PE 5 iMovie

As I continued with this next lesson I became immersed with information on how to shoot weddings, birthday parties, training videos etc.  In addition to the new information, this served as a review on the previous lesson.  Part 2 of Shooting Great Video also talked about the quality of your video.   This section embodied the “Garbage in/Garbage out” principles.  One of the principles I learned in keeping with the concept of “garbage in/garbage out,” is that you must keep subject (“material”) in your frame.   Another area discussed was identifying essential pieces of equipment such as the tripod.  Tripods are needed for smooth looking videos.  There was also info on scene shooting. Shoot more than what you need.  Remember, the extra 5 seconds of black space between scenes will help later during editing and formatting.  Think of a script or write out a storyboard before you get started.  A storyboard, by the way, is a group of pictures (drawings) that provides you with an idea (or ideas) of what your story is about. 

I learned about the number of frames (29 frames per sec) for North America.  After this, I learned about the clips frame where you can drag and drop any item that is located there.  When dragged into the time line, the clips will look identical.  The clips can be dragged at the bottom to see how long or short the clip is.   There was also more information about photos in this section.  Areas such as how to preview reverse, and view time line photos in your iPhoto library were discussed.  I then continued with a tour of Titles, Transitions, and Effects. 

Please note:  The iMovie HD lessons I’ve been watching on the demo screen are somewhat different from what I see on my iMovie screen – the tabs are just in different places.  However, I found the training information to still be very helpful.  There was advice for enhancements, especially when the trainer advised moviemakers to use restraint when working with effects.  After some personal observation, I realized that I am guilty of using too many effects -- I’m learning.  Finally, I reached the area of instruction for detailed editing in the time line viewer and rough work in the time line viewer.  I was very impressed to see that this section contained a lot of interesting and helpful information.  I have not completed my lesson – but I’m on my way.