Toast is an authoring tool, albiet, a simple one. It does fine for making quick and easy DVDs with simple menus. It'll create a disc iamge, a video TS folder, or burn a DVD, however, it won't create an MPEG 2 stand alone file for you.

BitVice is your best bet for that if all you need is an MPEG 2.

Thanks Dave-

A stand alone MPEG-2 file is what I need. It is going on a server. I will try BitVice.

Lurker with audio sync problems in iMovie to iDVD.
 

My first post. :) Hopefully, that subject heading will make Searches easier for noobies like me.

Anyway, my camera is a GL2 and my issue was with the voices being a half second ahead of the video. I did a search here for a solution and I tried a lot of them. The simplest and easiest one was to extract audio and the sync problems were solved. I right clicked on the clip, selected "Extract Audio" and it automatically pinned itself to the beginning of the clip. Simple, eh? But....

....as a n00bie like myself, I wasted hours and hours of time and a few DVD discs just to see how the result would be. In my "GL2/Mac Beginner's" experience, exporting the movie to the camera from iMovie is the exact result as burning to DVD, but without the hours and hours of rendering time and burning. My footage was one hour long and it took my G4 Powerbook (1.2 gHz) over 4 hours to burn a DVD.

So...for you n00bs like me

1. Extract audio from movie clip.

2. Test the audio sync by exporting the movie directly to your DV cam.

3. Hopefully it solves yer audio sync problem. Burn yer DVD. :D

iMovie Doom!!!!
 

Alright, I've been working on a short film on and off for over two years now. When I started it, all I had was iMovie, so I did all my editing in it. Time went on and I moved to Final Cut for my other endeavors, but since I had so much of the original film in iMovie, I just thought "Screw it. Might as well just finish it in this cute little iMovie." A few days ago, something horrible happened. My iMovie file became unreadable. Just out of the blue.

I didn't panic. I had, after all, backed up my files in the past. Nope. Somehow, the only back up I had left was a version a year old. I guess I had accidentally deleted the newer one, thinking it was the older one at one point.

I did some research and all I could find was the suggestion of taking the media from the folder and dropping it into a new iMovie file. I did that and I got 480 clips, many of which were raw footage before I had done any effects. All the editing was gone and it is almost impossible to make sense of the 480 clips.

I also read that I could possibly use the .movie file from the folder and salvage it with that. I opened the folder and to my surprise, it was gone. I did a search on my computer and it had vanished. All the media is there, but the .movie file is M.I.A.

Before all this fun filled stuff happened, I had made a full size Quicktime of the footage. I opened a new imovie file and imported it. It looks....ok I think. To me, it looks like it has gone down a notch in quality, but it could just be cause I am filled with contempt. Either way, I'm partially screwed with it because I had used cross dissolves and what not, so I can't go in to re-edit those since obviously they are now rendered.

I'm trying to think good thoughts, but has anyone heard or dealt with this before? Any suggestions to my salvation or do I just go drink heavily?

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. But I have a suggestion to make
for future projects (or when you continue with this one or find
some way to recover it, I hope some Mac guru's here can help
you out) that you should really do with EVERY project in EVERY
NLE (if it doesn't do this automatically):

Use "SAVE AS" instead of normal "SAVE" when you begin a new
day of work on the project (or at least for every large block of time).

I use a structure like the following for saving project files:

"projectname yearmonthday"

So I might use: "ladyx 20040927" for today.

Yes this will create a lot of files (but you can always move old
files to a backup) but gives you two things:

1. an easy way to look at an old edit you did if you seem to remember it had a good flow for example

2. an instant backup that isn't too old (at most a couple of days)

Ofcourse you can (and should) combine this with a backup of
the project files to another computer or media like a CD-R.

Unforunately this won't help you now, but it might save you from
problems in the future.

Good luck for now!

I don't use iMovie. However, my students have related similar experiences to me. It can almost always be attributed to lengthy, complex projects. iMovie is meant to be a simple home video editor, not a professional NLE. The number of clips, effects etc. pushed iMovie to it's limit. I would post this to Apple's iMovie support forum.

