PE1_iMovie

This post, and the posts following will be documentation, thoughts, and reflections  on my process of learning the ins and outs of iMovie '11.

First of all, I have the say it's nice to be working with iMovie '11 now. In my previous classes and projects, I had iMovie '09. I was able to upgrade my version recently, and through my own exploration and these videos, I've discovered a lot of small, but useful differences and additions. There are lots of little features/differences, that aren't really outstanding or really noticeable, but definitely contribute to ease of user experience.

I liked having the exercise files to work along with. I work by not just watching but by doing. I could use my own files to work along with and do similar things, but its still nice to have the exact same files to prevent errors (file mismatch or such)

Although I had used and felt I was somewhat comfortable with (at least the basics of) imovie, I'm realizing there are many small details I don't know. (For example, the ability to switch the project and event panes. So simple, but useful)

I figured these videos would be helpful, but it's interesting to see just how much the program is capable of. 

I liked the intro to the connectors and how to import from different sources.  I was pretty familiar with the connections already, but I'm impressed they included it. I've seen many tutorial videos (for various things) that assume too much of the viewer. 

The different abilities imovie has to import data is also impressive. The fact that imovie can automatically detect and improve stabilization, and detect the presence of people in a clip so it can make special adjustments for that is pretty amazing. 

I knew that Macs are known for being especially user friendly, but it's not apparent until you really work with the programs.   

Going through the first 4 modules was more of an overview for me, reviewing basic features and actions. I still learned a few tips and tricks though. For example, i knew that you could adjust how the clips would appear in the event window (in seconds), but for some reason I didn't realize that it would change the speed with which you could scan/view the clip. I thought it just changed how many pictures you saw. D'oh! 

5 second interval

1/2 sec interval

                                                                vs.

These would have been helpful to know a  few months ago when using imovie! :)

Part of me wishes we had this assignment in month two, but then I realize that we've had access to lynda.com since month one, and nothing was stopping me from using the tutorials then. 

Live and learn. 

The next sections (Editing, Working with Effects, Working with Audio) seem a bit more in-depth and intensive. While these are the sections I'm most excited to explore, I think I need a break before I tackle these… 

notes to self: iMovie can import  .mov, .mp4, .dv , for other types (wmf, avi)must convert. Quicktime 7 pro is one example of program that can convert many file types.