iMovie Assistance Please (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

I have about 63 minutes of HD camcorder footage that I am
having downconverted to DVD quality (through camcorder output)
to iMovie.

Have already uploaded the 63 minutes as 1 file.

I need to break it down to 6 segments of 10 minute videos.

I basically start playing the first clip. I then measure out
approx. 10 minutes using the slide ruler.

How do I save that 10 minutes as a file then start putting
together the next 10 minutes and so on?

Would appreciate the assistance.

Also, any way to save these files so I can stream them on the
Internet?

 

[DaveF]

Ron, try using Export... to export the project as a QuickTime video with the desired compression level.

Try this:
Import your clips to iMovie.
Drag clip to timeline
Set time marker at desired location.
Press Cmd-T to split video at marker.
Drag unused portion back to clips pane.
File->Export (Cmd-Shift-E) to bring up export dialog.
Choose compression level.
Hit OK
...

Reiterate process, updating clip each time.

Just did a quickie test and it worked.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,

Will try this in morning.

Question, Can I transfer totally in HD and then compress it to
something smaller that can be uploaded to a website for streaming?

Or, do I need to have the video downconverted first before
I transfer it first to iMovie?

Thanks for all your help. Will let you know how this works.

In fact, you will see it when I upload the videos from EMA.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Ron, when you're making a new project, in that window where you give it a name there's a disclosure triangle -- click it to see the formats available for importing and editing.

You can downconvert when exporting -- check out the Share menu for a bunch of preset options. I recommend the Podcast preset.

 

[DaveF]

I've not worked with HD, so I can't help there.

Please post any tips you discover for producing online video. I've got some similar goals as to what you're doing, and I've never worked with online video.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Guys, appreciate your help.

Do you realize I posted this on 2 other Mac boards and this
was the only place I was offered help?

Okay....

I am bout to transfer my content off of a HD-DVD camcorder.
My project has been set to record in DVD Widescreen so the
software will downconvert it to that format. I could have gone
MPEG-4 but I wanted the widescreen aspect ratio.

I am bout to import as one large clip into iMovie. I could
have told the software to break up every 10 minutes, but I
want more control of that editing process.

Now, question is, where does SHARE come into this? Once I
have the clip I want, how do I save it for uploading to the web?
What is the best format? Quicktime and iPod look to be the two
best choices. I guess Quicktime would be good. I could even
use my 3rd party converter software to convert to Media Player.

 

[DaveF]

I know a little bit and will speculate past that I'm thinking "out loud" here.

When I go from iMovie to iDVD, I use the "Share" feature to "share" the project with iDVD. It automatically creates an iDVD project, with handy things auto-set. The iDVD project uses aliases (shortcuts) to the iMovie video and does not actually copy the video clips into the iDVD project. Hence the "share" idea. I think the same holds for sharing with GarageBand and such.

I also found that I can export movie clips as QuickTime movies, as I described earlier. This seemed to use the "Share" dialog that I get when I make an iDVD project.

What I don't know is if you "Share" to a QuickTime output, does it ultimately produce a final QT video file? Or is there more to it, like with an iDVD project?

Barring someone who actually knows something posting, a quick test could answer this:

Import a small clip, edit so just 1 min (or less) video is in the project timeline and then share it to QT, and look at the resulting file to see what you got


As for online settings: I'm ignorant there. I'd guess some either the "email" or "iPod" settings are a good start. If you've used online video before, you could experiment and find the settings that produce files of similar size and quality as to what you've used before.

It seems QT plug-ins are as comman as for WMV (everyone seems to watch Trailers at Apple.com), so I don't know why you'd need to go from QT to WMV.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

You share when it's ready to be shared -- when it's been completed to your satisfaction and appears the way you want when played from the timeline. To save it for uploading to the web, just go to share --> iPod. It'll resize, recompress and drop it into iTunes.

Quicktime gives you a bunch of extra options for size and compression and can lead to a file that's way too big for the web if you don't know what you're doing. I use iPod as my export setting for anything that I stick up onto the web. Oh, and the iPod format supports chapter marks, if you add any in iMovie.

Hey Dave -- have you looked in your Movies folder? Any projects that you've shared to iDVD have their full-sized rendered video in that folder, so you can make a new project with the same video without re-rendering all the transitions and titles.

Ron -- let me know if you want info on chapters or transitions or titles or if any of this isn't clear. I can add screenshots if you need 'em.

Also -- tutorials with screenshots and sometimes video for most Apple software can be found here: http://www.apple.com/support/software/

And if you're a .Mac member, there are good little video tutorials in the Learning Center.

 

[DaveF]

(edit) I hadn't thought about multiple DVD projects from the same iMovie project. Hrmm...

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I wish I could get out to an Apple store but I am really limited
by time here. I have the end of the day to get these videos done.

Having lots of problems and have lost my entire movie upload
even though I never saved any of the "work in progress" clips
that I played with.

