Video Production with iMovie

Importing Video:

• Connect DV cable (firewire) to camera and USB port on computer
• Turn camera to play mode
• Open iMovie (it will open showing last movie used)
• Create new project OR Choose “File”, “New”
• Name your project
• Save your project into the Movies Folder – NOT YOUR SERVER FOLDER
• Import by clicking the Import button on the viewer
• Always save movies by using “Save project” function – NOT SAVE AS

Moving Clips:

• You will edit clips in the clip view. Go to View - Clip viewer
• Drag your clips from clip holder into clip viewer timeline.
• Click and drag clips around in timeline in the order you want.

Trim Movie Clips:

• It looks best to cut parts that are not needed.
• Select a clip.
• Move the horizontal handles (2 triangles below the Playhead triangle) to highlight the part you want cut. The highlighted section will be yellow.
• Use the delete key OR Edit, Cut to delete the highlighted section.
• You usually delete unwanted sections from beginning or end of clip.

Transitions: How a clip moves into another during your movie

• Select “Editing”
• Choose Transitions
• Click and drag the blue box next to the transition name and place it on timeline between two clips.
• Adjust the Speed slider if the transition is too long for your clips.
  

Titles:

• Select “Editing”
• Choose Titles
• Select title type you want
• A box will appear in the center area for you to type in the information you want in the title
• Double click on the color button to change title color
• Change font by selecting “Family”
• Change font size by moving slider bar horizontally at “Size”
• Change title speed by moving slider bar horizontally at “Speed”
• Check the “Over Black” box to make title over a black clip. If not checked, your title will play over video clip.
• Choose “Add” to make the title changes

Sounds:

• You work with sounds in the audio timeline viewer
• Go to View – Timeline view
• Go to “Media”
• Choose Standard Sound Effects or Skywalker Sounds Effects
• Click and drag sound effect below clip in the timeline. OR
• Move playhead to where you want sound then select sound effect
  and choose “Place at Playhead”
• To adjust volume of sound effect, change from 100% to desired % in the “Clip” box at bottom of iMovie window.
  

Saving:

• Save changes to iMovie by going to File, Save Project
• It will save in the movies folder on your computer
• Do not save movies to your server folder, they are too big.
  

Video Effects: Will add special effects to video clips

• Go to “Editing”
• Select “Video FX”
• Select clip to add effect
• Choose effect and select “apply” to add that effect to clip.

Pictures:

• Select a picture you want to add
• Click and drag picture from saved folder or desktop to timeline
• To change the duration of a picture Go to – Media – Photo – Change Photo Settings
  

Create Still Frame: Make a still picture from video

• Select clip you want to create a still picture and move the playhead to a specific location
• Go to Edit, Create Still Frame
• Still frame picture will be dropped in clip holder
• Drag still picture into timeline wherever you want.
• Still frames can be used anywhere in the movie: for example title area or credit area, etc..
  

Voiceover

• Select the clip for the voiceover
• In the Media window, click on the red record button to begin your recording. The voice track will appear on the audio track under the selected clip.
  

Splitting A Clip: Split a Video or Audio clip into two separate clips

• Select Clip, move playhead to where you want to split clip
• Go to Edit, Split Video Clip at Playhead
• Video clip will be split and a second clip will be put in the timeline
• Use the same procedure for splitting an Audio Clip