iMovie 2 Solutions: Tips, Tricks, and Special Effects [With CDROM]

by Erica Sadun

Create Thousand-Dollar Video Effects with iMovie and QuickTime Pro You can do more with iMovie than you might think. You don't have to trade up to Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere to build stylish and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0782140882
• ISBN13: 9780782140880
• Release Date: May 2002
• Publisher: Sybex
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 1.77 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Chris Seibold MyMac.com Book Review

Say you make a fairly great movie with the worlds greatest program: iMovie. Still, you think your newly birthed video masterpiece lacks something. Perhaps it's a unique blend or a splashy title. At the moment of export you might stop and wonder: "Should I upgrade to Final Cut Pro?" I can answer that question for you, just follow the following formula: (Money you plan to earn from this movie)+(Money you plan to earn with next 10 movies)/(cost of Final Cut Pro)=Justification. If "justification" is greater than 1, I say buy the program. If not it is far wiser, fiscally speaking, to stick with iMovie.Does that mean you're stuck? Have you reached the absolute limits of iMovie? Are you forever wondering in a morass of lifeless titling and yearnings for a few special effects? Heck no, if you're willing to mess around with a couple other programs for a bit. Of course saying you're not stuck and showing you how to unstick yourself are two different things. So, you'll have to trust me, you're not stuck. That tidbit should be worth a nickel. To actually get unstuck you'll have to pony up $40.00 for iMovie 2 Solutions . With this handy offering by Erica Sadun you'll be pleasantly surprised at just how much you can get out of iMovie if don't mind mixing in a few other apps.iMovie 2 Solutions is not really so much about iMovie, it's more about extending iMovie with the careful use of a few programs. That is not to say iMovie 2 Solutions doesn't have iMovie specific info, it does in spades (want to change the default "My Great Movie Title"? See page 4). Most of the iMovie specific tips are redundant or of little value. The value lies in combining iMovie with programs such as QuicktimePro, Adobe Photoshop Elements (nee Photoshop LE, I suspect if you have a copy of Photoshop LE most of the tricks will still work) and a few other assorted programs. It might seem strange to buy a book ostensibly about iMovie that focuses so heavily on other programs. Trust me again when I say it's money well spent as long as you realize iMovie 2 Solutions is in no way an iMovie tutorial or reference but indispensable if you want to trick out your movies to the maximum level of Jurassic Parkness..By now the interested reader will begin wondering: "Just what kind of stuff will this book show me how to do?" I can't list all the tricks iMovie 2 Solutions covers (that's a lie, I could actually list all the tricks, but this is a review not an index) but I can point out a few that seemed particularly cool to me. Ones I particularly include: the "Big Titles" trick, See through Big Title trick, Movie in Movie trick and customized QuickTime skin playback tip. and, my uber fave, use iMovie to work on a silver screen sized movie instead of the default TV sized screen (a tip worth $999 clams for those who posses nice cameras but not Final Cut Pro). The aforementioned tips just scratch the surface of iMovie 2 Solutions there is plenty more movie making goodness contained within the wraparound so

I decided not to upgrade to FCP because of this book...

I have always been a 'multiple programs to finish a project' kind of guy. I had already been doing that with iMovie 2...to a degree.Well, turn up the temperature! Erica's book/CD combination puts thousand dollar solutions in your hands for under a hundred.I use iMovie 2 and Quick Time Pro regularly, and after reading and digging through the CD, I had barely tapped the potential.You probably already own the programs you need, but if you don't many of them are included on the CD (with the book).You get:Movies (over 100)Utility programs...File converters...Templates, templates, templates, templates...Instructions on creating your own templates...Step by step demos for you to use...This book/CD are essential to tap the full potential of a really powerful set of inexpensive (if not free) programs.L a r r y \o/ J

Make the most of iMovie

Many people, and many software companies, suggest you can't do serious work without serious ( and this usually means expensive) software. Clever people can use simple tools to create elegant and powerful messages. This is the great virtue of Erica's book. It shows how to get the best out of several pieces of inexpensive but very powerful software to create impressive and professional products.I've been a big fan of Quicktime Pro for years. It is a wonderful piece of unappreciated software. iMovie is a brilliant piece of software for kids, educators and others with stories to tell with video. Erica demonstrates the great combination of QT Pro and iMovie extremely well with excellent step by step projects.I love this book. I have recommended it to all my friends and school colleagues who use iMovie.

iMovie Solutions is a fabulous resource !

Many of the techniques were tried with my Grade 6 students and we were amazed at what we could accomplish with the inexpensive pieces of software involved. Teaching in a school board where millions of dollars are being cut in funding, especially in I.T., it is very exciting to know that someone has taken the time to create an easy-to-follow guide of creating dazzling effects with a very limited budget. Our school's Video Yearbook is almost complete, and the project has been greatly enhanced thanks to Erica's new book.

Superb Book

This has to be one of the most useful books I have bought in a long time. It is quite technical in nature, but has great pictures and some really useful tips. When coupled with Pogues book, I think I have everything I need to work with iMovie.