How-To Guides:
Digital Moviemaking with iMovie
Part 5: Using iMovie
For 
Macintosh
Users
The following handouts are available from Apple about iMovie
in PDF format 
:
iMovie is a fairly intuitive program allowing people to create
customized movies. These can include:
- Customized titles
- Edited Scenes
- Transitions between scenes
- Backround music
- Overlayed voice tracks (narration)
(from iMovie software tutorial)
To Get Started:
Launch the iMovie application and create a new project in a new folder. (Refer
to the explanatory movie from AtomicLearning.com)
- Choose FILE - NEW PROJECT.
- In the ECC, because
Foolproof security softare is installed, you will have to save your project
in the DOCUMENTS folder inside MACINTOSH HD (the hard drive). Do this by:
- Clicking DESKTOP.
- Find MACINTOSH HD, open it
- Find the DOCUMENTS folder, open it
- Click the NEW FOLDER icon:
and type your name or project name for the folder name.
- Type your name for the project name and click CREATE:
- You are now ready to work in iMovie.
iMovie Modes:
The two basic modes of iMovie control are:
-
CAMERA
MODE: Viewing video on the camera (allows control of camera as well)
COMPUTER
MODE: Viewing video imported onto the computer
The controls of iMovie change depending on the mode selected. In CAMERA MODE,
the controls look like this: 
- The top button is used to import
- The buttons on the left and right are rewind and fast forward
- The middle three buttons are PAUSE, PLAY, and STOP
iMovie Navigation:
The main areas of iMovie you will switch between are are:
- The timeline view (your actual movie, with inserted video and sound clips):
- The shelf (where imported clips go before you insert them in your movie):
- Clips / Transitions / Titles / Effects/ Audio switcher:
The position triangle shows you what point of the selected movie or movie clip
you are viewing:
If you want to view or edit a particular clip, click on it first either in
the shelf or on the timeline (selected clip is highlighted in yellow):
If you want to view the ENTIRE movie, click on the EDGE of the timeline view,
then move the position triangle to the start of the movie. Click Play:
Importing Video:
To import video into your project:
- Make sure everything is connected properly as previously discussed.
- Switch into CAMERA MODE:
- Move to the part of the recorded video you want to import using Play / Fast
Forward / Rewind.
- Press the IMPORT button:
- Click STOP when the sequence is over.
Note: You can import video from analog VHS tapes and other video
formats also, using the Dazzle video import device. (These are connected to
the 4 G4 computers on the south wall of the ECC)
Insert clips into your movie:
-
Make sure CLIPS is selected on the switcher:
-
Drag clips from the SHELF to the CLIP VIEWER at the bottom
of the screen..
- A movie demonstration of this process is
available from AtomicLearning.com
Arrange Clips
-
Arrange clips in the CLIP VIEWER as desired.
- Click and drag to move clips around.
- A movie demonstration of this process is
available from AtomicLearning.com.
Selecting part of a clip:
Make a selection of a clip when you want to delete, copy, or
cut that section of footage.
-
Move to the start of the clip you want to select. Use the
POSITION TRIANGLE (
)
to move quickly to the desired part of your movie, press PLAY to view it.
- Hold down the SHIFT KEY.
- Click on the blue line under the position triangle where you think the clip
will end. GUESS!
- This will create a SELECTION AREA, which will be highlighted in yellow:
- Click and drag the SELECTION ARROWS BELOW to change the selected clip:
- The START and END selection arrows can both be moved as desired.
Deleting a clip:
-
Either click on a clip (if you want to delete the entire
thing) or make a clip selection as described above.
- Press the DELETE key.
- The clip is gone forever-- you won't be able to bring it back unless you
immediately choose EDIT - UNDO.
Copying a clip and inserting it in your film:
-
Either click on a clip (if you want to delete the entire
thing) or make a clip selection as described above.
- From the EDIT menu, choose COPY.
- On the CLIP VIEWER, click where you want the copied clip inserted:
- From the EDIT menu, choose PASTE.
Splitting a clip
-
You can split a clip into two different clips. First, move
the POSITION TRIANGLE (
)
to the exact place you want to split the clip.
- Next, choose SPLIT VIDEO CLIP AT PLAYHEAD:
- The clip should now be in two pieces:
-
A movie about this process
is
available from AtomicLearning.com.
Creating a DIGITAL STILL IMAGE from a SINGLE FRAME in your
iMovie
For a title or other part of your movie, you can save a SINGLE
FRAME and re-insert it to your movie. You can also insert other graphics files,
obtained from the internet, a scanner, digital camera, etc.
First, save the image onto your computer's hard drive from the
digital camera, web, etc. If you want to save a frame from iMovie:
-
Move the POSITION TRIANGLE (
)
to the exact frame you want to capture as a still image.
-
From the FILE menu, choose SAVE FRAME AS:
- Save the file under an appropriate name, choose JPG format. (In the ECC
lab, save this in the DOCMENTS folder on MACINTOSH HD, in your project folder)
- Click SAVE. (Make sure the JPG images end with the file extension '.jpg'
if you are going to email the image or put it on a webpage):
To insert a saved image into your iMovie:
-
From the FILE menu, choose IMPORT FILE.
- Locate your file on the hard drive, select it, and click IMPORT to bring
it into iMovie. It will import into an empty spot on the SHELF.