What Jeff said...! I have seen iMovie disappear the original media. Obviously not fun. I feel sorry for you Roman...

2- There are programs that may be able to undelete your imovie project file, although I can't say whether it will be successful for you.

Disk Warrior seems to do this:
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/

3- Take a break and do something else for a while. Then when you come back storyboard your edit (or do a master layout or whatever) and cut your movie again. You might be able to redo things better, and taking a break will let you look at your original edit more objectively.

Thanks guys. I think this is just one of those things I have to chalk up as a learning experience, painful though it surely is. This was a very complex project involving numerous sets, models, puppets, sweat, now tears. I was making, writing, shooting, lighting, etc, everything by myself so I guess it was kind of destined for trouble.
I have bunches of screenshots of it up here if anyone feels so inclined:

www.Livejournal.com/users/taxidermied

I'm going to keep positive and just be in the frame of mind that I have learned so much about my camera and movie making since I started this a couple of years ago, and now when I go to reshoot some of the missing footage, it can only be better.

Uncompressed Quicktime Import in iMovie
 

Long story short:

I'm new to video editing but not new to video formats.

My main question is: When importing DV via 1394 into iMovie, does it compress the video on the input? I notice significant picture degradation when viewing from iMovie (version 4) and the Q-time player and am assuming that iMovie imports the video as-is uncompressed but displays it in compressed form for for CPU conservation. Is this correct or is iMovie actually compressing the incoming video signal? And if it is compressing the incoming signal is there a way to capture video from my MiniDV cam into my PowerBook for use in iMovie without compromising any signal quality.
AND if none of this is true, then why does the picture look so dirty but when played on a Pro DV Deck it looks great? (short answere may be: Pro Deck = pro quality but c'mon, iMovie then must compress the heck out of a great signal to look that different.)

Thanks All
Luc

DV by the very definition of the format is compressed 5:1. iMovie does not add any additional compression. The screen images in iMove are adapted for the processor and memory in the computer. When the edited movie is output to DV it will be at full resolution.

When we say 'compression' we mean datarate compression by codec. One could say from another standard size that DV is compressed by frame size to 720x480 (correct me please). If it's a codec compression in the camera itself then where's the info for it? Can it be optimized? Or is it a set standard that isn't editable? ---Anyways thanks for the info! I just wanted to check on that before I start capturing video and later realize that what I am seeing is what I will get in the end. It's rather logical that a (free) movie editing software would adjust the picture quality for the respective processor real estate. I'll proceed with my 'little' video in faith that in the end it will look better. (cross my fingers) You'll probably see me in this forum over the next months speaking for us newbies.......it's a leap coming from the audio-world over to the video universe.

BTW - Nice Pics!

___Luc

Thanks. The DV standard can not be optimized or altered if it is to be played back on a DV format camera or deck. Final Cut Pro and some other professional editing software are resolution independent and can render to a different format etc. iMovie is a great way to learn a little editing and when you ready you can move up to FCE or FCP.

If you are using iMovie to do fairly long movies with lots of cuts and transitions I'd suggest backing up fairly often. With iMovie its as easy as copying the folder, but it means your project will take up twice as much room. I've had enough problems that I'd suggest a back up for every day.

PC type needs iMovie stats
 

OK lads and lassies, i DID do a search (brief, ja) and did'nt get the answer: i'm in PC world and need to burn off some small video files on CD to a compadre with some kind of Apple and he's using iMovie. I can render to .mov-- will he be able to read a PC-burned disc with .mov files on his machine?? Or is the burn standard of PC incompat w/ Apple?

Love,

MRP

Yes, he will be able to read PC burned .mov files. QuickTime is an Apple standard so it should be able to read it no matter what it originated from. And vice versa if your PC has a QuickTime Player.

You may need to convert the .mov files to .mov files using the DV stream format, which is what iMovie records in.

Try whatever you have first, but if that doesn't work then you need the DV stream format. I can't remember if iMovie needed it or not.

