Capture in iMovie and edit in FCE 4??

I am feeling my way into editing on the MAC (love it!)
I like the scene detection in iMovie for large numbers of clips, but I am not sure it is a good idea to go that route. I like to keep maximum quality during the process, is that compromised? And what could be the effects on performance of the CPU/HD combination?
Thanks a lot for your advice,
Hans van der Koogh

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. It took me a while to get it right, but the result is what I was looking for.
You were a great help.

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Capturing with iMovie and importing into fce 4

Hi, everytime I try to capture mini dv footage from my Panasonic camcorder using final cut express, the transfer/capture crashes.
However, capturing using iMovie 08 gives me no problems at all.
Before I spend more time looking into the errors, if I capture using iMovie 08 and then import that into fce 4, am I losing any audio / video quality? I read somewhere that iMovie works off raw dv files - is this what would get imported into fce?
Note: I would import the iMovie project into fce and not be exporting first from iMovie and then importing into fce.
thanks

My video is on mini-DV. The camera I used to record was a panasonic ag-dvx100 PAL. I am using DV-PAL easy setup. I am playing back with a panasonic nv-ds30 camcorder (I rented the other one).
I have now managed to get past the dropped frames - that seemed to have been the test tape. I am now using a different tape, the actual tape i used for the footage. Now everytime I capture (using either mark in/out or capture now) the capture stops with a locating timecode and then breaks. I can't seem to capture it all in one go. This scene when I shot it was a single scene so there were no stops/pauses during the recording.
There seemed to be some discussion on this in the thread (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4183209#4183209) but that was a different camera.
any help would be great.

Can I import AVCHD to iMovie and edit

Hi - new to this, but have just been bought Panasonic HDC-SD800 HD camcorder. Before I play with it, the instructions suggest that the only format I can use with imovie11 is 'i frame' which is 960x540/25p. As I already have a similar 'standard' canon camcorder with similar definition, is there any point in keeping the new Panasonic. Am I missing something here, or is this 'new' Panasonic just not Mac friendly?

If you have the camera, your best bet is to shoot a minute of footage with it and see if it will import to iMovie. I think it will. Check your owners manual for recording mode. You should have several choices, including 50P, 50i, 25P and iFrame. If you choose 50i, 25P, or iFrame, it will work with iMovie. If you choose 50P, it will not be editable in iMovie without some bit twiddling. I think you will like 25P the best, but if you are shooting sports, you should also try 50i. In fact, try it anyway so you get to see both and choose the one you prefer.
iFrame produces movies that will look almost as good as the AVCHD (you probably will not be able to tell the difference) but the import is much quicker, and the fill sizes are much smaller.
Let me seeif I can decipher the manual for you.
"This unit is based on AVCHD format/MPEG-4 AVC file format.
Video signals for the AVCHD that can be played back with this unit are 1920x1080/50i, 1920x1080/25p and 1440x1080/50i. Video signals for the iFrame that can be played back with this unit are 960x540/25p
Like I said, stick to 50i or 25P if you want to edit in iMovie and/or play back on a TV set. Use 1920x1080 for highest quality (but this will also be the biggest file size. 50i and 25P are about the same in file size. (50P would be 4 times bigger in file size - but do not use 50P mode if you want to edit it.)
When motion picture is recorded in iFrame format
You can play back on Mac (iMovie11)
It is not compatable with motion pictures recorded in AVCHD format."
This means basically that you can edit and play on the Mac. From there you can share to a Blu Ray, DVD, Apple TV, iPod, iPad, iPhone, the Web, etc. etc. The key message is that you cannot edit the iFrame on a Windows computer.
It is also possible to record in 1920x1080/50p at maximum quality.
Quote-
"The scenes recorded in 1080/50p can be saved or played back by this unit or the HD writer AE 3.0"
It is possible to record in 50P at maximum quality, but what they are telling you is that you will be limited to playing it back on the camera. Television sets will not play 50P. iMovie will not natively edit 50P. I assume the HD writer AE 3.0 is a proprietary Panasonic disc burning program. It is likely Windows only, so it will not work on your Mac.
If you want to edit 50P on your Mac, here is an excellent blog post on how to do it. You can judge for yourself whether you feel comfortable doing it.
From the above, can I move HD from this unit into iMovie and edit without too much hassle or do I return it and stick with the perfectly decent 5 year old Sony not in HD that just 'works'. I have happily played with iMovie for 3 years and want to be able to tidy up family videos.
If I were you, I would keep it and shoot at 25P. I think you will really like the HD quality.
Keep in mind that if your final result is DVD, then evertying will be converted back to standard definition anyway. You will need to find new ways to share your results with your family.
The Apple TV is a great way to do this. Also YouTube does a great job these days making it easy to share 1080P video with friends and family. Finally, you can invest in a BluRay device. I don't generally recommend this, because if you want to give copies to family or friends, they would need a BluRay player as well.
There are a lot of nuances to BluRay. Come back and ask if you want to go that route.
Good luck.

Ripping dvds to handbrake and editing in FCE

I am trying to rip DVDs using Handbrake and edit them in FCE. I am not sure which settings to use in Handbrake to ensure the ability to open the file in FCE. I ripped an hour long DVD to an AVI file which took 9 1/2 hrs., but when I tried to open the file it was empty. I also tried MacTheRipper, but FCE won't work with MPEG 4 files.
I'm not sure what Codecs are in Handbrake, but there are 4 options and I'm not sure which is the correct one to select (MPEG-4 video/ MP3 Audio, MPEG-4 Video/AC-3 Audio, AVC/H.264 Video/MP3 Audio, or AVC/H.264 Video/AC-3 Audio).
How can I make this work? I'm unfamiliar with most of the different setting options as a whole in Handbrake.
Please advise.
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4)

DVxDVD will convert your MPEG2 files(DVD) to DV files that work in FCE. It is not a free program, but it is fairly cheap (around 40 bucks Cdn I think)
Another way to go is hook a DVD player up to your Cam via analog cables and hook the Cam to the puter via Firewire and capture that
When ripping, even with a solid program like DVxDVD, there will be some quality loss, especially if you are going back to DVD at the end
MPEG Streamclip is a free program that can do what you want but you need the Apple MPEG-2 Playback component which you can purchase (around 30 bucks Cdn) on this website

How can I import dvds that have already into iMovie and edit them?

