iMovie & iDVD Visual QuickStart Guide

QuickTime 7.5 Addresses Security Concerns, iMovie and iDVD Updated

While the iPhone 3G and Snow Leopard grabbed everyone's attention this week, Apple also released security and bug-fix updates to QuickTime, iMovie '08, and iDVD '08.

QuickTime 7.5 tackles several security issues dealing with maliciously crafted media: PICT images, AAC-encoded media, and Indeo video. It also changes the behavior of handling URLs by revealing files in the Finder or Windows Explorer instead of launching them. (For more information on recent QuickTime security issues and how Apple is addressing them, see "QuickTime Security Enhanced with Anti-Exploitation Technologies," 2007-09-07.)

QuickTime 7.5 is available via Software Update or as stand-alone downloads for the following operating systems: Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (56 MB), Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger (52.8 MB), Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (51.39 MB), and Windows XP and Vista (22.67 MB).

Apple's updates for iMovie and iDVD only state that each addresses "general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, and addresses a number of other minor issues." They're also available via Software Update (once QuickTime 7.5, which is required, is installed), or as stand-alone downloads: iMovie 7.1.2 (17.9 MB) and iDVD 7.0.2 (20.27 MB). They also require Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later.

(Cross-posted at TidBITS.)

Other Recent Projects: New Books!

As you can imagine, I've been pretty focused on becoming a dad lately, but that doesn't mean it's occupied all of my attention (just most of it). I've been hard at work on a number of other projects.

Just prior to my daughter's birth, I wrapped up Photoshop Elements 6: Visual QuickStart Guide, my book that covers the latest version of Adobe's consumer image organizing and editing software. (You can read an excerpt here.) In addition to providing step-by-step explanations of how to use the program and its new features (including the incredibly cool Photomerge Groups module that lets you combine the best parts of multiple photos with very little work on your part), the book is now full color. For a book that talks about color-correction and photo retouching, full color is really the only way to go.

Due to the timing, the book is all about the Windows version of Photoshop Elements 6; the Mac version (returning to the platform after a several-year hiatus) hadn't yet been released in time to incorporate its details into this edition. However, great news: The Windows and Mac versions of Elements 6 are almost identical. I'd say about 95 percent of the program is indistinguishable on either operating system. The primary difference is that the Windows version uses a related application, the Organizer, to manage your photo library, assign tags, create albums, and the like. On the Mac, the Organizer is replaced by Bridge CS3, the asset-management program used by Adobe Creative Suite 3.

So, if you own the Mac version of the software, you can buy the print book and learn almost everything you need to know. (I'm talking with Peachpit about options for covering the Mac-specific information. Marketing says it can't justify a separate print title, so perhaps we'll put out an electronic version. We'll see what we can work out!)

In related news, Peachpit approached me a few weeks ago about writing a brand new book about Adobe's just-announced Photoshop Express, which gives you the capability to upload and edit your photos via a Web browser. The new service, which is open now as a public beta, is ideal for those who want to share digital photos online with family and friends, and also be able to apply essential adjustments like color correction and minor touchups.

I was able to use Photoshop Express for a week before it was announced, which gave me enough time to write the first chapter of The Photoshop Express Beta Pocket Guide. I'm working on the book now, but you can download that chapter for free from Peachpit's site now as a PDF. As I finish chapters, they'll be made available for downloading via the Rough Cuts program at Safari Books online. When the book is complete, it will also be available as a print edition.

There's more to come (including one book that is just coming off the presses), but I'll stop for now.

Make iMovie '08 Work Your Way

Macworld has posted online an article I wrote that appears in the current print issue: Make iMovie '08 work your way. The idea for the article came to me when I was writing the book, because I found several things you could do in iMovie '08 that people thought had been abandoned in iMovie HD 6.

For example, at first glance it appears that iMovie '08 can't work with multiple audio tracks - there's no specific place for them, since there's no "timeline" - but in fact iMovie '08 is actually more flexible when it comes to working with multiple tracks. (iMovie '08 still has a long way to go with editing audio, though.)

