iMovie HD

David Wilson
Information Technology Lab
School of Information
University of Texas at Austin
Fall 2005

1. Objectives
Ten years ago, the revolution of digital nonlinear editing was available only to industry professionals on
high-end systems like Avid. Now iMovie HD delivers many of the same tools to your Mac desktop.

A sophisticated application in its own right, iMovie stands at the center of the iLife universe, seamlessly
integrating iTunes, iPhoto, and iDVD to help you produce professional-looking films with music, titles, and
effects. Bring your media into iLife. Put it all together with iMovie.

Now you can edit those home movies that have been sitting around for years, interview that eccentric man
who runs the corner store, or throw together an indie comedy with a few of your friends.

The new version of iMovie is HD-compatible. You’ll be able to import and edit High-Definition Video,
but only if you’ve shot your footage on an HD camcorder. There’s no magic button that will convert your
DV home movies into Hi-Def. Since even bare-bones HD cameras run from $2000-3000, you’ll most
likely continue to use iMovie HD to edit DV footage.

In this tutorial, you will:

! Explore the interface, menus, and tools

! Manage your project on a portable Firewire Drive
! Import video from a DV camcorder
! Build a movie by selecting and trimming your video clips
! Add transitions, titles, and effects
! Import and edit photos and audio
! Export your project to iDVD 5

In short, we’ll show you how to take a project through iMovie HD from start to finish. It’s easy. Even we
threw something together!

Introducing Our Demo Movie:

the purple way

Starring: Brazos Price

iMovie cut by David Wilson

We thought the best way to demo the iLife components would be to shoot our own movie: The Purple
Way. Will Chet find inner peace in the world of I.T.?

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Throughout the tutorial, we’ll show you what we did and how we did it Also, make sure that you catch
our iLife ’05 companion tutorials: iPhoto 5 and iDVD 5, where you’ll see how other elements of our demo
movie came to be.

2. Opening iMovie HD
The first time you open iMovie HD, you’ll be asked if you’d like to Create a New Project, Open an
Existing Project, or Make a Magic iMovie.

Warning -- Opening an older iMovie Project: If you open a project that was created with an
earlier version of iMovie, your project files will be updated and converted to iMovie HD.
Then there’s no going back!

In this tutorial, we’ll assume you’re starting from scratch.

! Select Create a New Project.

A new window will open, prompting you to name your Project and asking you Where you’d like to store
your project files. Choose your Project location carefully. This is where iMovie will store all of the files
and media associated with your project.

We’ll cover the two most common scenarios:

! Creating a Project on a Firewire Drive

! Creating a Project on your Macintosh HD

Creating a Project on a Firewire Drive

Follow these instructions if you’re working in a lab environment with a portable Firewire Drive:

1. Make sure that your Firewire Drive has been properly connected. The Firewire icon should appear on
your desktop:

2. In iMovie’s Project field, enter your name: firstname_lastname as the title of your movie. This will
keep it distinct on a drive packed with other people’s projects.

3. Now you’ll save this new project to your Firewire Drive. Click the Arrow button beside the Project
field.

4. A new menu will open, displaying the drives and folders located on your computer. Click on the
Firewire Drive icon in the lefthand pane. You should see all of the folders and files located on your
drive.

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 Select
your
Firewire
Drive

5. Now you’ll Create a New Folder on this Firewire Drive to contain all of your iLife work. On the
bottom left, choose: New Folder. Name your new folder: firstname_lastname. Click Create.

[Note: If you’ve already created this folder during our iPhoto tutorial, locate that folder now].

6. Now the Create Project window should show your Project title and the Firewire Folder
(firstname_lastname) that you’ve just specified. Click Create at the bottom right to save your project
to this folder. The main iMovie interface will open a blank work space for your project.

Creating a Project on your Macintosh HD

In this scenario, you’re working on your own machine and portability is not an issue. You’ll save your
iMovie project directly to your Mac hard drive in the Movies folder.

This is Apple’s default. If you make no changes to your Where settings, this is where iMovie will store
your files.

