Note: These instructions were originally created for a class I taught using sample video footage from two versions of Romeo and Juliet.  The instructions will reference these clips (to which you won't have access).  Try to view the instructions as a guideline rather than exact directions and you should be able to apply this tutorial to what you need to do in iMovie.

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Important Facts about Digital Video:

• Digital Video is large.  Approx. 5 minutes of video equals 1 GB of drive space
• It is best captured via a firewire port

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Importing Video from a VHS tape

1. Connecting the VCR and the Canopus converter to the computer
2. Open iMovie '08
3. From the File menu choose Import from Camera, a new window appears.
4. Que up the video
5. Click Import

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Import existing movies into iMovie

1. Within iMovie go to File >Import Movies
2. From the next window choose the location of the sample videos
3. Click the radio button next to Create new Event. An event is a holding tank for all your video whether you will use it or not.
4. Name the event.  This name should reflect what is being captured (ex. Romeo and Juliet - 1968)
5. Ignore the Import 1080i video dropdown menu
6. Click the radio button next to Copy files
7. Now click Import

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Create a new project

1. From the File menu choose New Project
2. Next to Project Name type in a name for this project.  A project is the space that will house the edited footage for your final output. (ex. Romeo and Juliet: Film Comparison)
3. Next to Aspect Ratio choose Standard (4:3) from the dropdown menu
4. Click Create
5. The project will appear in the Project Library

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Adding your "rough cut" video

 

Adding the first clip

1. In the Event Browser locate the 1968 clip or the first clip you want to edit and use.
2. Using your mouse, scrub over the clip to locate the beginning of what you want. Now click, a yellow box will appear.
3. Click and drag on the right side of the yellow box to extend it to the end of the clip you want.

   Note: you may want to zoom into your clip a bit more using your clip slider.

4. Place your cursor anywhere inside the yellow box (your cursor will appear as a hand) and drag your clip into the project window.
5. Only the portion of the clip you chose will appear in the project area.

 

Adding Additional Clips

1. In the Event Browser locate the 1996 clip or the next clip you want to edit and use.
2. Using your mouse, scrub over the clip to locate the beginning of what you want. Now click, a yellow box will appear.
3. Click and drag on the right side of the yellow box to extend it to the end of the clip you want.

   Note: you may want to zoom into your clip a bit more using your clip slider.

4. Place your cursor anywhere inside the yellow box (your cursor will appear as a hand) and drag your clip into the project window.
5. Only the portion of the clip you chose will appear in the project area.

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Fine tuning clips

 

 

1. Locate the small double arrow in the lower right corner of the first clip.
2. Click the double arrow, an orange outline will appear on the right side of the clip.
3. Using your mouse, click on the center of the orange outline and drag to the right. This gives you 30 more frames to play with (1 sec) in either direction.
4. Click on the grey area of the clip shelf to deselect.

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Deleting clips

1. Click on the clip you wish to delete.
2. Click the Delete key on the keyboard of the computer.
3. Click Edit > Undo to put the clip back.

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Adding Titles

 

Adding Titles over Black

 

 

1. Click the Title ("T") button
2. Choose a title style, then click-hold and drag the title to the front of the movie. A green bar will appear before the first clip. Release the title.
3. In the preview window a black screen appears with generic text (Title Text Here, Subtitle Text Here).
4. Highlight the text and type your title (Romeo and Juliet: a Film Comparison).
5. To set the font size, type and color, click Show Fonts from the preview window.
6. To set the duration of the title, click-hold and drag on the edge of the title in the clips pane.
7. To move a title's location, click-hold and drag the middle of the clip to the new location.

 

Adding Titles over Video

1. Click the Title ("T") button
2. Choose a title style, then click-hold and drag the title over the clip where the title should appear. You can place it at the beginning, middle or end to start off but can change it later. Release the title.

   For our demonstration grab a title and drag it over the beginning of your first clip (should be the First Meeting of 1968).

3. In the preview window a black screen appears with generic text (Title Text Here, Subtitle Text Here).
4. Highlight the text and type your title (First Meeting - 1968).
5. To set the font size, type and color, click Show Fonts from the preview window.
6. To set the duration of the title, click-hold and drag on the edge of the title in the clips pane.
7. To move a title's location, click-hold and drag the middle of the clip to the new location.

 

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Adding Transitions

 

 

1. Choose Transitions from the above button bar (square with triangles).
2. Choose a transition style. If you hold your mouse over the transition you will see a preview.
3. Drag the transition of your choice to your timeline between each of similar clips (ex. between "First Meeting 96" & "First Meeting 68"). A green line will appear to show where the transition will be positioned.
4. To change an existing transition drag a new transition on top of the existing transition. The old transition will be replaced.

