LRHB Industries Dept. of Public Records

Having released iLife ‘08 with updated versions of almost all the programs, many people have become angry at the apparent lack of features in iMovie ‘08. Where is my timeline? How do I reduce audio levels? How do I mix sound?

In the old iMovie (which, I should add, remains on your computer when you install the new version, so you can always go back to it if you want), you had multiple video and audio tracks, so you could edit your movie and audio in the same program. It was convenient, and those features have now been removed. But why?

One word: family.

In iLife ‘06, GarageBand had something called a “Movie Score” project, where you could import a movie you made in iMovie, and put sound effects, voice overs, etc. You could also do this in iMovie with the multiple tracks… so, why have an overlap in functionality? By removing the sound mixing from iMovie ‘08, the benefit is two fold: you get a better cohesion between the members of the iLife family, and you get users to actually use GarageBand, which many feel is the neglected step child in the suite of products.

Your work flow goes like this:

1. Import and edit your movie in iMovie ‘08. Add titles and transitions. Your project is automatically saved, so if your computer crashes, you haven’t lost everything. Also, in iMovie ‘08, your project file is now referencing video clips as opposed to containing them, so you can use your clips in multiple movies without doubling the file size like before.

2. Go to Share, and select Media Browser. You have the option to prepare it in 4 different sizes depending on what you’re going to be using it for.

3. Open a new project in GarageBand. Click the little music and movie button at the bottom right to open the Media Browser, select Movies, and select iMovie. You’ll see your project waiting for you.

4. Drag and drop your movie onto the timeline to the left. It automatically creates a video AND audio track for you. From here, you can edit and mix your sound and music and effects just as before.

5. When you’re done, go to Share, and choose send to iDVD. From here, it’s exactly like it was before, but with some awesome new templates.

So, it’s really not that difficult, and after you’ve done it, it actually makes a lot more sense. You have infinitely more control over the sound in GarageBand than you did in the old iMovie, where you were limited to 2 audio tracks. Sound aside, they also added some great features in iMovie ‘08, such as the ability to crop and rotate video, and advanced color adjustments only available in Final Cut Express.

It’s true, people don’t like change, but sometimes change is for the better. iMovie ‘08 is the most radically redesigned program in the iLife suite, and once you get used to the new workflow, you’ll find it much easier, faster, and more efficient than before.