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whoa whoa whoa. did iMovie '08 drop all the video effects?

seenew

seenew

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 1, 2005
1,569
1
Brooklyn
I just got a new iMac, upgrading from a 2006 Intel iMac. Anyway, I was just going through old files and came across my iMovie files. I was sad to find that many of my older files won't open at all, and the ones that do have all their video effects deleted. What gives? I can't even find anywhere in iMovie 08 that allows for fast/slow/reverse of video!
I was initially excited by the new iPhoto-esque UI, but now I see it seems to have actually been really dumbed down! :(
 
Yep, you have discovered what almost everyone else who has used the previous version has discovered- that the version included with iLife 08 or on new Macs is a shell of the former program.

Some people who were never exposed to the previous version rave about it, but few of them that have been exposed to it do!

I think it is really telling that Apple posted the previous version (iMovie HD) for free download right when iLife 08 came out, and if you are upgrading on a machine from iLife 06 to iLife 08, the previous version of iMovie is stored in a folder ("iMovie Previous Version" I believe) rather than being deleted as all the other updated iLife apps are.

You can still download the previous version at: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imoviehd603.html
 
Wow, that is pretty terrible. I can't believe it! Those features are some of the reasons why Apple's suite was always so much better than what comes with Windows..

thanks for the help and the link!
 
I much prefer the '06 version over the '08 version of iMovie.

I hope that Apple goes back to the functionality of the '06 version when they release the next iLife version.
 
oh the link that was posted is for an update for iMovieHD. Where can I get the full program?
 
If you have an open mind give the new iMovie a try. I liked it from the beginning. Sure you don't have all the 'fancy' (annoying) transitions and effects but you do have a really slick interface and easy way to put your clips together. It's not a good timeline editor, but it is a good montage, family vacation editor. If you want to throw some clips together use the new iMovie, if you want to make a short film get Final Cut Express. The old iMovie is a complete waste of time now, especially since it uses destructive edits.
 
seenew said:
oh the link that was posted is for an update for iMovieHD. Where can I get the full program?
Click to expand...

Sorry- my bad on the wrong link! Glad you found the correct one that I should have included. The one I included was published at the same time as the latest iMovie HD at the time of the publication of iLife 08 was 6.02, and this took it to 6.03 if it was already installed on your system!

Oops....:eek:
 
tuffluffjimmy said:
If you have an open mind give the new iMovie a try. I liked it from the beginning. Sure you don't have all the 'fancy' (annoying) transitions and effects but you do have a really slick interface and easy way to put your clips together. It's not a good timeline editor, but it is a good montage, family vacation editor. If you want to throw some clips together use the new iMovie, if you want to make a short film get Final Cut Express. The old iMovie is a complete waste of time now, especially since it uses destructive edits.
Click to expand...

Interesting that you mention all the things you can't do now and declare it a "...complete waste of time...". I guess a whole lot of people will just have to agree to disagree as many certainly feel the same way in reverse about iMovie 08. Why start off with a tool whose features are crippled from the start? I certainly want to use a movie program for more than "...montage..." usage myself.

Although I have Final Cut Express 4, there are a lot of simple movie projects that are handled just fine by iMovie HD and don't require the additional capabilities of FCE- but they do require capabilities removed from iMovie 08. Hmmmm... simple iMovie HD chapter markers (without the clumsy workaround of involving Garage Band that 08 requires that is) come to mind....

Certainly a case of different strokes...
 
sickmacdoc said:
Interesting that you mention all the things you can't do now and declare it a "...complete waste of time...". I guess a whole lot of people will just have to agree to disagree as many certainly feel the same way in reverse about iMovie 08. Why start off with a tool whose features are crippled from the start? I certainly want to use a movie program for more than "...montage..." usage myself.

Although I have Final Cut Express 4, there are a lot of simple movie projects that are handled just fine by iMovie HD and don't require the additional capabilities of FCE- but they do require capabilities removed from iMovie 08. Hmmmm... simple iMovie HD chapter markers (without the clumsy workaround of involving Garage Band that 08 requires that is) come to mind....

Certainly a case of different strokes...
Click to expand...

Sorry, I guess 'complete waste of time' was pretty harsh. I just can't stand the destructive editing used in iMovie and the single track timeline is very hard to use. However I do agree that there are some key features missing from the current iMovie. I really hope that iMovie '09 takes care of these missing features. *If there aren't new iLife and iWork suites next year... :mad:
 
tuffluffjimmy said:
Sorry, I guess 'complete waste of time' was pretty harsh. I just can't stand the destructive editing used in iMovie and the single track timeline is very hard to use. However I do agree that there are some key features missing from the current iMovie. I really hope that iMovie '09 takes care of these missing features. *If there aren't new iLife and iWork suites next year... :mad:
Click to expand...

While I certainly echo your hope that the next generation of iMovie strengthens this one, I really wonder if that is not too much to hope for. I have felt from the start that the 08 version of iMovie was a simple method for Apple to satisfy new Mac users who had never been exposed to any movie making on Macs, while providing more impetus for experienced users to skip it and upgrade to FCE4. To back that up, the new FCE4 package came out shortly after iLife 08 and the price had dropped by $100 from the previous FCE 3.5 making it a more accessible package pricewise, but still deriving additional income for Apple..... hmmm... coincidence? :D. :D

BTW- It worked on me!! LOL
 
I think there were a lot of pointless effects in iMovie HD that could have been tossed out, like most of the Quartz effects, but I believe it's not too much to ask for slow/fast/reverse options... Those are pretty basic, but also pretty helpful. The new interface is really nice, but I found it to be pretty confusing compared to the old one. You can't even tell where you make the edits... the two halves of the UI look way too similar.
Anyway, I feel like Apple dropped the ball on this. I can't believe I didn't hear about it before I discovered it for myself. I hope they bring back some of the functionality of iMovie HD...
 
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