1. In the Create Project window, enter the Project title of your choice.
2. In the Where field, select the default folder: Movies.
3. Video format. In this tutorial, we’ll leave this on the default setting: DV. In most cases, unless
you have access to a $2000-3000 HD camcorder, you’ll probably be importing DV format video.
4. Click Create. The main iMovie interface will open a blank work space for your project.

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3. Importing Video
There are several ways to bring video into iMovie, depending on whether the original source of your video
footage is Digital or Analog. iMovie requires Digital video information. If you’re starting out Digital,
you’re already speaking the right language. If you’re starting out Analog, you’ll have to convert to Digital
on your way in.

! Digital to Digital: The most common Digital source is footage shot on a DV format camcorder.

! Analog to Digital: You may also be able to start with an Analog tape source such as VHS or Hi-8.
To do this, you’ll need access to some form of Analog-Digital Converter, as well as to a VCR or
camcorder that can play back your analog tape.

In the IT Lab, we have TV/VCR carts already rigged with VHS decks and Digital Converters.
Ask a Purple Shirt for help getting connected.

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. So if you’ve shot video on a DV camcorder, your footage is already Digital and ready to
shoot right over.

Connect Your Camera:

! 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 to an available Firewire port on your Mac.

! Load your tape and switch your camera to PLAY (VCR) Mode. Now you’re ready to use
iMovie’s Import Tool.

Import Video:

Now that you’re connected, iMovie will let you control your camcorder and DV tape from your
computer. To do this, you’ll have to switch over to Camera mode.

! On the iMovie interface, locate the Camera / Edit switch and click over to Camera Mode.

! The monitor will report “Camera Connected” and a new series of VCR controls will open just
below the monitor.

! Cue up your tape with iMovie’s PLAY, REW, FF, STOP, and PAUSE keys. You should be
able to see your footage in the iMovie monitor.

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 ! When you locate the portion you’d like to capture, click the Import key (or tap the Space
Bar). The Import key will turn blue and you should start to see new Clips accumulating in the
Clips Pane. Click Import again to stop capturing footage.

Tip: Give yourself handles! If you’re capturing selectively, always grab a little extra footage (at
least 10 seconds) at the beginning and end of the section you want to import. You may need these
handles later on when adding transitions or effects.

! Always SAVE your project when you’re done importing. Choose File > Save Project.

Automatic Scene Detection.

! iMovie will split your incoming video into clips by automatically detecting time/date breaks
in your recorded footage. Most of the time, iMovie does a pretty good job of detecting
scenes. If you think iMovie’s choices are too arbitrary, though, you can switch off this feature
by choosing iMovie>Preferences>Import. Now deselect “Start a new clip at each scene
break.” Then use the Split command to define your own clips (see “6. Trimming Clips”).

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4. Getting Comfortable
The iMovie HD Interface
Let’s take a quick look at the iMovie interface, already loaded with our demo film.

The iMovie interface is divided into 3 main regions: the Clips Pane, the Monitor, and the Editing Region.

! Clips Pane: This is the gallery of video clips you’ve imported. Think of this as your “ready”
area, your album of possibilities. Select the clips you’d like to use, view them on your Monitor,
and drag them down to the Editing Region.

o Pane Selector: The bank of tabs that opens additional tools to edit Photos, Audio, Titles,
Transitions, and Effects, or export your movie to iDVD 5.

! Monitor: The large viewing window where you will play your clips, make trims, and view your
work-in-progress. Select any clip and it will open for viewing. Click within the Editing Region
itself to view any portion of the movie you’re building.

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 Home / Play / Full

o Play, Home, and Full-Screen manage playback and display.

o Scrubber Bar: The blue navigation bar at the base of the monitor. Drag the Playhead
back and forth, or click your cursor to jump to any point in your footage.

o Playhead: The white triangle on the Scrubber Bar that marks the precise frame of video
you’re currently viewing. You can also control the Playhead from within the Editing
Region.

