iMovie
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iMovie '08 Library Compressor
iMovie '08 certainly has sparked debate in Mac circles. Is it a step forward or a step back? Only time, and personal preference, will tell. There is one thing that no one can debate: saving disk space (I am sure someone can argue that since disk is so cheap, why bother but they are the vocal minority). This AppleScript application from iNik converts all those DV clips in your iMovie library into beautiful, efficient H.264 clips (giving you the choice of several different compression levels) which translates to lots of freed up space on your hard drive (your mileage may vary). The application is free but you need to have Quicktime Pro and Apple's Developer Tool installed on your Mac to make it work.
Maybe iMovie '08 isn't such a bad change after all
Many folks who were used to the array of features iMovie '06 offered were understandably upset when iMovie '08 uprooted just about everything they knew. After all, they had the figurative rug pulled out right from under them. Eric at no one sequel, however, doesn't see this as a bad thing. Eric's entire post is definitely worth a read, but to summarize: while iMovie '06 is a good product, it doesn't exactly live up to the Apple and iLife reputation of "just working." iMovie '06 users need to learn a little too much about video editing - time codes, time lines, "rendering", etc. - causing a significant portion of the public to avoid the practice altogether. I agree with Eric - perhaps it isn't Apple's job to bring pro features and workflows to the general user. Instead, maybe it's their job to to eliminate the need for those features to exist in the mind of said user, greatly simplifying the barrier to entry in video editing so that more can use these otherwise complicated tools.By completely rethinking the practice of video editing and redesigning iMovie around the new paradigm, iMovie '08 could perhaps be the first product that really captures the attention of the larger mass that hasn't caught the bug yet (no pun intended). Sure iMovie is lacking a few features everyone can enjoy, such as a few effects and transitions, but users no longer need to learn what a 'timecode' is just to cut together the summer vacation or a cute puppy montage. It's just skim, click and drag and poof - a video.Isn't that the way Apple products are supposed to work?[via Daring Fireball]
iMovie 7.0.1 is available
If you've got iLife '08 installed, check software update. Apple has made version 7.0.1 of iMovie available. While this update won't make it suck less, it does "...address issues associated with publishing to .Mac Web Gallery. It also improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues."It's a 9MB download.Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
David Pogue on iMovie '08: "What the [bleep]!"
iLife '08 buyers have spoken, and Apple has listened: the new iMovie '08 is a major disappointment in some key areas. So much so that Apple decided to provide iMovie '06 as a free download, but it's almost as if they knew this was going to happen, because iMovie '06 is the only iLife app that gets preserved in a backup folder when installing iLife '08. Adding his influential voice to the crowd, David Pogue has penned a new article blatantly titled Apple Takes a Step Back with iMovie '08, and you get three guesses as to how he feels about the new changes. Throughout the article, Pogue repeatedly slams Apple for doing something no other company has in recent memory: update a mature, popular application with a new version that retains almost no resemblance to its predecessors. Pogue even goes so far as to recommend iMovie '08 to have been given a different name, such as FlyMovie, ByeMovie or WhyMovie. Though he does briefly praise the app for a few of its new features - such as skimming (despite its tall resource requirements), unparalleled color correction tools, YouTube sharing and the ability to truly delete portions of a clip you won't be using to reclaim hard drive space - Pogue still tosses his hat into the ring with disgruntled iMovie fans (especially since he's been using it to create all his videos for the New York Times) in asking Apple: "What the [bleep]!"
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.
iMovie '08: Lacks support for plug-ins
A little green and blue birdie has been chirping in our ears about the new iMovie '08. Rewritten from the ground up, it seems to lack support for plug-ins according to this birdie. iMovie '08 offers just a handful of transitions and titles and a single color correction effect. It is nice for putting together basic video but you'll want to keep a copy of iMovie 6 on-hand for more advanced video projects, especially if you've invested in third-party plug-ins. No word from Apple yet on whether they'll update iMovie '08 for third-party plug-ins. Our birdie thinks the lack of plug-in support was an artifact of the new design and not an intentional act by Apple to drop plug-in support.
iMovie '08
iMovie '08 has been completely rewritten from the ground up, at least that's what Steve said at today's media event. Let's take a look at some of the new features:New IconInitially this will be the most visible change, that is until you launch the app. The icon has been changed because the app itself is so different. Makes sense to me.Video LibraryThis is a big change. iMovie has gone from a simple editing program to a catalog of all the video on your Mac, no matter where it is stored. That's right, iMovie will display movies that are on your machine's hard disk or on an external drive. Pretty cool. You can also mark clips as favorites, so you can quickly navigate to your go to clips. Taking a cue from iPhoto '08, iMovie also has Events (it automatically groups clips taken on the same day together).General EnhancementsI know this might seem like a cop out, but the real genius in iMovie '08 isn't the laundry list of new features, but rather how they combine to make movie making faster. The new Video Library uses skimming (think of that is scrubbing through a video clip, but without having to open it in a different viewer) to make setting in and out points a breeze. New transitions, effects, and realtime title rendering also help to make your video go from concept to screen (big, medium, or small screen) in a snap. Sharing has never been easier either. iMovie allows you to upload you completed masterpiece to YouTube, or your .Mac account with a few clicks.
