iMovie '08 vs Final Cut Express 4

Question

iMovie '08 vs Final Cut Express 4

Sorry - this is probably covered in another thread but I couldn't find it. I am about to jump into converting my Hi8 home movies to DV (using a Canopus ADVC110) and then editing them together to create something nice for my family. I have a MacBook Pro and iMovie '08. I was wondering what Final Cut Express 4 would give me (for $199) that I wouldn't get with iMovie and is it enough to justify the purchase. I've haven't had any luck finding a comparison. Could someone comment or point me in the right direction? Many thanks!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Apr 16, 2008 11:22 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 16, 2008 11:37 AM in response to Paul Oldewurtel

FCE gives you MUCH more control over all aspects of your video, but the learning curve is fairly steep for most people. You can create very nice videos using iMovie and it's much more intuitive. The capabilities of FCE which you'd probably find most useful are the multiple video and audio tracks you can layer overtop of one another (for picture-in-picture, split screen shots, etc.). Again, the learning curve is fairly steep. If this is the only video project you have in mind, then FCE is probably overkill, IMHO.

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Answer 2

Apr 16, 2008 12:08 PM in response to Paul Oldewurtel

Hi(Bonjour)!

iMovie 6 was the better iMovie version IMO. As a iLife 08 owner, you can download the previous iMovie version from apple web site.
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/imovieHD6.html

Did you ever try it?

FCE is a powerfull app, but it's not easy on the first days.

Michel Boissonneault

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Answer 3

Apr 16, 2008 12:40 PM in response to R. Mitchell Fore

Well, I'm a creative person, I'm fairly saavy with software and I enjoy reading technical manuals. So I don't think I'd have a problem learning the software. I especially like the idea of layering videos and audio. Perhaps for some of my more straightforward home movies, FCE would be overkill, but I also love to mess around and create stuff. Perhaps I'll go to the bookstore and check out the books on FCE to see what it can do.

I'm pretty sure you can't do the following in iMovie but can FCE handle this?:

1. Could I take a video and change it's colors - make it all hi-contrast with say white and purple as the main colors, for example? Think of the iPod adds that are almost animation.

2. If there's a portion of the video I like, can I zoom in on it and crop out the surrounding stuff?

3. You mention picture-in-picture and splitshots. Can I take pieces of different vids and lay them out onto one canvas so they all play at the same time, say in different corners of the image?

Thanks!

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Answer 4

Apr 16, 2008 1:13 PM in response to Paul Oldewurtel

Yes to all three questions.

There are several excellent FCE books for $25-30, and I'd encourage you to get one if you go with FCE. Tom Wolsky, regular contributor to this forum, has written one:
Final Cut Express HD 3.5 Editing Workshop (FCE4 version is expected in print shortly)

There's also:
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 4 by Diana Weynand

Both are available on Amazon and come with a DVD containing lessons and sample footage.

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