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JonHimself

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 3, 2004
1,553
5
Toronto, Ontario
Ok, so I have an idea of what I want to make as a video but I am interested in knowing if it is possible. I'm not looking for instructions on how to do it, if I can be reassured that it is something that can be done then I will spend more time learning how to do it on my own.

I want to film myself playing several of the different instrument apps on the iPhone. They are simple apps so I would also need to use layers to properly create the song (ie I would need to film the drum part in about 5 layers - 5 different 'beats' to make it sound decent).

What I want to have the movie end up looking like is as follows:
Picture the screen in 16 (or any number, I'm just guessing at 16) different squares (4 across x 4 down). As each layer is introduced in the song I want one of those squares to play (in a loop) one layer. When a new layer comes in I want to use another one of those 16 squares to play it back. I would need to loop each square because it would probably only be a 4 or 8 count for each clip.

Hopefully I was able to explain that, but basically I need to know if I can play approx 16 different video clips on a loop using iMovie.
 
I think you will be able to use iMovie up to a point. But there is a limited number of layers you can use (at least in the version I last used), and I strongly suspect in order to pull this off, you may need to upgrade to Final Cut Express, or possibly even Final Cut. The only way I can imagine doing this in iMovie involves me telling you how to do it, and you would rather figure this out on your own (I like that!). I like your concept, and just the fact that you want to do something so complex tells me it's time for you to seriously consider upgrading to FC. Good luck to you! Would love to see it when you're done. :)
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll look into FCE, there's no way I can justify FC. It'll be a while before I'm done though, I still have to try and write a full song that's decent enough to justify making the video.
 
Will you be using GarageBand and loops for your song? It sounds like it may allow for some experimental music, which is great for beginners and fun for those with experience. Good luck to you. :) I think someone is selling FC express in the marketplace.
 
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