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Adding Photos

 

Using iPhoto to import photos

1. Open iPhoto from the Macintosh HD > Applications folder or from your Dock
2. From the File menu choose Import to Library
3. Locate the images you wish to use in your move.  Select the folder or the individual images then click Import
4. The photos will now be available to iMovie
5. Quit iPhoto (iPhoto > Quit iPhoto)

 

Adding photos to your video

 

 

1. Click on the Photo icon (camera)
2. Navigate through your iPhoto images
3. Click and drag the image you want into your timeline. You can place the image in the timeline or overlay it onto an existing video clip. When you do this, the video's audio track continues to play.
4. To delete an image, select it and press the Delete key on your keyboard.

    

 

Cropping, Zooming and Panning

1. Place your mouse over the image your wish to alter. Three controllers will appear on the image.
2. Click on the crop icon ()
3. The Preview window will change to contain to show Fit, Crop and Ken Burns
   • Fit - forces the image to "fit" into the aspect ratio of your video.
   • Crop - allows you to crop the image to show only a certain part.
     • when clicked a green box appears around the image.
     • click and drag on the edge of the box to make the image smaller.
     • click and drag in the middle of the box to move the box.
   • Ken Burns - allows you to pan and zoom into the image to add movement.
     • when clicked a green and red box appear on the image. The green box defines how the image will appear at the beginning. The red box defines how the image will look at the end.
     • to force the image to zoom in make the green box large (ex. covering the entire image) and the red box smaller
     • to force the image to pan resize the green box and drag it to the left of the image and resize the red box and drag it to the right of the image.
     • click the Play button in the upper right corner of the preview window to preview what you've done.
4. When finished, click Done in the preview window.

 

Adjusting the image

1. Place your mouse over the image your wish to alter. Three controllers will appear on the image.
2. Click on the adjust icon (). The video adjustment window opens.
3. Use the sliders to adjust the color, exposure, saturation, etc. At the bottom of the window there is an Auto button to auto adjust all the settings. There is also a Revert to Original button that will reset the video/image to its original state.

 

Alter the duration/time of the image

1. Place your mouse over the image your wish to alter. Three controllers will appear on the image.
2. Click on the time adjust icon (). The time adjustment window opens.
3. Next to Duration type in the duration, in minutes and seconds.
4. Click on the radio button to determine if you want it to apply to only the one photo or all the photos in the project.
5. When finished click Ok.

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Adding Audio

 

Adding Background Audio to the Entire Video

 

 

1. Click on the Music icon (musical notes). It will open a window at the lower-right showing iTunes, Sound Effects, GarageBand, etc.
2. Once you locate the music/sound you want, click and drag it into the background area of your timeline. You'll know you've put it in the correct spot if the background turns green.
3. To shorten the audio clip, double-click on it to open the trim window. You can then use the yellow bars to select the portion of the file you want to use.

 

Adding Audio to a Specific Clip

1. Click on the Music icon (musical notes). It will open a window at the lower-right showing iTunes, Sound Effects, GarageBand, etc.
2. Once you locate the music/sound you want, click and drag it onto one of the clips. A green tab will appear underneath the clip.
3. To move the audio file, click inside the clip and drag it.
4. To trim the audio to play only a certain part of the file, right-click (CNTL-click on the Mac) on the audio file and choose Trim.
   • Use the yellow trim bars to define the area you wish to hear.
   • When finished, click Done.
5. Delete the unwanted audio by selecting the green audio clip and pressing the Delete key on the computer keyboard.

 

Adjusting the Audio

1. From your timeline, click the audio clip you wish to adjust. The Audio Adjustments window will open.
2. From this window you can use the slider next to Volume to adjust the volume of the clip.
3. Adjusting the slider next to Fade In or Fade Out will fade the audio.
4. Ducking causes the audio of one clip to lower so that another clip can be heard, such as a voice-over. This happens automatically when you add a voice-over.
5. Normalize Clip Volume adjusts the volumes of all the clips to the same level. Adjusting the volume slider in any normalized clip sets it to the same volume, regardless of how low or soft the original clip audio was.

 

Adding Voice-Over

 

 

1. From the middle toolbar, click on the microphone icon. The voiceover window opens.
2. Adjust your Input Volume so that there is no red on the meter when you speak in a normal voice.
3. When ready to record, click on the appropriate in the movie and begin. Don't worry if you don't get it in the right place. You can always move it later.

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Exporting the Final Movie

 

For Download - Non-streamed

1. Click Share > Export Movie.
2. Choose the size you wish to use.
3. Click Export.

 

Streamed

1. Click Share > Export using Quicktime.
2. From the Export dropdown menu choose Movie to Quicktime Movie.
3. Next click Options.
   1. Under Video click Settings...
      1. Set Compression Type to H.264
      2. Under Motion set Frame Rate to 15 fps
      3. Key Frames set to Automatic
      4. Under Compressor set Quality to High
      5. Click OK
   2. Under Video click Size...
      1. Next to Dimensions choose 320 x 240 QVGA
      2. Check Preserve aspect ratio using
      3. Click OK
   3. Check the box next to Prepare for Internet Streaming
   4. From the dropdown choose Hinted Streaming
   5. Click OK
   6. Name your movie then click Save