Precise sound editing is now taken care of via GarageBand, you need to export a movie to the media browser and then you can load it in GarageBand (dragging it from the media browser to a track) and lay down all the tracks you like - when you’re done, exporting the movie from there to it’s final format.

Sure it’s more complex and even FCP like, but then again not everyone needs to do complex audio.

Also a trick for those that like black at the end and start of a movie, just drag the gradient black title to the end or beginning of a movie and delete all the text.  You get a chunk of black, however long you like, that can also be moved to somewhere in the middle of your movie…

Yes, iMovie is good to put a few scenes one after the other.

NOTHING ELSE.

All the functionality of the previous imovie versions that people used and loved and made good looking artistic home movies are not possible anymore.

imovie 08 is one of the WORST products Apple ever released. It’s a major DOWNGRADE.

About IMovie ‘08 I can say so much that I got my MacBook less than a week ago, I’ve always had troubles with decoding, editing and I never managed to change/add sound! :(

now it took my about 2h to have lots of fun, try many features, options and possibilities and later finish my video!!! I know it’s not much, but still it’s my first video edited ever!

moreover, I didn’t watch any tutorials getting started videos

thank You Apple

I have to agree with you about the “Geezer Effect”. I started editing on Avid 4 (back when it was Mac only) and you are absolutely right about the work flow of current top-shelf suites!!!

Honestly, for super quite edits, I user Windows Movie Maker 2 - the app leaves much to be desired, but I can get the job done in a tenth of the time…

I have to say, this new iMovie is perfect for the YouTube generation.  You say it yourself, it’s not useful for feature length films.  The skimming feature that everyone is gaga over is not exactly a dealmaker or breaker.  You could always skim through a clip, you just had to go to the window to move the playhead.  Now you can do it right from the clip pane?  Ooh, that’s worth an upgrade!  (Read: sarcasm).

I’m sure more features will be added as the app grows, but they really should have called it something else other than iMovie.  Maybe, YouTubeMovie?  Sure, use it for your basic cuts.  Moviemakers and people who are serious about creating nice, pro-looking films will not be using this tool.  And yes, the old iMovie is indeed capable of producing quality films.

I really take issue with people who “claim” to know how to edit, yet can’t seem to use the old iMovie, especially this programmer that rewrote iMovie.  iMovie is simple to use and I have taught students in the past to use it and they created great movies.  I see the new iMovie as another example of how everyone wants everything NOW and NO we can’t wait!  I want it quicker, faster!  NO, I don’t want to take some time to clean it up, let’s just get a sub-par cut of the video and get it online.  Who cares if it looks good? 

The quality and standards of what is acceptable for presentation has gone down considerably, not just in film but in other media as well.  This product is just another example.  YouTube is full of subpar video making.  If that’s what you are into, fine.  This app’s for you then.  For real filmmakers, the old iMovie awaits, as does Final Cut and all the other linear based editing programs.  There’s your future right there.  We’re not going to see the next summer blockbuster edited in the iMovie 08 fashion, that’s for sure.

I had just a quick look at it in an Apple Store but I was delighted to find out new iMovie captures in .mov format - can you, as Final Cut user, confirm it? That would be another step towards usability - because even with fast machines, I still couldn’t make that import of old iMovie projects to Final Cut, as .dv never played smooth without rendering. I hope the next FC update will bring a possibility to import new iMovie projects. Then esay interface of iMovie won’t matter. I would use it to import and make draft - and then finetune in FC.

I’m astounded that I’m one of the few who found iMovie ‘08 to be an absolute wonder when it was announced. It’s a completely new paradigm for amateur movie editing that it ridiculously intuitive.

Sure it’s not for dynamic film making and I know won’t get much use of it because I am an animator and rely extensively on being able work with single frames. However for everything else, it’s perfect.

I would love to see it’s skimming feature added to FCP, of course with the ability to go in and refine edit points, that would undeniably speed up my workflow and, I’m sure, many others.

It seems that it’s biggest critics are those of us already familiar with professional non linear editing: professionals and wannabe professionals. We have our pro editing apps, what’s the sense in criticising one that was never intended for us.

Great review.  I was stunned (and not in a good way) at first when I tried out iMovie ‘08.  But now that I’ve had a chance to really use it, I’ve realized that there’s a much greater chance that my footage will actually get edited.  The non destructive capabilities that iMovie ‘06 didn’t have and the ease of exporting quick little videos is the clincher for me.

I’ve even ordered an SD card based HD camera as a result.

It’s a fine new product, as long as you don’t like special effects, themes, transitions, or any of the 30 other features they took away. And oh yea ... you don’t want to actually (gasp) burn your project to a real DVD.

It should have been introduced as iMovie Lite or iMovie for YouTube, with the original iMovie left as is. To replace the powerful iMovie with the joke that is iMovie for YouTube is a shame. The days of editing a 20+ minute creation in iMovie and winding up with a professional looking project with titles, fades, sound effects laid in at exactly the right spot, etc., are long gone.