! Editing Region: The editing work space at the bottom of the screen which provides either a Clip
or a Timeline View of the movie you’re building. This is where you’ll drop your clips, assemble
them in sequence, make trims, and add effects, titles, and transitions.

o Clip Viewer:

! The clips in your sequence will appear as storyboard panels, laid out one by one in
sequence.
! Every panel is the same size. You’ll see all of your clips at a glance, but very little
about how they relate to each other.
! Clip Viewer only shows your video clips. To work with audio, you’ll have to switch
over to Timeline Viewer.

o Timeline Viewer:

! The Timeline lays out all of your clips as a series of consecutive horizontal tiles.
! Clips that are longer in duration appear as longer tiles. You’ll be able to judge the
relative lengths of every clip in your sequence.
! The Timeline displays your 2 Audio Tracks as well as your Video Track.
! Use the Zoom Slider to magnify the Timeline for detail work.

Now that you’ve had a quick rundown of the iMovie interface, you’re ready to roll up your sleeves. Let’s
start working with the clips you’ve imported.

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5. iMovie Editing
Building a movie in iMovie is a simple process of selecting clips, dropping them into the Editing Region,
and trimming your clips to appropriate lengths.

! Switch to Edit Mode to start editing.

Selecting Clips
As you build your movie, you’ll make lots of choices about which clips you’d like to include.

! Select a clip on the Clips Pane. The clip will open in your Monitor.
! Press Play to view your clip, Home to jump to the beginning, or Full-Screen to hide the iMovie
interface and view your selection in style.
! Drag the Playhead back and forth to scan through your footage. Click anywhere on the Scrubber
Bar to pause on that frame.

Playhead
Home Play
Full-Screen

Whenever you select a clip in iMovie, that clip will open in the Monitor. This is true whether you’ve
clicked on an icon in the Clips Pane or on a clip that you’ve already added to the Editing Region. You can
also Play the entire movie you build in the Editing Region or any selection of highlighted clips.

Keyboard Shortcuts:
! The Space bar will also Play/Pause your footage.
! Arrow Keys ! or " will rewind or advance frame by frame. (There are 30 frames/second).
! [Shift] + Arrow Keys ! or " will rewind or advance in 10 frame increments.

Adding Clips to Your Movie

Now you’ll build a sequence of clips in the Editing Region. When you play back your movie, iMovie will
“read” these clips from left to right.

! Select the Clip, drag it down to the Editing Region, and drop it into your sequence.
! Notice that iMovie lets you drop your clip either before or after any other clip in your sequence.
Hover over the position where you’d like to drop your clip and the other tiles will slide apart to
make room.

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 ! If you want to pull a clip out again, click on its tile, and drag it back to the Clips Pane. Or simply
shuffle it to another position in the Editing Region.

Clip View / Timeline View

Now is a great time to decide whether you prefer a Timeline or a Clips view of your movie. The choice is
yours. Both Clip Viewer and Timeline Viewer are fully editable work areas. There’s one catch: you’ll
have to be in Timeline mode to see your audio tracks.

In this tutorial, we’ll refer almost exclusively to the Timeline since we’ll be doing a lot of work with our
audio tracks.

! Select a view with the Clip / Timeline switch, located just above the Editing Region.

6. Trimming Clips
Most of your editing work will come down to trimming the lengths of the video clips you select. In other
words, you’ve found the clip you want to use, but the timing’s off. You’d like to isolate just that portion
you want to use in your movie.

iMovie lets us make trims in several different ways. Here are two methods you’ll find most useful:

Split
Split allows you to slice any clip into 2 distinct pieces. Think of this as snipping your footage with a pair
of scissors. When you’re done you’ll have 2 new clips.

! Highlight a Clip (on the Timeline or in your Clips Pane). You can Split clips either before or after
you add a clip to the Timeline.
! The active Clip (now shaded blue) will open in your Monitor.

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 ! Drag the Playhead to the precise frame where you’d like to split your clip.

! Go to the Edit menu > Choose “Split Video Clip at Playhead.”

! If you’ve split a clip on the Clips Pane, the new clip will appear beside the old one (with a distinct
name and number). Drag just the portion you want down to the Timeline.

! If you’ve split a clip on the Timeline, you’ll see two new tiles occupying the original position of
the clip. Pull out or reshuffle either clip. You can even drag the one you don’t want back to the
Clips Pane for safekeeping.

Tip: You can Split the automatic clips iMovie created when you imported your footage. Then you’ll have
smaller increments that make more sense to you.

