I'm beginning to get into movie editing, I've only been working with photos with iLife. One quesiton, should I import my videos from my camera into Aperture/iPhoto (which is my program of choice for photos) and then access them via the iPhoto entry in iMovie, or should I just import them directly into iMovie? What are the pros and cons between the two approaches?
Directly into iMovie. That is the application dsigned specifically for video.
iPhoto and Aperture are not.
But how come it would allow me to view clips from the iPhoto/Aperture library? Also, iPhoto/Aperture actually allows me to import videos there?
Feel free to use any of the applications you like.
iMovie is designed for editing video. The others are not.
Just viewing them is another matter entirely.
Yes I understand that. I know that iMovie is designed to edit videos, others are not. But I'm trying to understanding what exactly can you do or not be able to do with one approach over another. I want to know the pros and cons, in order to make an informed decision as to which workflow makes more sense for me. It's important to make the decision right from get get go as I imagine migrating from one workflow to another will be very painful.
I cannot advise you further. When I edit videos I use iMovie. When I work with photographs I use iPhoto and/or GraphicConverter.
I don't run Aperture.
Test a small project in each and judge the results.
Maybe someone else have used both and can comment on the difference. Thanks in advance.
If you want your question to be seen by Aperture users, it might be an idea to also post in the Aperture forum:
https://discussions.apple.com/community/professional_applications/aperture?view= discussions
FWIW I'm no authority but happy to share my biased novice perspective.
Pros for importing into Aperture:
Easy workflow to import everything from my media cards to one location in one step
Very easy browsing and viewing of videos on Apple TV
Easy to create decent slideshows with video within Aperture (see http://support.apple.com/kb/VI179)
I like having both videos and photos of an event or project located in one place instead of having to navigate to a second software program to see if I took any video
Aperture videos are available in the events library in iMovie (because of this I haven't been compelled to import a video directly into iMovie yet)
Cons for importing into Aperture:
If you have permissions or other system issues it can be very difficult and time consuming to get iMovie to recognize Aperture videos (for most this isn't an issue)
Some experienced video editors recommend against managing videos in a software program designed primarily for photos or having it managed at all
My bias comes from being a family guy who uses Apple TV a lot and wants things simple and to spend as little time as I can on the computer. Experienced video enthusiasts can provide a broader and more thorough explanation of the pros and cons. Wish you the best setting up your ideal workflow.
Don't feel bad. I am running into the same issue. I feel like importing into Aperture would allow me to quickly delete all vids sitting on my iphone once they are transferred. From what I can tell, you have to manually delete videos from your iphone. Now...the new iMovie does have a button on the top left of the screen that "views" videos in Aperture. This might be the gap you and I are looking for. Let me know if you have heard back from others on a better solution.
Somebody did post on another board that you will duplicate files if you import into Aperture and then iMovie. Confirming and will let you know what I hear. Workflow into Aperture is much easier since you can delete movies from your phone from the application on the imac.
Should I import to iMovie or Aperture?