Dave's instructions on placing the marker on the clip and
selecting COMMAND+T worked. I never got to the point of
saving the project because there's another factor that is being
introduced that is giving me huge headaches....

I need to watermark these videos with our web address.

I bought GeeThree Plug-in for iMovie ($50) that allows me
to add a title to the video. That is causing huge problems as it seems
to do something to the video timing that doesn't seem right.

I have a long day ahead of me trying to figure this all out, but I
am surprised that iMovie isn't as intuitive as some other PC programs
I have used such as Pinnacle Studio 10. On the Apple site I have not
even found any video tutorials that really spells out the process of
making small clips out of big clips. David's instructions have only
scratched the surface.

Will keep you updated, but wanted to thank you for the help.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Hey Ron -- I've been at work all day and am at the in-laws right now, but I'll check in later to see how you're doing -- post a big list of questions and I'll do my best to answer them.

If we can figure out a time, maybe we can get on iChat and walk through the process from the beginning.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Ron, I have a quick solution to this one for you -- when you have your clip ready and in the timeline and cut down to the size you want, put the playhead at the start of it and then go to the Editing button at the bottom of the right side. From that panel, pick Titles at the top, then choose subtitles. Remove the second line and set the duration to be a little shorter than your total clip.

It's not perfect, but it should work and be quick.

 

[DaveF]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I agree it take some time to understand, but I've no reference point besides Windows Movie Maker.

Some more thoughts:
- Import all your movie files and then save the project. You've got a fall back position.

- Can you substitute occaisional title bars with HTF info for a proper watermark for this go? Since you're pressed for time. (edit: Aaron says subtitles. good idea.)

- It seems you want a number of small, but fully edited, movies produced, starting from shared video files. Perhaps you should create an iMovie project for each one:
-- Create a new iMovie project for each one
-- Import video files spanning the appropriate time and save
-- Edit each project as needed
-- Export output file for each project

This is cumbersome, but should be workable. For basic editing, I've not had any real problems with iMovie (crashing, etc). (I've got other grievances, though) I'm sure you really want a Template approach to apply common features to all clips. But I don't how to, or even if iMovie can, do that.


Good luck!

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Yep! Click on the Themes button on the lower right. The themes there match the iDVD template themes. Overusing them can result in a gimmicky, terrible video, but done right they are very useful.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Gents,

I really appreciate all the effort you have given to assist me.

I ran out of time yesterday and put the videos up. You can see
them HERE

Actually, editing and exporting the videos was easy. Thanks to the
instructions Dave provided me with, I figured it out. And, using iWeb,
all I did was drag the Quicktime files to the web page and voila!

The problem....the absolute problem I could not figure out was
watermarking.

I paid $50 for GeeThree and $3 for a CFX plug-in.

I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to keep a continuous
watermark in the video. The stumbling point was the SPEED control.
Most of my clips were 10 minutes in length and even though I set the
speed control to MAX time (30:00), my videos were being cut to 30 seconds.

You see, clip time would show 10:00 (10 minutes). Speed time at
10:00 is 10 seconds. I tried increasing the number to 10:00:00 but
it would not take it.

I spent hours trying to figure it out and just gave up.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

I know that package from Slick but haven't used it myself -- let me see if I know anyone who's tried it to see if they have any post-mortem suggestions.

 

[DaveF]

Ron,
Took a quick look at video #1 and it looks good. What export settings did you use? (Hope to find time to watch after I'm done with Harry Potter books )

Perhaps an email to GeeThree could resolve your watermark problem. Their iMovie plugins look nice, with a lot of interesting transitions and title effects. But if they're difficult to work with, it will good to know so I can look elsewhere.

And glad I could help; always a pleasure.

 

[DaveF]

Ron,

Nevermind. These plug-ins seem to have problems on Intel-based Macs. (bummer)

Here's a potential alternative plug-in for watermarking, and it's $3:
http://www.imovieplugins.com/plugs/pictinclipstat.html

I'm trying their video rotation plug in to correct clips taken with my camera vertical (won't do that again...) Seems to be working, if slowly.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Dave,

I also bought that $3 program and basically have the same
problem.

I may have missed something, but it seems you can only max
the constant watermarking for 30 seconds. The SPEED timer will
not allow me to put a constant watermark in for more than 10 minutes+

I am sure I am doing something wrong.

As for the videos, I used your instructions: FILE -> EXPORT ->
SAVE AS STREAMING.

Actually, thanks to you, the entire process of editing footage
is very simple. Love the COMMAND+T option.

 

[DaveF]

I'm playing with online video, and I can't figure out how to create streaming video. I export a video clip from iMovie 06 as QuickTime, Compress for:Web Streaming. I toss it into iWeb, Publish, and upload. The video is then loaded fully before playing; in contrast to the videos Ron put up on HTF which load while being available for playback.

My page:
[]

Nice Streaming Example:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/ema2...Video%201.html