Quartz Effects in iMovie

Question

Quartz Effects in iMovie

Is it possible to add your own quartz composer effects to iMovie 6? If so, Where are they stored? I couldn't find them. Thanks!

G4, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Aug 10, 2006 4:17 PM

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Answer 1

Aug 10, 2006 5:32 PM in response to Cable Ray Wire

Cable Ray Wire,

I confess that I know very little about Quartz Composer.

I've played around with it a little, but it's a bit over my head.

It does appear that you can output your effect to QuickTime movies. Those movies could then be imported into iMovie.

Is that the kind of thing your looking for? Or are you trying to create your own themes?

Matt

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Answer 2

Aug 10, 2006 5:57 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

Themes would be nice, but i doubt that's possible. Those look like motion files. I want use Quartz composer files as i movie plugins, like the ones in the video effects tab in the editing sidebar. It already uses some, so i was wondering if i could add my own. It would be a simple way to make my own plugins. Quartz composer isn't too hard once you figure it out. look at some of the sample to get an idea.

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Answer 3

Aug 10, 2006 6:58 PM in response to Cable Ray Wire

"Themes would be nice, but i doubt that's possible"
It is. Quartz Composer seems to be a tool used in creating them. Just don't ask me how to do it.
As for the Quartz Composer effects. They are buried some where inside the iMovie package.
I just don't know where.
Mat

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Answer 4

Aug 11, 2006 12:23 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

I found it! it's in iMovie HD.app/contents/Resources/ . They're just floating free. They're not in plug-ins. I also found the "PanZoomEngine" for the ken burns effect. So from that i have another related question. (later)
I have a hunch that just dropping in .qtz files won't do any thing, i'll need to edit the plist. Does anyone know which one(s)? Also, can I add an interpolation menu to the ken burns effect? It would be very nice to change the interpolation curve (and tension) straight from iMovie. I'm thinking i'll post a link to this post in the developer forum as the people there will know more about this subject. Thanks!

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Answer 5

Aug 11, 2006 12:33 PM in response to Cable Ray Wire

Cable Ray Wire,

"i'll post a link to this post in the developer forum as the people there will know more about this subject"

That's a good idea!

Moding iMovie itself is well beyond my cut, copy and paste level of expertise!!

🙂

Matt

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Answer 6

Aug 11, 2006 12:41 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

It looks like this will be hacker level stuff. However, if i can find a way to implement and automate it i'll put it on the web so other people can do it. Especially if i can figure out how to change the interpolation style from imovie. It really bugs me some times. But is is nice to have at others so I don't want to turn it off. I know how to do that. Thanks for the help. One more thing- Where's the developer forum?

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Answer 7

Aug 11, 2006 1:25 PM in response to Cable Ray Wire

"Where's the developer forum?"

http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=164

BTW. What do you mean when you say "interpolation style"?

Matt

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Answer 8

Aug 11, 2006 1:45 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

"Shape" Might be a better word then "style". It's one of the options of the interpolation patch in quartz composer. The default is sinusoidal. Some times I don't want that, sometimes i want it just at the start/end and sometimes I want cubic or quadratic. I can change it in quartz composer, but not in iMovie. in the developer tools there's a .qtz file that demonstrates the styles and tension. /Developer/Examples/Quartz Composer/Motion Graphics Compositions/Interpolation Modes.qtz

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Answer 9

Aug 11, 2006 2:05 PM in response to Cable Ray Wire

Is it that little bit of acceleration at the beginning and deceleration at the end of a Ken Burns effect that you are referring to?

If so there are other apps that give a great deal more control. Curves, multiple key frames etc.

http://www.lqgraphics.com/phototomovie.php does it. I've used it as an adjunct to iMovie for years.

Admittedly, not as fun as hacking into iMovie. More expensive too!

Matt

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Answer 10

Aug 11, 2006 2:37 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

Yes that's correct. I've been aware of similar products for a while but haven't tried them yet. I have finalcut pro if i need it, but I'm trying to do this for less advanced friends and just for fun.

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