Using iMovie and Still Photos
to make a Movie
Presented: July 27, 2004
by Al Seper
by Al Seper
We have expanded Al Seper's original presentation, to give you more detailed help and instructions. There are three parts; click on any of the following links to go directly to that part, or just scroll down to see all of them:
Basic Introduction to iMovie
Zooming and Panning Still Photos in iMovie
The Frills: adding Transitions, Titles, Sound, and Special Effects
Basic Introduction to iMovie
iMovie is one of the iLife series of applications. This means that it
fully integrates with both iPhoto and iTunes. If you are already
somewhat familiar with iPhoto and iTunes, iMovie can be very easy to
work with.
When iMovie first opens, you see a window that looks like this:
A iMovie monitor: Watch your clips play in this window. You can play clips that are in the Clips pane or the clip viewer.
B Scrubber bar: Drag the playhead along the scrubber bar to move through a clip frame by frame. The number near the playhead indicates how far (minutes:seconds:frames) the selected frame is into the movie.
C Mode switch: Click to switch between camera mode and edit mode. Use camera mode to transfer your raw video into the computer, or to transfer your finished movie back to tape. Use Edit mode to work on your movie.
D Playback controls: Use these controls to skip to the beginning of a selected clip, play the clip in the iMovie monitor, or play the clip full screen on your computer's monitor.
E Volume slider: Slide this control to change the volume of the computer's speaker while you work in iMovie. This won't change the volume levels in your video or audio clips.
F Pane buttons: Click these buttons to see the different panes of the iMovie window. See a description of each pane later in this document.
G Trash: Drag unwanted clips to the Trash icon to delete them. You can restore cropped video and audio from the iMovie Trash if you haven't emptied it.
H Disk space indicator: Monitor your free disk space as you work. You should always have about 2 GB free disk space for optimal performance of iMovie. When this bar turns yellow, you are starting to run low on disk space. When it turns red, you must free up some space to continue working on your movie.
B Clips: Each section of video footage and any still images you import are called clips.
C Transition marker: Transition markers indicate that two clips are linked by a transition.
A Timeline viewer button: Click the timeline viewer button to switch from the clip viewer.
B Video track: Select clips in this track to add motion effects.
C Audio tracks: Place and arrange audio clips in these tracks to synchronize audio and video clips. Deselecting the checkbox to the right of the track mutes all the audio clips in that track.
D Timeline Zoom: Move the slider to make clips appear larger or smaller in the timeline.
E Clip speed slider: Select a video clip and drag this slider to make the clip play faster or slower.
F Edit Volume: Select this checkbox to see the volume level bar for all clips. Move the slider to raise or lower the volume of a selected clip or clip segment.
G Volume level bar: Click this bar to add markers, then drag the markers to adjust the volume for sections of audio clips. You can use this to make audio fade in or fade out.
H Audio checkboxes: Select a checkbox to hear the audio in its track. Deselect it to mute the track.
 |
A
Clip name:
Each clip is assigned a unique file name. You can change the name to something
more meaningful to you. You can drag a clip from the Clips pane to the clip viewer to add it to
your movie. B Duration: The length of a video or audio clip is read as minutes:seconds:frames. For example, 01:08:15 is 1 minute, 8 seconds, and 15 frames into the movie. |
|
A
iPhoto pop-up menu:
Choose your iPhoto library or an iPhoto album from this menu to view
and select photographs. You can drag a photograph from the Photos pane to the clip viewer to add it to your movie. B Preview monitor: Use this monitor to set up and preview effects for a selected photograph. C Ken Burns Effect: Use these controls to set up pan and zoom effects for your photographs. Turn the effect off or on by selecting or deselecting the Ken Burns Effect checkbox. Click Start and Finish to set which part of the photo is showing at the beginning and end of the effect. Use the Zoom slider to set the zoom. D Reverse: Click to reverse the direction of the pan and zoom effect. E Preview: Click to see how the effect looks in the preview monitor. F Apply: When you have the effect the way you want, click this button to apply the effect to the photograph. This creates a new clip in the Clips pane that you can add to your movie. G Duration: Move the slider to set how many seconds the photograph remains in view.
|
|
A
Audio pop-up menu:
Choose the source from which you want to import music or audio.
You can choose a track from your iTunes library or a music CD, or an
iMovie sound effect. You can drag a sound effect or iTunes music from
the list to the timeline viewer to add it to your movie. B Search field: Type some words from a title to search for a particular audio file in your iTunes library. C Play: Click the button to play or pause a selected track. D Place at Playhead: Click the button to import a selected track into your movie. The imported track appears in one of the audio tracks in the timeline viewer. E Record/Stop: Click the button to record a voiceover or other sound through your computer's built-in microphone or an external microphone. The input meter displays the sound level; sound quality is best if it stays within the yellow range. |
|
A
Titles list:
Select a title style for the text you want to add to your movie. When you're done
setting options for the title, drag the title style from this list to the timeline viewer to place the title in your movie. B Preview monitor: Use this monitor to view title styles and preview your settings. C Timing controls: Move the sliders to set how quickly you want the titles to appear and how long to pause before disappearing. Other options may be available, depending on the style. D Arrow buttons: Click an arrow button to set the direction you want the title to move. E Over Black: Select this option if you want the title to appear over a black video clip instead of your video clip. F Font controls: Choose a font, then move the slider left or right to adjust the font size. Choose a font color using the color box. G Margins: Select this option if you plan to export the movie to QuickTime. Deselect it if you want to show the movie on a television screen. H Text fields: Type your text in these text fields. If the style you choose allows multiple lines of text, use the plus and minus buttons that appear to add or remove lines of text. I Preview: Click to see how the title will look. J Update: Click to apply changes to a title you've already added to your movie. |
|
A
Transitions list:
Select a transition in this list. When you're done setting options for the
transition, drag the transition from this list to where you want it to appear in the clip viewer. B Preview monitor: View a selected video clip and transition here. C Arrow buttons: Click an arrow button to set the direction you want the transition to move. D Timing controls: Move the sliders to set the speed of the transition and make other adjustments, depending on the transition style. E Preview: Click to see how the transition will look in the iMovie monitor. F Update: Click to apply changes to a transition you've already added to your movie. |
|
A
Effects list:
Select an effect in this list to change the appearance of clips in your movie. B Preview monitor: Use this monitor to preview the effects you set up. C Effect In/Effect Out: Move these sliders to the points in the selected clip where you want the effect to appear and disappear. D Appearance controls: Move these sliders to make adjustments to the selected effect. These options will vary, depending on the effect you choose. E Preview: Click to see how the effect will appear in the selected clip. F Apply: Click to apply the effect to the selected clip in your movie.
|
Want to review this document from the top? Click on: Top.
Or are you ready for Part II? Just click on the link below:
Zooming and Panning Still Photos in iMovie
