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Tips On iMovie Editing
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2001
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Offline
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I finally upgraded my system to a Pismo 500/20GB so I can use my Sony DV. I need some tips on how to get started. Basically, I want to edit my entire video to make it worth watching (delete sections, add fades, titles and music, etc).
Do you download the entire 60 minutes of video onto your hard drive and then start cutting it into clips or play the DV and record the segments that you want to keep then start iMovie editing? I noticed the iMovie clips are only 7 seconds long which would take forever to compile a full tape. I only have about 17GB available (oddly my 20GB drive only shows 18.75) so I'll need to dump the DV back to a new tape if that matters. Also how much ram should I allocate? I have 384 installed. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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kc
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Congratulations on your upgrade! As to your questions........
You first ask if you should download the entire 60 minutes of video, why not if you have the space? 60 min of DV is approx 12-15 GB, so if you have the room, knock yourself out. It will often make it easier having everything in front of you. You don't have to cut it into clips if you have the default preference setting on, as iMovie separates into different clips every time there is a break in the action (it uses the hidden time code in your video to look for a jump). I'm not sure what you mean when you say the iMovie clips are only 7 sec long. You hook up your camera, and, generally speaking, the clip is as long as the shot you took. You didn't say which OS version you are using, but assuming it is one where you are choosing memory amount, I would set somewhere around 75 MB, given how much you have installed. Hope this answers your questions.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2001
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I am running OS 9.04. iMovie sounds pretty easy from what you've said. Should I get a larger hard drive or will I be okay with 15GB or so available? Like I said I don't plan to keep any DVs on my system, so I'm not sure that I really want to deal with plugging in the Pismo or paying another $300 for another drive.
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kc
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You're dead right, for the easy stuff, iMovie is quite intuitive. It's only when you get to the point of doing J-edits, L-edits, or paste overs does it move from easy to intermediate (still not hard). WRT your hard drive size question, you are sort of implying you will be dumping in the full contents of a 60 min DV tape. I don't know about you, but often my projects are less than the full tape, and once you start editing and emptying project trash, you will have more room. (Of course don't empty the project trash until you are absolutely certain you don't want to undo any step, because that's where your undos are located.)
I would definitely stick to your current drive until you find you are unable to fit everything you need. One contra to this is that if you add a soundtrack from CD additional to what you've shot, you'll need room for that too. Another hint is that if you are filling up your disk on a regular basis, then dumping back to DV, strongly consider using a disk-defragmenting utility. When you just about fill your disk, parts of files get stuck in nooks and crannies, so defragging after you dump a disk filling project back to DV, or whatever, would really keep you up to speed.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Whidbey Island, WA
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I am using a JVC DV with a 450 MP with a 36 GB SCSI HD. First, I find that iMovie cuts continuous video into 9:28:02 or so clips--this makes no difference I can tell. I have downloaded 23 minutes of video that takes 10 GB of space. I am shooting progressive scan mode, but as this drops every other frame, I don't think this makes a bigger file than the more commonly used interlaced video.
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kc
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Trister you are definitely right about there being approx a 9 minute time limit on clips, but a relative newbie like hoek should be assured that if he has a shot longer than that, putting the two clips adjacent would make absolutely new difference to the movie. I didn't mention it because over nine minute shots are rare unless you are doing a remake of Rope. : )
As to size when using progressive rather than the more normal interlaced mode, the answer is............? I'm just not smart enough to figure that one out, but all I can do is note that when using my camera in normal mode (and 16 bit stereo BTW) I don't use up that much room. Love to hear your thoughts as to why.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Los Angeles, CA
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You can never have too much disk space. Maxtor's 80gb FireWire hard drive is about $400, which is a very nice price. Western Digital also makes some inexpensive FW HDs...I believe theirs top out at 40gb.
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Bellevue, WA
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If anyone is considering a FireWire drive for DV editing, I would recommend checking out 2-pop's iMovie and Firewire forums for recommendations on good drives to use. There are also other great tips on anything DV-related.
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Danny Ngan
Animator & 3D Artist
http://www.dannyngan.com
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
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Regarding clip size. If I remember correctly, the clip size is not limited by time length, but by size. I think the cap is 2 gigs. After that, it starts a new clip.
Also, if you have the room, then I would definitely load up the entire vid onto the HD. It makes it a lot easier to edit. A reminder though, when the HD is getting to near full, it slows WAY down. I had massive frame loss when one of my HDs was under 1 gig of free space. You may want to invest in a firewire HD.
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"Elvis has left the building!"
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Pensacola, FL
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Originally posted by penginkun:
You can never have too much disk space. Maxtor's 80gb FireWire hard drive is about $400, which is a very nice price. Western Digital also makes some inexpensive FW HDs...I believe theirs top out at 40gb.
It's important to remember that when talking about Maxtor's 80gb drive that it's only 5400rpms. That's very slow for video editing, he'll have better fortune and more time to enjoy his finished product if he buys a smaller but faster drive.. I'm recommending going out and buying SCI, but 7200 rpms drives are pretty good for conventional editing.
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It's just my humble opinion.
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Bellevue, WA
Status:
Offline
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While a 7200 rpm SCSI drive is nice and fast, it is overkill for DV. 4200 rpm IDE drives (like the one in hoek's Pismo 500) are plenty fast for general DV work, because of DV's relatively low data rate (3.5MB/sec). I'm using the factory 12 GB 4200 rpm drive that came with my Pismo, and I have never dropped any frames when working with FireWire. I have also tried using a scsi drive via a PC card scsi adapter, and I got horrible performance on a 7200 rpm SCSI drive.
hoek, in your case, if all you're looking for is more storage space for your Pismo, then an external FireWire drive will work very well. You can get large drives for very cheap. However, if you want another large drive to actually use in video editing (capturing, editing, output), then an expansion bay hard drive will be your best bet. I would recommend checking out MCE for some very good expansion bay drives. Certain brands of FireWire drives will work just as well (check out 2-pop.com's FireWire forum for the latest news on which drives work the best).
------------------
Danny Ngan
Animator & 3D Artist
http://www.dannyngan.com
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