iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

by David Pogue, Aaron Miller
Released April 2009
Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ISBN: 9780596555726

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Book description

Bursting with new features, Apple's iMovie '09 is vastly more usable and complete than iMovie '08 -- amazing right out of the box. But the box doesn't include a good user's guide, so learning these applications is another matter. iMovie '09 and iDVD: The Missing Manual gets you up to speed on everything you need to turn raw digital footage into highly creative video projects.

You get crystal-clear, jargon-free explanations of iMovie's new video effects, slow & fast motion, advanced drag & drop, video stabilization, and more. Author and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue uses an objective lens to scrutinize every step of process, including how to:

  • Organize your videos just like your photos, and precisely edit with ease
  • Work on multiple iMovie projects at once and drag & drop clips among them
  • Integrate with other iLife programs to use songs, photos, and an original sound track
  • Output your creation to a blog, its own web page, or as a video podcast with iWeb
  • Understand basic film techniques to improve the quality of the video you bring to iMovie

    • From choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto DVDs, posting it online, or creating versions for iPod and iPhone, iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual helps you zoom right in on the details.

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    Table of contents

    1. iMovie '09 and iDVD: The Missing Manual
      1. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly
      2. The Missing Credits
        1. About the Authors
        2. About the Creative Team
        3. Acknowledgments
        4. The Missing Manual Series
      3. Introduction
        1. The Difficult Birth of iMovie '08 and '09
        2. iDVD
        3. iMovie: What's It Good For?
        4. A Camcorder Crash Course
          1. The Downsides of Tapeless
          2. High Definition
          3. AVCHD, MPEG-2, and Other Such Jargon
          4. Camcorder Features: Which Are Worthwhile?
            1. FireWire connector
            2. Analog inputs
            3. Three chips (CCDs)
            4. Image stabilizer
            5. Manual controls
            6. Optical zoom
            7. Minutes-remaining readout
            8. Built-in light
            9. Scene modes
            10. Remote control
            11. FlexiZone or Push Focus
            12. Night-vision mode
            13. Still photos
            14. Progressive-scan CCDs
          5. Useless Features
            1. Title generator
            2. Special effects
            3. Date/time stamp
            4. Digital zoom
          6. The Long-Term Storage Problem
        5. About This Book
          1. About the Outline
          2. About → These → Arrows
          3. Technical Notes for PAL People
          4. The Tech Specs of NTSC
          5. The Tech Specs of PAL
          6. About MissingManuals.com
        6. The Very Basics
        7. Safari® Books Online
      4. I. Editing in iMovie
        1. 1. Importing Video
          1. iMovie: The Application
            1. iMovie on a New Mac
            2. iMovie for an Existing Mac
            3. ".0.1" Updates
          2. Getting into iMovie
          3. Importing from a Tape Camcorder
            1. Automatic Scene Detection
          4. Importing from Tapeless Camcorders
          5. Importing from DVD Camcorders
          6. Recording Live from a Camcorder or iSight Camera
          7. Importing Old iMovie Projects
          8. Dragging Video In from the Finder
          9. Importing Footage from Old Analog Tapes
            1. Approach 1: Use a Camcorder with Pass-Through Conversion
            2. Approach 2: Record onto Your DV Camcorder
            3. Approach 3: Use a Media Converter
            4. Approach 4: Use a Digital8 Camcorder
        2. 2. The Lay of the Land
          1. The Concept of Movie Projects
          2. The Project Library
            1. Creating a Project
            2. Duplicating a Project
            3. Renaming a Project
            4. Project Folders
            5. Deleting a Project
            6. Undeleting a Project
            7. Moving a Project
            8. Consolidating Project Media
          3. Aspect Ratios: The Missing Manual
            1. Mismatched Aspect Ratios
            2. Changing Your Project's Aspect Ratio
          4. All About Events
            1. Fine-Tuning the Events List
            2. Splitting Events
