Peachpit.com has posted an article I wrote about iMovie and iDVD: Five Cool and Useful Techniques for iMovie '09 and iDVD. If you've been following along with this blog, these might not be new to you, but I think they're worth highlighting.
My review of the iPhone 3GS is now live on the Seattle Times Web site, a day ahead of when it's scheduled to appear in print. I like the new iPhone quite a bit; Apple sent me a review unit, but I had also ordered one the day it was announced.
I skipped the iPhone 3G last year because the iPhone OS 2.0 software provided all the improvement I needed; I did buy one for my wife (see my TidBITS article "iPhone 3G: On the Line in Seattle"). But partially due to the fact that I write about Apple and technology for a living, and due to new features like the compass (which many people will tell you I need) and the improved speed overall, I decided it was time to move up.
Here's a link to some of the photos and videos I took to demonstrate the camera: iPhone 3GS Review Seattle Times. (I also discovered a bug: when uploading a photo or video to MobileMe, the first album it lists can't be deselected; so in my case, anything I upload goes into a password-protected album I set up for a photo client, which I then have to move to the album I want using the MobileMe Gallery interface on my computer.)
Chuck Joiner of MacVoices interviewed me about iMovie '09 and the book for an episode posted today. We had a fun chat, where I covered iMovie, iDVD, undocumented changes in the latest iMovie '09 releases; I also delivered a short Video Encoding 101 course when explaining the new Optimize Video feature:
Jeff Carlson is the author of the brand new iMovie 09 and iDVD for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide from Peachpit, and has plenty of information to provide on both programs. Jeff explains why the book applies to brand new users of iMovie ‘09 as well as those versed in previous versions of Apple’s movie-editing software, the program’s significant evolution from iMovie ‘08, and how iDVD fits into a world where DVDs seem to be sliding. Jeff also reveals some undocumented features just added to iMove ‘09, including a Ken Burns effect, discusses what video optimization is and why you should care, and tells you how to get half his book for free.
I gave iMovieLocationEditor four mice in my review at Macworld, which is now online. I wrote:
The new Map feature in iMovie ‘09 taps a database of 4,000 cities, airports, and other locations. If the location you want to use isn’t in that list, version 8.0.1 of the software added the capability to enter your own latitude and longitude coordinates. But what if you want to use the same custom location several times?One option is to find the text file (WorldLocations.txt) that stores all of the locations and edit it manually. A better approach is to use Craig Stanton’s iMovieLocationEditor. The utility edits iMovie’s text file faster than you can say, “I can’t remember how to open an application package.”
Look out Flip: Apple today announced the iPhone 3GS, with an improved built-in camera that records video and audio. It features auto-focus and auto-exposure, and also offers some basic editing capabilities: drag the edges of the filmstrip to select a portion of the video, then tap Trim to cut it down. You can't mix and match clips (that's what iMovie is for), but it's a good easy way to trim a clip you just shot before sending it to a friend or uploading it to the Web. Apple's Guided Tour video of the new iPhone shows the feature in action.
[I just posted the following article at TidBITS.]
iMovie '09 8.0.3 Adds New Hidden Features
Apple released iMovie '09 8.0.3 this week, a seemingly minor update that "addresses general compatibility issues, improved overall stability and fixes a number of other minor issues." However, I've discovered that this small iteration turns out to have two new features, along with some other undocumented changes. (Which is good news and, to me, funny because my book "iMovie '09 & iDVD for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide" has just been released. These changes don't make anything in the book outdated or wildly incorrect, thank goodness.)
Ken Burns for Video -- Until now, the Ken Burns effect has been reserved for still photos. When you import a picture, iMovie automatically applies the pan-and-zoom effect; for example, the clip begins zoomed into one corner of the photo and gradually zooms out to reveal the entire image.
Now you can do the same for video clips. Select a video clip and click the Crop, Rotate, and Ken Burns button on the toolbar (or just press C). Click the Ken Burns button in the Viewer to set a start and end point, just as you would with a still photo. This is a pretty big change, especially for an x.0.3 release.
Keep in mind that as you zoom into standard-definition video, the resolution is going to decrease; you probably won't see much of a difference when starting with high-definition footage. But in my quick testing, the results were perfectly acceptable.
New Optimize Video Menu Option -- When iMovie imports most high-definition footage from a camera, such as HDV or AVCHD, it converts the video to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC) for easier editing. However, some formats remain intact - the Flip MinoHD, for example, records in MPEG-4 format encoded with H.264 compression.
For better performance during playback and editing, you can convert clips using the new Optimize Video menu, located under the File menu. With a clip selected, choose Full - Original Size or Large - 960 x 540 to transcode the clip into AIC; you can also choose those options from the contextual menu (Control-click or right-click a clip to view the menu).
Manual Audio Fade Duration -- You can set a specific time over which a clip's audio fades in or out. In earlier versions of iMovie '09, that time was limited to 2 seconds, but now it can be up to 5 seconds.
