iMovie ‘08 Basics

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iMovie ‘08 is a completely redesigned version of the video editing application included in iLife. iMovie ’08
has a single library that allows you to gather video from many different sources and devices in one place.
You can also group together all the clips from a single event, such as a wedding, vacation or birthday
party. With the new “skimming” feature, you can quickly review your video to find the best moments to
use in your movie. As with previous versions of iMovie, you can make your movie more interesting by
adding background music, voice narration, titles, and transitions. There’s no need to save your project as
you work on it. iMovie ’08 automatically saves your work. The finished movie can be shared with other
people on the web, or it can be exported into a format that can be played on an iPod or a TV through Ap-
ple TV. This guide covers the features of version 7.1.

1 2 3

5 6 7

The iMovie Interface 5. The Project Library lists all the projects you
1. The Event Library lists every Event you’ve have created.
created to organize video clips into useful 6. The Project area shows how your clips are
categories. arranged in your project.
2. The Source area shows the clips in your 7. The Browsers allow you to access music, still
Events, which you can then add to a project. images, titles, and transitions by clicking on the
3. The Viewer allows you to preview your video. appropriate button. To open a Browser, click
This is also where you crop video or still im- on one of the buttons on the right side of the
ages. toolbar.
4. The Toolbar has buttons for most common
tasks available in the menus.

Created by Luis Perez

Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Importing Video from a Camera 8. Set the rocker button to Automatic if you want
There are several ways to import video into to capture the entire tape or Manual if you
iMovie ’08. iMovie ’08 supports the following de- want to capture only part of the tape. When
vices: you choose Automatic, iMovie will rewind the
• Firewire-equipped camcorders that use tapes. tape, capture all the video on it, and rewind it
• DVD, hard disk, or flash memory camcorders again. When you choose Manual you can
that connect to the computer using USB. use VCR-type controls to preview the video
• digital still cameras that can record short video and choose where you want the import to be-
clips. gin.
• iSight cameras built into a new Mac or con- 9. Click on Import. A popup window will ask you
nected through a Firewire cable. to choose a save location and the Event
where you want the video to be saved.
To import video from a Firewire equipped cam- Events allow you to group all clips from a sin-
corder into iMovie: gle event, such as a wedding, birthday party,
1. Launch iMovie by clicking on its icon in the or graduation.
Dock (it looks like a star). iMovie should open
up to the last project you worked on.
2. Select File > New Project... to create a new
project.
3. Enter a Project Name and select a size:
• Standard: produces a movie for viewing on
a regular TV or on the web. When viewed
on a high definition TV the video will have
black space on the sides, known as “pillar
box”. 10. To add the video to an existing event, click on
the Add to existing Event button and choose
• iPhone: produces a movie for viewing on an
iPhone. one of the events listed in the pulldown menu.
To add the video to a new event, click the
• Widescreen: produces a movie for viewing
on a high definition TV. When viewed on a Create new Event button and replace the de-
regular TV there will be black space above fault Event name with your own. There is
and below the video, known as “letterbox”. also a checkbox that allows you to split the
4. Click on Create. The new project will be video into separate events based on the day
listed in the Project Library. when it was shot.
11. Click on OK once you’ve made your selec-
tions.
12. iMovie will start importing your video. You will
see the video play as it is imported. You can
By default, the Project Library is in the upper click on the Stop button at any time to stop
left area of the window, but you can switch its the import. You may see a popup window
location to the bottom by clicking on the informing you of the amount of video im-
Swap events and projects button. ported.
5. Connect your camcorder to your computer 13. Click on Done to close the Import window
using a Firewire cable and make sure it is when you’re finished. You can then turn off
turned on and in the correct mode for trans- your camera and disconnect it from the com-
ferring video (this will depend on your model puter.
but is usually Play/VCR).
6. The Import window should open. If it Importing video from other types of video cam-
does not, click on the Import button or eras, such as hard drive and Flash memory
select File > Import from Camera. based cameras, will work in a similar way.
7. Make sure your camera is selected in the
Camera pulldown menu. To record video using an iSight camera, select the
iSight camera using the Camera pulldown menu
in the Import window and proceed as described