Crop
Crop lets you snip off portions at the beginning and end of a clip simultaneously. Use this tool to redefine
where your clip begins and ends (i.e. in and out points).

In The Purple Way, we used Crop to isolate the useable portions of each take. We could snip off the head
of a clip (the actors getting into position) and the tail of the clip (the director calling “cut”).

! Hover below the Scrubber Bar until the Triangle Tool appears.

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 ! Drag the Triangles to mark the new beginning and end points of your clip.
! The yellow highlighted portion between the triangles shows you the footage you’re keeping. The
left-hand triangle marks your new in point. The right-hand triangle marks your new out point.
! Go up to Edit > Choose “Crop”

The ends you snip off will once again go straight to iMovie’s Trash.

7. iMovie Safeguards

iMovie HD includes a few essential safeguards to help you protect your work. Keep the following tools
and practices in mind.

Save:
No matter how much editing you’ve done, none of it will stick unless you Save your Project.

! Go to File > Save Project

iMovie will crash or freeze up on occasion, and you’ll lose absolutely everything since your last save. So
save everything and save often.

Undo:
If you’ve made changes you hate, you may be able to click your way back to the good ol’ days.

! Go to the Edit > Undo (#Z)

iMovie’s Undo command is now virtually unlimited. But let’s qualify this. You can only Undo as far back
as your last Save. In other words, when you Save your project, you lose your chain of possible Undo’s.
iMovie wipes the slate clean.

Be smart. Balance your need to Save with your need to Undo.

Trash:
First, a warning: Never Empty your Trash Can. The Trash Can is the ultimate safeguard.

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Notice the Trash icon in the bottom right corner. This is iMovie’s Trash Can—it is associated only with
your personal project, so no one else will see it.

Click on the Trash can and root around for clips you’ve cut or cropped or dragged out of your work space.
Then pull out anything you need.

Never empty the Trash--unless you absolutely need the file space. Don’t think of the trash as a graveyard.
Think of it as a vault where iMovie tucks your trims away for safekeeping.

Revert Clip to Original:

If you’ve trimmed or cropped or otherwise whacked a clip beyond all recognition, you may just want to
start fresh.

This command will zap a clip right back to its original state (i.e. as imported).

! Select a clip on your Timeline.

! Go to the Advanced menu > “Revert Clip to Original”
! On the timeline, the clip will shift and re-size itself back to its original state.

8. Transitions

Most of the time, you’ll probably make straight cuts from one clip to another. But iMovie also provides
you with an extensive palette of Transitions that will help you smooth the break between two successive
clips.

Preview a Transition:

! On the Timeline, locate the 2 clips that you’d like transition between. Click on the 2nd clip (i.e. the
one you want to transition into).

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 ! Click the “Trans” tab. The Transition Pane will open, displaying iMovie’s list of Transitions.

! Select a Transition from the list. The mini Preview Monitor will preview this Transition as it
applies to your 2 clips.
! Adjust the Speed (or duration) of the Transition with the Speed Slider.
! Some Transitions (such as “Billow”) also have a Directional keypad. Click one of the Arrow keys
to change the direction of the effect.
! Click the Preview key for a full-size Preview in the iMovie Monitor.

Once you’ve made your adjustments, you’ll add the Transition to the Timeline.

Add a Transition:

! Click on the icon beside the desired Transition.

! Drag the Transition icon down to the Timeline and drop it between the two clips you’d like apply
it to.

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 ! iMovie will Render the clip, encoding the frames that make up this transition. A little red line on
the tile marks the progress of this rendering process.

If you change your mind, just hit “Undo.” You can also highlight the Transition tile and tap the “Delete”
key on your keyboard.

Clip Length Errors

You’ll often see errors informing you that a clip isn’t long enough to perform your Transition. For
example, you can’t apply a 5-second transition across two 2-second clips, because iMovie needs sufficient
footage from both clips.

Try changing the Speed of your Transition. If you can settle for a faster Transition, then iMovie may have
enough frames to render the Transition.

Keep in mind that you’ll often need a little more footage than you might at first realize. Grab handles and
capture extra footage when you import.

