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Introduction
Introduction
I was at Macworld Expo when Apple introduced the first version of iMovie, and seeing it in person was a bona fide “a-ha” moment for me and most of the people in attendance. Video editing, a skill that people spend years mastering in specialized schools, had arrived on the average user’s Mac. Of course this was going to work. When Steve Jobs presented a short video of two children playing, I knew the days of long, choppy, unedited videotape recordings were coming to a close. Not only can you easily—let me repeat that: easily—capture video footage and transfer it to your computer, you can now edit out all the bad shots, the awkward moments, and those times when the camera was inadvertently left recording while dangling at your side.
The Great iMovie Schism of 2007In August 2007, Steve Jobs announced iLife ’08 by saying that one application was completely new. Instead of a different iApplication, however, the “new” program turned out to be iMovie. Apple believed that iMovie HD was still too complicated for many users, so it tossed out the old and completely rewrote a new application, which we know as iMovie ’08. For longtime iMovie users, the switch has been difficult. Many features they’d grown accustomed to, such as creating DVD chapter markers, are gone. So, too, is support for third-party plug-ins, and any semblance of the old familiar timeline. iMovie ’08 is a bold attempt to redefine how regular people edit video, taking its cues from iPhoto instead of Final Cut Pro. Is it successful? I’m torn. It is possible to make a good movie in less time, which is clearly one of its main goals. And in my testing, I’ve discovered that what I at first called “iMovie Lite” is a much deeper program. But I’m hoping subsequent revisions will bring back some of the great features that have vanished for now. |
