How would you change iMovie '08: special emergency software edition
By Ryan Block 
posted August 9th 2007 8:56AM
posted August 9th 2007 8:56AM
posted August 9th 2007 8:56AM
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If people want all those features, get Final Cut Express/Pro. iMovie is pointed towards the simple consumer who doesn't know/doesn't want to know about all those special things. They want to literally drag-n-drop to make a "UbAhCoOl" movie for their family ;)
But I do feel that iMovie should work/look a bit more like iPhoto, especially when it comes to themes and/or menu's.
I use iMove a lot. It has just enough features for me to make a decent video and export it to iDVD to make a decent DVD. It is for a person who doesn’t want to know a great deal about video editing. If I wanted to learn FCE guess what I would have bought? FCE and a FCE book! iMovie is the closes thing you are going to get to point and click with some simple F/X and video editing without actually knowing what you are really doing.
So the question is why did Apple remove features that they know people use and need?
One answer/theory could be that Apple wants to quietly bump people from iMovie to FCE. So the math could be -- what's the price difference between the 2, how many people out there user iMovie, equals, this could be higher profits for Apple!
Thoughts anyone...
Thank you for contacting Apple, we appreciate your concern. Regarding your issue, please purchase Apple's Final Cut Pro.
Sincerely,
Apple Customer Support
Ho Ho
Engadget using iMovie? Who would've thought?
A porno theme would be good - the program would insert cheesy camera angles, a pizza-boy plot line and jarring 70's music.
OH YEA!
GET A ZUNE!
Jackass.
EPIC FAIL
What in the hell does iMovie have to do with a Zune? I use iMovie all the tiem and i own neither an iPod or a Zune.
I don't see what was wrong with the One window and Clip bar at the bottom, with all the effects and clips and audio coming from the right side panel. ive been using my 800mhz g4 imac for a long time, and the only thing i wish it had in imovie was widescreen, but that is in the newer versions. they could have just added more effects and gone for new High capacity disc supports and more smaller things like they do with new versions of OSX. its never a major overhaul.
Bring the time line back. Geez. Apple is pushing us all to Final Cut Pro/Express with this new dumbed down version of iMovie.
And would it be asking too much to acutally be able to BURN a High Def Disc! iMovie supports all the HD video formats (has for several years) but then won't alow us to burn ANYTHING in HD. Blu-Ray drives are now less than $500 and available in several flavors. Thats what I paid for my first CD burner 9 years ago.
I was initially appalled by the lack of a timeline. However now that I have grown more accepting, this new editing concept it slightly appealing. Plus they still leave an old copy of iMovie on the computer if you want to go back to the timeline later. Im still a little miffed about the lack of audio volume control and chapters, but I can at least get by with the old version.
I'm just waiting for my new iLife software to be delivered; but from what I've seen, I won't be 'upgrading' from iMovie HD. It seems to have lost the key features that make iMovie easy to use, but none-the-less flexible.
I'm sure Apple had a reason. They figured (or though research most likely) that most do not use any of the more advanced features and will push those who do to get Final Cut Express. It's the way to go for the price. All of Apple's software is a steal at their pricing. Just get used to it and use a better program if you want the more advanced features.
At the same time, those who do not use all the features, now get a simpler, cleaner iMovie that's easier to use and more straight forward.
I wish they would've kept the timeline... I understand the idea of letting users make "quick" home movies, but it doesn't allow users to make much more. I haven't had too much time to spend with it, but from what I can see they'll be disappointing a lot of young filmmakers who use iMovie to edit their projects.
Also, does anyone know how to cut a clip quickly in this new version? In the old iMovie, I used to use COMMAND + T. I can't find any similar replacement.
I'm just glad I have Final Cut. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't...
On another note: I love the video library, and the skimming feature.
How about talking about Gadgets and consumer electronics like your about page says you will do. Enough of the Apple junk and their software. Why not dig around and find out of Nikon and Canon are coming out with new cameras.
Heck nikon came out with new software update this week...nothing
Canon came out with a new firmware for their top of the line camera...nothing.....
Why do we have to talk about new SOFTWARE from Apple.
We don't. It's not mandatory. Why are you reading it???
