This explains things. I just bought a new iMac and migrated User data only from my mini. When I tried looking at an iMovie 6 project, the 08 version didn't know what to do with it. As soon as I plugged my HDD with my complete mini backup, I could open my old projects using iMovie HD. Must be using 06 from the backup drive. I'll just drag it to my applications folder.
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iMovie '08 Transition Pains
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I understand that it no longer has a timeline, no longer exports chapter markers, and no longer allows audio editing beyond affecting each clip's audio.
That's assembling, not editing.
I think it's great to offer a video assembly program. It adds more function to iLife. But to offer an assembly program INSTEAD of an editing program...well you've yet to convince me that this is a good plan.
I've seen lots and lots of posts on why having an assembler is good. I get it. But can someone explain to me why dropping the editor is an improvement? I don't get that.
I absolutely LOVE iMovie '08. I have created more movies using it than I ever did in '06. I'm so glad Apple doesn't listen to forum posters when creating their products, or we'd be stuck in the 90's still.
The new iMovie'08 is just fantastic, perfect! It's what iMovie should have been all along. I'm pro and I know what I'm talking about. Finally my daughter and my mother will be able to put a movie together. And i will have a quick few minutes of fun doing the same.
Any Rewrite Is Going To Be Missing Some Of The Other's Features
Not to be an apologist for Apple, but I think any rewrite of any application is going to be missing some of what it replaces had. But I also think these complaints are being heard and work is probably underway to return what's missing in future updates ASAP.
Meanwhile you should take advantage of Apple's Feedback mechanism to vote your complaints directly to them so they hear from as many unhappy users as possible.
The iMovie '08 feedback form is accessed from within the application under the iMovie menu where it says "Provide iMovie Feedback".
Not to be an apologist for Apple, but I think any rewrite of any application is going to be missing some of what it replaces had. But I also think these complaints are being heard and work is probably underway to return what's missing in future updates ASAP.
Meanwhile you should take advantage of Apple's Feedback mechanism to vote your complaints directly to them so they hear from as many unhappy users as possible.
The iMovie '08 feedback form is accessed from within the application under the iMovie menu where it says "Provide iMovie Feedback".
Personally, I liked iMovie '06. For me, it was pretty easy to use and had enough features to do what I needed without having too many features. I liked having the chapter markers, effects and being able to record audio into it. I haven't used iMovie '08 yet so I don't know what its features are like, but quite a few of the things I used in '06 aren't available in '08. For all those who say get FCP, FCP Express is $299 and Studio is $1299 for the full versions. That's way too much for an average user, especially me. I don't even make $17,000 a year.
You're correct if you're thinking more about someone with a (HD)DV camcorder shooting hours of footage, except I think the majority of the consumer public is currently shifting to shooting more short clips using the movie feature of their digital camera. It might be 5 seconds here, or a couple minutes there from an event. In total you might have a couple hundred megs of short clips. I see this is more what the clip library is good for.
I don't know for sure, but I assume the new iMovie would allow you to put your clip library on an external drive or any volume of your choice. I would also assume that it has a backup to dvd feature as well. Running out of space? Just highlight say your 3 oldest events and backup to dvd.
Come to think of it, I think they should have named this new app iClips or something like that (and kept iMovie). It's good for putting together something 5 minutes long, which I think of as a "clip". Once you get over say 15 minutes, then it becomes a "movie".
Well That's exactly what happened. You can still use the old iMovie application; it doesn't get thrown away. So obviously you can use both. Seriously the people who are complaining all seem to have spent five minutes with the new iMovie and they had decided it was a bad product before they touched it. (The person who I am quoting obviously hasn't used the new iLife or else they would know that you can still use the old application.
i got quite used to iMovie 06 last year and found some neat things you can do in it. when i installed iLife'08 i was initially a bit shocked that it seemed that half the functionality of the old app had been removed
but after half an hour of messing about i managed to find it all again - it's just in different places and approached the idea of making the movie from a slightly different perspective
am very happy with it so far
and very pleased to see that iMovie HD 6 is still in my Applications folder so if i do need it, i can still get to it. that's a smart move on behalf of Apple's installer and i wonder why there's such a big thing being made about Apple providing the old app as a download - if you were daft enough to delete it before you were sure you wanted to upgrade then that's your fault isn't it?
but after half an hour of messing about i managed to find it all again - it's just in different places and approached the idea of making the movie from a slightly different perspective
am very happy with it so far
and very pleased to see that iMovie HD 6 is still in my Applications folder so if i do need it, i can still get to it. that's a smart move on behalf of Apple's installer and i wonder why there's such a big thing being made about Apple providing the old app as a download - if you were daft enough to delete it before you were sure you wanted to upgrade then that's your fault isn't it?
