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I disagree. There must be a large population of people like me who DO use the effects iMovie06 offers. I do videography as a side business and bring in about 10-20K per year doing weddings and events. Other videographers will want to abolish me from the professional community when I admit this, but I use iMovie for 99.9% of my editing because it's so quick and simple with all the effects, titles, and tools I need. Only for the most special of effects like multiple layered video tracks do I use Final Cut.

- Almost no one uses chapter markers, ever. This is only usefull if you are making a DVD which is actually rather difficult to do with the old iMovie in that the integration with iDVD is rather poor (in the old version). The number of our users that end up making DVD's out of their projects is a tiny fraction. Most users want to make a movie for a class project in an afternoon or less.

The integration between iMovie and iDVD is immaculate. I pump out one per week which look so professional and customized for my clients that it makes my colleagues working on Windows machines wonder why they waste so much time generating their low class and sloppy looking DVDs.

- Maybe one person out of a hundred uses the video effects (and we are talking about really low end users here "discovering" video for the first time).

I must be that "one person" because I'm here to say that the wash in's/out's, the high quality titles with beautifull fonts, and best of all the "soft focus" are VERY high quality effects that leave my brides in tears. It would take tons of time to simulate the same effect in Final Cut. I haven't seen iMove08 yet, but if these were dropped, it's a shame. I better start familiarizing myself more with FC.

I agree with you on the whole cataloging concept. It's not practical to just download all of your trips and home videos to your computer and expect to have them accumulate for as long as you'd like in the same way you can with photos. There's not room for more than a couple of hours of footage on a 200GB hard drive - and that's with standard definition, not to mention how much room high def must take up.

I guess the best part about iMovie was that it's free. Semi-pros like me will be forced to invest in pro software.
 
Hmmm... I've only ever used iMovie to create "Ken Burns Effect" movies that I export to FCP. If this is gone in the newest revision, I suppose I'll be one of the downloaders for the previous version when I upgrade.

Then again, I could just learn to do the same thing with FCP.

I think video is really intimidating to folks, and anything that makes it easier should be applauded. I don't really know if the majority of folks with camcorders are ever going to do more than burn DVDs for the family and upload to YouTube. I find the lack of timeline and multitrack sound/video editing in iMovie a PITA, but there's probably a bunch of folks for whom this is a relief.
 
If you want to find "delicately synced audio", then you always had to look at FCP.

That's just not true. Sure, I can do it better in FCE than in iMovie '06, but at least it can be done at all in '06. Dragging an audio clip around and adjusting length does not equal syncing.

How did splitting and rubberbanding become exclusive to FCE/P? FCE may be better than any version of iMovie, but that doesn't mean '06 wasn't "good enough" to do splitting and syncing for home movies.

Say I want to use a song with a recognizable intro, but it goes into 20 seconds of nonsense before it gets back to the part I want to use. I used to be able to cut out the fluff directly in iMovie. I can't now. I didn't need FCE to do this before, and having to keep a separate version of iMovie around to accomplish this now is crazy. This is especially annoying when you consider that the resulting movie created in '06 cannot be imported to my "library" in '08 once it's done.

Now showing: Your entire video library*.

*Unless you created it in iMovie '06.
 
Umm, absolutely not. iMovie 6 definitely did nothing of the sort.

Um, actually he has a point. Maybe Apple was concerned that iMovie was cannabalizing sales of FCP. Per my previous post (around #152) I rack in 10-20K per year doing "professional" videos for weddings and events using iMovie.
 
So, I finally took the time to try out iMovie 08... Better do that, before adding any comments :)

True, there are some losses; but to my point of view, there are also huge improvements.

Biggest of all, I can finally use the whole screen of my iMac 24 :D
It was very sad in iMovie HD 06 to be stuck with some window constraints.

I'm also impressed by how much snappier it is ! iMovie HD was feeling always heavy, like they added and added on the code with each version, not taking into consideration the evolutions of the machine... Now, the effects are showed in real time! How could they not do that before...

So all in all, it feels really good, and easy to use :)

And I also have the impression that the iMove file is only containing the way the project is built, not anymore all the raw data. (I might be wrong on this, but that's what I saw). So if I'm right, that means also a very awaited storage improvement. With iMovie HD, working two different projects of the same tape, and having backups of both, ended up with 4 times the size of the whole raw material... It seems that now, you can backup your material on one side, and all the projects you want on the other side. I still have to figure out the options for "cataloguing", but it might not be so bad to centralize (maybe on an outside HDD), if you limit your duplications of video material.