To make you annoyed.
allow it to work on g4 powerbooks
seconded :( You cant even install it manually, because when the app loads up it checks what its running on :(
Problem is that PowerBooks just aren't powerful enough to do this kind of stuff. Sorry, but they weren't fast when they were new and they're pretty much useless for any kind of heavy duty task these days - try playing H.264 video on one for example.
can't believe that i cant run it on my PB G4.... i use final cut Pro without problem!!!
Funny thing is you can run the latest FCE and FCP(for the most part on a G4) on a G4 and G5 below 1.9mhz, but you can run the simple consumer oriented imove.
If they haven't got chapter markers, there's no *way* I'm buying it.
Be aware that iMovie '08 does not replace '06, it's still on your hard drive -- a good thing, as projects do not move forward that smoothly.
Like Steve said, different program.
wait... do you mean that both iMovie '06 and and '08 are on the new iMac? If thats the case I hope that when you purchase iLife 08, you get iMovie '06 with it too. If not, the people who dont already have older iLife are getting ripped off when they purchase the new one.
I love all the old features of iMovie (timeline, audio fading etc) I used every single one of them when making a wedding video for a friend of mine. I am definately going to miss them. :(
Exactly, this is a completely redundant post as the two apps co-exist quiet happily in your Applications folder.
No, but if you buy '08 you can download iMovie HD.
Or not at all in my case. My Mac Pro choked 3 times importing any of my old iMovie projects! Sad...
Well, I watched the video last night on my iPhone (thanks for having an iPhone friendly iLife demo, Apple!) and I must say that the program looks amazing. I have ordered my copy of iLife '08 and iWork '08 that should arrive tomorrow or perhaps next Monday.
I will say this much about iMovie though, it looks leaps and bounds better than ANYTHING you can get for a similar price. Heck, it's free when you a buy a new Mac.
I can't wait to get my hands on this program!
Hey Engadget, did you guys say Apple monitors your site once in a while? Or was that once a day?
Make a windows version. :-)
get a mac
@Deep: Yeah, but then people always complain that Microsoft doesn't make more nicer Mac versions of their products.
So I guess we're just ok that Apple can flaunt with whatever they want, while we just love to blame Microsoft for not doing anything for us. Yeah, I'm ok with that.
Not a chance buddy. Get a Mac and experience some real applications.
Why get a mac when OSX runs just fine on my PC thanks to the OSX86 project? My 800$ PC runs your precious OS just as good as your overpriced desk bauble the mac.
P.S. running full iLife 08 also. God bless the hackintosh.
"overpriced desk bauble the mac"
... this has already been defused many times before, think of a new insult.
Don't worry, I'm sure Apple will do something to finally shut down the hackintosh community.
Here's a iMovie HD 6 download for all who purchased and installed iLife '08.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html
don't change anything it's great!
Apple rarely makes really complete version 1 products, and that's really what this is in my mind. They've nailed down the new UI and now they'll patch the crap out of it over the next year to flesh it out.
this isnt supposed to replace finalcut express hd here people, if you wanted hardcore video editing you shoulda dropped the 200 bux to get the final cut express hd pre-installed
You're right, it isn't supposed to replace FCE, it is supposed to replace iMovie. It fails at that pretty badly. Here are just some of the things missing from the new iMovie that you could do in the old iMovie:
* No chapter markers
* No audio tracks playing over black (No matter what, your audio clip ends when your video clip ends)
* No ducking audio at specific points (You can duck audio, but only for the length of the entire clip)
* No video effects other than color correction
* No ability to set timing on and preview transitions before you apply them. (You can set custom timings on transitions, but you have to drop the transition in then guess again and again until you get the timing right.)
* No themes (If you import an iMovie HD project with themes, it will just strip them out.)
The list goes on and on, and you can read more in the Apple Discussion Forums, where iMovie '08 is getting hammered. I will be sticking with iMovie '06, but I am pretty annoyed that I paid for iMovie '08 and find it almost entirely useless. (None of its new features overcome the damage done by dumping the ability to do detailed editing.)
iMovie doesn't make movies anymore, it makes clip shows. I guess this is what happens when you redesign your entire application based on the experience of one engineer.