3 years
I agree with you! I've had close to 20 miniDV tapes sitting on my shelf, waiting to be digitized for the past 3 years. I was able to use iMovie '08 to digitize these in a day. All the clips were automatically separated into events! This new version rocks!
I agree with you! I've had close to 20 miniDV tapes sitting on my shelf, waiting to be digitized for the past 3 years. I was able to use iMovie '08 to digitize these in a day. All the clips were automatically separated into events! This new version rocks!
my wife and i tried it out at an apple store.
looks amazing. i really liked the new interface and assembly scheme.
will really miss the audio control. sincing up a second audio source to shot footage saved a wedding video we shot for a friend. the camera sound was insufficient and we used audio from the board mix. made the wedding video actually enjoyable.
so, with imovie 08, we would be forced to buy the much more expensive FCE in order to do the same things as 06.
~kyle
looks amazing. i really liked the new interface and assembly scheme.
will really miss the audio control. sincing up a second audio source to shot footage saved a wedding video we shot for a friend. the camera sound was insufficient and we used audio from the board mix. made the wedding video actually enjoyable.
so, with imovie 08, we would be forced to buy the much more expensive FCE in order to do the same things as 06.
~kyle
i do not try and make myself out to be a hollywood producer, but there are features in 06 that i will miss. i may not be a pro, but i don't think audio syncing and timeline editing are pro features. i agree that the quick assembly scheme of 08 is great and geared to the super quick, low tech user. but what about the medium tech, non pro user who'd like just a little more control. the jump from 08 to FCE is now a very large one.
and perhaps you should try the new version before your critique. not trying to pick a fight. honestly. just a friendly suggestion. you will find, i think, that 08 is a great ap, but those missing features truly are missing.
~kyle
I haven't played with iMovie '08 yet, but I really want to try it out and see how it feels. So far to me it sounds like a good product that just needs to be refined, just like every other iLife application has been.
But what I really don't get when I read all these comments is all the people saying how cumbersome and complicated iMovie '06 is.... umm... What?? How is it complicated? My mother-in-law who basically knows how to use email and browse the internet made a movie in iMovie '06!
Definitely not complicated.
I'm a huge iMovie fan because generally the videos I make are simple and I don't want to bother with a more powerful editing program if I don't need to.
But regardless, that's great that Apple's allowing users to still use iMovie '06 if they want to. Although I'm sure after a couple of updates no one will be using '06 anymore.
But what I really don't get when I read all these comments is all the people saying how cumbersome and complicated iMovie '06 is.... umm... What?? How is it complicated? My mother-in-law who basically knows how to use email and browse the internet made a movie in iMovie '06!
Definitely not complicated.
I'm a huge iMovie fan because generally the videos I make are simple and I don't want to bother with a more powerful editing program if I don't need to.
But regardless, that's great that Apple's allowing users to still use iMovie '06 if they want to. Although I'm sure after a couple of updates no one will be using '06 anymore.
I do know that. I didn't bring it up because it's not a solution. New video formats, software updates, bug fixes...who needs 'em? When the rest of the world is using iMovie 12 some poor sap is still going to be using iMovie 6? I doubt it.
And since everyone seems to be taking the "if you don't use it, don't complain" argument, I'll tell you why this matters.
I don't use iMovie because I use Final Cut Pro. As a professional video editor I get lots of people asking me what computer and software to buy to learn the art of movie-making. These are no pros, but they want to make short films and need at least some features to put something together.
Up until now my answer has always been "Get an iMac. Once you factor in the cost of buying a video editing program for a PC, the Mac is actually a very good deal because it comes with iMovie. It will let you do everything you need."
What do I have to tell those people now? Buy Final Cut Express? Besides the cost, they're just in it for the fun and aren't looking to learn more complicated software than they need to.
I love Macs and I love explaining to people why they should buy one. I just lost one big reason in my argument to convince people that Mac is not only a good choice, but the BEST choice for them. That used to be easier to do for video hobby types. Not anymore.
This is why this annoys me and I don't think I have to use it to be bothered by this.