            3. Merging Events
            4. Renaming an Event
            5. Deleting an Event
          5. Four Ways to Remodel Your Workspace
            1. Hide the Projects or Events List
            2. Make the Clips Smaller
            3. Adjust or Relocate the Viewer
            4. Swap the Two Clip Areas
        3. 3. Building the Movie
          1. Phase 1: Review Your Clips (Skim + Play)
            1. Filmstrips
            2. Skimming
            3. Playback
          2. Phase 2: Select the Good Bits
            1. Select by Dragging
            2. Select 4-Second Chunks
            3. Selecting Entire Clips
            4. Selecting Multiple Clips
            5. Adjusting a Selection
            6. Playing a Selection
            7. Deselecting
          3. Phase 3: Build the Storyboard
            1. Adding to the End of the Storyboard
            2. Adding to the Middle
            3. Advanced Insert Options
            4. The Orange Stripe
            5. Don't Remember to Save
          4. Phases 2–3 (Alternate): Paint-to-Insert
          5. Phase 4: Fine-Tune the Edit
          6. Storyboard Playback
          7. Full-Screen Playback
          8. Rearranging Video
          9. Copying and Pasting Video
          10. Shortening or Lengthening Clips
            1. Select a Piece to Delete
            2. Select the Piece to Keep
            3. Use the Clip Trimmer
            4. Fine-Tuning with the Extendo Buttons
          11. Splitting a Clip
          12. Cutaways
            1. Adjusting a Cutaway
            2. Removing a Cutaway
          13. The Precision Editor
        4. 4. Video Chunks: Keywords, Favorites, and Rejects
          1. Marking Favorites and Rejects: Two-Step Method
          2. Marking Favorites and Rejects: One-Step Method
          3. Unmarking
          4. Selecting Marked Footage
          5. Hiding and Showing Favorites and Rejects
          6. Keywords
            1. Editing the Keyword List
            2. "Painting" Keywords onto Clips
            3. The Select-then-Apply Method
            4. Removing Keywords from Filmstrips
          7. The Keyword Filter
          8. Deleting Footage for Good
          9. Space Saver
        5. 5. Transitions, Themes, and Travel Maps
          1. About Transitions
          2. When Not to Use Transitions
          3. Two Ways to "Transish"
          4. Creating Individual Transition Effects
            1. Changing or Deleting a Transition
          5. A Long Discussion of Transition Lengths
            1. Why You Don't Always Get What You Want
            2. How Transitions Affect the Length of Your Movie
          6. Automatic Transitions
            1. Adjusting the Automatic Transitions
            2. Turning off Automatic Transitions
          7. Transitions: The iMovie Catalog
            1. Circle Open, Circle Close
            2. Cross Blur
            3. Cross Dissolve
            4. Cross Zoom
            5. Doorway
            6. Fade Through Black, Fade Through White
            7. Mosaic
            8. Page Curl
            9. Ripple
            10. Spin In, Spin Out
            11. Swap
            12. Wipe Down, Up, Left, Right
          8. Themes
            1. Choosing a Theme
            2. Custom Theme Transition and Titles
            3. Changing a Theme
            4. Adjusting Theme Transitions
            5. Removing a Theme
          9. Travel Maps
            1. Adding a Travel Map
            2. Changing Travel Points
            3. Changing a Map's Style
            4. Changing a Map's Timing
            5. Removing a Map
        6. 6. Video Effects, Slo-Mo, Green Screen, and Picture-in-Picture
          1. Video Effects
            1. The Effects
            2. Applying a Video Effect
            3. Adjusting a Video Effect
            4. Removing a Video Effect
          2. Fast/Slow/Reverse
            1. Changing a Clip's Speed
            2. Reversing a Clip's Playback Direction
            3. Removing Speed and Direction Changes
          3. Green Screen
            1. Preparing the Green Screen
            2. Getting the Shot
            3. Inserting a Green Screen Effect
            4. Adding Effects to a Green Screen Effect
            5. Removing a Green Screen Effect
          4. Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
            1. Inserting a PiP
            2. Adjusting the PiP Size and Position
            3. Changing the PiP Appearance
            4. Mixing PiP Audio
            5. Moving and Trimming a PiP Clip
            6. Removing a PiP Clip
        7. 7. Stabilization, Color Fixes, Cropping, and Rotating
          1. Video Stabilization
