Can I accomplish this in iMovie?

[GovtLawyer]

In a few weeks I am going on a safari. I will be shooting high quality stills (hopefully) and HD video from 24 frames to 60 frames, with my two DSLRs. I intend to produce a travelogue with the video, stills and a music soundtrack, as well as real sounds captured while shooting video. I imagine I will want to lower the volume of the music soundtrack and bring the video soundtrack to life, and then return to the music. I hope to make use of titling and some effects such as transitions. I have not used iMovie before, so there will be a learning curve to deal with.

Before I start on the project I want to make sure iMovie will be up to the task. Will I be able to use a short snippet of a video clip and somewhere else in the production use a longer version of the same clip, including the short snippet already used. In other words, can you use the same clip over and over again, with different trimmings on them? Will I be able to open the film with a still of a lion from a video clip (I expect to capture some very good clips of the lions - or else my safari is a bust, and I do not expect it to be,) and after adding titles bring that still to life with the tiger roaring?

Other than those two specific ideas, it looks to me that iMovie will produce a really nice video.

Thanks,
Steven

 

[bopajuice]

I would think you should be fine. I believe iMovie uses non destructive editing, so dragging a clip into the timeline from the media window, editing, shortening, changing volumes, and adding audio in the timeline should not affect the original clip. Just add it again to another part of the video and edit at will.

 

[Anonymous Freak]

You can absolutely do what you want in iMovie. It's not the best for such uses, but it will do it.

 

[kohlson]

Yes, you can do what you've described in iMovie. "Ducking" is the concept of lowering the volume of background music when there is dialog (in this case, a lion's roar). Some audio editors, like Audacity, have auto-ducking capabilities. Just checking - you're using a mic other than the one built into the camera, right? DSLR mics are universally awful. Even a relatively inexpensive "hot shoe" mic from your camera manufacturer will be significantly better.

 

[GovtLawyer]

Yes, you can do what you've described in iMovie. "Ducking" is the concept of lowering the volume of background music when there is dialog (in this case, a lion's roar). Some audio editors, like Audacity, have auto-ducking capabilities. Just checking - you're using a mic other than the one built into the camera, right? DSLR mics are universally awful. Even a relatively inexpensive "hot shoe" mic from your camera manufacturer will be significantly better.

Thanks for your help. Yes, I bought a mid-range RODE mic with a wind shield. Obviously I will not be catching dialogue. Mostly concerned about the wind.
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I would think you should be fine. I believe iMovie uses non destructive editing, so dragging a click into the timeline from the media window, editing, shortening, changing volumes, and adding audio in the timeline should not affect the original clip. Just add it again to another part of the video and edit at will.

Thanks. Appreciate the help.

 

[bopajuice]

Thanks for your help. Yes, I bought a mid-range RODE mic with a wind shield. Obviously I will not be catching dialogue. Mostly concerned about the wind.
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Thanks. Appreciate the help.

One of those fury type wind shields that slide right over the mic do the job pretty well.

 

[kohlson]

Wrt wind noise, you may have to play a bit in post. Most wind noise is at the lower end, 100-200 Hz. You can often gate this out and it turns out well. But best to use a good wind shield, as you are.

 

[GovtLawyer]

On another site I've been cautioned against using clips with different fps. One camera does full HD at 30 fps, the other at 60fps. It seems that depending on which clip I use as the first in the project, they will all play at the same rate, so I would have to slow one set of clips down or speed one up. I'd then have to play with the pitch control to fix the audio.

Suppose I mixed clips all shot at 60fps, but with one camera at 1080 and the other shooting at 720? Would the difference in definition be as problematic as the difference in frame rates?

 

[StoneJack]

On another site I've been cautioned against using clips with different fps. One camera does full HD at 30 fps, the other at 60fps. It seems that depending on which clip I use as the first in the project, they will all play at the same rate, so I would have to slow one set of clips down or speed one up. I'd then have to play with the pitch control to fix the audio.

Suppose I mixed clips all shot at 60fps, but with one camera at 1080 and the other shooting at 720? Would the difference in definition be as problematic as the difference in frame rates?

no

 

[Donka]

Are you editing on Mac or iOS? I ask because the LumaFusion app for iOS is a great tool for this kind of editing and obviously more portable than a Mac.

 

[Boyd01]

I use Final Cut Pro, not iMovie. But I don't think frame rate and speed are treated the same. Seems to me you should be able to mix those clips and iMovie would understand that one of them just has as higher frame rate.

If not, then Apple Compressor only costs $50 and it can easily convert your 60p footage to 30p. Also does a very nice job of other conversions, like interlaced to progressive, etc.

 

[GovtLawyer]

Are you editing on Mac or iOS? I ask because the LumaFusion app for iOS is a great tool for this kind of editing and obviously more portable than a Mac.

I'm editing on my iMac. No need to do anything with IOS. I don't need portability - gonna be on safari where traveling light is a virtue.
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I use Final Cut Pro, not iMovie. But I don't think frame rate and speed are treated the same. Seems to me you should be able to mix those clips and iMovie would understand that one of them just has as higher frame rate.

If not, then Apple Compressor only costs $50 and it can easily convert your 60p footage to 30p. Also does a very nice job of other conversions, like interlaced to progressive, etc.

I've pretty much decided to shoot both in 60fps, and one will be HD and the other Full HD. Mostly I'll be shooting stills, but I do want to get a few minutes here and there of video (it may add up when all is said and done.) Which camera I use will depend on which lens I want to use for a particular shot. One camera will have my really long zoom and the other a wide to tele zoom.