Say, can someone who actually likes this joke of an app explain to me how to make a cut *exactly* where I want to make a cut? Seems to me the best I can do is approximate it via the stupid ‘roll the mouse’ bit. There are no frame-level editing tools, so specific cuts and sound placement seem virtually impossible to me.

I’ve been doing editing for years, but my family and friends hardly ever got to see what I produced (lectures and toturials, I’m not a professional editor).

With my new macbook and imovie ‘08 I put together a little 5 minute clip for my friends. Not only did they really enjoy it, but I think it got them interested in doing a one too.

Aside from event coverage mentioned above, I think this is what was needed to get an average user to start making their own content.

Remember this not an app for power users, this is a way for a 14 y/o to get a vlog going on youtube, and its perfect for that!

I did download iMovie HD for when I need more sound control, but I am perfectly fine with never having to touch final cut again!

I agree with you. The coolest thing about iMovie 08’ is the speed. It is so easy now to rip out sections of your video. I also use FCP but like you said, even though every release is faster than the last, they are all still slow.

Being able to quickly skim through the video motivates me to actually produce something with it.

I was disappointed to see that iMovie 08’ lacked several of the legacy features as previous versions.

yes, the wonders of everything being made so basic and elemental that anyone can use it, yet no one can make a complex piece with it.
I hate it when people complain that one has to actually learn a work-flow in order to get something done. As though making Art should be made easy for one and all.
Let’s all celebrate the lazy and stupid, screw the talented and committed!

What iMovie does, it does superbly. But it was designed to string together scenes - the video equivalent of a slideshow. Users of it have to understand that it’s a flowing image manipulation tool - NOT a traditional video “storytelling” tool.

At the heart of all storytelling is capturing an audiences imagination in narrative flow.  In video editing, this requires that you have the basic tools to repair breaks in the narrative flow.

The new and very cool iMovie in persuing the noble goal of innovative and easy scene sequencing has left out some very basic stuff.

Like the ability to use cutaway shots to cover jump cuts.

The presenter you’re videotaping via single camera coughs. You cut out the cough. Result: Jump cut.

Without the ability to superimpose a cutaway shot over an existing stream of audio - how do you fix this fundamental problem of editing.

Transitions? What if you’re trying to save a poor speaker who verbally stumbles often. You want to watch six cube spins in 10 seconds? I don’t.

iMovie is innovative, wonderful, and should be VERY empowering for casual video sequencing. It just misses some of the fundamentals that grew to address very REAL editing issues.

I think it’s approach is brilliant. Just not comprehensive as far as really basic editing concepts are concerned.

It’ll be interesting to see how it grows up.

I have one acronym for you.

AVCHD.

Why pro apps cant support it is beyond me. The whole “its a consumer format” crowd can bite me. Im sure there are many other formats it does support that consumer equipment supports as well.

I like the review. Although I have only used an older version of iMovie once or twice. I am print designer so thats why I have not used iMovie much. The whole point of it is to allow non- or semi- technical people to edit there movies from their point-n-shoot digicams for example. In a print design equivalent, no teacher would start out teaching a student to use iPhoto to edit print quality photos or even good quality web photos, then move on to Photoshop. Just like you don’t start out learning to use Pages or the junky MS Publisher well then move on to QuarkXpress. iMovie has it’s purpose and although you may be able to make great quality videos, you can only make film or broadcast quality with FCP. I see your point but it’s for a different purpose and actually aimed at a different demo. For those who don’t want to or have the patience to learn FCP, then iMovie is a good tool to make a video thats adequate to the user.

I agree mostly… apart from the statement in the review of it being easy to burn a DVD with iMovie.
My biggest complaint with iMovie08 is that it seems unnecessary hard to burn a DVD. The “Export to iDVD” command is gone isn’t it? Now you have to export (to DV for example) and import back to iDVD. Or am I overlooking something, is there an easier way? If so, please let me know, since I burn DVDs of my movies far more often than publish them to YouTube or similar…
For that reason I also think you should be able to make chapters within the movies, since iDVD can’t do that either can it?
Thanks for any information,
Christoph

Great article. “Geezer effect” hits the nail on the head.

Bayard: Once again I think I should restate that this is not software for the artist or story teller. When you are to that level nothing is going to replace final cut. Its for a bunch of kids who want to cut their skate boarding movies together and post them for their friends.

My first drum set cost $50 from Toys R’ Us, I didn’t start with a Pearl.

It’s not about being stupid or lazy, its about being truly entry level!

nope. i’ve just tried to import some dv footage and new iMovie imported it as .dv - so no easy way to Final Cut from there. pity.

That’s why we have Final Cut Express

Well, play around with iMovie 08, then upgrade to Express if iMovie doesn’t suit your needs.  There’s a tip.

