iMovie questions

Stylianos Moschapidakis · June 7th, 2003, 01:42 PM

Nick, thanks for the reply.

I haven't tried the "trick" yet, but when I do, I'll let you know, if you're interested for the results.

Patricia Kim · August 13th, 2003, 06:11 AM

I've found one endorsement in this forum of Slick. Does anyone else have recommendations? Or recommend one or several of the 4 volumes of Slick available more than the others? Am working on something I want to finish and get out quickly to the participants, but there are several points where it could use some less abrupt transitions - and something more subtle - or at least more varied - than what iMovie currently offers. Opinions on all sides would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff Donald · August 13th, 2003, 09:44 AM

I've seen the Slick transitions (volumes 1 through 4) and they do very nice effects. I work in FCP, so they are incompatible. But the work I've seen with them looks professional and smooth.

Patricia Kim · August 13th, 2003, 03:43 PM

Once again, I'm looking for a quick fix for iMovie. Have checked in the audio forum, but no luck. So, has anyone used Sonic Fire or Soundtrack? I'm completely non-musical and still learning to crawl with video, but trying to finish a piece I shot of a veterans' commemorative event. I edited out a lot of the background noise on various clips, but some clips contain singing of national anthems, Hawaiian chanting, etc. This makes the segments without any sound somewhat eerie. What I'd like to do is fill in with suitable music - probably patriotic and/or marches. So far Sonic Fire and Soundtrack appear to allow one to draw on large libraries, but I don't know if the software is truly iMovie compatible - or which one is more idiot-proof. This is not intended to be (nor could it ever be) a professional job. It just has to be good enough "home movie" for some of the vets to be able to have for themselves and their families. Once again, recommendations and opinions any compatible/suitable software greatly appreciated.

Patricia Kim · August 14th, 2003, 02:09 AM

Thank you, Jeff. You and Steve Wozniak, apparently.

Jeff Donald · August 14th, 2003, 05:17 AM

I'm not an iMovie user, but you should be able to export the audio out of iMovie. Bias makes several audio programs that may be of interest. Peak, Deck and SoundSoap should do just about everything you'd ever need. Unfortunately they are not as easy to learn as iMovie. You might want to look into FCPE. It probably offers the features you need.

Patricia Kim · August 14th, 2003, 05:35 AM

I did check out the web site. You're right - too complicated for me. I've decided to try SonicFire, mainly because it seems to offer drop-in tracks from a reasonably diverse (though sometimes costly) library. Should work with FCE, too, which I own but haven't yet used. (Will try working with it for my next, much, much smaller project.) Thanks for taking the time to help out with my problem.

Ivan Hedley Enger · August 14th, 2003, 06:17 AM

I agree with you Patricia, that SonicFire might seem costly. I have used it for some time myself now, and I think it's a very fine tool for scoring my videos. It's certainly very easy to learn how to use the software. I have even purchased a lot of their music/sound palette CDs, and must say that I am impressed by the quality and flexibility they deliver.

Matt Stahley · August 15th, 2003, 10:05 PM

You can import audio from cds directly into iMovie. I dont use iMovie much anymore but I've imported lots of cd audio into it and you can do a rough chop up edit in iMovie as well to get the selections you need from the track and delete the rest. this can be done in quicktime as well.If its not for sale commercially and only for home viewing you should have no problems using any music you want.

Patricia Kim · August 15th, 2003, 11:08 PM

Thank you. Problem is that my CDs don't fit the bill. 50's music and patriotic songs aren't part of my current collection. Plus, when you are not musical, you cut tracks off in the wrong place. (By the way, if anyone finds a cure for humming to music when you can't carry a tune - nothing worse than getting picked up by your own mike - let me know.)

Ken Tanaka · August 15th, 2003, 11:36 PM

Patricia,
I think Sonic Fire Pro will fill your bill better and quicker than Soundtrack. Using SF's "Maestro" feature you can select a music style and length and then a specific variation. SF will then generate a piece as close to your target length as possible which you can then export to a separate file, then import and place into your iMovie project.

You will probably need to also purchase one or more libraries for SF to get the selection(s) you need. More info at the SmartSound site.

Patricia Kim · August 16th, 2003, 12:10 AM

Thanks, Ken. I ordered SonicFire Pro yesterday as well as a couple of their CD collections. I am learning by trial and error that once you decide how you want your clips to flow, you work on sound first, then transitions and titles (at least in iMovie). I seem to be doing it absolutely backwards, and I'm sure I'm going to have to redo a few more times, which is a bit much for a home movie, but a good way to learn, nonetheless. (Oh, yes, the best way would be to learn to use the camera to its fullest first, but some of us don't learn that way.)

Alan Tran · August 18th, 2003, 11:19 PM

you know after you import your clips they are in the clips pane...then when you drag and drop them in they aren't in the clips pane anymore?? is there a way to use clips but still have the clip there so i can use it more than once?

John Locke · August 19th, 2003, 12:05 AM

Alan,

Hold down the option key as you drag the clip from the bin to the timeline. Repeat this as many times as is necessary.

Victor Panero · September 1st, 2003, 11:36 AM

This is my first post so pardon the delay.
Here are list of plugin sites i found the other evening.
I haven't tried them out but there's a wealth compared to a few years ago.

http://www.stupendous-software.com/

http://www.umlautllama.com

http://www.csb-digital.com/iplugins/community

http://www.virtix.com/imovie/

http://www.ezedia.com/products/eZedia_plug-ins/iMovie_plug-ins/eZeMatte_plug-in.html

June 7th, 2003, 01:42 PM	#46
Stylianos Moschapidakis Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Cambridge, MA/Crete, Greece Posts: 189	Nick, thanks for the reply. I haven't tried the "trick" yet, but when I do, I'll let you know, if you're interested for the results. __________________ Stelios G.M.

