How would you change iMovie '08: special emergency software edition

We know we don't normally do our How would you change feature in the middle of the week -- nor do we ever do it about software -- but since Tuesday we've been absolutely inundated with unhappy iMovie '08 customers who want back many of the the more robust features of previous versions. Chief among them, iMovie could seriously use themes, chapter markers, a timeline view, track-volume editing / fading, and the list goes on. So tell us, what would you change about it? Go nuts in comments, we hear Apple reads the site every once in a while.

[Augustos Morales @ Aug 9th 2007 9:12AM]

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!

[Mr. Yetti @ Aug 9th 2007 10:12PM]

Jackass.

[a ham sandwich @ Aug 9th 2007 11:20AM]

EPIC FAIL

[tehpwnmstr @ Aug 9th 2007 9:47AM]

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.

[jonbruck @ Aug 9th 2007 9:31AM]

allow it to work on g4 powerbooks

[Liam Gladdy @ Aug 9th 2007 10:48AM]

seconded :( You cant even install it manually, because when the app loads up it checks what its running on :(

[Squozen @ Aug 13th 2007 8:55PM]

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.

[Elguille @ Aug 9th 2007 8:34PM]

can't believe that i cant run it on my PB G4.... i use final cut Pro without problem!!!

[Al @ Aug 9th 2007 7:34PM]

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.

[John Stracke @ Aug 9th 2007 9:32AM]

If they haven't got chapter markers, there's no *way* I'm buying it.

[Michael Rose @ Aug 9th 2007 9:34AM]

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.

[Nirmal @ Aug 9th 2007 10:45AM]

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. :(

[rodti @ Aug 9th 2007 10:27AM]

Exactly, this is a completely redundant post as the two apps co-exist quiet happily in your Applications folder.

[Michael Rose @ Aug 9th 2007 11:27AM]

No, but if you buy '08 you can download iMovie HD.

[Dav Mattucci @ Aug 10th 2007 3:11PM]

Or not at all in my case. My Mac Pro choked 3 times importing any of my old iMovie projects! Sad...

[Jaxim @ Aug 9th 2007 9:36AM]

Make a windows version. :-)

[deep @ Aug 9th 2007 10:53AM]

get a mac

[michael @ Aug 9th 2007 3:58PM]

@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.

[MacGuru @ Aug 11th 2007 10:29PM]

Not a chance buddy. Get a Mac and experience some real applications.

[maldo @ Aug 14th 2007 11:48AM]

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.

[Zach @ Aug 18th 2007 9:03AM]

"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.

[Mike @ Aug 9th 2007 9:45AM]

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

[Aaron Miller @ Aug 9th 2007 11:13AM]

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.

[farukates @ Aug 9th 2007 1:58PM]

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.

[Steve @ Aug 10th 2007 7:08AM]

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.

[superslinky @ Aug 11th 2007 4:49PM]

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.

[J Good @ Aug 9th 2007 9:47AM]

If I can have both 06 and 08 installed at the same time, I'm happy - otherwise I won't install 08.

[Big Dave @ Aug 9th 2007 10:32AM]

Yes, you can. iMovie 06 gets moved to an iMovie (previous version) folder and still works the same.

[peterjohndean1 @ Aug 9th 2007 10:08AM]

Now we can see why someone was able to make a video in less than 30 minutes with iMovie 08- just strip out all those boring features that real movie-makers like to fiddle around with for hours.

[The Pepto Pimp @ Aug 9th 2007 10:46AM]

Well said!

Stand up and take a bow Mr. Peter John Dean, you've made the best observation/comment yet!

[Hawkman @ Aug 9th 2007 10:45AM]

If you're a "real movie maker" , you shouldn't be too tight to buy something such as Final Cut Express.

iMovie 08 is a sodding awesome consumer app, which is exactly what iLife is about. If you think you're a pro or semi-pro, you should be buying the right software. That's not iLife, dude.

[Nick @ Aug 9th 2007 10:58AM]

If you are looking to do actual serious video editing and not "hey look i own a dv cam and this is my family on vacation" actually buy proper video editing software. Notice his demo's was of family video type stuff.. not "hey we went out and shot a short film or documentary and are gonna edit it using iMovie". iLife is geared towards families and consumer level users, if you are anything more than that consumer level user you are looking at the wrong software. If you are serious about video editing and looking at iMovie you might want to consider looking into a different field. Bitching that iMovie isnt as robust as a Final Cut Express or FCP is like complaining that Garage Band isnt as robust as Pro Tools.

[Xzavier @ Aug 9th 2007 11:17AM]

Bottom line. A tool is only good to the person that knows how to use it!

[Mike @ Aug 9th 2007 11:23AM]

"iMovie 08 is a sodding awesome consumer app, which is exactly what iLife is about."

If it's a consumer app, why does it require a G5?

[peterjohndean1 @ Aug 9th 2007 11:40AM]

As a matter of fact I do have Final Cut Express but it's often unnecessarily complicated to use. 08 offers very easy visual editing but the key feature which seems to be missing is the ability to edit audio independently from the visual. As 08 removes most effects from an imported video edited in earlier versions of iMovie, it means keeping three types of software. What's more, 08 must use a huge amount of disk space (like iPhoto but more)if all clips are stored in one place.