            1. Four Ways to Trigger Stabilization Analysis
            2. Degrees of Stabilization
            3. Removing Stabilization
          2. Color Fixes
            1. Phase 1: Select the Clip, Find the Frame
            2. Phase 2: The Video Adjustments Panel
            3. Three Channels
            4. Exposure
            5. Adjusting the Levels
            6. Brightness and Contrast Sliders
            7. Automatic Correction
            8. Color Balance
            9. Individual Channel Sliders
            10. Removing or Adjusting Adjustments
            11. Copying and Pasting Adjustments
          3. Cropping Video
            1. Adjusting or Removing the Crop
          4. Rotating Video
            1. Adjusting or Removing the Rotation
        8. 8. Titles, Subtitles, and Credits
          1. Setting Up a Title
            1. Choose a Title Style
              1. Theme-based titles
            2. Drag the Title into Position
            3. Adjust the Timing
            4. Type the Text
            5. Special Notes on Scrolling Credits
          2. Font, Size, and Style
            1. The iMovie Font Panel
            2. The System Font Panel
              1. Underline, strikethrough, color, shadow
              2. Secondary controls
            3. General Guidelines
            4. Add Your Own Custom Title
          3. Checking the Result
          4. Editing or Deleting a Title
        9. 9. Narration, Music, and Sound
          1. Two Kinds of Audio
            1. Audio Sources
          2. Adding Audio to the Storyboard
            1. The Music and Sound Effects Browser
            2. Adding Audio from the Finder
          3. Background Music
            1. Pinning and Unpinning Background Music
            2. Rearranging Unpinned Background Music
            3. Deleting Background Audio
          4. Sound Effects (Pinned Music)
          5. Editing to the Beat
            1. Phase 1: Add your Background Music
            2. Phase 2a: Insert Beat Markers
            3. Phase 2b: Tapping Out Beats
            4. Phase 3: Add Your Video Clips
            5. Snap to Beats in Your Project
            6. Beat Markers in the Precision Editor
            7. The Beat Warning
          6. Recording Narration
          7. Extracting Audio from Video
          8. Volume Adjustments
            1. Adjusting Overall Clip Volume
            2. Copying and Pasting Audio Adjustments
            3. Removing Audio Adjustments
          9. Editing Audio in GarageBand
            1. GarageBand Basics
            2. Scoring in GarageBand
        10. 10. Photos
          1. Importing Still Images
          2. The Photos Browser
            1. Photos from the Finder
            2. iMovie Backgrounds
          3. Two Ways to Add Photos
            1. Photo Filmstrips
            2. Photo Cutaways
            3. Timing Changes
              1. Photo filmstrips
              2. Photo Cutaways
          4. The Dimensions of an iMovie Photo
          5. Crop, Fit, Rotate
          6. The Ken Burns Effect
            1. Applying the Ken Burns Effect
          7. Creating Still Images from Footage
            1. Creating a Still Frame
            2. Creating a Freeze Frame
          8. Exporting a Still Frame
            1. The Resolution Problem
            2. The Short Way
            3. The Long Way
        11. 11. Advanced Editing
          1. The Power of Editing
            1. Modern Film Theory
              1. Tell the story chronologically
              2. Try to be invisible
              3. Develop a shot rhythm
            2. Maintaining Continuity
            3. When to Cut
            4. Choosing the Next Shot
          2. Popular Editing Techniques
            1. Tight Editing
            2. Variety of Shots
              1. Establishing shots
              2. Cutaways and cut-ins
              3. Reaction shots
              4. Parallel cutting
          3. Back and Forth to iMovie 6
            1. Transferring Your Project, iMovie '09 → iMovie 6
            2. Transferring Your Project, iMovie 6 → iMovie '09
      5. II. Finding Your Audience
        1. 12. Exporting to iPod, iPhone, Apple TV, or Front Row
          1. Exporting the Movie to iTunes
          2. From iTunes to iPod, iPhone, Etc.
        2. 13. Exporting to YouTube and the Web
          1. Method 1: iMovie to YouTube
            1. Posting to YouTube (First Time)
            2. Posting to YouTube (After the First Time)
            3. After the Movie is Up
          2. Method 2: iMovie to MobileMe
            1. After the Movie Is Up
          3. Custom Web Pages: Three Roads
          4. Method 3: iMovie to iWeb
            1. What You Get When You're Done