Clip Speed Audio Bug Fixed -- An annoying bug related to sped-up or slowed-down clips has been fixed. The Speed control in the Clip Adjustments inspector isn't limited to the preset tickmarks on the slider (which let you change a clip's speed to anywhere from 12.5% to 800%). By entering a value in the slider's text field, you can set the clip's speed to any number between 5% and 2000%.
Unfortunately, the bug messed up audio in the project when exporting the movie to iDVD or movie files; it could affect audio in any clip within the movie, not just the clip that had been sped up or slowed down.
[Update: According to a source I trust, the bug has not been fixed. I haven't been able to replicate it in a project where I saw the bug before, however.]
Other Optimizations -- Some of Apple's "other minor issues" should be welcome for iMovie editors. Performance of rendering and playing back themes and maps has gotten faster, as has general application launch time.
As the release notes indicate, deleting a beat marker no longer modifies the project duration, but the duration is also maintained when you turn automatic transitions on and off.
iMovie is also smarter about locating missing audio files when a project is moved to another machine. For example, a song that exists in one computer's iTunes library will be found in the other computer's iTunes library if it's present there.
[Update: According to a source I trust, the bug has not been fixed. I haven't been able to replicate it in a project where I originally saw the bug, however.]
It appears that Apple fixed an unusual but maddening bug in iMovie '09 8.0.3. As I detailed in "iMovie '09 Tip: Speed Clips 2,000%," the Speed control in the Clip Adjustments inspector isn't limited to the preset tickmarks on the slider (which let you change a clip's speed to anywhere from 12.5% to 800%). By entering a value in the slider's text field, you can set the clip's speed to any number between 5% and 2000%.
Unfortunately, a bug in iMovie messed up audio in the project when exporting the movie to iDVD or movie files; it could affect audio in any clip within the movie, not just the clip that had been sped up or slowed down.
According to my testing, however, that bug seems to be fixed in iMovie '09 8.0.3. (Which means the last tip on page 120 of the book—which is now available from Amazon!—can be ignored.)
Apple updated iLife '09 today, touching everything except iWeb (and GarageBand, which was updated earlier this week).
According to Apple's release notes, iMovie '09 8.0.3 "addresses general compatibility issues, improved overall stability and fixes a number of other minor issues," including:
iDVD 7.0.4 "addresses general compatibility issues and fixes an issue where iDVD is unable to add title/comment to an image in the image details list."
Also released were iLife Support 9.0.3, iPhoto '09 8.0.3, and Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 2.6. The updates are available via Software Update or as standalone downloads.
Have you done the bone-headed thing I did recently? I erased a memory card in my camera, and then realized I hadn't transferred the latest photos to my computer. Fortunately, they're easy to recover as I write about in an article at TidBITS: Recover Erased Photos from a Memory Card (2009-06-03).
Although the article's focus is recovering still images, the same tools can recover video, too, which is especially helpful now that more cameras are recording directly to SD cards.
I look at four programs that can get the job done, each with their pluses and minuses: Data Rescue II, Klix, Photo Recovery for Mac, and Image Rescue.
Click here to download the PDF (6.2 MB).
When Apple revealed iMovie '09 at Macworld Expo this year, I was thrilled to see so many new features compared to iMovie '08. (You can read my Macworld review of iMovie '09 here.) But that also created a problem: my publisher needed the book to stay within a certain page count to avoid increasing the price of the book—remember, this is a full-color book printed on good paper. I knew I couldn't fit everything into the book.
As it turns out, Apple made my job easier. iDVD wasn't updated at all, so I made the decision to do something unusual: I removed the iDVD section from the printed book and am offering it as a free download to anyone who wants it. That freed up the pages needed to cover all of iMovie's new and changed features (and, in fact, the book's retail price is lower than the previous edition, now $24.99 compared to $29.99!).
Don't worry, the printed book still contains all the essential information you need to use iDVD. I added an iDVD Overview chapter that walks you through the steps of creating an iDVD project, and the "Archiving, Encoding, and Burning" chapter is there, too.
So what's in the free download? More than 70 pages of all the ins and outs of creating and editing an iDVD project, including:
If you don't own the print book, this free iDVD addendum will give you an idea of what the book is like: easy, step-by-step walkthroughs of how to do everything, with lots of color screenshots.
The PDF also includes a deal in the back to buy the book at 35% off when you order directly from Peachpit Press!
Welcome to the companion Web site for Jeff Carlson's books on iMovie, iDVD, and digital video: iMovie ’09 & iDVD for Mac OS X: Visual QuickStart Guide and The Apple TV Pocket Guide! The books cover all you need to know to get up to speed with Apple's digital video tools. This Web site includes supporting material about iMovie and iDVD, examples mentioned in the books, and ongoing video editing links and information.
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