[smilespray @ Aug 9th 2007 12:02PM]

"If it's a consumer app, why does it require a G5?"

Because a G4 doesn't have the horsepower required to play high definition video.

[Hawkman @ Aug 9th 2007 12:23PM]

"The key feature which seems to be missing is the ability to edit audio independently from the visual..."
I can't comment on the audio editing besides what has been released - I know that you can change the volume of individual clips, for instance. I suspect that more detailed control will follow in a future update - whether free or paid - but I don't think that's a serious drawback as fine-grained audio control is not what the app is about any more. I think they've probably made iMovie appeal to a far larger demographic, and I'd encourage those who feel it's now too simplified to really give some of the semi-pro tools out there a chance.

"As 08 removes most effects from an imported video edited in earlier versions of iMovie, it means keeping three types of software."
It's a drawback, but if you're really not an iMovie 08 fan you can happily remove it, of course.

"What's more, 08 must use a huge amount of disk space (like iPhoto but more)if all clips are stored in one place."
Fortunately, it doesn't. You can store video in multiple places. Check out all the information Apple's released about it. :-)

"If it's a consumer app, why does it require a G5?"
Because G4s are ancient technology (seriously - the chip is over 6 years old!). All vaguely recent consumer machines can power it... Remember, iMacs have had G5 or better for 3 years now. Time flies.

[Al @ Aug 9th 2007 7:45PM]

It requires actually a mid-higher end G5. 1.9mhz or higher for the Powermac G5, and 2.0ghz for the iMac. Again funny that FCP can run on a 1.5 Powermac G5.

[West @ Aug 12th 2007 11:04AM]

Mike: "If it's a consumer app, why does it require a G5?"

smilespray: "Because a G4 doesn't have the horsepower required to play high definition video."

Not true. iMovie HD 6 works with HD, and Apple states its requirements as: "High-definition video (HDV) requires 1GHz G4 or faster and a minimum of 512MB of RAM"

[Barry Wiseman @ Aug 9th 2007 10:10AM]

When I bought my mac earlier this year and started toying with iMovie, it became clear prettty quickly that I needed more power- Final Cut Express is such a great program for the price and does so much more. Yet, iMovie has it's place- I still use it to create very quick movies with no fancy editing involved. From what I've seen of iMovie 08, it appears to be targeted towards that user-- quick editing job that's easy to use where you don't need the extra power.

[Matteo @ Aug 9th 2007 10:26AM]

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....

[Dave @ Aug 9th 2007 10:28AM]

I see iMovie 08 as a gigantic revolution in editing. It may take some people longer than others to warm up to this but it's here. Stop thinking about what is missing are start pondering why it needed to be there in the first place.

-Unless you're a professional, audio mixing can be reduced to a set of rules that a computer can handle for you (ducking, fading, normalizing, etc).

-You have a timeline---just more Minority Report and less 1970s.

-Chapter markers have a big future so Apple is getting us to stop thinking of them as chapters (IMHO). See iPhoto Events for more insight.

-Themes maybe but you'll hate them in two weeks because everyone will use the same ones. (Think iWeb 06).

Thats enough for now.

[kodakmoment @ Aug 9th 2007 10:29AM]

Engadget using iMovie? Who would've thought?

[victor @ Aug 9th 2007 10:31AM]

no audio control, seriously? that's wack. themes schmemes, for those of us who don't have an extra $200 floating around, editing out audio gaffs in kid movies just became ludicrous. what's up Apple, did your extensive user testing miss this one? WE USE AUDIO TOOLS! and don't need FCX just to drop down Uncle Harry belching next to the camera during Sally's 2nd birthday. kthxbye.

[Logan5 @ Aug 9th 2007 10:32AM]

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.

[Tritone @ Aug 9th 2007 10:36AM]

Don't worry, people. You can still download the last version of iMovie if you want to:

http://www.macrumors.com/2007/08/08/imovie-6-hd-available-for-download/

[Whiplash @ Aug 9th 2007 10:36AM]

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.

[TVGenius @ Aug 9th 2007 10:42AM]

It looks like it's built over the framwork of Final Cut Server, since that's basically how it works. FCS includes the ability to do basic editing on any Mac or PC on the same network as your FCS box, and is also built around easily manipulating multiple codecs and resolutions in the same project, and allowing you to export in almost any format and resolution you want. Sounds like the engineer Steve referred to just chopped up existing code to do it.

[TVGenius @ Aug 9th 2007 10:43AM]

It looks like it's built over the framework of Final Cut Server, since that's basically how it works. FCS includes the ability to do basic editing on any Mac or PC on the same network as your FCS box, and is also built around easily manipulating multiple codecs and resolutions in the same project, and allowing you to export in almost any format and resolution you want. Sounds like the engineer Steve referred to just chopped up existing code to do it.

[Augustos Morales @ Aug 9th 2007 10:46AM]

@ tehpwnmstr

I said, "GET A ZUNE!"