Created by Luis Perez

Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
above (the only difference is that you will click on • Merge two Events - hold down the Command
Capture instead of Import to begin recording). key as you select the Event names in the Event
Library, then choose File > Merge Events.
• Split an Event - click on the video clip you want
To import video from a digital still camera: to make the first clip in the new Event and
1. Connect your still digital camera to the com- choose File > Split Event Before Selected Clip.
puter using a USB cable and turn it to the cor- • Delete an Event - right-click or Control-click on
rect mode (this will vary by model but will the Event name and select Move Event to
usually be Play). Trash.
2. iPhoto will open to the Import window, which
will show all the video clips on the digital If you try to delete an Event that has clips being
camera. used in a project you will see an alert window.
3. Enter an Event name and a description (op- Choose Delete Unused to delete only the clips in
tional). that Event that are not being used in a project.
4. Choose the video clips you want to import
(you can choose several clips by holding Previewing Source Video
down the Command key as you click on When you select an Event in the Event Libary, the
them) and click on Import Selected, or click video clips in that Event are displayed in the
on Import All to import all clips. Source area as filmstrips. Each thumbnail in the
5. In iMovie, you can view the clips by clicking filmstrip is 5 seconds of video by default. A jag-
on iPhoto Videos in the Event Library. ged edge indicates that the clip continues on a
new line in the display.
Importing Video from a Hard Drive
You can also import movies already on your com- You can expand or contract the filmstrip to change
puter or even old iMovie HD projects: the number of thumbnails by using the slider at
• To import a video from your hard drive, choose the bottom of the Source area. This does not
File > Import Movies and find the movies you change the video in any way, it just changes the
want to import on your hard drive. When you view.
import a movie from a hard drive, you can de-
lete the original after it is copied into iMovie ’08
or leave it intact in its original location. As you hover over a clip in the Source area with
• To import an iMovie HD project, choose File > your cursor, a red “skimming” line will appear.
Import iMovie HD Project. Move the skimming line back and forth to preview
your video in the Viewer.
Events
Events allow you to group video into useful
named categories, even if the video is imported
from different sources. Events are listed in the
Event Library by the year and month in which they
were created (choose these options in the View You can preview the video and sound at varying
menu). To sort your Events by the hard drive speeds by changing the speed at which you move
where they’re stored, click on the Events by Vol- the skimming line. To preview just the video, click
ume button. on the Audio skimming on/off button.

