them.Those aside, this is a good list for the Mac newbie, from TechRadar UK: 69 really useful OS X timesavers | News | TechRadar UK.