9. Effects

iMovie HD comes loaded with Effects that you can apply to any clip on the timeline. Some of these effects
are relatively sedate and others are outlandish and scary.

In my mind, there are three main classes of Effects:

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! Image Adjusters: Adjust Colors, Brightness & Contrast, Sharpen, Soft Focus, etc.
! Aesthetic Overhauls: B/W, Letterbox, Fast/Slow/Reverse, Aged Film, etc.
! Toys & Games: Earthquake, Electricity, Glass Distortion, Mirror, etc.

Add an Effect:

! Select your clip on the timeline.

! Click the “Effects” tab. The Effects Pane will open, displaying iMovie’s list of Effects.

! Select an Effect from the list. iMovie will automatically preview the Effect in the mini Preview
Monitor. Click the Preview key for a full-size Preview in the iMovie Monitor.
! Adjust the Effect In and Effect Out sliders if you only want to apply the effect to a portion of the
clip.
! Make any other adjustments. Most Effects have effect-specific sliders. For example, the
Electricity effect allows you to shift the direction of the lightning bolt clockwise (CW) or counter-
clockwise (CCW).
! To add the Effect, click Apply.
! iMovie will Render the clip, encoding the frames that make up this transition. A little red line on
the tile marks the progress of this rendering process.

10. Titles

In iMovie, a Title is simply another form of clip. You can create as many Titles as you like, then drop them
into position on your timeline. Once again, other clips will jump out of the way to make room.

In our movie, we chose two simple styles: “Stripe Subtitle” for the opening and “Centered Multiple” for the
closing titles.

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Choose a Title:

! Click the Titles tab. The Titles Pane will open.

! Choose a Title from the list.
! The Title effect will preview in the mini Preview Monitor.
! Enter your Text.
! Hit the Preview key for a full-size preview.

If you’d like to enter more than 2 lines of text, choose a Title style that includes the word “Multiple” (i.e.
“Centered Multiple.”). Add lines of text with the + key or delete lines with the – key.

Customize Your Title:

You’ll probably want to change iMovie’s title templates. Here are a few of the changes you can make.

Motion:

! Speed: This slider allows you to slow down or speed up your title effect.
! Pause: How long will your Title remain onscreen once it appears?
! Direction: Some Titles include a Directional keypad. Maybe you’d like your title to emerge from
the left instead of the right.

Text:

! Font, Size, and Color.

! Over Black / Over Video:
o To run your Title over a black screen, check the box beside “Over black”
o To run your Title over a video clip, deselect “Over black.” You’ll drop the Title icon
directly before the chosen video clip on your timeline. See below.
! QT Margins: Do not check this box unless you’ll output to QuickTime. Otherwise your text may
fall outside of the TV Safe region.

Insert Your Title

Now that you’ve made your adjustments, let’s add the Title to your movie:

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 ! Drag and drop the name of the Title or its icon into your timeline.
! If you’re adding a Title “over black,” the Title clip will play in its entirety before the video clip
that immediately follows on in the Timeline.
! If you’re Title plays “over video,” the Title will be superimposed over the video clip that
immediately follows on the timeline.

Keep in mind that a Title is another form of clip. When you drop it into your timeline, it will push other
clips aside and the changes will ripple throughout the rest of your timeline.

11. Import Photos

iMovie lets you import still photos and treat them as clips. Drag them to the timeline just as they are or add
zooms and pans with iMovie’s Ken Burns Effect.

Import Photos from an iPhoto Library

In this tutorial, we’ll assume that you’ve already created an iPhoto Library. For detailed instructions on
how to create an iPhoto Library—including the special case of storing your Library on a Firewire Drive,
please see our iPhoto 5 tutorial.

Before you can import a specific photo, you’ll have to open your iPhoto Library within iMovie. Let’s
make sure that iMovie recognizes your Library.

Open your iPhoto Library

If you’ve saved your Library to a Firewire Drive, we’re assuming that your drive is properly connected. In
the I.T. Lab, ask a Purple Shirt when in doubt.

! Click the Photos tab.

! Your iPhoto Library should open in the Photo Pane. If you can see thumbnails of your photos,
you’re ready to Import. Please skip ahead to Add Photos.

