I almost wish Apple had n’t introduced Themes into iMovie HD 6 , because they ’re bound to befog some coolheaded new features in the television editing component of iLife ’ 06 . I mean , topic are nerveless — you’re able to add well - project championship sequences customized with your own photos and video clips — but they ’re coolheaded in that flash , soda vocalizer , look - at - me kind of way .
Just because Apple is promoting themes as iMovie ’s most important feature — they took up the volume of the demonstration clip Steve Jobs mete out to iMovie in his tonic — does n’t mean it ’s the only improver to the digital - video redaction app that merit tending . permit ’s reflect some light on what else is exciting about this spillage . ( For an evaluation of these features , read my full review of iMovie HD 6 . )
A young smell , in veridical time
To keep everything on the same cover ( thisisiMovie , after all ) , Apple ’s engineers have had to get originative when apportion screen space . The button below the Shelf now reflect categories of tasks instead of direct features — for instance , titles , transitions , and effect are now all turn up in the Editing battery-acid .
Those panes are missing an iMovie fixture from the early days : the preview window . Now , when you click a statute title , changeover , or effect , it ’s previewed in the Monitor in real time . ( The performance depends on your Mac ’s computer graphic card , since many of the burden are base on Mac OS X ’s Core Video components . ) rather of guessing at what an gist might expect like , you get to see it ( and potentially change it ) mighty away , before render the clip .
All effects and titles are preview in the main admonisher in real - clock time .
This feature is helpful when create titles . In the past , the preview of your form of address too often did n’t match the closing result . iMovie utilise landing field blending and sub - pixel rendering to improve the quality of text edition onscreen .
But one sneaky newfangled titling feature remains partially hidden : dominance - click a text field and , in the contextual carte that come out , opt Show typeface from the Font card . According to Apple , you’re able to utilize the controls in the Fonts dialogue to custom-make textbook preferences beyond the basic controls in the Titles pane . Unfortunately , this capability does n’t appear to work in the first transport translation of iMovie HD 6 ; Apple is aware of the exit and is looking into it . However , you may enter the Character pallet from here , enable you to insert glyphs , dingbats , and other characters that would n’t be uncommitted unremarkably .
And here ’s a characteristic straight out of 1984 : you could in conclusion have more than one iMovie project open at the same time . This refreshing approach is functional , too : you could drag clips between projects without having to spell or export them first . Speaking of exporting , you’re able to trail clips from the Timeline directly to other applications or the Desktop , if you want .
Audio effect
iMovie is a optic program , and I ’d bet that most users give much more care to the video images than to the audio . edit audio recording in iMovie used to imply just trimming well-grounded clips and changing volume levels . Now , eight new audio effects ( or “ Audio FX , ” as they ’re list in the Editing pane ) add depth to iMovie ’s audio handling capabilities .
Add depth and remove minor extraneous noise from audio magazine using new audio effects .
A graphic counterweight gives you 10 yellow-bellied terrapin and seven presets for shaping an audio recording clip ’s sound . Other effects , such as Reverb and Delay , are more showy , but the Noise Reducer does a reasonably good task of filtering out poor white-hot noise ( such as camera motor hum ) . You wo n’t put off these tools with what something like Soundtrack Pro can accomplish , but for most types of moving-picture show - editing in iMovie , they add property to audio .
Thanks to iLife integrating , you may directly preview and meaning GarageBand Song dynasty without having to export them to iTunes first . The little catch is that you need to save songs in GarageBand with an iLife preview .
More ways to share
In increase to exporting video to tape , QuickTime file , and iDVD , an option under the Share carte du jour lets you create a version that ’s ready for the iPod with video recording . More interesting , I think , is the opportunity to export your movie to GarageBand 3 for marking . I realize I ’m boast a GarageBand feature of speech in a look at iMovie , but the interplay between the two will save you a quite a little of time .
Also raw is the capability to publish your moving-picture show using iWeb instead of to a .Mac home page , giving you more option for design your content .
Themes
iMovie ’s new theme sum up professional - looking gesture graphics to your movies .
Finally , we return to themes . Think of a theme as let your own in - house motion graphics section creating interesting video segues between your scene . Although there are only five themes included with iMovie HD 6 , each is made up of between five and eight components ranging from opening form of address sequences to “ bumpers ” ( transitions between scene ) to end credit .
Since Apple has done all of the design work up front , all you have to do is send away your picture or movies onto the Drop Zone editor program to dwell the root with your own content . After looking over the real - meter preview , drag the theme into the Timeline ; it ’s turn in as just another video clip .
We ’ll see if the modified number of themes get former , but I ’ll wager that a collection of new themes from third - party developer are already afoot . And then you may really put together your flashy , look - at - me videos for everyone to see .
