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First published in New Zealand Macguide Magazine - Issue 21

It's an intriguing change to see the addition of HDV (High Definition Video) into iMovie to the point that the program has been renamed "iMovie HD". The application is famed for its simplicity and ease of use in performing some reasonably impressive video editing, but with the new formats, there's an interesting mix of ease of use over complex multiple digital formats. iMovie HD now in fact not only supports HDV, but also widescreen video (that some of the newest camcorders will let you shoot in), MPEG-4, and live video imported from an iSight camera. The downside is that those that start to make use of HD editing will need a powerful Mac and loads more disk space to deal with the high resolution editing.

More of the same, only different
For most people, the changes within iMovie will seem moderately cosmetic as the application has now evolved to a point where most changes are under the bonnet rather than readily visible. That said, there have been a few interesting tweaks that makes the program more easy to use, but it has also seen the introduction of a few interface and performance glitches that people will find annoying. Those of you thinking that this means staying with the version you have is the best idea, think again. Despite a number of small issues, I believe it is still well worth the purchase and does appear to perform better than previous incarnations. And on the subject of small issues, I would have to say that the addition of only 10 new video effects and three new transitions into the mix was a little disappointing for me.

You'll soon discover slight changes that either appeal or get you a little confused. The iMovie project you create for your movie is now simply one file, with all your digital content stored within in it. Gone is the folder of DV clips that some preferred but others found very confusing. This makes saving a copy of the project really easy, as you just use the "Save As..." option to copy the file. Sounds great, but don't forget that one file contains everything, so after you choose to save a copy, go make a coffee while all the digital content is copied across into the new project file.

At the same time, another nice touch has been to make the trash within iMovie work just like a regular trash. You can open it up, see what's in there, empty the trash or move items back onto your timeline. It may seem trivial to many, but I think it's a lot more user friendly and Mac-like than before. The addition of what Apple refers to as "virtually unlimited undos" (the ability to go back step after step when you make a mistake) and the option to revert to the last saved version of your project, also helps those of us that rush things at times and so the feel of the program is a little more intuitive.

iDVD - Changes that some miss out on
Many of the changes within iDVD are very welcome indeed. However the most welcome change (the ability to burn from iDVD onto multiple disc formats) will only function on certain Macs, although the list of models is quite large (see http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300665). But being able to burn onto DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW is a function that many have been waiting to see eventuate for some time. Apple have also given up on their "only with an inbuilt superdrive" approach and have added in an option to allow you to work on Macs without a superdrive and save your completed iDVD project as a disk image to transfer to a Mac with a superdrive or an external DVD writer. Thank you Apple!

Probably the most impressive addition to iDVD is animated drop zones. The new themes weren't overly exciting but some do make use brilliant use of the new feature. Think of animated drop zones as moving areas in the themes where pictures and movies can be dropped. When before we could drag and drop an image and have it incorporated into a flowing presentation, these items now come to life, being moved around and animated far more. The "Baby Mobile" theme is the best example of this, with pictures spinning around a baby's cot that is just clever and very easy to use.

The minor interface tweaks can get a little confusing although the new motion timeline at the bottom of the screen is a simple and effective way of showing the various components that make up your motion theme without having to jump into preview mode and the burning process is now more informative. The simplest way to get at a theme's drop zones is to double-click on one and be taken to the folder where the contents of all the zones for that theme are listed.

Of course, if iMovie HD can, then iDVD can also support importing HD and widescreen formats, not burning in HD format however. The map indicating where all items in your project are has also been improved to make it easier to follow, although having drop zones accessible from here would have been great. One final addition worth mentioning is that iPhoto albums can now be dropped directly into iDVD.

One click. One movie. One DVD.
A new feature in both iMovie and iDVD is a one-button-click automation activity that is called "Magic iMovie" in iMovie and "OneStep DVD" in iDVD (Hello? Apple, could you not have used "OneStep" in both?)

Movie Magic will let you hook up a camera, import video on to the timeline, with scene breaks, transitions, titles, chapters and a soundtrack, moderately automatically, and even have the final project exported to iDVD. For those in a hurry or simply just wanting the whole process completed without having to be involved too much, it's a superb concept.

With OneStep DVD, you connect the camera and iDVD will import as much video as it can hold straight onto a DVD and make an auto-play movie. Ideal if you just want to archive footage or take it away with you for viewing elsewhere.

All in all, not an update that you will have absolutely staggered (to me that shows that both applications are now both very robust) but versions that introduce features that you'll gradually explore more and more, and then wonder how you did without them.

Published by kind permission NZ Macguide - © Parkside Media

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