- Drag the image down from the SHELF to your CLIP VIEWER to the desired location
in your movie.
- Adjust the DURATION the image is displayed by clicking on the image, then
clicking next to TIME at the top of the CLIP VIEWER. Adjust the time as desired
(default play time is 5 seconds):
A movie about inserting web graphics into your movie using this
process is
available from AtomicLearning.com.
To insert a TITLE into your iMovie:
-
Click TITLES in the switcher:
-
Select the desired title:
- Change the options as desired for each title (color, if it plays over a
black screen, the direction of movement, etc)
- DRAG THE DESIRED TITLE to the place you want it inserted in the CLIP VIEWER.
- The computer will start to RENDER the video: merge the selected title with
the actual video frames. A red line will be displayed while this rendering
process is underway:
- Do not quit iMovie until all rendering processes are finished. You will
know rendering is complete when the red lines GO AWAY.
- A movie clip from AtomicLearning.com about adding titles is
available.
Adding a Transition:
A transition is defined in the iMovie tutorial as 'a blending
of FRAMES between two CLIPS to smooth a cut. There are many different styles
of transitions, such as the 'fade.' To add a transition:
-
Select TRANSITIONS from the switcher:
-
Select the desired transition by clicking on it once, and
change avaiable options (speed, direction, etc):
- DRAG the transition's name from the selection window BETWEEN THE CLIPS where
you want it inserted.
- Rendering of the transition will begin, as described above for TITLES.
- A movie clip from AtomicLearning.com about adding transitions is
available.
Convert a CD Track to MP3 format
-
Insert your CD into the computer and launch
iTunes
- iTunes will query an online database of CDs and figure out the title of
the CD and all the tracks on it as long as you are connected to the internet.
- Under SOURCE on the left side, click once on the name of your CD.
- If you want to import ALL tracks on the CD into iTunes (thereby converting
them to MP3 format) click the IMPORT button.
- If you just want to import ONE SONG, drag that song from the song list and
drop it on top of the LIBRARY ICON under SOURCE.
- Converted songs (by default) are placed in the following folder on your
hard drive:
Inserting a background audio file:
-
-
CD format: CD tracks must be converted into AIFF format
before they can be imported into iMovie. An AtomicLearning.com movie about
this process using QuickTime Pro
is
available.
Adding voice narration (a voice overlay):
A movie clip from AtomicLearning.com is available describing how
to record your voice in iMovie.
To add voice narration, the video and audio tracks within iMovie must be
split. When you click the TIMELINE view (
),
if video and audio tracks are NOT split it will look like this:
.
Split the audio and video tracks by choosing the ADVANCED menu and clicking
on EXTRACT AUDIO:
Once the audio is extracted (split) it will look like this in the timeline
view. Note there is now a visible audio track (in yellow) below the video
track: 
To record and insert a voice narration:
(from iMovie software tutorial)
I'm done: Now What?
After your iMovie is finished, you need to EXPORT it unless you plan to
show it to others on the same computer you used to create it.
-
From the FILE menu, choose EXPORT
-
Choose TO CAMERA.
- Make sure your camera is connected (on VCR mode rather than CAMERA mode),
turned on, and the tape is advanced to a blank part where you can record without
erasing anything you want to keep.
- Do not worry about changing any of the default settings for export to camera.
- Click EXPORT and the finished iMovie will be recorded back onto your camera
tape.
A movie clip about outputting
your final iMovie is available from AtomicLearning.com.
If you are using iMovie 3 and the audio/video are out of sync in the exported
QuickTime file, try
this workaround.
You can also export your finished iMovie to a VHS tape. If you plan to
do this, however, you should use one of the G4 tower computers located in
the back of the ECC Mac lab. Only those computers have VHS VCRs connected
to them.
It is also possible to export for iDVD to create your own DVDs. If Toast
Titanium is installed, an export option for VCD (Video CD) is available.
VCDs can be recorded on standard CD-Rs (not more expensive DVD-Rs), and
have VHS quality. Not all DVD players can play VCDs however.
Advanced Topics:
Adding a Video or Digital Image Paste Over
- Sometimes you may want to continue with a pre-recorded audio narration,
but switch the displayed video or images to something else. This is called
a Paste Over.
- First, drag the narrated video from the shelf to the timeline where you
want it to play.
- In the Shelf, select the imported video or images that you want to paste
over. Set the time delay on the images as desired first before copying them.
- Copy the selected clips (EDIT - COPY)
- In the timeline, move the playhead to the position you want the copied
clips pasted over. From the ADVANCED menu in iMovie, choose PASTE OVER.
- The audio from the copied clips will be extracted and deleted, and the
video will be pasted over the clip you selected in the timeline. The audio
from the original timeline clip will remain.
- This technique works will when someone is being interviewed. Start with
the person talking so the audience can associate a face with the voice,
then switch to other images that relate to what the person is talking about.
This can make the interview more interesting to watch and listen to, since
the audience sees more than just the person talking.
(from iMovie software tutorial)
Additional Resources:
Additional parts to be added to this how-to guide:
- Creating digital still images
- Importing from analog sources (like VHS tape)
Tutorials on using iMovie 2 software to import video
and create your project are available from:
More information about iMovie software is available from Apple Computer: http://www.apple.com/imovie/
Samples of created iMovies are available on:
http://homepage.mac.com/carlward/iMovieTheater.html