But ok, I will miss the DVD chapter options, as well as some of the "advanced" effects, like speed and old etc... I was a heavy user of them.
We'll what comes in the future. I can always use iMovie HD for some extra work if needed...
 
Addendum...
The good thing of iMovie HD 06/iMovie 08 compared to FCE/FCP has always been its price. It is a shame that the sound control has been reduced in iMovie 08. However, FCE/FCP is not often an option for people who don't want to invest so much money in one program for holiday souvenirs. So, i'm not so much a follower of comments supporting the idea that any sound tricking should be done exclusively in FCE/FCP. Like saying you should not drive if you don't own a Porsche.
 
So, I finally took the time to try out iMovie 08... Better do that, before adding any comments :)

True, there are some losses; but to my point of view, there are also huge improvements.

Biggest of all, I can finally use the whole screen of my iMac 24 :D
It was very sad in iMovie HD 06 to be stuck with some window constraints.

I'm also impressed by how much snappier it is ! iMovie HD was feeling always heavy, like they added and added on the code with each version, not taking into consideration the evolutions of the machine... Now, the effects are showed in real time! How could they not do that before...

So all in all, it feels really good, and easy to use :)

And I also have the impression that the iMove file is only containing the way the project is built, not anymore all the raw data. (I might be wrong on this, but that's what I saw). So if I'm right, that means also a very awaited storage improvement. With iMovie HD, working two different projects of the same tape, and having backups of both, ended up with 4 times the size of the whole raw material... It seems that now, you can backup your material on one side, and all the projects you want on the other side. I still have to figure out the options for "cataloguing", but it might not be so bad to centralize (maybe on an outside HDD), if you limit your duplications of video material.

But ok, I will miss the DVD chapter options, as well as some of the "advanced" effects, like speed and old etc... I was a heavy user of them.
We'll what comes in the future. I can always use iMovie HD for some extra work if needed...

You have a point . . . well you've made several. At first the missing features are "blaring" but after using it for a while I did notice the improvements you mentioned. I especially liked the skimming feature. I think when compatible plug ins hit the market, I won't miss the previous version as much. Also, I had to take in account that this is not an upgrade or sequel to the former iMovie installment but a whole new program.
 
The Boston Globe had an AP reprint of a review of the new imacs (http://tinyurl.com/2z2blx). He hasn't used a Mac in a while and was commenting on ease of use. He comments:

Despite little experience with movie editing, it took me just half an hour to boil down an hour of footage into a 2-minute high-definition movie of my baby,

In a sentence, this is why imovie8 is now the way it is. Comment as we will of '06 vs '08, and miss features as we do, this is exactly what Jobs' goal was. (Not that I don't want some of those features back.. :)
 
...The more I use it, the more I like iMovie 08, I'm actually looking for some work to do with it now... :)

Few tips:
- you can easily spread the "events" containing the movie files on different HHDs, so you don't have to clutter your main drive; just pick another HDD when importing the movie. It still has to be copied, but ends up on a folder of the HDD. iMovie HD used to copy inside the iMovie file of the project. Part of the copying process is needed anyway for creating thumbnails. 7mn to copy a 1h DV tape (13Gb), 12mn for the thumbnails; you can then see your HDDs in the "Event Library" window; i'll fill these catalogs when I need them, it's just about shuffling your files around; not the best, but still better than iMovie HD.
- in the preferences, there is an option to add a few more features.

Hope that helps a little... :rolleyes:
 
Everyone Who Has A Problem Should Be Filling Out This Form

I don't even use iMovie and I can't believe the ridiculous apologetic attitude in this thread. I'm outraged on behalf of iMovie users, whoever they might be.

Let’s be clear about what happened here. Apple totally killed iMovie, wrote a different app and took the name iMovie from the recently killed app and pasted it on the new project.

Now, I think iMovie 8 looks like a great program. It has lots of cool features. But the question remains, why weren’t these features added to the old iMovie? Or even better, just made into a separate program? They could have iMovie for editing and this “new program” for organizing and uploading.

But that’s not what happened. Imagine if, when Garage Band was new, they had killed iTunes and simply given Garage Band the iTunes name instead. So you have a program named iTunes that makes music, but no longer organizes it and syncs to the iPod.

Would you have reacted to that news with these comments?

• I’m sure they’ll work the bugs out.
• You can still use the old iTunes, it’s a free download!
• New iTunes lets you make music. That’s new and cool!
• I'm sure it will be refined in future versions.