Looking for Voiceover Talent? Consult Your Mac.

Last week, I wrote a short article for TidBITS about the Aperture 2.0.1 update. In addition to bug fixes, the update improves AppleScript support in the digital photo editor, and I pointed to a page at Apple that included videos demonstrating what could be done. To my surprise, those videos used text-to-speech narration instead of a human voiceover - and it was tolerable.

Turns out the voice is Lucy, a British English female voice available as part of Infovox iVox. If you're interested in how Apple incorporates an artificial voiceover in many of their videos, check out the "Rendered Narrations" video at Automator.us.

Apologies for Lack of Updates

I haven't updated the blog since early January, but I have good reason: I'm a dad! My daughter was born February 5, and before that I was finishing a book project at high speed in anticipation of her arrival. I'm taking some paternity leave time, which I've learned is key because some days just run into the others. I apologize that I haven't been keeping up to date with iMovie and other video related news.

I can say that I'm doing a little bit of work on my Apple TV Pocket Guide to update it for the new Take Two release. My colleague Agen Schmitz is helping me do the update while I'm attending to baby, so expect the book sometime in mid- to late March (given printing and distribution, etc.).

My Final Cut Express 4 Review at Macworld.com

I wrote a review of Final Cut Express 4 for Macworld, which is now available on the magazine's Web site, giving it four mice and noting that iMovie HD users who aren't impressed with iMovie '08 might want to just move up to Final Cut Express instead.

I also included a screenshot that demonstrates the difference between iMovie '08's Large size of HD image capture and Final Cut Express's capability to import full-quality HD. However, the image online is just a thumbnail. To view the screenshot at its regular size, click the image below:

Now Available! iMovie ’08 & iDVD ’08 Visual QuickStart Guide

I received my first author copy last week, but now I'm thrilled to announce that the new iMovie ’08 & iDVD ’08 Visual QuickStart Guide is now available!

Due to Apple's decision to scrap the old iMovie HD and write a completely new iMovie ’08 from scratch, much of the book has been rewritten to accommodate the many changes in the new software. Although I at first wrote off iMovie ’08 as "iMovie Lite,", I soon learned that this little editor has a lot more depth than most people suspected.

For example, this full color edition of the book includes an entirely new chapter on managing video, which digs into iMovie's advanced keyword features, managing Events, working with rejected footage, and rescuing video using Time Machine in Leopard. I've also added a chapter that deals with creating DVD chapter markers, a feature Apple removed from iMovie ’08. And because this version of the program is designed for quick editing, I've written a brand new chapter called Make a Movie in a Hurry that whips you through the entire editing process, from importing video to publishing the movie online, to get you up and running even faster.

Amazon currently sells the book for only $20.08. (And you can still receive it in time for Christmas!) Here's the blurb that accompanies the item:

This full-color, amply illustrated, accessible book teaches readers the essential skills necessary for creating compelling movies with iMovie and iDVD, Apple's consumer-friendly digital movie and DVD-burning software applications. Readers can follow the step-by-step instructions from the beginning to get a tour of the applications or look up specific tasks to learn just what they need to know. Longtime Macintosh and technology writer Jeff Carlson takes extra steps to ensure that readers understand all of the key aspects of digital movie making. He begins by introducing readers to essential preproduction skills: selecting a camera, choosing the right kind of light source for your needs, creating a storyboard to plan your shots, understanding how timecode works, and more. From there, the rest of the book explains the basics of importing, editing, and exporting your video to the Web or DVD. Along the way, this comprehensive reference covers everything from choosing iMovie themes, adding transition and audio effects, creating video podcasts and blogs, and much more. New features in iMovie '08 and iDVD '08 include a brand-new interface that lets users create a movie intuitively and quickly; expanded format support; an easy-to-browse library that automatically organizes your video clips; and the ability to publish your movie to the Web on your .Mac homepage or directly to YouTube. Or, send your movie to iTunes so you can watch it on an iPhone, Apple TV, or iPod.