<<<-- Originally posted by Glenn Chan : You may need to convert the .mov files to .mov files using the DV stream format, which is what iMovie records in.

Try whatever you have first, but if that doesn't work then you need the DV stream format. I can't remember if iMovie needed it or not. -->>>

I have imported .mov files directly into iMovie before - it can do it. However, it will only export DV stream format QT files.

iMovie default music
 

Does anyone know if you can use this music on film and enter it into a film fest without getting permission to use in movie score.

Any help would be helpful

Willis

Wills, I'm not an entertainment lawyer but it is my understanding that as long as you're showing your work at a film festival only and not making any profit, you may use a copyrighted music piece. Now, some festivals require that you provide music clearances when submitting your film but many festivals do not.

New problem between iMovie and FCP?
 

I edited a 100 clip short film in iMovie 4 on a friends imac. The plan was to transfer it to an editor friends mac to do the finishing touches in FCP 4. It seems we've transferred the project over to his external drive and Mac okay as he tells me he can open the project in iMovie.

Problem is, he can't open the project in FCP. He gets the error "Insufficient content for edit". Any ideas why?

I read this statement on the web:
"Final Cut Pro also relies on the padding at the beginning and end of each clip to adjust the edits in the timeline. If you receive the error message “Insufficient content for edit” It means that you do not have enough overlap padding between each of the clips you are working with. Try to mark the in and out points of your source clips in the viewer with at least one second of pad to facilitate the following editing tools."

When we were happy with our edit in iMovie we trashed the other clips. I believe this has the effect of also cutting the clips on the timeline to their exact edit points (ie. you can't drag them out any further). Does the statement above relate to this, or does it relate to transitions as discussed below?

We have about 4 transitions we did in iMovie. Could they be causing the problem?? Most of the stuff I've read on the web in relation to this error message relates to applying transitions.

The only other thing I can think of is the audio. We had to extract and clean the iMovie audio so it now takes up one the audio tracks in iMovie. We also got some background sound that we extracted and stuck on the end of the timeline with no accompanying video for later when we had the luxury of having 99 tracks of audio in FCP to play with. Finally, I'm not 100% sure all our audio sources are 48KHz (if that makes any difference).

Any help appreciated. I've spent so long on this project and this latest setback has me really deflated.

Have you checked at apple/support/discussions? It's been my understanding that FCP can import from iMovie, but not edited (transitions, effects, titles, etc.) versions. Haven't kept up with the discussions, but this may still be the issue. You could try undoing your transitions. Though I have to say from my past experience that what you sometimes get, depending on the transition, could end up giving you the same message in FCP. (Sometimes, having undone transitions, I ended up with 1 and 2 second "clips." I suspect FCP might not like those.)

Patricia,
you were right on the money. It was the transitions, once we got rid of them everything has (so far) worked really well.

Thanks,
Jeff

iMovie HD
 

The New iMovie HD...sounds a little too much power at first...("hey I thought this was a basic program?")

I have edited in iMovie 4 plenty of times. Now this...has anyone taken a tour of it at an Apple Store?

I can't wait till iMovie has the multiple video track feature available.

One of the most attractive features seems to be its promised relationship with FCE HD - you will be able, supposedly, to import into FCE HD edited (including transitions, titles) footage from iMovie HD. If it works, it will make it easier for people to make the step up to FCE HD. Apple must have liked what it learned about potential customers from its iPod sales. Let's just say I ordered the FCE HD upgrade and iLife5 a day or so ago.

I doubt iMovie will ever have a multi track editing format, that's reserved for FCExpress and above (why give it away when you can sell it). Besides, iMovie is supposed to be a beginners program and beginners are easily confused when you give them too many choices... Of course HD for beginners sounds a little surreal.

HDV for FCE
 

Have you noticed that FCE HD seems to be able to handle HDV and not the panasonic HD? When are they going to do that for FCPHD ? Will it be an upgrade for free? I hope so and it would only seem fair...

iMovie HD and JVC HD-1 - What Am I Overlooking?
 