Those would be terrible things to say in that situation and the same thing applies here. I’m surprised more of you don’t seem to care about this.
Instead of bitching here or in addition rather, everyone with a problem with the new iMovie should complain loudly and daily using this link to the form which is also available inside iMovie under he iMovie Menu:

"Provide iMovie Feedback" :)

Be a squeeky wheel to get iMovie 6.0.4 features put back in iMovie 7.1 or 7 features added to iMovie 6.1
 
If you can't set chapter markers how do you export to iDVD and produce a movie with chapters??
 
Let's say Apple decides to remove RAW support from iPhoto. ...Would people then claim that you should have to buy Aperture if you want to use RAW? Based on this thread it sounds like it.

Actually, Apple added support for additional formate, not removed support...

At first I didn't like iMovie 08, but after using it a while, I can safely say that only the power users of iMovie (who could probably use FCE anyway) are going to be missing anything. For my mom or dad, iMovie 08 is a HUGE improvement. For me, it's an improvement. Once they add a timeline feature of sorts back in somehow, I don't know what more they would add. It's really an amazing program, and I think you should all really try it before bashing it due to a lack of this or that. Sure it's missing stuff, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have new, different ways to compensate.
 
Can you import to the main HD, and move to an external (or network) drive later?

You can certainly "import" again the movie saved in the event folder on your main HD to an external drive via iMovie 08, letting the software make the copy itself and create the extra folder of thumbnails (but that's a little fastidious). And then erase the original file on the main HD via iMovie 08.

I cannot try this now, but maybe you can directly copy via the finder the movie file and its thumbnails folder from the event folder on your main HD to an event folder on an external drive , skipping a redundant phase of creating the thumbnails - it will depend whether iMovie keeps a catalog somewhere else of the contents of its events.

The good thing is that "events" are stored in normal folders, whereas "projects" are kept in packages: it's easier to access the contents of the events folder from inside iMovie 08.

Mmm, hope i'm clear enough there... :p

NB: Now I'll have to figure out what it means regarding opening a project again, when the base video is gone from one HDD to the other, between buidling the project and storing it away... Maybe copying it back to the main HD prior to opening the project?
 
Actually, Apple added support for additional formate, not removed support...

Hence the analogy to a hypothetical decision to remove RAW support from iPhoto. It was an example of something many people would mistakenly label a "pro" feature to justify its hypothetical removal from iPhoto (much like the actual removal of rubberbanding from '08).

Again, needing something like rubberbanding doesn't mean you should have to use FCE/P. That's just ridiculous. Using iMovie '06 solves nothing because you can't import '06 movies into '08 correctly.

"But who needs rubberbanding in home movies? That's pro stuff?" Not at all.

Example: I made a short clip in '08. It has my son talking softly and an adult who is the type of person who speaks at a constant 118db. I have no way of turning it up so I can hear my son without blowing my speakers when the adult pipes in. Rubberbanding would solve this easily.

You may not think you need it now, but you may eventually find yourself in a situation in which your movie would be better if you had it. Better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

I am not a hater of '08. I just think it has a lot of untapped potential at the moment. Hopefully some point releases will take care of this.
 
I know this would be unlike Apple, but how about them doing something like an "iMovie Classic" that is essentially iMovie 06. They could bundle it with all new Macs, all copies of iLife 08 and make it a free download that would install only if iMovie 08 was present on the system.

I know you'd then officially have to have both versions on at all times, but it certainly would help people transition and if the features were missing, enable them to continue to use them for the foreseeable future.
 
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/magnet.html
Magnet 1.5

About Magnet
Magnet is the easiest way to customize your movies and share them with your friends. With advanced motion tracking, the cat’s head will follow the same path as in the original movie. Using Magnet, you are able attach a picture or animation to a movie, to define a blur zone, or even to emit particles that follow the moving objects.

Using Magnet, you can add special effects such as replacing your own head with a cat head. More generally, you can attach an image to moving objects in a video, or attach animation, particles, or black (or blur) zones.

Just let your imagination go, and add glasses, a hat, a mask, tatoo.

What’s New in this Version
- Better User Experience
- Tighter integration with Quartz Composer
- Many new effects
- Motion filtering
- And many more

Although it's a stand alone app (not a plug in) it can be used with iMovie 08 movie files. I just dragged the iMovie 08 movie (file) into Magnet then rendered and exported it as a Quicktime movie. The effects are not plentiful but it's a start. :rolleyes:
 
No I haven't used it yet, but from what others have said on here, the timeline is missing, along with effects, and most importantly audio editing. Sounds an utterly stupid move to me. I haven't used it yet, but I bet a fiver I hate it when I do.

The others are mistaken, that's why you should actually use the app before complaining about it. Audio editing is certianly not missing, audio can be easily edited and levels set per clip. It doesn't have "automation" like garage band since volume can only be set per clip, but there is always the option to split chunks and assign different volumes to different parts.

