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Last month, I bought a Quicksilver G4, you see, the one with the SuperDrive. The ability to burn DVDs has proven too tempting, so I got ahead of myself with editing movies, the article planned for next month. Since it's fresh in my mind, here we go. iMovie.
We're going to use a couple of tricks here to make this work for us. For although I'm willing to lay down the cash on a computer I probably didn't need just yet, I'm not willing to do so for a digital camcorder I probably don't need at all. My trusty Sony Hi8 does a decent enough job for now, and through the well documented QuickTime DV trick, we can make those crusty, old analog movies work just fine with iMovie.
But first, a couple recommendations. When you're filming your vacation videos, have at least a vague idea what you're going to do with them. On my recent honeymoon, I knew I'd be splitting my footage into two different movies; one of Wales and one of London (I ended up splitting it into three, but you'll have that). I knew I'd be setting the footage to music and deleting all the dialogue, which made filming much easier because I didn't have to worry about trying to be clever. I even knew what songs would be used, so I could attempt to match the footage to the lyrics. Trust me, it made me look more artistic than I am.
My other suggestion is that you go purchase iMovie 2: The Missing Manual by David Pogue. David does a great job of showing off the power and limitations of iMovie, and his filming advice is indispensable. On top of that, it's a fun read...well, as fun as a manual can be, anyway. I mean, it's not An Unfortunate Series of Events, but it'll do.
Okay, so you've got your video and your computer. Now what? Well, if you've got a DV camcorder, plug it in, boot up iMovie and have it. If you've got a non-digital camcorder, there's a bit more you have to do. First, purchase MyVideo from Eskape Labs. This wonderful product turns that tiny USB port into a pipe large enough to bring in your video and shoot it right back out again. If you want all the details, you can visit the Eskape Labs website or read my review.
Oh, and another thing. If you've got a Cube or the latest line of G4s, you'll notice you have no audio input. I'm afraid another purchase is in your future, although not a bad one; Griffin Technologies makes a wonderfully useful and wonderfully inexpensive device called the iMic, which turns yet another USB port into a line and mic level audio input (Eskape labs offers a discount on the iMic to those who purchase (and who already have purchased) any of their USB video devices, the details for which can be found here). Running out of USB ports? Why not spend a little more money. You're still under half the amount of a decent DV camcorder.
With MyVideo, you're able to record video from your camcorder onto the desktop. Bring in the clips you think you'll want to use, and be judicious; these things can take up quite a bit of disk space. You'll now have to open the pro version of QuickTime (alas, more money to be spent), and export the video as a DV stream. You can use QuickTime Pro to trim off the excess video fat, and even delete the audio track if, like me, you don't plan to use it anyway (no need for the iMic then, either). Occasionally, the export wouldn't work because the video had become corrupted, according to the error message. I found that by exporting the video to the Eskape Movie format, then exporting that file to DV, the error became a blank frame that could be easily deleted in iMovie.
Now that we've got our DV streams, it's just a matter of tricking iMovie into believing us. To do this, simply create, name and save a new iMovie project, then move the DV files into the project's media folder. Now open iMovie again, and use your best poker face as iMovie tries to figure out what to do with these files. Tell it to place them in the clips window, and there you have it. Digital video on an analog budget!
Now, iMovie is a wee bit much for this how-to...I'm just trying to show you some tricks here. Again, if you'd like guidance, order iMovie 2: The Missing Manual. While you're waiting for it to arrive, here are a couple words of advice...
Transitions are your enemy. Used judiciously, they can be effective. Used with abundance, they're more annoying than a website of animated GIFs. They also have a nasty habit of greatly increasing your movie's file size. Pick one or two that you like, and then use only one of them. And how's this for hypocrisy. You may want to try out Gee Three's Slick Transitions and Effects. You'll get 50 plug-ins, some of which are really cool. But remember, cool does not mean necessary. You're trying to show off your subject matter, not your technology.
Also remember that you're out of high school, and projects no longer have to be a certain length to get a good grade. Be brief. Edit mercilessly, and don't worry about the footage you've left behind. Remember your memory...not that in the computer, but in your mind? Yep, it's still there. Your whole life doesn't have to be stored in video, just the parts that will entertain your friends and family. I try to never exceed three minutes with an individual movie. Too much longer, and you'll find you'll no longer be invited to the family reunions.
And finally, use music. People love music, and it can capture the feel of a moment or place much better than pictures can. For instance, although I understood the majesty and power of Harlech Castle, my video made it look like just another wall. A really big, old wall. Add Mike Moran's music from Highlander, and suddenly those walls are telling stories of battles and sieges and kingdoms won and lost on the very ground that I walked. Now that's powerful.
Of course, copyright law is also powerful. Adding music to your movies to show your friends is one thing, adding it for broadcast on the web is another. As you'll see later, I went ahead and did it anyway because the song's very obscure and I compressed the life out of it to get it online. It wouldn't be wise to follow my example, however. You have been warned.
So, once you've got your masterpiece edited and ready to go, it's time to get it up onto iTools. This is actually somewhat depressing, as you're going to have to throw out a lot of the quality in order to make it downloadable. Make sure you run another copy out to video or burn it onto iDVD so you can really show it off, and we'll make do with what we can on the internet.
If you select Export Movie from within iMovie, you're presented with three options: To Camera, To QuickTime, and For iDVD. For iTools purposes, select To QuickTime, then chose Web Movie, Small from the drop down menu. Simple as that. If you know a bit about compression and want to tweak the settings, you're more than welcome to do so. Either way, when the movie's done exporting, you're ready to upload.
Or...want to spend a little more money? If so, I recommend the newly released Sorenson Squeeze. Simply put, Squeeze manages to provide you with more possible default destinations, but retains the simplicity of simply clicking your way through the compression. It also offers more customization options and yields better results. My method involved exporting my movie from iMovie for iDVD, which produced a 621.8MB file, then running it through Sorenson Squeeze optimized for modems, reducing the file to 1.9MB. Looking ahead, because iTools likes to play movies at 240x180, I altered the file size from the default for modems to make for a better fit. The file would've otherwise been 1.3MB
Here we are at the final step. Last month, I showed you how to set up an iTools account and get your photos in it. Now, we're going to do the same with the movie. Log into your iTools account, open your iDisk, locate the Movies folder, and drag your movie into this folder. Once the upload is complete, go back to the main iTools page and click on the Homepage button. From there, click on the iMovies tab to create a page, then choose your theme. Now select your movie, edit the text, publish it, and you're done. Well, you can also add the movie to your homepage by selecting it in the upper left window that displays all your pages, and clicking edit.
And that'll do it. Visitors to your page will now be able to experience your vacation just as you did, albeit a much smaller, highly compressed vacation. Putting movies online is no substitute for VHS or DVD, of course, but now you don't have to actually invite people over to show off.
Want to see how this came together for me? Check out my iTools homepage. The results aren't perfect, but with the tools I've mentioned above, decent results can be achieved. It's just a matter of practice, which I'll be doing plenty of in the weeks to come. And, unless I'm in jail next month for copyright infringement, I really will get to panoramas. Heck, I'll get to them even I am in jail, the subject matter which just be a little more depressing.
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