World of Warcraft Mac client adds builtin movie capture
Some of you might already know that I do some other blogging work on another Weblogs, Inc. blog called WoW Insider, all about World of Warcraft, the MMORPG videogame. Most gaming companies tend to shy away from the Mac, but Blizzard has always been the exception. And with World of Warcraft, there are actually huge benefits to playing the game on a Mac. A while ago they added builtin iTunes controls (right into the official client), and as of the upcoming patch (now available for players to play around with on a public test), they've actually created an ingame movie recorder-- only for the WoW Mac client.It's a pretty well done feature, too. WoW Insider's Paul Sherrard took the recorder for a test drive, and created what you see above (after a little bit of iMovie fiddling). The options are pretty impressive for an ingame vid capture as well-- you can control whether the UI or cursor is seen or not, and you even get a choice of codecs (including H.264, Pixlet, or Motion JPEG). Very nice. Whoever's working on the Mac team at Blizzard really knows what they're doing, and is definitely giving Mac users the hookup on cool exclusive features.Thanks Mark, who also sent this in!
WoW 2.2 Mac client in-game video capture
It really seems like Blizzard is taking leaps and strides in their efforts to support some of the fun things we've been doing outside of the game and putting them actually *in* the game.When I read the patch notes and saw that the Mac client was getting in-game video recording, I immediately started my PTR client download. I was not to be disappointed. With the new "Mac Options", I can choose the resolution to record at (600x400 in this case), the framerate, and the compression. I left these as defaults, but chose to turn off the UI, cursor, and sound.Click through for a little more about the process for making the video, or just watch the video above to get an impression of what in-game recording is like.
Ask TUAW: MacBook Pros, iMovie Export, Shuffle Autofill, Windows Gaming and more
This week in Ask TUAW we have questions about the MacBook Pros, exporting from iMovie, Autofill for the Shuffle, Windows gaming on an iMac, and more. Remember new Mac users and Switchers who are enjoying our Mac 101 series should feel very welcome to post questions for Ask TUAW; we're happy to have them. As always, please submit your questions for next week by commenting on this post.
Slick updates iMovie plugins for QuickTime 7.1.5
Hey iMovie users, if your GeeThree/Slick iMovie plugins stopped working with the QuickTime 7.1.5 update, you might want to pop over to GeeThree and download these updates for those plugins that were affected by the upgrade. The update addresses problems with Flash, with Intel Macs and the WildFX titles on PAL systems.
Simple voice-over narration with Ishmael
Ishmael is a basic application for easily creating voice-over narration for still photos and images, and then exporting your final product as a QuickTime video. So if you need to whip up a quick presentation, or want to make up a little story about a recent trip this is the app for you.Ishmael supports images from iPhoto albums or PDF files as its source, which can then be dubbed over and encoded as an actual QuickTime file. You can then take that video output and include it in an iMovie or Final Cut Pro project, or even export it back to iPhoto. Ishmael supports most Core Audio-compatible input devices, and includes multiple video encoding formats, and it even features Apple Remote support. Note, however, that it requires iPhoto 6.0, QuickTime 7.0, and OS X 10.4. Give the free demo a go and it will cost you $30 for the full package. Unfortunately, I'm running 10.3.9 (shock!), so I can't give this guy a test spin, but there are video samples linked on the official Ishamel website.
GeeThree posts free iMovie video rotation plug-in
Bruce Gee, of Slick iMovie plug-in fame, just posted a new free plug-in at his GeeThree site. The plug-in lets you rotate video clips within iMovie, a nice feature to have since usually I head over to QuickTime Pro to deal with video orientation. To install, you'll need to download, unzip and move the plug-in into (your home folder)/Library/iMovie/Plug-ins. It will appear in the Slick Sampler collection in your Video FX iMovie pane. You can also download 10 additional free iMovie plug-ins from the Slick Transitions and Effect Sampler at GeeThree.