Because the "editor" features as you call them (although it seems bizarre to insist that you're not really editing video unless you can add chapter markers, which only are available on DVD anyway) complicate the program. And for a most mainstream possible app, users value simplicity over features. While some miss the features, many more seem to be ecstatic about the ease of use. From what I can tell, this release is a direct response to user reaction. They've given the customers what they've asked for, if you don't like it, your beef is that most customers don't want the same thing you want.
If you need the advanced features, you're not an average user, you're an advanced one. The average user wants easy and doesn't care about features they'll never use (that complicate the app for them). Your options are getting express or sticking with '06.
And let's not forget, this is an app that ships free with new macs. The upgrade is $79 along with four other apps. Is anyone surprised that an app that basically costs under $16 is going to make ease of use a higher priority than features?
I agree with you! I've had close to 20 miniDV tapes sitting on my shelf, waiting to be digitized for the past 3 years. I was able to use iMovie '08 to digitize these in a day. All the clips were automatically separated into events! This new version rocks!
Yeah, I've got about a dozen myself, and yes some of it does date back almost 3 years as well! A lot of fun stuff that I just haven't gotten around to doing. Sounds like the new iMovie is just what I need! Although I won't be purchasing it on its own myself until I get a new machine with Leopard and iLife included. I do however, have a MP for work that has just been ordered...maybe I can get some computing time in on it during off hours.
I've done a few other larger personal projects (mind you, not on a Mac) where I spent endless hours scrubbing and pulling out clips from tons of footage. This would have saved me a lot of time I think.
Well I have used both versions, and I completely agree with Small White Car. I have no problem with the inclusion of a new movie app in iLife, but name it something other than iMovie. The new app bears little resemblance to the original, and the two apps have completely different feature sets.
Appleinsider details complaints from some in the transition from iMovie HD 6 to the iMovie '08.
Apple's new iMovie application was described as a complete rewrite to Apple's movie editing software. Many of the complaints focused on features that were lacking and a difficulty in transitioning projects from previous versions of iMovie.
Apple is offering iMovie HD 6 as a download to purchasers of iLife '08 for those unhappy with the transition.
The change has not been met entirely with disapproval as some of our forum members seem very happy with the new iMovie.
Article Link
Ok first a disclaimer, I'm a final cut pro studio user , so I probably wasn't looking for any advanced features in imovie 8.
But what I did do was impressive.
I'm writting an Iphone application, and yesterday we decided why not do a demo on youtube. There are things in this app no one has tried and I wanted some record somewhere, in case I see future revenue possiblities.
So I recruited, inducted whatever my college student to help me make the demo. Now Steve Jobs is right this would of taken longer without ilife 08, I could of done it but not in a little over an hour, which is what we did from start to finish.
Let me discribed the process.
While she manipulated the app on the iphone I recorded it with a sony hard drive camcorder.
I imported the clips using imovie08, I could of used final cut, but as soon as I connected the camcorder to the usb port Imovie 08 was already asking me if I wanted to import, a lot of programs have trouble reading these sony files especially on the pc.
Next (here's where I cheated) I used final cut pro 6 to create the final movie.
Next I imported the movie into imovie 8.
Here's what I really liked.
In imovie 8 , I could add overlays, presentations , anything I want, then select multiple formats for distribution ie. appletv, pc and Iphone and than with a single click send the movie to my .mac gallery. Then with another click we sent the movie to our Youtube account.
That was pretty cool.
Here's the outcome, its on youtube too.
http://gallery.mac.com/cannonwc#100026
You can (still) import your project into GarageBand to do the audio editing, and crossfade to your heart's content... and add as many audio tracks as you want. You can also add your chapter markers for iDVD there (which is another painful omission from iMovie '08, along with no effects other than color correction...)
i dont mind an ease of use priority. but were discussing the removal of features that werent all that difficult to use. in fact, these features could be just ignored in imovie 06. seems they could add a toggle to get some more audio control into imovie 08 for those of us intermediate users who need a bit more but dont need all of FCE. don't get me wrong. i love imovie 08. i just am missing the audio control.
~kyle
I'm the computer techie at an elementary school and ocassionally a teacher comes in to work on an iMovie (usually the music teacher after a concert). I'm sure the new version would be okay. All she'd need to do is take it from the camera and put it on a DVD. Not much else. But we also have a computer club where some 5th graders spend the year making a "Day in the life of a 5th grader" movie. With that, each 2 or so kids are given a specific area (gym, music, math, science, etc.) and take pictures of that. And then use the old iMovie to put it all together and add voice overs describing their part. Then I take each section and put it into a single iMovie, make each section its own chapter and then make a DVD for everyone involved. From what I saw from the demo and the web site, I don't think I can do that w/ the new iMovie. For those who have used the new version, can I do that all?