August 13th, 2003, 06:11 AM	#47
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	iMovie Plug-In Recommendations? I've found one endorsement in this forum of Slick. Does anyone else have recommendations? Or recommend one or several of the 4 volumes of Slick available more than the others? Am working on something I want to finish and get out quickly to the participants, but there are several points where it could use some less abrupt transitions - and something more subtle - or at least more varied - than what iMovie currently offers. Opinions on all sides would be greatly appreciated.

August 13th, 2003, 09:44 AM	#48
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I've seen the Slick transitions (volumes 1 through 4) and they do very nice effects. I work in FCP, so they are incompatible. But the work I've seen with them looks professional and smooth. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 13th, 2003, 03:43 PM	#49
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	iMovie Compatible Soundtrack Software? Once again, I'm looking for a quick fix for iMovie. Have checked in the audio forum, but no luck. So, has anyone used Sonic Fire or Soundtrack? I'm completely non-musical and still learning to crawl with video, but trying to finish a piece I shot of a veterans' commemorative event. I edited out a lot of the background noise on various clips, but some clips contain singing of national anthems, Hawaiian chanting, etc. This makes the segments without any sound somewhat eerie. What I'd like to do is fill in with suitable music - probably patriotic and/or marches. So far Sonic Fire and Soundtrack appear to allow one to draw on large libraries, but I don't know if the software is truly iMovie compatible - or which one is more idiot-proof. This is not intended to be (nor could it ever be) a professional job. It just has to be good enough "home movie" for some of the vets to be able to have for themselves and their families. Once again, recommendations and opinions any compatible/suitable software greatly appreciated.

August 14th, 2003, 05:17 AM	#51
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I'm not an iMovie user, but you should be able to export the audio out of iMovie. Bias makes several audio programs that may be of interest. Peak, Deck and SoundSoap should do just about everything you'd ever need. Unfortunately they are not as easy to learn as iMovie. You might want to look into FCPE. It probably offers the features you need. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

August 14th, 2003, 02:09 AM	#50
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Thank you, Jeff. You and Steve Wozniak, apparently.

August 14th, 2003, 05:35 AM	#52
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	I did check out the web site. You're right - too complicated for me. I've decided to try SonicFire, mainly because it seems to offer drop-in tracks from a reasonably diverse (though sometimes costly) library. Should work with FCE, too, which I own but haven't yet used. (Will try working with it for my next, much, much smaller project.) Thanks for taking the time to help out with my problem.

August 14th, 2003, 06:17 AM	#53
Ivan Hedley Enger Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Vestfold in Norway Posts: 103	I agree with you Patricia, that SonicFire might seem costly. I have used it for some time myself now, and I think it's a very fine tool for scoring my videos. It's certainly very easy to learn how to use the software. I have even purchased a lot of their music/sound palette CDs, and must say that I am impressed by the quality and flexibility they deliver.

August 15th, 2003, 10:05 PM	#54
Matt Stahley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Waynesboro, PA Posts: 648	You can import audio from cds directly into iMovie. I dont use iMovie much anymore but I've imported lots of cd audio into it and you can do a rough chop up edit in iMovie as well to get the selections you need from the track and delete the rest. this can be done in quicktime as well.If its not for sale commercially and only for home viewing you should have no problems using any music you want.

August 15th, 2003, 11:08 PM	#55
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Thank you. Problem is that my CDs don't fit the bill. 50's music and patriotic songs aren't part of my current collection. Plus, when you are not musical, you cut tracks off in the wrong place. (By the way, if anyone finds a cure for humming to music when you can't carry a tune - nothing worse than getting picked up by your own mike - let me know.)

August 15th, 2003, 11:36 PM	#56
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Patricia, I think Sonic Fire Pro will fill your bill better and quicker than Soundtrack. Using SF's "Maestro" feature you can select a music style and length and then a specific variation. SF will then generate a piece as close to your target length as possible which you can then export to a separate file, then import and place into your iMovie project. You will probably need to also purchase one or more libraries for SF to get the selection(s) you need. More info at the SmartSound site. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

August 16th, 2003, 12:10 AM	#57
Patricia Kim Major Player Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Posts: 453	Thanks, Ken. I ordered SonicFire Pro yesterday as well as a couple of their CD collections. I am learning by trial and error that once you decide how you want your clips to flow, you work on sound first, then transitions and titles (at least in iMovie). I seem to be doing it absolutely backwards, and I'm sure I'm going to have to redo a few more times, which is a bit much for a home movie, but a good way to learn, nonetheless. (Oh, yes, the best way would be to learn to use the camera to its fullest first, but some of us don't learn that way.)

August 18th, 2003, 11:19 PM	#58
Alan Tran Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 121	imovie clips you know after you import your clips they are in the clips pane...then when you drag and drop them in they aren't in the clips pane anymore?? is there a way to use clips but still have the clip there so i can use it more than once?

August 19th, 2003, 12:05 AM	#59
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	Alan, Hold down the option key as you drag the clip from the bin to the timeline. Repeat this as many times as is necessary. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

September 1st, 2003, 11:36 AM	#60
Victor Panero Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Miyazaki, Japan-----> Orange County Posts: 25	iMovie Plug-In Recommendations? This is my first post so pardon the delay. Here are list of plugin sites i found the other evening. I haven't tried them out but there's a wealth compared to a few years ago. http://www.stupendous-software.com/ http://www.umlautllama.com http://www.csb-digital.com/iplugins/community http://www.virtix.com/imovie/ http://www.ezedia.com/products/eZedia_plug-ins/iMovie_plug-ins/eZeMatte_plug-in.html