11:32AM
iMovie 08, I Like It
The new iMovie really has some people up in arms. I'm not sure if it is just a vocal minority or Apple's got everyone mad. What happened is Apple dumbed it down. Gone is the timeline as well as several other tools. In is a really cool skimming feature and much simpler formatting and transitions.
So, I've been reading about all these rants and decided to give it a try. I had about 20 minutes of miscelaneous footage on my hard drive taken with the video function of my point-and-shoot Kodak that I haven't gotten around to processing in Final Cut because I just haven't had time. Sounds like a perfect opportunity to try this new "controversial" software.
I didn't crack the manual and just went for it. Importing the video was easy but time consuming. The program builds that skim library for you so it spends a little while chuging through. Rather than watch it go through that process, I had every intention of catching up on email but instead ended up playing frisbee with the neighbor's dog.
I came back about 15 minutes later and it was done. I don't know how long it took, but it was done. Then it was really easy. You scan the clips and drag the mouse to select the portion you want to use. You then drag the selected clip into your project. You can drop in transitions, titles, and music very easily. Frankly, I can't get over how quick and easy it was.
With about 10 minutes work, I had all the video cut down to a 7 minute funny clip with titles, transitions, and music. I then uploaded it to my .Mac account and had an email out to relatives across the US, London, and the Philippines. Apple, I get it.
For John Q Public, this program is excellent for getting video cut and completed with very little trouble. I also use Final Cut and I'm not willing to give up those extra tools but I also really like iMovie 08. If you want those extra tools you can still use iMovie 06, which remains availbable, but I recommend buying Final Cut Express. You get LiveType, Soundtrack, and all sorts of tools to unleash your inner Spielberg. The other nice thing about the new iMovie is you can export directly to Final Cut, which helps streamline my workflow for the serious stuff as well.
So at the end of the day, the new iMovie is a definite improvement in my video production. I appreciate the complainers, sort of. But with iMovie 06 still available, and the very powerful tools you can get with the $300 Final Cut Express, I also think they need to get over it.
Reader Comments (1)
David - I don't know that anyone could honestly disagree with your assessment of iMovie '08 as far as being easy to use and doing what it says it's capable of doing. However, in my family my husband has spent the last several years editing all of our analog and now digital home movies in iDVD, and he takes pride in producing beautiful movies that pull at the heartstrings because of his creative placement of music. This is especially important in the slideshows he creates, like the one he did for his parent's 50th wedding anniversary. Music was carefully chosen and timing set just so - making photos line up with words in the song to make it that special meaning for the family.
I understand that iMovie 6 is still around, but for how long? And of course having paid for the newest version of iLife, it's disappointing to then look at a $300 investment and a steep learning curve to move to Final Cut Express (we happened to luck out and bought it for $100 with a computer recently, but for most people it's $300).
I think iMovie '08 will be useful for more people than the old version, but whenever something is taken away it's a bad thing. This product will not be developed further so it's just a stop gap to continue using it. I would have preferred that they created this new application under a new name, instead of throwing away a terrific product that really met our needs.
Allison
p.s. I really enjoy your reviews on the Mac ReviewCast!