            2. Editing or Deleting the Web page
          5. Method 4: HomePage
            1. Editing Your Web page
            2. Behind the Screens
          6. Method 5: Posting a Movie on Your Site
        3. 14. From iMovie to QuickTime
          1. Understanding QuickTime
            1. A Crash Course in Video Compression
              1. Spatial compression
              2. Temporal compression
            2. About Codecs
          2. The Export Pop-up Menu
            1. The Settings Button
              1. Compression Type pop-up menu
              2. Frames per second
              3. Key frame every _ frames
              4. Quality slider
              5. Limit data rate
            2. The Filter Button
            3. The Size Button
            4. Audio Settings
              1. Format
              2. Rate, Size
              3. Use: Mono/Stereo
          3. The Video Codecs: A Catalog
          4. Saving a QuickTime Movie
        4. 15. QuickTime Player
          1. QuickTime Player (Free Version)
            1. Hidden Controls
            2. Fancy Playback Tricks
          2. QuickTime Player Pro
            1. Presenting Your Movies
            2. Editing Movies
              1. Selecting footage
              2. Pasting footage
            3. Exporting Edited Movies
              1. The Save As command
              2. The Export command
              3. How to Use QuickTime Player with iMovie
          3. Advanced QuickTime Pro: Track Tricks
            1. Flip a Clip
            2. The Video Wall
      6. III. iDVD '09
        1. 16. iDVD Basics
          1. Why iDVD?
            1. Getting iDVD '09
          2. What You're In For
          3. Phase 1: Prepare Your Video
            1. Overscanning and You
              1. The title-safe area
              2. The action-safe area
          4. Phase 2: Insert Chapter Markers
            1. Markers in iMovie '09
              1. Chapter-marker pointers
          5. Phase 3: Export from iMovie '09
            1. Export the Movie as a File
          6. Phase 4: Design the Menu Screen
            1. All about Themes
            2. Choosing a Theme
            3. The Inevitable Paragraphs about Aspect Ratio
            4. Drop Zones: The Basics
              1. Filling drop zones
              2. Drop zones: the details
            5. Redesigning the Theme
          7. Phase 5: Add Your Movies
          8. Phase 6: Burning Your DVD
            1. Previewing Your Project
            2. Checking for Errors
            3. Maximum DVD Playback Time
            4. One Last Techie Look
            5. Shopping for Blank DVDs
            6. The Burn
          9. OneStep DVDs, Magic iDVDs
            1. OneStep DVD
            2. Magic iDVDs
        2. 17. DVD Menus, Slideshows, and the Map
          1. Adding Movies
            1. The Import Command
            2. The Finder
            3. The Media Browser
          2. Submenus ("Folders")
            1. Navigating Submenus
          3. The DVD Map—and Autoplay
            1. Editing in the Map
            2. Autoplay
            3. Looping
          4. DVD Slideshows
            1. iPhoto Albums
              1. Starting in iPhoto
              2. Starting in iDVD
            2. Drag Folders from the Finder
            3. Add a Slideshow, Worry About the Pictures Later
            4. The Slideshow Editor
              1. Adding or omitting slides and movies
              2. Reordering slides and movies
              3. Renaming slides or movies
            5. Slideshow Settings
            6. Slideshow Options
              1. Slideshow audio
            7. Leaving the Slideshow Editor
            8. Burning Your Slideshow
        3. 18. Designing iDVD Themes
          1. iDVD's Built-in Themes
          2. Editing Buttons
            1. Changing Button Names and Fonts
            2. Button Styles
            3. Justification, Drop Shadows, and Thumbnail Size
            4. Moving Buttons
            5. Removing Buttons
            6. Editing Picture and Movie Buttons
          3. Editing Text
          4. Editing Backgrounds
            1. A Still Photo
            2. A Group of Photos
            3. A Movie
            4. Some Notes
          5. Menu Audio
            1. What to Drag
            2. Where to Drag
            3. Replacing Menu Audio
            4. Removing Menu Audio
            5. Adjusting Menu Audio Volume
          6. Saving Favorites
        4. 19. Advanced iDVD
          1. iDVD: The DVD-ROM Maker
            1. Adding Files to DVD-ROM
            2. Organizing DVD-ROM Contents
          2. Uncover Your DVD Project File
          3. AppleScripting iDVD
          4. Archiving Your Project