There are several ways to preview a source clip

at normal speed in the Viewer:
• click on the Play button in the toolbar below the
Event Library to view the video clip from the
beginning.
There are a number of things you can do with • double-click anywhere on a clip to start play-
Events: back from that point, or
• Rename an Event - double-click on its name • move the skimming bar until it is at the point
and enter a new name. where you want to start playback and press the
Space Bar on your keyboard.
Created by Luis Perez
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
To stop playback, click once anywhere in the
iMovie window, press the Play button again, or
press the Space Bar.
Using the Show pulldown menu, you can filter
To preview your video in full screen mode, click your video as follows:
on the Full Screen button in the toolbar below the
Event Library. A strip at the bottom of the full
screen mode will allow you to skim the clip as well • All Clips: shows all video without any filters.
as pause and resume playback. To exit full • Favorites and Unmarked: the default view which
screen mode and stop playback, press the Es- shows all video marked as favorite or left un-
cape key or click on the X in the strip. marked.
• Favorites: shows only video marked as favorite.
The same techniques can be used to preview • Rejected Only: shows video marked for dele-
video once it has been added to a project, but you tion.
will use the toolbar below the Project Library in-
stead of the one below the Event Library. To delete video once it has been marked as Re-
jected, choose Rejected Only from the Show
Making Selections menu and then click on the Move Rejected to
You do not have to use an entire clip in your pro- Trash button.
ject. To select just a portion of a clip:
1. Click once on the clip to display a yellow se-
lection area. By default, this area represents
4 seconds of video, but this can be changed Enhancing Video
in the iMovie preferences. iMovie ’08 allows you to enhance your video in
2. To expand or contract the selection, click on two ways: you can crop it, or you can enhance the
the edge of the selection area when the cur- lighting and colors.
sor changes to a bar with a double arrow and
drag. To crop your video:
1. Click on the Crop button in the toolbar and
then click on a clip to select it.
2. Click on Crop in the viewer to display a green
box.
3. To recenter the selection area, place your 3. Drag the handles on the green box to resize
cursor over the top part of the selection area it, or drag the box and reposition it to change
(until it changes to a hand with a double ar- the area that will be cropped.
row) and drag the selection area to another 4. To preview the cropped video, click on the
location in the clip. Play button in the Viewer (click the Space Bar
to stop playback).
If you do want to select the entire clip, hold down 5. To undo a crop, click on the Fit button.
the Option key and click on the clip. To select 6. When you’re finished making your selectiion,
multiple clips, hold down the Command key on click on Done and the video will be cropped
your keyboard as you click on the clips you want (this will affect the entire clip).
to select.
To enhance the color and lighting:
Marking and Sorting Clips 1. Click on the Adjust Video button and then
To mark a selection as a favorite, click on the click on a clip to select it.
Mark Selection as Favorite button (black star). 2. Click on Auto to have iMovie make automatic
This will place a green bar at the top of the se- adjustments for you.
lected video to let you know it is marked as a fa- 3. Use the sliders to make manual adjustments
vorite. Click on the Unmark Selection button to the exposure, brightness, contrast, and
(white star) to undo this action. To mark video for saturation. You can also use the histogram to
deletion, click on the Reject Selection button (X). adjust the tonal range (dragging the slider
This will place a red bar at the top of the selected from the right makes the video brighter by
video to let you know it has been rejected.
Created by Luis Perez
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
 adding white, while dragging from the left 1. Click on the Adjust Audio button and click on
makes it darker by adding black). the first clip to select it.
4. Click on Revert to Original if you need to undo 2. Click on Normalize Clip Volume to set the
your changes. volume of that clip to 100% without distortion.
5. Click on Done to accept your changes. 3. Click on the second clip and click on Normal-
ize Clip Volume again to even out the volume
Trimming levels across the two clips.
Trimming allows you to remove unwanted frames 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for any other clips you
from the beginning or end of a clip. To trim a clip: want to normalize and click on Done when
1. Hover over the clip with your cursor until the you’re finished.
trimming control is displayed. 5. To undo the normalization, open up the Adjust
2. Click on the trimming control to dispaly an Audio window and choose Undo Normaliza-
orange bar at the beginning or end of the tion or Revert to Original.
video.
3. Drag on the edge of the orange bar to trim the Adding Video to a Project
clip. A timecode will appear to let you know To add video to a project:
the number of frames you’re adding or remov- 1. Click on a video clip and select the frame
ing, as well as the new duration of the clip. range you want to add to the project.
2. Click the Add to Project button in the iMovie
Another way to trim a clip is by selecting and toolbar (you can also drag the source clip
choosing Edit > Trim... This will display the Trim from the Event Library into the Project Li-
Clip window, showing you the entire clip with your brary).
selection. The grayed out area of the clip is the 3. Continue selecting video and adding it to your
part that will be trimmed when you click on Done. project.
You can adjust the part you’ll keep by dragging on 4. To change the order of clips in the Project
the edges of the selection. Library, drag and drop the clips around until
they are in the order you want.
Enhancing Audio
To change the volume level of a clip: To preview your project, use the techniques de-
1. Click on the Adjust Audio button and then scribed in the Previewing Source Video section
click on a clip to select it. above. iMovie automatically saves your project
2. Use the Volume slider to adjust the volume as you work. You can undo every change you
level of the clip. Check the box next to Re- make to the project until you close the project.
duce the volume of other tracks to automati-
cally lower the volume of background music, Still Images
audio effects, or any other sound that would To add still photos to a project:
play at the same time as the selected clip 1. Click on the Photos button in the toolbar.
(this feature is called “ducking”). Use the 2. Choose a photo to add to your project and
Ducking slider to control the amount of duck- drag it into the Project area.
ing applied to the other tracks when the cur- 3. To adjust the Ken Burns effect, which adds
rent track plays back. motion to still images, click on the crop icon in
3. iMovie ’08 automatically adds fade in and the corner of a still image in the Project area.
fade out effects to your clips. To adjust the The Ken Burns controls will be visible in the
duration of a fade in or a fade out, click on Viewer.
Manual, then use the sliders to change the
duration.
4. Click on Done to apply your changes, or on
Revert to Original to undo the volume adjust-
ment.

Normalization allows you to match the volume

levels across several clips. To normalize the vol-
ume in several clips:

Created by Luis Perez

Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
4. To change the zoom level at the start of the change the start and end points for the music.
effect, drag the corners of green Start box to The video will play in the Viewer to help you
resize it. To change the direction of the effect, make this adjustment.
drag the Start box to another area of the win- 6. Click on Done when you’re finished trimming
dow. The yellow arrow will let you know the the music.
direction in which the motion will take effect.
5. To change how the effect will end, repeat step To add a sound effect:
4 with the red End box. 1. Open the Music and Sound Effects Browser
6. Click on Done to set the effect when you’re and click on the disclosure triangle next to
finished. iMovie ’08 Sound Effects or iLife Sound Ef-
7. To change the duration of a still image, click fects to display the available sound effects.
on the Duration icon (visible when you hover 2. Choose a sound effect and drag it into the
over the still image in the Project area), enter Project area until it is over a video clip and
a new time in seconds in the popup window, you see the skimming bar. When you find the
and click on OK. location in the video where you want the
sound effect to start, release your mouse.
The sound effect will be displayed as a green
icon below the clips.

