Digital Video using iMovie

Trash Can

Toolbar

shelf area for clips

Timeline (video, 2 audio tracks)

transition

iMovie tutorial notes (http://www.atomiclearning.com/freeimovie.shtml)

Importing video into iMovie

· Connect your camera. In the preview window, switch to DV. You can completely control the camera using the buttons on the screen.

· If you have VHS video to capture, play the video using the VCR and click Capture when you reach the desired video. Click Capture again to stop capturing video.

· Every minute of video you import takes up approx. 200MB of disk space so watch the disc space indicator.

· Unwanted clips can be dragged to the trash can in iMovie and then under the File menu, choose empty trash.

Previewing video

· To preview a clip, select it and click the Play button in the preview window. The button to the right of the play button is the full screen button, then click anywhere on the screen to return to normal.

Still clips

· To include a still choose import file, then navigate to an image file, It will show up on the shelf as a five second clip. Under preferences you can preset how long imported stills will be. The Edit menu has the create still clip which creates a five second still of whatever image is at the playhead. If you select a clip in the eyeball view a still duration box shows up above the clip and you can type in a change in duration there.

Arranging video clips

· To rearrange clips drag them in the slide (eyeball) view. When you drag clips in the timeline view you create black space in front or back of the clip.

· If you select a clip and then copy and paste it duplicates (or hold down the option key and click and drag in the shelf)

· In the slide view, you can drag clips back up to the shelf

· To create a black clip, click and drag a clip to the right in timeline view. this creates a black clip of a certain duration, which you can see and change in the slide view by selecting the clip, and changing the clip duration.

Modifying video clips

· To shorten a clip you click and drag at the tick marks under the ‘bar’ in the preview window. This creates a yellow bar indicating the part of the clip you want. Then chose crop from the edit menu. The advanced menu has a “restore clipped media” option.

· To split a clip, move the playhead to where you want it and choose from the Edit menu, Split Video Clip at Playhead.

Audio and narration

· The audio volume at the bottom (under the timeline) permanently changes the volume of the clip; the volume in the preview window only affects the listening volume while you work on the project. You can adjust the volume of the clip sound or of the sound you add separately. Whichever is selected you can drag the volume bar under the timeline.

· To record a voice over place the playhead in the timeline where you want to start recording then go to audio in the shelf and click record voice. If no sound is showing up on the meter when you try to record you may not have the audio source selected. Either chose the sound icon from the control strip at the bottom left or chose sound from control panels in the apple menu.

· To lock an audio clip to a segment of video select the audio then under the advanced menu chose lock audio clip at playhead.

Transitions and Titles

· To create transitions you chose the transitions tab in iMovie and drag the transition between the two clips where you want it to go. Some transitions (such as fade to/from black) can be placed at the beginning or end of your video

· To create a title you select the clip in the slide view. In the title tab area of iMovie you can select the type of title, the font and size, and type your text. Then drag the title to the selected clip (as you would a transition). If you want the title over black, there is a checkbox for that. If you want to later export the movie as a QuickTime clip for the web or CD check the QT margins box.

Special Effects

· You can adjust the colors of a clip under the effects tab. Select the clip you want to adjust in the slide view then click the adjust colors in the effects window. When you have the clip the way you want it click apply. There is also a black and white tab in the effects.

· To reverse the direction of a clip select the clip then chose advanced from the menu bar, and reverse clip direction from the drop down menu.

· To adjust the speed of a clip you select the clip in the timeline view, and then there is a slider for slower to faster at the bottom which lets you alter the speed.

Exporting your masterpiece

· When you are finished you can chose export and send your movie back to your camera to archive in DV format, or save it as a QuickTime that can be in various compression sizes. To save as an MPEG movie for use with PowerPoint, save using Full Quality, and then export to MPEG using QuickTime Pro.

Digital Video Glossary

AVI - A Microsoft video file format.  On the PC, Windows Media Player will try to play AVI files (if it has the right codec installed)

codec - compressor/decompressor.  This is "geek speak" for the method used to compress the video.  Some examples of codecs include Indeo, Sorensen, Real, or MPEG (lots of variants).  The choice of codec has a large impact on quality and file size. See http://www.codeccentral.com for a rundown of different codecs. 

Digital 8  This is a proprietary Sony tape format that allows digital video to be recorded onto 8mm videotape. 

Digitize - to convert from analog (i.e. VHS or 8mm videotape footage) to a format that can be manipulated by the computer.

DV - this is the video format created by digital camcorders.  Apple's iMovie edits only DV files.  DV takes up large amounts of disk space.  The standard is actually DV25, which stands for 25 megabits per second (approx 3 MB per second). DV is high-quality format that is optimized for editing, but is too large for distribution.

Firewire (also called IEEE1394 or Sony i.Link) a high-speed transfer interface used with digital video equipment

MiniDV - This is a tape format most commonly used with digital camcorders.  A MiniDV cassette can hold 60 minutes of video. 

QuickTime - a video file format created by Apple and now commonly found on the web.  Compatible with both Macs and PCs using the free QuickTime player found at www.apple.com/quicktime.  Under Microsoft Windows, these files typically have a ".mov" extension.  Used for streaming or standalone playback.

MPEG  a series of codecs created by the Moving Picture Experts Group, a standards committee. MPEG is known for high quality, but is not a good format for editing. The Broadway card in the Multimedia Lab is a MPEG capture card.

Real A series of video formats and codecs optimized for streaming video on the web
Streaming video the ability to view a video as it is being downloaded