Aaron,
"I will be sticking with iMovie '06, but I am pretty annoyed that I paid for iMovie '08 and find it almost entirely useless. (None of its new features overcome the damage done by dumping the ability to do detailed editing.)"
iMovie '06 is still available after installation of iLife '08, so for those who want or need any of those features missing from the new iMovie, they can still use the old one just fine, it's not like that's such a bad app. For people who want to quickly and easily make video clips put together from many small sections, the new iMovie is fantastic.
Slightly different purposes between the old and new versions, but I'm sure in some future revision of the new iMovie, a lot of those "dropped" features will be added back in.
In response to Aaron:
iMovie is great for establishing the timeline of the movie. If you want basic audio management it's there as well. If you want chapter markings or more in depth audio editing, then simply import your iMovie project in to Garageband. Garageband's interface is specifically designed for such things and gives you all of the flexibility you need.
I like the idea of a suite of apps that do individual tasks well much preferable over one app that does everything mediocre.
Ok, granted it's not supposed to replace final cut express, but what apple did was strip it of features that were present in the previous version. That sir, is a legitimate consumer complaint.
If I can have both 06 and 08 installed at the same time, I'm happy - otherwise I won't install 08.
Yes, you can. iMovie 06 gets moved to an iMovie (previous version) folder and still works the same.
How about support for all the plug-ins I bought last January after MacWorld? That would be a simple move and definitely in the right direction. After that: themes. I always wanted to be able to make my own themes, so maybe that would be a safe compromise? But plug-ins, for sure or else a couple of hundred effects, filters, titles, transitions, etc. built in.
Phew! The themes are a big part of why I use iMovie. It's good to know that although they're not in '08, I can still use the older version.
Anyway, the publish to web with "real Web 2.0" high def viewing is worth it.
The major problem with iMovie 08 is that it focuses too much on clip selection at the expense of editing once the clips have been chosen. Skimming and selecting the clips is great and can make creating a movie a very quick and easy process. I also appreciate the way content is now stored and represented.
But once those clips are chosen and arranged there should be options to make the editing window at least as powerful as previous versions of iMovie. I want to see, and certainly was expecting to see, the timeline view with separate tracks restored for those situations where precise control over video, audio, and polish is necessary.
I'm also very disappointed by the lack of integration with iDVD. That was one of the strengths of iMovie in the past. It is true that home movies are increasingly ending up on the web. But the fact is that a major form of video sharing occurs by exchanging DVD's which while tedious to burn are nevertheless an important form of video distribution and archiving. The new iMovie seems to be positioning itself as a YouTube!/AppleTV content maker and disregards that many users have not adopted those outlets and perhaps never will. This preference by Apple on what kind of devices we should be publishing our videos too is clearly demonstrated in the Media Browser where exports occur.
I do think that Apple has taken this strategy because the interest in digital video editing and web distribution is increasing. I suspect they would like to see those legacy iMovie users who became familiar and proficient at digital editing migrate to a higher end application such as Final Cut (and thus use the Final Cut XML export option). I actually don't have much of a problem with that as I would rather work on my videos in a more advanced environment and it's no doubt a benefit to Apple to leverage two products against one another. But it is certainly an annoyance to legacy users who were expecting iMovie 08 to follow the previous trend and become a more powerful editing tool rather than a quick and dirty movie maker for beginners.
So in summary I would ask Apple to return the advanced timeline view to the edit window in iMovie as well as reconnect to iDVD.
From the description:
http://www.apple.com/ilife/imovie/#polish
it looks like many editing features are still there ("adjust volume of clips"). If the scaled down the editing capabilities of the software, that would really be a rip-off.
I already purchased Aperture for superior photo editing, but having to buy Final Cut Express just to edit some movies (fading music, viewing timeline etc. I don't care about picture effects, movies look so "cheap" in my opinion using them) then it starts to be heavy on my wallet...
Too heavy....
iMovie 06 was good, but I thought they would add some more features to it (better interface overall, better external Harddrive support, maybe faster overall editing and the "library concept" (which they indeed added)).
I didn't care that much about lightning effect.
I purchased iLife 08, I hope some of the features will be there when Leopard hits the shelves (maybe they are going to take advantage of Core Animation).
I guess I'll just have to wait and see....