iMovie

iMovie's screen is clean and friendly.

Apple’s iMovie started out as a strong reason to buy their iMac DV. In fact, that used to be the only way you could get your hands on the software. Bundled only with the FireWire capable iMac DV for $1299, purchasers of the system gained a video editor in a box. Simply plug your digital camera in and edit.

Most reviews of iMovie have been positive. Of course, many users of other FireWire capable Macintosh computers became very envious. Surprisingly, Apple suddenly released iMovie as a free download from their Web site. Now anyone with a FireWire capable Macintosh and digital camcorder could join in on the fun.

iMovie is a basic video editing package. You will not find a lot of advanced add-ons. You will find all that you need to cut a basic presentation together. iMovie offers a “shelf" area where you can store your raw footage as thumbnail images. A viewer window allows you to view your footage. Audio and video time-lines allow for drag and drop editing. Clicking the effects palettes makes it easy to add simple transitions, titles, music and sound effects.

No Digital Camcorder?
If you don't own a digital camcorder, you may still want to use iMovie to create streaming video. The problem is iMovie was built to work specifically with Firewire equipped digital camcorders, and not as a stand alone video editing suite. So, while you can include your old stills and sounds, all those pre-digital camcorder videos you have on your hard drive could end up on the cutting room floor. Sounds like a good reason to own a FireWire equipped digital camcorder, doesn't it?

But, Apple to the rescue, there is a work around. If you own QuickTime Pro (or even version 2.5) that allows you to save files, simply export your movie as a “DV Stream." Make sure you use the DV Stream default settings and have the “.dv" file extension on the file. Then launch iMovie and create a new project on your hard drive. Close down iMovie and hunt down the Media folder for your project. Drag your newly converted DV clips into the Media folder and relaunch iMovie. IMovie will let you add your “stray clip." From here, you are in business.

Of course, this is a bit of work if you are going to use iMovie on a regular basis. Another, more expensive, solution for those without a digital camcorder would be to consider a device like the Sony DVMC-DA1 analog to FireWire converter.

Streaming Features?
So what does iMovie offer the streaming media producer? First, iMovie’s ability to import images and sound makes it an effective streaming slide presentation tool. You can view it as the Apple QuickTime challenger for RealNetworks RealPix or RealSlideshow.

Exporting your work for online use is easy enough for grandma to do. iMovie provides simple choices for small videos that can be sent by e-mail or posted on the Web. These options are based on the popular Sorenson codec. Expert settings are provided for further adjustment (such as choosing “Internet Fast Start"). Unfortunately, iMovie does not also export a supporting Web page ready for upload. Nor do the export settings default to a starting point based on your choice of output for e-mail or Web use.