            1. Copying the Archive to a Different Mac
          5. Disk Images
          6. Professional Duplicating
            1. Prepare to Copy
            2. Choosing a Replicator
            3. Working with Replicators
            4. Fulfillment
      7. IV. Appendixes
        1. A. iMovie '09, Menu by Menu
          1. iMovie Menu
            1. About iMovie
            2. Preferences
              1. General Tab
              2. Browser Tab
              3. Video Tab
              4. Fonts Tab
            3. Shop for iMovie Products
            4. Provide iMovie Feedback
            5. Register iMovie
            6. Check For Updates
            7. Hide iMovie, Hide Others, Show All
            8. Quit iMovie
          2. File Menu
            1. New Project
            2. New Folder
            3. Duplicate Project
            4. Project Properties
              1. General Tab
              2. Timing Tab
            5. Move to Trash
            6. Move to Rejected Clips Trash
            7. Space Saver
            8. Consolidate Media
            9. Merge Events
            10. Split Event Before Selected Clip
            11. Move Rejected Clips to Trash
            12. Adjust Clip Date and Time…
            13. Analyze for Stabilization
            14. Optimize Video Full/Large
            15. Import from Camera, Import Movies, Import Camera Archive, Import iMovie HD Project
            16. Page Setup, Print Project
          3. Edit Menu
            1. Undo
            2. Redo
            3. Cut, Copy, Paste
            4. Paste Adjustments
            5. Delete, Delete Entire Clip (Reject, Reject Entire Clip)
            6. Select All Events
            7. Select None
            8. Trim to Selection
            9. Trim Clip End
            10. Split Clip
            11. Join Clip
            12. Detach Audio
            13. Mute/Unmute Clip
            14. Reveal in Event Browser
            15. Arrange Music Tracks
            16. Unpin Music Track
            17. Add Beat Marker
            18. Spelling
            19. Special Characters
          4. View Menu
          5. Text Menu
          6. Share Menu
          7. Window Menu
            1. Precision Editor
            2. Clip Trimmer
            3. Clip Adjustments, Video Adjustments, Audio Adjustments
            4. Cropping, Ken Burns, and Rotation
            5. Show Projects Full-screen, Show Events Full-screen
            6. Hide/Show Commands
            7. Viewer
            8. Swap Event and Projects
            9. Viewer on Secondary Display
          8. Help Menu
            1. Search
            2. iMovie Help
            3. Welcome to iMovie
            4. Video Tutorials
            5. Keyboard Shortcuts
            6. Service and Support
          9. Drag and Drop Menu
            1. Replace
            2. Replace from Start
            3. Replace from End
            4. Replace at Playhead
            5. Insert
            6. Audio Only
            7. Cutaway
            8. Picture in Picture
            9. Green Screen
            10. Cancel
        2. B. Troubleshooting
          1. Two Golden Rules
          2. General iMovie Troubleshooting
            1. Weird Inconsistent Problems
            2. Keeping Your Hard Disk Happy
          3. Starting Up and Importing
            1. iMovie Doesn't See the Tape Camcorder
            2. iMovie Doesn't See the Tapeless Camcorder
            3. Video Looks Interlaced
            4. No Sound from Tape Camcorder
            5. iMovie Crashes on Startup
            6. Can't Import from DVD Camcorder
            7. Dropouts in the Video
          4. Editing
            1. Can't Drag Certain Photos into the Movie
            2. Can't Use Audiobooks in Soundtrack
            3. Filmstrips Don't Reflect Changes
            4. Thumbnails Are Blank or Corrupted
          5. Exporting
            1. "Compatible Version of iDVD Required"
            2. YouTube Turns You Down
            3. Text Chopped Off on DVD
          6. Where to Get Help
        3. C. Master Keyboard Shortcut List
          1. Panes, Panels, and Windows
          2. Event Browser and Storyboard
          3. Playback
          4. Editing
          5. Working with Clips
          6. Music and Audio
          7. Editing Titles
        4. D. Visual Cheat Sheet
      8. Index
      9. About the Authors
      10. Colophon
      11. SPECIAL OFFER: Upgrade this ebook with O’Reilly

    Product information

    • Title: iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual
    • Author(s): David Pogue, Aaron Miller
    • Release date: April 2009
    • Publisher(s): O'Reilly Media, Inc.
    • ISBN: 9780596555726