Since I work at an elementary school, the administrators don't want to put videos of the kids on the internet do to them being underage and all the bad stuff out there. Also, my district doesn't have the money to buy enough licenses of the new iLife (much less Final Cut) for all the computers @ each of our schools. Plus, most of the computers probably couldn't run the new version.
IMO, the new iMovie is a good assembler where you just slap together the clips and you're done. iMovie '06 is more of an editor which is good for the average user why FCE & FCP are for the higher end people. I don't want too many different versions b/c that'll just get confusing. But iMovie '06, '08 and Final Cut (Whatever) would be a good combination for low, medium and high end people.
Since I work at an elementary school, the administrators don't want to put videos of the kids on the internet do to them being underage and all the bad stuff out there. Also, my district doesn't have the money to buy enough licenses of the new iLife (much less Final Cut) for all the computers @ each of our schools. Plus, most of the computers probably couldn't run the new version.
IMO, the new iMovie is a good assembler where you just slap together the clips and you're done. iMovie '06 is more of an editor which is good for the average user why FCE & FCP are for the higher end people. I don't want too many different versions b/c that'll just get confusing. But iMovie '06, '08 and Final Cut (Whatever) would be a good combination for low, medium and high end people.
One thing I don't like about doing that in Garageband is if you do a picture slideshow, every picture is a new chapter. I haven't learned how to make the whole thing (with several pictures) a single chapter.
iMovie 06 feature wise was about right for me, omitting timeline, effects, audio editing is one of the lamest things I have heard.
I'm also a Final Cut user, but sometimes I just love the simplicity of 06 and find myself using it surprisingly often.
08 is no use to me and (as someone else said earlier) I'm now unable to recommend the Mac for cheap n cheerful movie editing. As from what I'm reading, it sounds like Apple have created iMovie for those with learning disabilities.
Recommending 08 would be an insult to an able persons intelligence.
I'm also a Final Cut user, but sometimes I just love the simplicity of 06 and find myself using it surprisingly often.
08 is no use to me and (as someone else said earlier) I'm now unable to recommend the Mac for cheap n cheerful movie editing. As from what I'm reading, it sounds like Apple have created iMovie for those with learning disabilities.
Recommending 08 would be an insult to an able persons intelligence.
...So you're not the target user for iMovie.
Just look at the response to this new version. Many people love it. And the few who don't seem to be people who use FC or other high end video apps and want a cheap/free app that covers all their needs.
Maybe some of this comes down to iMovie being *too* good and cannibalizing sales of FCE and FCP?
I absolutely LOVE the new iMovie. It's spectacular. I've uploaded stuff to YouTube before but it took me so long to edit it I kind of stopped because it was too time consuming. Things took forever to import, render, export, etc. and the interface required tons of scrolling on a small screen (MacBook).
This new one let's me whip up a quick YouTube video/podcast in minutes. It's exactly what I wanted; I didn't need any of the advanced features iMovie took out. Heck, I haven't even SPOTTED anything missing except for audio rubberbanding, and the only thing I used audio rubberbanding for is to fade the soundtrack when I speak, and iMovie 08 does that automatically for me.
I never used the themes and don't even know what they are. There are less transitions I think though but oh well.
I know someone who YouTubes all the time and does YouTube marketing, and when he saw iMovie 08 his jaw dropped and he wants to buy a Mac just for it.
iMovie DOES consider videos stored on an external drive as part of the library; they disappear when you unplug the drive, reappear when you plug it back in. So if you're using external drives, it still works great.
This new one let's me whip up a quick YouTube video/podcast in minutes. It's exactly what I wanted; I didn't need any of the advanced features iMovie took out. Heck, I haven't even SPOTTED anything missing except for audio rubberbanding, and the only thing I used audio rubberbanding for is to fade the soundtrack when I speak, and iMovie 08 does that automatically for me.
I never used the themes and don't even know what they are. There are less transitions I think though but oh well.
I know someone who YouTubes all the time and does YouTube marketing, and when he saw iMovie 08 his jaw dropped and he wants to buy a Mac just for it.
iMovie DOES consider videos stored on an external drive as part of the library; they disappear when you unplug the drive, reappear when you plug it back in. So if you're using external drives, it still works great.