Reloading your iPhoto Library

Don’t panic if your Photo Library didn’t open up. If you’re working in the lab on a Firewire Drive, you
may find yourself staring at someone else’s snapshots. Don’t recognize that guy in the Longhorns
sweatshirt? Or the girl in the flower lei? By default, iMovie will open the iPhoto library stored locally on
the Mac hard drive. Here’s how to straighten it out.

All we have to do is load your own Photo Library back into iPhoto.

! Save your iMovie Project! Go to File > Save Project. We’ll be closing iMovie for a moment, so
if you don’t Save first, you’ll lose everything.
! Close your Project. Quit iMovie. Go to iMovie HD > Quit iMovie HD.
! Open iPhoto (with the “Option” key). Hold down the “Option” key while clicking the iPhoto
icon in the dock.

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 ! A dialogue box will open. Select > “Choose Library.”
! A standard “Open File” window will appear. Locate your Firewire Drive, find your folder,
highlight your iPhoto Library, and click the “Open” button.
! iPhoto will open. You should see your own photos now.
! Quit iPhoto.
! Reopen your iMovie Project.
! Click the “Photos” Tab. Now you’ll see your photos! You’re ready to import and edit.

Add Photos
Now that you see your pictures in the Photo Pane, you can add your photo as is, alter your photo in several
different ways, or animate it with a Ken Burns Effect.

Please note: Until you actually add your photo to your iMovie project by following the instructions below,
you’re really only previewing thumbnails in an iPhoto Library that lives elsewhere. In the future, if you’re
using a shared computer, you may have to “reload” your Library into iPhoto to view and access photos you
haven’t yet added to your iMovie project.

! On the Photos Pane, click a photo you’d like to add to your movie.

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 ! The photo will open in the Preview Monitor.
! Use the Duration slider to specify how long you’d long the photo to appear onscreen.
! If you don’t opt for Ken Burns, just deselect the Ken Burns Effect box.
! Click Apply. iMovie will import the file, adding a copy of the photo to the end of your timeline.
(Move it wherever you like).

Ken Burns Effect

The Ken Burns Effect lets you apply camera moves like zooms and pans to otherwise static shots.

In the last act of The Purple Way, Chet returns to reality and saves the day. We let this act play out entirely
as a montage of edited stills.

! Check the box beside Ken Burns Effect.

! iMovie will automatically Preview a Ken Burns Effect by applying the current settings to the
selected photo.
! Now you’ll specify how your photo should appear at the Start and End of your Ken Burns clip.
Use the Start and End switch to isolate and doctor each position.
! Use the Zoom Slider to zoom in or out. Or just type a magnification level directly into the box
beside the slider.
! Grab your Photo and slide it into a desired position. Hover over the photo in the Preview window
until the Hand Tool appears. Now hold down your mouse button while dragging the photo behind
the preview window to adjust the framing.
! Use the Duration Slider to specify how long you’d like your photo to appear onscreen. Do you
want a swish pan or something slow and dramatic? You can also type a number (seconds:frames)
right into the window.
! You may also Reverse the direction of your camera move. Maybe you’d like to turn a “zoom in”
into a “zoom out.”
! Click Preview to see the effect of your adjustments.
! Click Apply. iMovie will add your photo to the end of your Timeline. (Move it wherever you
like).

12. Import Audio

iMovie allows you to edit and manipulate up to 3 separate layers of audio. You’ll be able to import audio
from a variety of sources: bring in tracks from your iTunes library, grab a song from a CD, or sift through
iMovie’s built-in library of sound effects. Once you get your audio into iMovie, they become audio clips
that you can drop into the timeline, cut, crop, shuffle, and drag just like any other clip.

Before we start importing tracks, let’s take a quick look at how iMovie arranges and displays our available
audio tracks.

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 ! Switch over to a Timeline view of your movie. You won’t be able to edit audio in Clips mode.
! Notice your 3 tracks: The top track is actually your Video Track, but each clip’s original audio
lives here as well. Just below are Audio Tracks 1 and 2. This is where you’ll drop and edit the
audio clips you import.

Import Audio

! Click the Audio tab.

! The Audio Pane will open.
! If you’d like to import tracks from an Audio CD, insert your CD now.

