How to Use Apple iMovie

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

iMovie running on Mac OS-X

Step 1

Import Movies

Import your clips into iMovie. You can import directly from a camera or from files that exist on your computer. Simply select the import feature from the FILE menu and use the browser to select your clips. Use SHIFT and mouse select to add multiple files. If you are importing MPEG files from a PC format or from the video camera you will need to augment your computer. STREAMCLIP is a batch MPEG converter from Squared5, which you can download (see Resources below). This free tool will allow you to convert MPEG format video to MP4 video, which can be recognized by iMovie. To play these files with QuickTime you will need to upgrade to QuickTime Pro and download the MPEG2 QuickTime player (see Resources). There is a small charge for both of these upgrades.
Step 2

New Project

Your first import will take some time if you have a lot of clips, since iMovie will generate new thumbnails for each clip. Once you have imported all the clips, select NEW PROJECT from the file menu to create a new project. In this case, I will call the project "Dave Mason" and select all the video I have from the Milford Music Festival.
Step 3

Select Videos

Your project is empty, so you need to SELECT all the clips you want in your project and drag them to the timeline window on the top. Once you have the clips in the timeline, you should reorder the clips in the proper sequence by dragging and dropping them in the correct order.
Step 4

Add Transitions

You may want to use TRANSITIONS between scenes to fade one scene to another or use another transition effect. To access them, select TRANSITIONS from the WINDOW menu. Simply select the transition you desire and drag it and place it between the two scenes.
Step 5

Crop your Image

To crop a scene, simply select the scene and then click on the CROP button. The crop window will open up and you can adjust the window to crop the video clip. This will crop the whole clip you selected so you need to preview the clip to make sure the crop fits the entire scene.
Step 6

Edit Video

You may want to edit the video itself. To do so, simply select a single clip or multiple clips using the SHIFT button and mouse click. Click on the VIDEO ADJUST button to bring up the control panel. You can adjust exposure, saturation and each channel independently. You can even adjust the white point by simply dragging it and moving it to a new location.
Step 7

Titles

Titles are added just like transitions. Select TITLES from the WINDOW menu. Drag the title from the inspector and place it into the movie. You can then completely edit the text. As with most Macintosh applications, all the fonts that are available on your system may be used. You can also easily change color, spacing and even kerning of the text.
Step 8

Sound

You can also easily edit the sound of any clip and add sound and music to your movies. From the FILE menu choose Music and Sound Effects to gain complete access to your iTunes library. Here you can add a music track or sound effect to a single scene or to the whole movie. Selecting the SOUND icon from the toolbar will allow you to edit a sound, adjust the volume and fade the sound in or out.
Step 9

Export

The final step is to export your movie. You can export directly to a number of devices including your computer. Exporting to your computer will create an MP4 movie of high quality that you can use with iDVD to make a movie that is playable on your home stereo system. iMovie is fun and easy to use. It may not have all the features that you are used to in a video editing program, but it is more then adequate for most of us.