I also dont think you should have to pay 300$ for an app with a timeline view atleast no more so than i should have to pay for iwork to get a ruler in a text application

I also disagree that there's no "timeline". There is a zoomable view that shows all or part of the timeline, it's just in a non-traditional window view that splits instead of one long line. If you absolutely must have the usual one-line view, I guess you wouldn't be happy about it, but I have no problem using it as a timeline. I just don't see what part of that functionality is missing, especially with the ability to watch and edit by "scrubbing" the video. It works extremely well and makes me wonder if it could be useful in pro audio and video apps.

my problem, however, is that the improvements did not necessitate removing the now missing features (especially audio editing). it would not have made it anymore complicated to create a quick movie if there was also an option to control audio levels etc.

But you CAN control audio levels, and you can edit audio. You can also fade and crossfade, and add sound effects, all things people have insisted are impossible in this thread. Are you talking about mixing via fader or drawing in volume curves? Or control over fade parameters?

Umm, absolutely not. iMovie 6 definitely did nothing of the sort.

And you know that...how?
 
For my needs, lack of audio editing is probably the biggest hole. At the very least I'd want to have a music soundtrack, the ability to fade the original video audio in and out, and the ability to add a sound effect here and there. All at once.

Another complaint I don't get.

You CAN have a music soundtrack. You can add as many sound effects as you want.

And really, adjusting a soundtrack in 5 seconds intervals (or even 1 second at a time)isn't really adjusting a soundtrack.. Timeline let's adjust it at a FRAME level (that is 1/24 of second for PAL or 1/30 of second for NTSC video).

Are you sure you've really used the app? I'm able to adjust the soundtrack at the frame level (to picture even, which makes it way easy). You don't need a traditional timeline to do frame accurate editing.

Say I want to use a song with a recognizable intro, but it goes into 20 seconds of nonsense before it gets back to the part I want to use. I used to be able to cut out the fluff directly in iMovie. I can't now.

I just tried it. Worked fine. Have you actually used the app?
 
I just tried it. Worked fine. Have you actually used the app?


Show me. I hear a lot of talk, but I have yet to see proof. Post up the clip and the project file so we can all learn from your mastery of the program. Better yet, if you have two macs, use the other one to show us video of how super fast and easy it was to split up video clips and click each one to set the audio levels.

Oh, and do it without using garageband or importing 5 versions of the same song. Show me a clip where you have taken a 5 minute song down to 3 minutes and synced it with events in your movie. Should take 5 minutes using this magical new interface.

Also, show me another one where you have alternating loud and soft audio in the same track where you have balanced the levels (Example: adult and a child talking). Easy in iMovie '06 using rubberbanding and waveforms. Nightmare-ish in '08.

Yes I have used it. No, it's not as easy as rubberbanding, and no you can't cut up a song in it like you could in '06. Rubberbanding is a far superior tool for editing levels. "Editing" audio at the clip level with a freaking dialog box is asinine.

I'm ecstatic for you if you like it, but using a dialog box to edit audio is ridiculous. Claiming that it's faster and easier than the rubberbanding and splitting in '06 is flat out grasping at straws.

Editing levels in '06:
1) Drag rubberband.
2) There is no step 2.
(Can be done at will throughout the timeline for the entire movie)

Editing levels in '08:
1) Click to select track.
2) Click volume adjust button.
3) Adjust slider.
4) Click Done.
(Must be done at the clip level.)
 
It's really simple.

1 Drag in your music, trim the first ten seconds.
2 Drag in the music again after that, trim it to the other chunk

Done.

I'm not saying it may be as fast for you or that you will like it as much. I just take issue with saying "CAN'T BE DONE" which is flat out wrong.

Or is your objection having to drag it in again? I don't see what the problem is since it's not like it makes another copy of the song or something.

As for having clip based volume versus rubberband volume, personally I like having both. There are advantages to both. As you've pointed out, there are situations where you want continuously variable volume. But it's convenient to be able to adjust the volume of an individual sound without having to worry about what's before and after it on the same track. Or worry about tracks at all.

And for the record, I haven't claimed that the dialogue box is faster and easier than rubberbanding (although your description isn't really accurate since rubberbanding usually requires creating points at the beginning and ends of the parts where you want to change the volume). I just dispute the false claim that you can't edit audio or set audio volumes.

I generally like 08, but there certainly is room for improvement. I hope they add more features, I think it's a nice interface and they can put some things back in without making it less intuitive and end up with a better app than 06. But in the meantime, I think it's pointless to be dishonest about what the app can do and insist that things are impossible when they clearly aren't.
 
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