Category: Tips
More Changes in iMovie 8.0.1
I just updated my TidBITS article with two new pieces of information about what’s changed in iMovie ’09 8.0.1. I’m running short on time today, so I’ll just paste the relevant sections here (green indicates new material). Interlacing Bug Fixed — Here’s something I think Apple would want to trumpet loudly. It fixed a bug ...
iMovie ’09 8.0.1 Update Brings More than Just Bug Fixes
[I published this article simultaneously at TidBITS.com.] Apple released updates to iLife ’09 and iWork ’09 this week, as usual providing no useful information about what’s changed other than, in the case of iMovie 8.0.1 for example, “improves overall application stability as well as addressing minor issues related to usability.” But the changes are seldom ...
iMovie ’09 Tip: The Four-Second Title
When adding a title to an iMovie project, you typically drag a title style from the Titles browser and drop it onto the beginning, end, or middle of a clip (the middle gives the title the same duration as the clip). If you have a very long clip, your title could end up being much ...
iMovie ’09 Tip: Wraparound Cursor
I just learned a very cool tip that solves one of iMovie’s annoyances. When you’re skimming a clip and come to the end of a line in the Project Browser, hold Shift or Caps Lock to automatically wrap the playhead and mouse pointer to the next line. Here’s a video of the shortcut in action:
Copy and Paste iDVD Drop Zone Contents
iDVD didn’t get much love from Apple in iLife ’08, but a few nice features crept past the “DVDs are yesterday’s technology” wall. Case in point: copy and paste drop zone media. Let’s say you put together a killer group of photos in a drop zone on the front page and you want to use ...
Tips for Exporting for iDVD
Aaron at Unlocking iMovie ’08 offers some good tips for getting your iMovie video into iDVD. Since iMovie no longer includes the capability to make DVD chapter markers, a common workaround is to bring the movie into GarageBand and enter markers there before zipping it along to iDVD. However, there appears to be problems with ...
Easy Masking in iMovie ’08
Aaron at Unlocking iMovie ’08 has posted what has to be one of the more unexpected iMovie tips I’ve seen: you can easily create a video mask. Karel Gillissen created a few movies demonstrating how to make an image with transparency (he used Photoshop Elements) and then simply drag the image onto the top of ...
Back Up Data to Digital Camera
I contributed to a Macworld article that’s now available online: “Three for the road: Expert tricks for getting more from your Mac laptop.” My section talks about how to use the memory card in your digital camera (which these days are likely to be 1 GB or more) as an easy backup solution while you’re ...
iTunes Smart Playlist Adventure
I almost always listen to music via iTunes while I’m working, but I do find myself gravitating to the handful of recent albums purchased. At some point I created a Smart Playlist that shows me music that hasn’t played during the past year. It’s a nice eclectic mix of tunes, with 121 items covering 9 ...
Quick Direct Trimming Tip
I just noticed that someone named Yvonne in Bloomington, IN wrote a very nice review of the iMovie HD 6/iDVD 6 book at Amazon’s page. (Thanks, Yvonne, if you’re reading this!) She also points out that I should have included a tip on page 97; I’ll let her explain (emphasis mine): [I]n experimenting with direct ...
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