Nick, thanks for the reply.

I haven't tried the "trick" yet, but when I do, I'll let you know, if you're interested for the results.

iMovie Plug-In Recommendations?
 

I've found one endorsement in this forum of Slick. Does anyone else have recommendations? Or recommend one or several of the 4 volumes of Slick available more than the others? Am working on something I want to finish and get out quickly to the participants, but there are several points where it could use some less abrupt transitions - and something more subtle - or at least more varied - than what iMovie currently offers. Opinions on all sides would be greatly appreciated.

I've seen the Slick transitions (volumes 1 through 4) and they do very nice effects. I work in FCP, so they are incompatible. But the work I've seen with them looks professional and smooth.

iMovie Compatible Soundtrack Software?
 

Once again, I'm looking for a quick fix for iMovie. Have checked in the audio forum, but no luck. So, has anyone used Sonic Fire or Soundtrack? I'm completely non-musical and still learning to crawl with video, but trying to finish a piece I shot of a veterans' commemorative event. I edited out a lot of the background noise on various clips, but some clips contain singing of national anthems, Hawaiian chanting, etc. This makes the segments without any sound somewhat eerie. What I'd like to do is fill in with suitable music - probably patriotic and/or marches. So far Sonic Fire and Soundtrack appear to allow one to draw on large libraries, but I don't know if the software is truly iMovie compatible - or which one is more idiot-proof. This is not intended to be (nor could it ever be) a professional job. It just has to be good enough "home movie" for some of the vets to be able to have for themselves and their families. Once again, recommendations and opinions any compatible/suitable software greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Jeff. You and Steve Wozniak, apparently.

I'm not an iMovie user, but you should be able to export the audio out of iMovie. Bias makes several audio programs that may be of interest. Peak, Deck and SoundSoap should do just about everything you'd ever need. Unfortunately they are not as easy to learn as iMovie. You might want to look into FCPE. It probably offers the features you need.

I did check out the web site. You're right - too complicated for me. I've decided to try SonicFire, mainly because it seems to offer drop-in tracks from a reasonably diverse (though sometimes costly) library. Should work with FCE, too, which I own but haven't yet used. (Will try working with it for my next, much, much smaller project.) Thanks for taking the time to help out with my problem.

I agree with you Patricia, that SonicFire might seem costly. I have used it for some time myself now, and I think it's a very fine tool for scoring my videos. It's certainly very easy to learn how to use the software. I have even purchased a lot of their music/sound palette CDs, and must say that I am impressed by the quality and flexibility they deliver.

You can import audio from cds directly into iMovie. I dont use iMovie much anymore but I've imported lots of cd audio into it and you can do a rough chop up edit in iMovie as well to get the selections you need from the track and delete the rest. this can be done in quicktime as well.If its not for sale commercially and only for home viewing you should have no problems using any music you want.

Thank you. Problem is that my CDs don't fit the bill. 50's music and patriotic songs aren't part of my current collection. Plus, when you are not musical, you cut tracks off in the wrong place. (By the way, if anyone finds a cure for humming to music when you can't carry a tune - nothing worse than getting picked up by your own mike - let me know.)

Patricia,
I think Sonic Fire Pro will fill your bill better and quicker than Soundtrack. Using SF's "Maestro" feature you can select a music style and length and then a specific variation. SF will then generate a piece as close to your target length as possible which you can then export to a separate file, then import and place into your iMovie project.

You will probably need to also purchase one or more libraries for SF to get the selection(s) you need. More info at the SmartSound site.

Thanks, Ken. I ordered SonicFire Pro yesterday as well as a couple of their CD collections. I am learning by trial and error that once you decide how you want your clips to flow, you work on sound first, then transitions and titles (at least in iMovie). I seem to be doing it absolutely backwards, and I'm sure I'm going to have to redo a few more times, which is a bit much for a home movie, but a good way to learn, nonetheless. (Oh, yes, the best way would be to learn to use the camera to its fullest first, but some of us don't learn that way.)

imovie clips
 

you know after you import your clips they are in the clips pane...then when you drag and drop them in they aren't in the clips pane anymore?? is there a way to use clips but still have the clip there so i can use it more than once?

Alan,

Hold down the option key as you drag the clip from the bin to the timeline. Repeat this as many times as is necessary.

iMovie Plug-In Recommendations?
 

This is my first post so pardon the delay.
Here are list of plugin sites i found the other evening.
I haven't tried them out but there's a wealth compared to a few years ago.

http://www.stupendous-software.com/

http://www.umlautllama.com

http://www.csb-digital.com/iplugins/community

http://www.virtix.com/imovie/

http://www.ezedia.com/products/eZedia_plug-ins/iMovie_plug-ins/eZeMatte_plug-in.html