8. To change the default duration of still images, 3. To trim the sound effect, drag on the edges of
choose File > Project Properties and use the the icon to resize it. To remove the sound
slider to adjust the default duration. effect, click on the icon and press the Delete
key on your keyboard.
To create a still image from a single frame in your
video clip, place your playhead on the frame you Voiceovers
want to use, right-click and choose Add Still To record voiceover narration in iMovie ’08:
Frame to Project. The still image will be added to 1. Click on the Voiceover button in the toolbar
the end of your project. to open the Voiceover window.
2. Choose a recording device using the Re-
Music and Sound Effects cord From pulldown menu.
To add background music to a project: 3. Adjust the volume as needed using the Input
1. Clcik on the Music and Sound Effects button Volume slider.
in the toolbar. 4. Use the Noise Reduction slider to reduce am-
2. Click on the disclosure triangle next to iTunes bient noise in your recording.
or Garageband in the Music and Sound Ef- 5. When you’re ready to record, click on a clip in
fects browser to see the songs available in your project where you want to start your
each of those programs. voiceover (as marked by the skimming bar).
3. Choose an iTunes or Garageband song that iMovie will show a counter to let you get ready
you want to use. Click on the Play button at and a Recording indicator in the Viewer will
the bottom of the browser to preview it. let you know that you’re recording.
4. Drag the song file from the Browser to an 6. Press the Space Bar to stop recording. The
empty area of the Project area. The song is recording will display as a purple icon under-
displayed as a green backbround surrounding neath the clip.
the clips in the project. A music indicator will
display after the last clip if the music is longer
than the video.
5. To trim the music so it fits the video, click on 7. To change the duration of the voiceover, click
the green background to select the music and on the purple icon to select it and drag on one
choose Edit > Trim Music. This will open the of its edges. To remove the voiceover, select
Trim Music window which shows the icon and press the Delete key on your
the waveform that makes up the keyboard.
sound file. The pink area of the 8. Close the Voiceover window when you’re
waveform shows where there is done recording voiceovers.
video. Drag the yellow bars to
Created by Luis Perez
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Titles transition to last in the dialog box.
To add a title to your movie: 7. Choose whether you want to apply the
1. Click on the Titles button in the toolbar. change to the currently selected transitioin or
2. Choose a title style and drag it over a clip in to all transitions in your project.
the Project area. 8. Click on OK.
3. When you hover the clip a portion of the clip
will be shaded in purple (this will let you know Sharing
how much of the clip will include the title: the To share your movies with others you have to ex-
first third, the entire clip, or just the last third). port them out of iMovie using one of the options in
Drop the title into the clip when you see the the Share menu.
purple shading over the portion of the clip you
want to use. The title will be added as a blue To share your movie for use on an iPod, iPhone,
icon over the clip. or Apple TV:
1. Choose Share > iTunes.
2. When the Publish window opens, click on one
of the sizes (Tiny, Mobile, Medium or Large).
4. To edit the title, make sure the blue title icon The blue dots will let you know what devices
is selected. A preview of the title will be dis- your movie will play on with the size you’ve
played in the Viewer. Click on the place- chosen. On the right, you will see the dimen-
holder text to enter your own text. sioins of your movie in pixels.
5. Click on the Show Fonts button to open the 3. When you are ready to export, click on Pub-
Fonts window where you can change the lish. After a short wait (depending on your
color, size, font family and other properties. movie length and the speed of your computer)
6. Click on Done when you’re done editing your the movie should open in iTunes so you can
title text. play it.
7. To change the duration of the text, click on the
blue icon and drag on one of its edges (a title The other options in the Share menu work in a
can span several clips). similar way and are as follows:
• Media Browser: will make the movie available to
To create a title over black, drag a title style from other programs such as iWeb or iDVD. To ac-
the Titles browser and drop it at the beginning or cess the movie in one of those programs, click
end of your project (so it is not over a clip) on the Media button in that program . This op-
tion will also place a copy of the exported movie
Transitions in the Project Library in iMovie.
To add a transition between two clips: • YouTube: this option will allow you to log into
1. Click the Transitions button in the toolbar to your YouTube account so you can upload the
bring up the Transitions browser. movie in the correct size for that website. You
2. As you hover over a transition in the browser can also add tags (the same as keywords) and
the thumbnail will display a preview of what it a description.
does. • .Mac Web Gallery: allows you to log into your
3. When you find a transition you like, drag it .Mac account where you have up to 10GB of
into the Project area and drop it between two space to store your movies.
clips. The transition will display as a black
box with a white circle inside of it. For each of these exporting options, you have the
4. To preview the transition, skim through the option of removing the movie. With YouTube and
video beginning with the clip right before the .Mac this will delete the movie so it’s no longer
transition. To delete a transition, click on the available online.
black transition marker to select it and press
the Delete key on your keyboard. To access more advanced options (such as cus-
tom compression settings) choose Share > Export
To change the duration of a transition: Using Quicktime.
5. Click on a transition to select it and choose
Edit > Set Duration.
6. Enter the number of seconds you want your
Created by Luis Perez
Last Updated: Wednesday, August 29, 2007