Simon Williams - Tips and Tricks for iMovie: The How-To Guide

Once a clip has been analyzed to stabilize it, iMovie can also detect if the camera itself is moving in the shot. By going to File then Analyze Video and choosing Mark Camera Pans, iMovie will note which clips contain panning motion with a blue line on the top of each clip, making it easy to spot these specific shots in your Event Library.

More and more people are using smaller camcorders or mobile phones to capture footage, especially now that many feature HD recording abilities, but these devices bring with them their own issues. The CMOS sensor used in these devices is often prone to distorting the captured video. Fortunately, iMovie also has the ability to compensate for these motion distortion problems.

1. Select the clip by clicking on it.
2. Click on the i icon to open the Inspector.
3. Select the Clip tab.
4. In the Rolling Shutter section, tick Reduce Motion Distortion.
5. iMovie will now analyze the clip for Stabilization if it has not already done so.
6. Once the clip is analyzed, set the reduction amount from the drop-down menu. If the clip was recorded on a mobile phone, High or Extra High settings usually produce the best results.
7. Click on Done to finish.

Chapter 2

W hen working on a project in iMovie, its easy to simply think in terms of moving images, but still images also have a place, and not just as part of title sequences. The contrast between video footage and the stillness of a picture can create powerful effects when edited with care and attention.

iMovie features close integration with the iPhoto Library on your Mac, allowing you to easily find and add still images directly to your Project Timeline, as well as having a suite of editing options to add effects and dynamism to your photos.

1. Click on the Photo icon at the top-right of the Event Library to open the Photo Browser.
2. All the photos contained in your iPhoto Library will be available, and you can navigate to them using Photos, Events, Faces, Places, and Albums just as you would if you were using iPhoto itself. You can also use the Search box at the bottom of the Browser to narrow your photos down by name or keywords.
3. Select the photo you require, and then drag it directly onto the Timeline in the Project Window. A clip will be created with a thumbnail of the image, and it will be visible in the Viewer window in the top-right of the iMovie interface.
4. By default, iMovie sets the play time of a photo clip to four seconds and adds the Ken Burns effect to it, imitating a camera moving across the image.
5. You can edit the photo clips settings as with any other clip by clicking on the Cog icon:
   1. Clip Adjustments: Allows you to alter the duration of the clip, as well as making the new length the default for all stills, as well as apply a video effect.
   2. Video Adjustments: Opens the Inspector, allowing you the same control over Levels as with video clips.
   3. Cropping, Ken Burns, and Rotation: Allows you to edit and preview these features, enabling you to have fine control over both the displayed image and any camera movement.
6. You can also open the Precision Editor from the pop-up menu for fine Timeline editing.
7. When youve completed any adjustments or editing, click on Done.

Still images can also be used with movie clips when using two-image techniques such as Picture-in-Picture, Side by Side and Cutaway (see Chapter 5), accessible by dropping a photo onto a movie clip in the Project Timeline.

Chapter 3

O ften even the most carefully shot and lit footage can still need some minor tweaking to fulfill its potential. While video special effects and overlaying clips may be more glamorous, good video editing has its foundations in making subtle adjustments to the exposure, contrast and saturation of individual clips.