I feel foolish but I can't get iMovie HD to import HD footage from my JVC HD-1. HD tapes play fine on the camcorder's screen but the iMovie window displays huge pixels instead of a recognizable picture. I've studied iMovie "preferences" but assume the app knows what's being fed to it and acts accordingly. I've also reread the HD-1 instruction manual and believe I have all playback settings appropriately adjusted (e.g., DV/MPEG2 set to MPEG2). I'm prepared to be embarrassed if someone will point out what I'm missing. (I'm doing all of this on a Mac G5 and older Cinema display). And, yes, I've tried adjusting iMovie's playback options to "Standard" but still get garbled pixels. Has anyone simply hooked up an HD-1 and immediately been rewarded with a successful import?

HD-1/iMovieHD Now Working
 

Since writing my previous message, I continued playing with the HD-1/G5 connections and got the import to work by 1) unplugging the Firewire cable, 2) switching the I.Link Out switch on the HD-1 to "DV", then back again to "MPEG2", 3) reconnecting the Firewire cable. This somehow "wakes up" the proper connection to the Mac G5. Am I the the only chump to have run into this little challege or is it simply more evidence that I'm slow-witted? Just out of curiousity, does this happen on the new Sony FX-1, too? DCS

David,

Yes, it seems that the firewire MPEG/DV switchability is temperamental. Disconnecting the firewire cable and switching modes back and forth seems to do the trick.

Glad you figured it out.

Frederic

Thanks, Frederic. I thought I was losing it. However, that glitch aside, I must admit it is very cool to have the ability to effortlessly edit JVC HD footage in iMovie. I'm assuming that output back to a DV tape will preserve all HD quality, edits and all. I guess I'll find out later tonight.

Didn't have anything like this difficulty connecting my HD1 to my PowerBook 1.5 Ghz G4 15. At first iMovie HD didn't recognize my camera, but everything was fine when I quit and restarted iMovie with the camera already on and connected. Everything worked smoothly and iMovie HD unlike any other HDV capture I've seen, Mac or PC, shows you a preview on screen while importing. Once it had finished importing and transcoding (this happens in somewhat less than realtime, depending on your Mac) scrubbing and working with the resultant clips was as fast and responsive as working with DV. The way it ought to be! Even exporting back to tape is easy, though rendering the timeline is nowhere near realtime (2-3x at least, I'd say).
Obviously, I'm impressed. With iMovie doing HDV like this, I can't wait to see what Final Cut Pro 5 will add to the mix...

Did you capture at 1/2 time? I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong (and double posting, too, I might add).

heath

iMovie HD problems
 

Besides capturing at 1/4 to 1/2 speed, I'm running into another problem: why did I just capture for 32 minutes, but only about 4 minutes ended up actually being captured?!

heath

"MPEG/DV switchability is temperamental"

This has nothing to do with the camera, I use the camera on 3 different PC under windows XP and this problem never existed. On one of the Pc I've 1 1394 port connected to a DVHS VCR and the other used for the HD1 all is working fine without a single glitch. I switch the two devices using the JVC SW as well as the freeware apps on the net. All is 100% fine.

Heath,

Either you has a timecode break and it split the clip or you only had this much HDV footage on the tape or you ran out of room?

Frederic

The first capture, when I hit stop, it still processed it. The second time, it didn't keep processing it after I hit stop...

heath

<<<-- Originally posted by Heath McKnight : The first capture, when I hit stop, it still processed it. The second time, it didn't keep processing it after I hit stop...
heath -->>>

By chance did you unplug the i.LINK cable the second time while the conversion was running?

No, actually, but I can say this. If the tape is 10 minutes in and the video is only 2 minutes on the screen (1/4 to 1/2 speed), it's not going to process it if I hit stop to the 10 minutes. It's where it's at, 2 minutes.

heath

That isn't how it has worked for me.
As long as I leave the camera on and connected (basically, leave it alone), iMovie continues to process/import the clips until it has caught up to where the camera was when I clicked the Stop button in iMovie.

Bob,

I wish it did that for me...

heath