You can have my copy of Final Cut Pro 6 when you tear it from my cold dead hands.

There’s one HUGE feature that made me insane with iMovie (and even the new version has it)...no empty space in the timeline. If you are used to using the actual timeline as a work space in FCP, it’s a lesson in insanity when you have to use iMovie. You can’t have any space in the timeline.

And I disagree with your assessment that iMovie is faster than FCP...have you ever seen a pro editor who really knows the key commands in FCP? You can trim and edit clips so fast it’s blinding. Interfaces like FCP have existed for a long time (Avid did it long before FCP) because at a certain point, fast apps like iMovie 08 start to slow you down. Think of it this way...iMovie starts fast and slows down, FCP starts slow and speeds up. I wouldn’t trade FCP for iMovie in a million years.

Thank you! That was spot on! I Absolutely love the new iMovie! It’s super-intuitive

I’ve finished more movies with iMovie 08 than I ever did with the old iMovie!

I edit professionally, and today at the Apple Store, I got to play with iMovie 08 for the first time.

It’s revolutionary.

The workflow is faster to get a rough cut than FCP. Granted, FCP and other pro apps have trim modes and other advanced functions, but for the initial assembly, I was impressed with iMovie’s speed.

Put it simply:
One cut in FCP=
Double click/drag clip into viewer
View clip
Set In & Out
Set In on timeline/select desired frame for in point (minimum info needed)
Insert/overwrite edit.

Now this is blazing fast when you’ve been at it for years. Takes me a few secs. But now let’s look at the same operation in iMovie:

One cut in iMovie=
drag ONCE to set in&out;while viewing the clip
Drag once to place in timeline

That’s it.

Less clicks means more speed. More speed means more passes. More passes mean more creative decisions= better product.

FCP will have this functionality in its next release. If they don’t they’re crazy.

This is the future of editing, at least at the assembly/rough cut phase.

My condolences to the hobbyists who lost features on this upgrade. That’s gotta hurt. Hope they take care of you on the next rev.

Great review.  Fresh perspective.

My only issues are with the bioblurb at the end.

1) “a part of the macteens community” not “apart.”
2) “That is it, he has no time for anything else,” should employ a semicolon rather than the comma.

That’s all.  Tried to find a quiet contact link, but couldn’t.

Again, thanks for the review.

AA

Has anyone tryed to open an XML file from iMovie08 into FCE.
In my hands i get only one stereo channel. Also video and sound is not linked in the FCE sequence . Am I doing something wrong, or has no one else tryed this so far. Fast raw editing in iMovie08 is great and fine tuning in FCE would bea nice option if this XML file realy works.

I work in a multimedia editing lab at a college and assist faculty, staff and students who want to learn basic and intermediate video editing. We use iMovie, FCP, Premier Elements, Windos MM..it really depends on the user. I would say this about the great old/new iMovie debate:

The new version - to some - is more intuitive, the old version - to others - is more intuitive, so I don’t think you can really nail which is better in that regard. I haven’t noticed a significant difference in learning curve between the old and new yet, and I see a fair amount of people with no editing experience.

I think the new version is good for quick and dirty stringing together of a couple of clips and making a digital file out of them. Great for youtube, ipod/iphone, etc..

I think the old version was an easy way for people to have intermediate video editing capabilities which are great for hobbyists who want some more flexibility with transitions, cuts, themes, audio, etc.. without the interface learning curve in more professional tools like FCP (which in my experience training people takes longer to learn than iMovie (old or new)).

I think the new interface is interesting. I don’t have strong feelings one way or another, I think every user is different and will react to it in a different way. I definitely like the non-destructive editing, this is something that will save a lot of space for us on our lab machines.

All that said, I do hope Apple will return a few of the intermediate features and a few of the basic features from the old iMovie. I hope that this debate stays productive and that it will lead to improvements in iMovie and lead users to other apps if Apple decides iMovie will no longer be designed to suit their needs.

As many have said, it seems as though the people with the most negative criticisms for iMovie 08 are semi/pro users who already know how to use the more sophisticated systems.  As a novice user, I was scared of “upgrading” because my MacBook Pro came with 06 pre-installed.

The problem is, I have a Sony AVCHD camera and therefore was forced into making the leap to 08.  I took the Apple Workshop in the store for 08 and came away feeling like I will put together a video that is more than just “stringing together a “quick and dirty” video.”

Seriously, those with the time, inclination or vocation in editing, lay off those who neither have the time to devote to learning these steep learning curve applications.  I plan to use my available time to make more than “adequate” movies, which I will pass on to family and friends .  In the time I have left over, I plan to shoot more footage of said family and friends.  In the end, they(vidoes) will be more appreciated than if I just complain about my editing softwares loss of features, it’s inability to “time-code” or other tedious issues.

And one more think, I don’t think there has ever been an Oscar presented to a film maker who just kept their footage on master files in a closet because their editing platform didn’t do exactly what he thought it should or could.