Importing

Let's jump right in and import some video footage into the program.

Import from Built-in iSight

If you've been working on a movie in iMovie HD and want to import it into iMovie '08, go to File >> Import iMovie HD Project, and browse to your project. Select your project and click through. It may take a few minutes to load depending on the file size as well as the processing power of your Mac.

Import from iMovieHD

camcorder iconIf your Mac has a camera (aka iSight) on the top of the screen, and you want to import video using this, go to File >> Import from Camera (Apple I). You can also click on the CAMCORDER icon, which will serve the same purpose as long as there's no external camcorder connected to the computer.

Import from Camcorder

There are two types of video that you may end up importing:

  • Digital video is what most camcorders now capture, and it's the easiest to import. If your camcorder is actually a DV camcorder, you're all set.
  • Analog video is video predating the digital era. VHS tapes are a common example of this. You'll need an analog-to-digital converter set-up to accomplish this task. If this sounds daunting, not to worry – the IT Lab has the complete system for your digitization projects. Just come in and ask the Purpleshirts.

When importing Video from a DV camcorder, FireWire cables allow you to patch Digital Video (DV) directly into the Mac without any compression or loss of quality.

Connect Your Camcorder

  • Plug your camera into an AC power source. Don't rely on your battery when you want a good, clean video capture.
  • Connect the small end of the FireWire cable to the DV terminal on your camera. On the cameras in the IT Lab, the DV terminal is typically located on the front of the camera below the lens.
  • Connect the larger end of the FireWire cable directly to your computer. If you want to download the footage to an external hard drive, connect the larger end to the external drive.
  • Load your tape and switch your camera to PLAY (VCR) Mode. Now you're ready to use iMovie's Import Tool.

Import Video

  1. Click on the CAMCORDER icon
  2. A new window will pop up – but it's actually the same interface you saw when importing from your built-in iSight. This is the import window.

Importing video window

  1. Select your import device in the bottom left hand corner. Usually this will default to whatever device you have connected.
  2. As long as a camcorder is hooked up to the computer, you can import one of two ways:
    • Automatic: iMovie will import everything it considers one shot. Choose this when you've taped an event in one continuous shot, e.g. a school concert. **As a word to the wise: if iMovie senses that there's a break in the shot continuity, it will stop importing at that moment. We recommend that you always stay close to your computer when importing video.
    • Manual: This is our preferred mode. iMovie imports the film until you tell it to stop. If during the filming process, for example, you hit the pause button on your camcorder between takes, and later want to import the footage into iMovie, you'll want to choose the manual import option. That way, even though there are two takes, iMovie will import the entirety of the footage.

Let's take a look at the actual importing feature. Chances are the screen is blue. There may or may not be white numbers in the top right-hand corner of the blue screen. If there are numbers, this is the time code that coincides with the tape in your DV camcorder. Said more plainly, if there are numbers, iMovie is sensing that there is footage on the tape at the point at which the tape is stopped. If there are no numbers, there is no footage at that point.

  1. Now click the import button. From the small window which appears, specify where you want to save your footage and how you would like it labeled.

    save to window

    Remember that you're not saving footage to a specific Project. You are saving footage to the Event Library, from which you pull clips into a project.
  2. From here you can:
    • Save to an external or local hard drive: just click on the blue up and down arrows on the right side to open the browsing feature.
    • Create new Event: All of the footage you are about to upload will be saved under this one umbrella name.
    • Add to existing Event: If you already have footage in your library, you can add to Events you previously created by choosing this option.
  3. Click OK and iMovie will automatically start playing, importing, and saving the footage to the specifications you just set up.
  4. When you're done importing, click Done.

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