iMovie 08 can be used to rough cut for FCP
 

I noticed an export option in the demo video, "Export to Final Cut XML". I'm wondering if this is the way they are initially getting the "Skimming" feature for FCP users? I really like the workflow presented in the demo. The skimming is precisely how I cut with FCP...it's just alot more combersome there. Exciting stuff!

this is pretty big. I like to take my laptop computer out to clients and FCP layout is a bit daunting for them to follow the edit. So if I could line up the shots with them in a way they can follow easily and then export it back to do the final polish with FCP, motion, color, etc... my workflow would become a lot more client friendly.

Cole,

I saw the video on Apple's website of Jobs working with iMovie '08. But I don't think this was mentioned. Can anyone confirm how iMovie '08 and FCP are to interact?

Thanks,
-Hans.

it wasn't mentioned, when he shows how it shares to .mac, I read the rest of the export menu...final cut XML was an option for export.

There's also a much longer demo on the apple iLife welcome page.

Downloadable in highish rez.

The section about iMovie 08 explains it in much greater detail and is pretty interesting viewing.

Yeah, the scrubbing thing look pretty cool - as does the new single-click ability to post work to a dot-mac account for potential client access and viewing at multiple resolutions.

Kudos to the Apple engineer who re-designed the iMovie interface - pretty leading edge NLE design, IMO.

Did you hear Jobs' story behind that? Seems necessity was the mother of invention for that engineer.

-gb-

I wouldn't use a free consumer program as a substitute for FCP.

Why can't clients follow a FCP timeline?

Why haven't some of my clients been able to follow final cut pro? I don't know. 85 percent of the human species just isn't interested in video editing and finds it boring to watch. We're the weirdos, not them.

It's a cool and helpful option to have. I didn't say I'd "use a free consumer program as a substitute for FCP."

It's not free by the way. It costs $79.

Just so there's less confusion about this...

The interesting element here is that the re-design of iMovie includes some simple, powerful and very intuitive new approaches to the basic tasks of footage ingest, scene breakout, scene selection, ordering, and rough editing.

It's not at all that it's a "substitute" for FCP or any other pro editor.

It's that the engineer took the time to re-think what a simple, user friendly editing app SHOULD be - and had the coding skills and interface design chops to make that happen.

Perhaps some of his concepts - like the profoundly simple clip scrubbing via visiable line indicator - and "two click rough edit ON THE thumbnail itself" are pretty clear advances for rough cut editing.

You can absolutely still do everything you can do in iMovie08 in FCP or any other full featured video editing app. But iMovie approaches common tasks in new ways and some of them are VERY intuitive and cool - and may be a harbinger of human interface directions for more robust and professional editing apps in the future.

Worth looking at, anyway, IMO.

thanks for detailing bill. Yes, my current workflow is to select the clip I want, double click to open in the viewer, set in and out points, then move to the timeline.

iMovie 08 basically does this, but has made the selecting of in and out points faster and more visual (I'm a visual person, so this excites me). Giving the ability to do a fast rough cut in iMovie and transfer to final cut for finer granularity editing and messaging with higher quality effects and 'scopes etc...I also prefer iMovies import for my personal workflow...capture now is close, but not as simple as hitting go and having it generate separate clips for each stop/start while ignoring dropped frames etc...iMovie is really forgiving in ways I wish I could get FCP to do.

There are some limits with the export feature in iMovie 08. See the attached screen shot.

I can live with that!

I am completely clueless with iMovie 08. I find the interface confusing (I am fluent with Premiere, FCP or any similar editing system) - at first I was even unable to tell if my "timeline" is at the top, or the bottom of the screen? I guess it is awesome for users not "spoilt" by pro systems, but it`s too difficult for me :) And I know I am not alone :)

Having been with FCP since pre v.1, I find iMovie 8 a very intriguing piece of software.

I've cut DVCProHD footage with it, and it is surprisingly fast and doesn't require rendering.

I have to import 720 footage as 1080 footage, but the exports to FCP seem to be fine.