iMovie '06: Isolating Music?

Ronald Epstein · 09-12-2007, 04:54 PM

I have made my first DVD project using iMovie.

The program is pretty straight-forward, but the most difficulty
I have had is with adding music.

The footage is a helicopter ride, so the sound inside the craft is
pretty loud.

I can add music, but it is somewhat drowned out by the helicopter noise.

There are check buttons to the right of the DROP CLIPS HERE grid
that allow you to isolate music, but none of that is transferred to the
actual final product.

Is there a way I can cut the main footage soundtrack and just have
music playing over it?

Thanks in advance!

JohnRice · 09-12-2007, 05:14 PM

I'm digging way back in my memory here, but I seem to recall you can select any soundtrack and then adjust its volume. You would just drop the volume all the way down on the main soundtrack.

DaveF · 09-12-2007, 07:27 PM

http://screencast.com/t/7kPDwWbYTVx

Select the movie clip and decrease the Clip Volume. Select the audio clip and increase Clip Volume. That should do ya.

I've dabbled with iMovie 08. For what you're doing, it's quite good. Until you want to make a DVD. It doesn't let you set DVD chapters like iMovie 06 does

Ronald Epstein · 09-13-2007, 04:07 AM

David,

Your explanation (thanks for the picture) makes almost absolute
sense.

The problem is that, as I see it, that clip volume applies only to
the added music. That's the only soundtrack graph I see. What I
need to control (lower the volume) is the original taped soundtrack
of loud helicopter noise.

How do I access the original soundtrack?

I may be having problems because my project is completed.

DaveF · 09-13-2007, 06:03 AM

In the timeline, select the main video clip and decrease the clip volume for it, just as you selected the soundtrack "clip" and increased its volume. In the timeline there are three (?) regions for clip video, clip audio, and soundtrack. The top one is the video; click it and then adjust the clip volume slider. I did a quick test of this and I could independently control video and soundtrack volumes.

This is all in iMovie, so I think you'll have to re-share with iDVD to get the changes into your DVD project (but I'm not sure about this step)

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Aaron Reynolds · 09-13-2007, 08:54 AM

You can also go to the view menu where there's an option like "show clip volume levels". Then you get little lines across the middle of your clips that you can drag up and down to fade the volume up and down.

Ronald Epstein · 09-13-2007, 11:00 AM

Guys,

First, I appreciate your replies as always.

I am at work now so I can't readily look at the iMovie '06 program.

However....

I distinctly remember that there was a panel of dropped clips
that represented the movie.

Below that was the music track that I dragged to start at a certain
point in the film.

I can easily move the music track, but have no idea where the
original film track is located. Is the film soundtrack represented
by the clips themselves?

If the clip boxes DO represent the film soundtrack, how can
I select at what point within a clip I want to lower or raise the
volume? I can easily highlight an entire piece of a clip (CMD+A)
but unlike the music soundtrack, I can't designate a portion
within a clip(s) to lower the soundtrack and raise the music.

I am probably making this sound more confusing than it should
be. I don't have the program up right now and I will check it
again later today. The main problem was that I could identify
the music track but not the actual film soundtrack.

By the way, let me say again I get more help on this forum
than I do on MacRumors or MacForums.

DaveF · 09-13-2007, 02:30 PM

Here's a case where you need to think like Apple; you've gone all PC and are overthinking it

Select video. Change clip level. (if you didn't extract audio. if you did, select the extract audio)

If you want to change volume at specific times, I think Aaron's tip gets you there: clicking in the middle of the volume line creates a volume adjust point that you can adjust.

Ronald Epstein · 09-14-2007, 04:12 AM

Dave,

Where is the EXTRACT AUDIO command?

I am very busy for the next few days. Have family down for the
weekend. Really will not have the chance to implement any of your
advice until Tuesday. Will let you know how it works out.

Thanks everyone for all the assistance.