! Choose your audio source with the drop-down menu at top.

o ITunes Library: Choose this if you’d like to import tracks that you’ve already added to
the Mac’s iTunes Library.
o CD: Select Audio CD, or the title of your CD from the drop-down menu
o iMovie Sound Effects: choose this option if you’d like to take advantage of iMovie’s
bundled effects. Then choose > “Skywalker Sound Effects” or “Standard Sound Effects”
to see the list of available clips.
! Select a track from the list that opens. Double-click the track title or click the Play key to Preview
your audio.
! Now you may either drag your track down to one of the Audio Tracks on your timeline. Or you
can position the Playhead on your timeline first, and select > Place at Playhead.

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 ! Shuffle, split, or drag the edges of your clip. You can edit your audio clips using most of the same
tricks you’ve learned for editing video.

Adjusting Volume

! Click the audio clip on the timeline.

! Locate the Volume icon beside “Clip: 100%” at the bottom left of the timeline. Slide the Volume
up or down.

13. Record Narration

If you have a microphone, you may also use iMovie’s Audio Pane to record narration straight into iMovie.

! Connect your Microphone. If you’re in the I.T. Lab, you’ll find a combo headset/mic at every
station. You’ll also need to check out a “Hockey Puck” USB adapter, so that you can plug both
jacks into the Mac simultaneously.
! Click on the Audio tab.

! Check your levels. If you’re all hooked up, iMovie’s Audio Meter should register your voice as
you speak.

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 ! If you’re not getting sound or you need to adjust the level, minimize iMovie, open the Apple
Menu > System Preferences > Sound > Click “Input.” Make sure the microphone is the device
selected for sound input. Adjust volume with the Input Volume Slider at the bottom of the Sound
Preferences menu.

! On your Timeline, position the Playhead where you’d like your Narration to start. iMovie will
record straight into Audio Track 1, so you might have to free up some space first.
! Click the red RECORD button and start speaking. Click RECORD a second time to stop
recording.

! iMovie has automatically added this clip to Audio Track 1. Once you’re done recording you can
always slide it down to Audio Track 2.

14. Add iDVD Chapters

Now you’ve finished editing your movie and you’d like to burn a DVD copy of your masterpiece. iMovie
and iDVD work together to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Before you export your project to iDVD, you may want to create Chapters. Mark and label your chapters
in iMovie, and iDVD will incorporate them into the menus you design.

! Click the iDVD tab. The iDVD Pane will open.

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 ! On your timeline, select a Clip that you’d like to become a Chapter Marker.
! Click “Add Chapter.” iMovie will add a Chapter icon to the iDVD Pane.
! Enter a Chapter Title in the text box.
! Remove a Chapter by clicking “Remove Chapter”
! Save your Project

15. Export to iDVD 5

So you’ve double and triple-checked your edits, previewed your movie, and added your iDVD chapter
markers.

Now you’ll pass off your project to iDVD 5 where you’ll design eye-catching motion menus and burn
DVDs to share with your friends.

Be advised:
Make absolutely sure that you’ve completed your iMovie project. Once you send your iMovie project
to iDVD for encoding, you can’t make any more changes!

Export to iDVD:

! Save your iMovie Project!

! Select the iDVD tab.
! Click > “Create iDVD Project”

! iMovie may ask if you’d like to render certain effects. Click > Render and Proceed.

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 ! IDVD 5 will open and the encoding process will begin.

That’s as far as we go here in iMovie HD. For a detailed walk through iDVD, please see our companion
tutorial, iDVD 5 by Brazos Price.

Goodbye and Good Luck!

We hope you’ve enjoyed this tour through iMovie HD. If you haven’t already seen our iMovie demo
movie, please drop by… and think happy thoughts for Chet.

If you’re a PC person at heart, and you’d like to see how Windows treats video editing, please see Bryce
Spencer’s Windows Movie Maker tutorial. You’ll also find an alternate cut of our demo movie, cut
entirely on Windows Movie Maker.

You can also continue your journey through iLife with our iPhoto 5 and iDVD 5 tutorials.

Thanks for sampling our tutorials here at UT Austin’s School of Information.

Happy Editing!

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