Import AVCHD Later with Voltaic

One potential drawback to using a camcorder that records to AVCHD format is the time it takes to transcode the footage during the iMovie import process. Even on a fast Mac, it can take a while to convert AVCHD to Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC), which iMovie uses internally for editing HD video.

But what if you don't have time for that step? For example, let's say you're traveling and your camcorder's memory card or internal hard disk fills up. In the world of digital still cameras, you offload the memory card's contents to your Mac's hard drive, erase the card, and continue shooting. If you've filled up a 4 GB card, however, just importing the footage into iMovie can take a long time. You can certainly copy the .MTS (MPEG Transport Stream) files from the device, since it mounts on your Mac desktop as if it were any other volume, and then wipe the memory and continue shooting. But then you're left with raw files that iMovie won't import.

The solution in this case is to use Voltaic from Mac1080HD, a utility that converts the .MTS files to AIC-formatted QuickTime (.mov) files. Voltaic lets you convert the files at your leisure, or from a different volume (since you may not have room on your laptop's hard drive for all the converted footage, which increases in size from the highly compressed AVCHD format). Drop the files onto the Voltaic application icon and leave it alone; go shoot some video while it's processing, since your camcorder will be free.

For some people, though, the biggest appeal of Voltaic is that it adds the capability to process AVCHD on non-Intel Macs. Currently, iMovie and Final Cut require an Intel processor to handle AVCHD. Voltaic is a universal application and runs on both Intel and PowerPC processors.

Voltaic costs $30; a free demo mode will convert 10 files of up to 20 MB in size. It's available as a 4.2 MB download.

Copy and Paste iDVD Drop Zone Contents

iDVD didn't get much love from Apple in iLife '08, but a few nice features crept past the "DVDs are yesterday's technology" wall. Case in point: copy and paste drop zone media.

Let's say you put together a killer group of photos in a drop zone on the front page and you want to use it elsewhere in the project (or you want to use that as a starting point and build from there, versus recreating the photo group from scratch).

After setting up your source drop zone, Control-click the zone and choose Copy Drop Zone Contents from the contextual menu. Next, navigate to the destination drop zone, Control-click, and choose Paste Drop Zone Contents from the contextual menu. You've just saved yourself a bunch of work.

A Few Quick Final Cut Express 4 Followup Notes

I ended up having an impromptu briefing with Apple today about Final Cut Express 4 (see the last post) and learned a few new details that I speculated about earlier today.

• AVCHD footage is indeed transcoded to AIC on import. I was 99 percent sure this was the case, but since it wasn't expressly mentioned, I hedged a bit. Editing native AVCHD is too choppy, explained Dion Scoppettuolo, Final Cut Express product manager. Final Cut Pro 6 and iMovie '08 also transcode to AIC.
• Soundtrack, the application for fleshing out a soundtrack and other audio edits, is indeed gone in this version of Final Cut Express. Starting in Final Cut Express 3.0, Apple bundled LiveType and Soundtrack to round out the program's capabilities. LiveType 2.1 is still there, but Soundtrack was abandoned because users were preferring to use GarageBand instead, said Scoppettuolo. I don't entirely buy into that—Soundtrack, like Final Cut Express, seemed to be cut from a higher quality of code and performance, but I could be wrong.
• Importing an iMovie '08 project does indeed bring in only the basic edits, with transitions converted to cross dissolves. However, it also retains the volume levels on the clips. Video adjustments, titles, and other stuff is discarded. In a Final Cut Express workflow, iMovie truly is the place to cut your rough assembly together quickly.
• In iMovie projects where DV and HD footage is combined, Final Cut Express crops (or doesn't crop) according to the iMovie porject's aspect ratio setting.

I'll be writing the First Look article for Macworld next week, provided the upgrade copy I ordered arrives in time. Apple couldn't provide me with a review copy until after the Thanksgiving holiday because the entire company is shutting down next week (as thanks to the employees for shipping the iPhone and Leopard this year), and the reviews program is closed to do inventory.