The dreaded iMovie: "Your project is unreadable" error
With [insert your preferred holiday here] fast approaching, I'm sure many of you will be dusting off the trusty video cam and shooting hours and hours of home movies, with the goal of subjecting your family and friends with tedious hysterical clips, for years to come. Once you've captured all the merriment, most of you will probably use iMovie to edit your work. You'll spend days, if not weeks, clipping here and there, adding effects and transitions and titles and picking the perfect soundtrack and getting the timing of that Ken Burns effect just right. You'll finally finish, at 3 in the morning, and finally settle into bed, content that your flick is masterpiece on par with It's a Wonderful Life. But in the morning you'll realize you forgot something. That mole on Aunt Mary's chin is pretty scary and even iPhoto's "retouch" tool couldn't hide it, so maybe you should soften up those frames to make your film a little more kid-friendly.So you drag yourself out of bed and head back to your iMac, open iMovie and BAM! Instead of your project opening so you can jump right in to edit, you get an error message. iMovie exclaims "Your project is unreadable." You try again. But it taunts you. "Your project is unreadable" You reboot the computer, because that's always a magical cure-all. But no... "Your project is STILL unreadable."Personally, I'm more familiar with the "Your project is unwatchable" message - but that's after I've shown the movie. Let's face it, both situations can leave you feeling quite helpless. While there's no going back for me, there is still a chance for you to recover.Head over to Apple's support pages and bring up article # 93222: iMovie: "Your project is unreadable" Message. There, you'll find tips for salvaging your many hours of hard work and getting your film back in the can. Here's a recap, for your convenience:
Gee Three releases Slick plug-in updates
Good news for iMovie 6 users. Gee Three has updated several of their Slick plug-in volumes. These plug-ins add all sorts of visual effects to iMovie for the amateur video enthusiast. Apparently, the reason for the updates is that the iMovie/QuickTime interface wasn't too happy handling flash animations. The Gee Three developers created work-arounds for the affected volumes, namely volumes 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. If you've bought any of these products, you can download the Slick 2.0.2 updates at the GeeThree site.
Use iMovie to remove iTMS DRM
This tip has apparently been around for quite a while, but the indispensable macosxhints just discovered it today, and I thought I'd share the love. It turns out that, using iMovie and at least one picture/video file, you can chose a couple of specific export options to crank out a DRM-free AIFF file from any of your iTMS songs. Bringing this file back into iTunes, of course, re-converts and compresses it to your bidding. It might be a roundabout solution, but if you can export more than one song per iMovie project (anyone care to try?), I bet this could turn out to be a bit easier than burning all those CDs.Check out macosxhints for the full instructions on using iMovie to de-DRM your tracks.
iLife 06 Hot Tips are actually pretty handy
I saw a del.icio.us/popular bookmark fly past NetNewsWire for the GarageBand 3 Hot Tips section of Apple's site, and wondered if Apple started posting tricks in those pages that might actually be useful. Sure enough - they have. Check out the Hot Tips sections for iWeb, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD and GarageBand. I never knew, for example, that you could simply drag a clip from iMovie's clip bin or even timeline onto the QuickTime icon in the Dock to export and re-encode said clip. How about that musical typing keyboard in GarageBand, or the app's ability to tune your guitar or bass? These Hot Tips pages probably have a little something for all levels of iLife users, but feel free to post your own hidden gems that you've found if you think Apple missed something.
Apple releases iLife video tutorials
The tireless folks on the iLife team at Apple have released a very nice set of video tutorials for each of the suite's applications. You can browse the videos by topic, and move through each step-by-step clip easily. It's a great place to start getting you hands dirty with the iApps. Check it out (and go create something!).[Via Macworld UK]
Software Update: iLife 06 Applications
Apple pushed out some updates to iLife 06 this afternoon via Software Update. iMovie, iWeb, iPhoto, and iDVD all recieved updates; the most significant appearing to be iWeb, which is bumped to version 1.1 and "adds comment and search support for blogs and podcasts published to .Mac," and also "addresses a variety of usability and performance issues for all users, including image management fixes to improve site load performance."
macTV posts my least favorite Apple ad
Remember "Middle Seat," the ad that featured an iBook-wielding airline passenger? For some inexplicable reason, he decides he's just got to work on his iMovie project during the flight, and he commandeers the dining trays of the poor people sitting on his left and right, which he immediately fills with his computer, camera, Palm (why he needs this is a mystery) and stacks of CDs. Finally, he blasts his music and wakes the sleeping passengers. "Middle Seat" indeed. I've always thought of this ad as "Obnoxious Jerk." I like to think that, in the moments just after the story ended, the guy in the tie gave this kid a pounding.Check it out for yourself.
