Written by Philip Roy | 28 August 2006
Posted in Books Training

Having received the updated version of  "The Missing Manual for iMovie 6 and iDVD" to review (see previous review here), my first query was how do you review a technical book of this size?

Being a mere male who likes to try anything and everything before reading any manual this posed the first problem. I have plenty of experience working with iMovie so much of the manual already seemed superfluous. But once again, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Review
Author/Publisher	David Pogue Pogue Press/O'Reilly
Book details	ISBN: 0-596-52726-8 Pages: 512
Value for money
Price	$34.99 US
Available from	www.missingmanuals.com

As I was working on editing a rather complicated movie in iMovie at the time (not always the best of ideas, but I find iMovie an exceptionally fast way to avoid the complications of Final Cut) I decided to have the manual at my side this time and use it whenever a problem surfaced. So rather than experiment to solve a problem, I would first consult the manual. Second problem for a mere male - multi-tasking.

 

The layout of the book is identical to the last version with updates coming in the areas where there have been changes to the two applications…menus, audio effects, timelapse importing, DVD burners and more visual effects, as well as the new more advanced features of themes and widescreen layouts (promised, but not really delivered in iDVD 5).

The first three chapters are priceless and are worth insisting amateur camera buffs read if they intend you to edit their work or go out into the field to shoot film. The advice given here is as good as I have seen….it is not too technical and caters for all levels.

I feel the book comes into its own once you have a certain amount of knowledge and feel slightly comfortable with the two programs. Coming to grips with all the terms must be a nightmare for video  and computer editing newbies, but the newcomer willing to make the effort and take the time will be well rewarded.

The final section of the book (troubleshooting) was where I would go to first if the need arose. If no success was gained there, I would search the relevant sections in the well set out book. I have to say that I didn't always have success using this technique though.

The book is honest and admits that iDVD and iMovie are not perfect, and with respect neither is this book. I could find nothing about why sound might not be captured when importing footage and this is an issue that has happened to me (and others) several times. The old adage of  restart your computer and trying again (as well as checking your cables) seems to usually resolve the issue.

The two golden rules at the start of the troubleshooting section are invaluable and are ones I usually say to people who get in touch when they first say they have a problems…check for all updates for your Mac and secondly, make sure your camera is set to 16 bit audio. This solves sync problem that can occur when editing.

More often than not, the updates do solve problems people get in touch with me about and prevent a lot of anguish when things don't go quite right. I found this especially helpful with sound glitches whilst importing transitions. Beeping sounds were very intrusive but the download of a QuickTime update solved this hiccup once and for all. Note that many of the fixes for solutions aren’t necessary where you might suspect to find them. For example an OS X update or a QuickTime update might solve issues in iMovie when you might be expecting that only iMovie updates solve iMovie problems.

But regardless of not being able to solve every problem the book is invaluable. It is easy to find relevant sections, has an excellent index and was obviously written to support beginners and semi-pros alike.

Is it worth purchasing the book if you already have the previous book but have updated your computer to use iMovie 6…..probably not if you are reasonably skilled though.

The changes in iMovie 6 are an improvement on previous versions, but you quickly adapt to the menu changes and layout changes without having to read up on them. But if you are wanting to use iMovie to its fullest or learn more about filming and use of QuickTime, then you can't go wrong with this helpful aid. It's certainly better than going to the Help menu.

All in all a great update, well worth owning if you haven't laid eyes on one before and want to get the most out of what these wonderful applications offer.

Oh and I had to consult the manual in detail only once during the process of editing and writing this review. I had aspect-ratio problems. Did I get the help I needed? Yes…and I now know a couple of new terms. I’d heard of letterboxing, but pillarboxing and windowboxing were new terms for things that I’d been doing. Check out here if you want to know what they are… http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303530