My iMovie 08 Review & Bullet Points (Positive News)

So much has been said about the lack of features in iMovie 08, that I thought I would generate my comments about it. After spending much time with both programs, none of them are quite right. But, fleshing out iMovie 08 would be the direction I would want to go. Believe it or not, after doing (3) clips in 08, this week, it was much tougher to go back to iMovieHD today.

I already know the differences between the two, so I am limiting this discussion to the strengths of what it can do.

Here are some of them:

1. Multiple layering of audio tracks is an outstanding feature:

Not only can they be multiple, but they can be stacked in order of sonic preference to the overall soundtrack. If you watch my clips, you will see why layering is important to me. And you can also split a sound track and change its volume. The interface makes layering audio far more like FCP, in that you see the progression of your layers as deep as you need them. You can trim the audio, change its overall level, and even split the audio tracks.

2. Hardware TRANSITIONS rendering on Intel macs:

No longer do you need to wait for 10-40 cross dissolves to render. It's instant the moment you drop it in the "view line". (My name for 08's timeline). You can drop any effect and it appears instantly. And, if you enable ADVANCED TOOLS in the iMovie08 preferences, you can modify any transition individually, rather than globally.

3. Hardware TITLES rendering on Intel macs:

This is a huge plus. You can change your titles layout on the fly. Change the text, review it, change it again till your heart's content. It's immediate. No more accidental deletion of titles overlaid on top of your video content.

4. Non destructive video clip editing:

This again is a big improvement. When advanced tools is activated under Preferences, you can actually tune both ends of any clip. Extend the beginning or extend the end. Even AFTER you've cut the clip and dropped it into your "View Line". What's more, the original clip is always there for you to use in the "Event" pane. You can use it several times in your project without copying and pasting it over and over again. This is one of the advantages of having a media browser.

5. Consistant media browser:

No more empty holes left in your clips pallet (iMovieHD) as you drop them in your timeline. No more scrolling to find what is still there. It is always there.

6. Direct Clip Trimming:

You can shorten AND lengthen a clip directly in your "View Line". The power part is the lengthen- because what if you JUST need a 1/2 second more of a clip? Just stretch it 1/2 second more and you are done. No more finding the original clip, re-editing it in the player, deleting the original from the timeline and dropping the new one in. Non destructive "View Line" editing is a big plus and time saver.

7. Direct Event Clips/Project Clips Editing:

While you drag the yellow border around your clip, you'll see the amount of seconds change on the right side of your clip. You can precisely control the amount of seconds you want in that clip-- AND where it starts and stops. Without going into a separate window to do it. Just press the SPACE bar to preview that trimmed clip alone. Happy with it? Drag that highlighted clip into your "View Line". Your editing length will be intact without cutting up the original which still remains in your events pane.

8. Single Interface/Single Mode Methodology:

Multiple EVENTS (clips imported) and MULTIPLE projects (movies that are in production) exist altogether in one interface. Power Feature: If I want to borrow a clip from ANOTHER project, I simply select that event from the Event library and drop it into my current project. This then, behaves quite a bit like Apple's own Aperture and iPhoto.

9. Keyword Video Clip Organization:

If I'm producing a nature video for sale (which I often do), I can keyword all my clips with tags like SNOW, STILL WATER, MOVING WATER, BIRDS, OCEANS, etc. I may just need that ONE chirping bird clip I took a year ago. I now can easily find it and drop it into my new project for testing. WOW!

10. Sorting and Rejecting Clips:

With large projects, you can get lost in the minutia. Now, I can simply tag "reject" on specific clips I don't want to look at. As well, I can tag a Favorite that I don't want to miss. On top of the keywording function, this makes iMovie08 a very powerful organizational tool.

11. Real Time Clip Scrubbing:

The ability to scrub across a single clip image to review its' contents is absolutely amazing. You can fine tune your content that way without opening up a player window each time. And you STILL can do that. This helps me plan the LAYOUT of my project without the commitment of editing first. A real time saver- and because all clips are non-destructive, you can re-edit a single clip at anytime without damaging your original project.

12. Advanced Color Correction with White Balance:

Now, you can shift your white balance after the fact on any individual clip. Just use the eye dropper tool to accomplish this. Better yet, have a grey card handy in the first 3 seconds of your shoot so that you have a white balance you can reference in post production.

I've talked about my experiences with iMovie 08 at length here. This is an entirely new platform- and I don't think of it as a light program or a beginner's program at all. In fact, it is quite sophisticated. There is room for allot of the functionality that was left behind, but that too will come.

Delve into the program itself, and you'll find that this is a serious upgrade to iMovieHD. Much of the features are yet to come, but this platform is simply amazing.

Clint