Apple stirs controversy with iMovie's '08 overhaul - Page 8

Exactly.

That's why iMovie 06 was scrapped. Because people like you need to be using a professional program. How long would it take you to recoup the cost of FCE?

Kinda like when Pogue said he edited his show on iMovie06.

I don't think Apple had that in mind when they developed iMovie 06. I'm guessing Apple wants these users in a flavor of Final Cut. But I could be wrong.

Pogue's videos could easily be thrown together in '08, at least the ones I have seen. Then he trashes 08; doesn't make since. He also is a pro user, so he should be u there with the Real Men.

Yes, It was a serious post. It is not my full-time job, but rather a part-time gig. Obviously a very fun and rewarding part-time gig. I have found that iMovie 06 with the Gee Three plug-ins has done everything I want and need. I suppose if I started playing around with FCE I would begin to think "How did I ever edit without this!" My "problem" is that with a different (non-video) full-time job, family, home, etc. it is hard to find time to learn FCE. Maybe over the winter when my wedding work slows down a bit....

Do any of you have some suggestions for the best way to learn it? I am open to suggestions. I like teaching myself through books. Seems like a while back I was looking at the Apple Pro Training Series book and it looked pretty good, well thought out, and easy to follow.

Could you elaborate on the titling and editing flexibility one could gain with FCE. I am not questioning your statement, just trying to learn more and open my eyes some more to what else is out there! Thanks!

How long to recoup? One-third of a wedding before taxes.

If it was my full-time job, I likely would have been using a "professional" editing program by now. When I got into this 4 1/2 years ago, I actually played around with FCP 3 but found that iMovie plus the Gee Three plugins did everything creative that I wanted.

Taking the time to play with it. The package included a quick video on how to do the basics, though they didn't include copies of the items (or assets) that they used in the video.

Book:
Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express HD (Apple Pro Training) (Paperback)
by Diana Weynand (Author)


I understand. I wouldn't be insulted by such a request. That said, I haven't used the plug-ins that you've described, it's hard to make a good frame of reference.

It looks like the Gee Three company does offer something to give you more than stock flexibility, but FCE's LiveType allows you to do seemingly anything with regard to 2D animation of text and objects. I'd give links, but I don't have anything on the web. When a LiveType object is imported into FCE, it's its own object so you don't have to rerender it every time you make adjustments, and you can easily reposition it in the time line. With a Livetype object, you can save it and reuse it & adjust it for later projects.

The non-destructive editing is nice too. You take clips of a sub clip by marking an "in" and "out", and you can make as many copies of that or variations on that subclip without wasting disk space because it's just a reference back to the original video file. If you need to make adjustments to a clip, you adjust those two points. iM08 has this, but has the drawback of not supporting the other things that you want.

Starting out was a bit frustrating, but it's pretty nice once it's understood. I dabbled in FCE with the clips I imported, but still resorted to iM6 when first learning FCE, but as I got more proficient, I used FCE for more projects, except for one quick demo. I wish I had the talents to make better use of it, I have video ideas, but I'm a little too lazy to do the setup to shoot good looking video, among other things.

JeffDM: Thank you for all of the good advice, I appreciate it!

The GeeThree plugins are great (they have a page on their site saying they are looking forward to creating plugins for '08 whenever that becomes available... hope they can, soon). If that does the trick for you, there is no need to upgrade or spend money on anything else. iMovie '08 raises the bar on apps so I have a feeling that things are going to change soon with FCP and other pro apps; if what you have now does the trick, save your cash. But then, at 900 a pop, you could more than afford FCP and a few lessons!

HI everyone,
I am a Video Productions teacher for high school students and former Videographer. We used to use iMovie for two months as a learning tool before we moved on to Final Cut Pro. Why iMovie? It has (had) the same interface that almost all other non-linear editing programs use including Avid, Panasonic Post Box, Media 100, and Premiere etc. The look and interface is what we would call "industry standard."
iMovie 06 had a lot to offer whereas iMovie 08 is basically a glorified slideshow. The fact that there is not a timeline and tighter audio control is astonishing. Do I mind that there are less video effects and transistions? Not at all. Most effects and transations are juvenile and rarely used for anything worthwhile.
I would suggest Apple create a program that utilizes iMovie 08's skimming video technique combined with an interface similar to iMovie 06 (and 99% of other non-linear editng programs). They could even create a section in the new app like "create simple video here" or something for novice users. But please update iMovie 06, a well made and useful program that just became a tad bloated.
I am very diappointed with iMovie 08 and to be honest I am surprised it's not just called something entirely different.

That's what consumers want. A simple way to assemble clips with titles and audio. If you're training people to eventually use a semi-pro or pro video app with iMovie 06 that speaks to the complexity of the application.