Apple Archive

iMovie a Great Tool for Getting Started with Video Editing, Putting Your Movies on DVD

- 2006.07.14

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iMovie first debuted with the iMac DV back in 2000. The idea was for home users to be able to connect their MiniDV video camera and import video to their computer to store and edit footage.

Six years with iMovie, and I'd never actually had the opportunity to use it until now.

The task was initially to copy old 8mm and a few MiniDV tapes to DVD for easier storage and better archiving purposes. The older tapes had become damaged with temperature and humidity changes, and it's more difficult to make a copy of them. A DVD won't last forever, but it's easier to store and much easier to copy - just stick it in the computer and use Toast to make a duplicate.

At work we had been using an Akai DVD recorder, which has for the most part worked very well, to transfer 8mm tapes to DVD. We ordered it from the World Gift Center because we liked the idea of it being region-free and copy-protect free (so we can make copies of home video DVDs without the machine assuming, that it's a commercial DVD).

While this provides a good solution for copying 8mm tapes to DVD, MiniDV tapes can be copied to the computer and the video edited there for a better quality result. And, as I mentioned, I had no experience editing video with any application, iMovie or otherwise.

Not only does using the computer provide a better way to edit the video, it also makes a nicer looking DVD.

When I first opened up iMovie 6, it provided onscreen controls to import the video from the camera that had been connected via Firewire. It automatically separates the footage into "clips" based on where the camera had been shut off and restarted. This allows you to arrange it as you want in iMovie before you burn the DVD.

You can add titles and even select a theme, which provides a very professional look to the final product.

If you plan to burn it to a DVD, the project can be imported right from iMovie into iDVD, where you can add a scene selection page as well as an opening page.

iMovie and iDVD are very straightforward applications - things generally work as you'd expect, except for drop zones. Drop zones are little openings where you can add images and audio to appear in the themes you apply to your project, although it's a bit unclear how you add things to them.

I eventually figured out that you had to drag and drop the files from the desktop or from a file browser in the application's main window. Not exactly intuitive.

The DVDs you make with iMovie and iDVD look professional. They're easy to navigate, as you can add a chapter at any point in the video that you want. You can personalise them with your own pictures, and even add your own soundtrack if you so choose. The video quality is excellent when played on a TV - far superior to the DVDs made on the Akai from the 8mm tapes.

Unfortunately, it takes in excess of two hours to actually encode the video and burn the DVD, whereas burning a DVD on the Akai takes just the time of the tape. Still, I have to say that the additional features are worth the extra time.

iMovie's not a bad application. It's relatively easy to use, and with iDVD it produces very good results. It's perfect for someone putting together archives of home videos like we're doing. Perhaps if you were actually dealing with a movie, Final Cut Express or Pro would be necessary, but iMovie 6 is a great place to start.  LEM

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