I just purchased an iMac and after Apple moved all of my movies into iMac from my PC, I am trying to edit the movies in iMovie that are in the iMac. Can't seem to figure this out. Is it possible to create a new movie from an .avi file? Also, why is it when I click on a frame in an iMovie it keeps going back to the first frame??? Whew , very frustrating!

Is it possible to create a new movie from an .avi file?
You'll have to convert the AVI to a format iMovie can accept. You might try the freeware MPEG StreamClip and see if it can handle your AVI, though AVI is just a container format and can use any number of codecs, some of which have never been ported to Mac.
Regards.

Capturing digital audio and editing without rendering?

We have a collection of LDs and VCRs that need to be converted to DVD. For this purpose, I purchased a Canopus ADVC 300 which appears to be working great.
The perfectionist that I am, I'm using Optical Digital Audio to import audio from the LD Player directly into my Mac Pro.
(Interesting note here. While FCE is incapable of importing video from one source and audio from another, QuickTime Player X is very capable. FCE is officially behind the times. There is almost certainly an upgrade in the works.)
I can import the video from the Canopus directly into FCE. The digital audio has to be captured by something else; I'll probably use SoundTrack (the non-Pro version comes with FCE).
The digital tracks are 44.1 kHz 24 bit (integer), but FCE does not have an option for this offering only 48 kHz 32 bit floating point instead.
Q. What do I need to do to be able to use the audio in FCE without rendering?
Additionally, even if I import the movie made with QuickTime Player X, the sound will not play in FCE; the 44.1 kHz difference?
Q2. I plan on buying an AC3-RF Demodulator to decode the 5.1 AC3 audio from LDs which make this audio available. Does anyone know which program I'll need to capture all of the tracks for consequent use in FCE?
cheers,
Gregory

If you have QuickTime Pro, you should be able to open the audio files in QT Player, then export them at the sample rate which matches your FCE Sequence. FWIW, many of my students use CD audio (@44.1kHz) in their FCE projects with success, despite my urging to convert the sample rates so that everything matches. They are, however, working with just a few minutes of audio which is not synched to their video.

Export SD from iMovie for editing in CS3

I'm surprised I haven't found more about this here, on videohelp, and on the apple forums.
SD DV captured in iMovie and edited. The person finishing the DVD is on PC. (I'm neither of the two people.)
My advice to the client is to finish the project on the system it is started on. But I would like to have a better idea of the options.
What is the recommendation as to format from iMovie? If quicktime what settings?
I don't know yet, but let's assume iMovie 06. (iMovie 08 apparently kills SD.)

Stanley,
Just a guess, but unless the Mac is also running Windows, I would suspect that they will not have any .AVI output options - only flavors of .MOV.
I've had pretty good luck Importing .MOV files into PP. Do not know all of the variations, so some .MOV's might work fine, and others not so well.
If the PC has QT-Pro installed, about any real .MOV (not some tricked up special CODEC version), should be able to be converted (Export) to DV-AVI with MS DV CODEC.
Sorry that I cannot give you hard-fast rules, as I do not have a Mac, and have not directly Imported anything that I know came from iMovie. Maybe I have, but just did not know it.
Still, my advice would be to finish in iMovie on Mac. However, some clients want to do things the hard way. If they are headed in that direction, I'd suggest not doing too much trimming in iMovie and adding no Transitions. This would allow for tighter editing and Handles, when on the PC. Just Exporting the raw Capture footage would probably be best, then use QT-Pro to convert to DV-AVI Type II for editing on the PC.
Let us know how it goes and any pitfalls that occur. I, for one, can always learn about X-platform exchange of Assets and what works best.
Good luck,
Hunt

Why don't iMovie support native HDV capture and editing?

i would like to see iMovie HD 6 to support native HDV capture and edit. is it possible?

no, FCE-HD (what an abreviation!) uses the same trick as iM-HD, converting HiDef into AIC....
native HD is really more for the pros... yet! I think, the basic problem to be solved first is -r media, meaning, any HD/blue-ray-DVD-r disks, which make it possible for the average user to store his/her products.... but as far as I follow the discussion, right now the industry is caring more for commercial disks, and that HDMI "problem" (broadcasting can include a copyprotection, so no use of any HD/DVD HiDef recorders...!)... finally, we can record only our selfmade movies... maybe that's a little less joy...
actually, converting finished HDmovies into h264 with a high bitrate and storing that onto hd is the only realistic option........

Hi, i get the error -49 when trying to Export a Movie edited in iMovie and recorded with Elgato Video Capture anyone know why i get this Error and can help me?

Hi, i get the error -49 when trying to Export a Movie edited in iMovie and recorded with Elgato Video Capture anyone know why i get this Error and can help me?

Read this
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1583

I am attempting to convert 8mm video cassettes to dvd using a video cassette player, elgato video capture with rca/usb connections to the mac, editing in imovie and burning on idvd. The picture quality is awful. What can I do?????

I am attempting to convert 8mm video cassettes to dvd using a video cassette player, elgato video capture with rca/usb connections to the mac then editing in imovie and burning dvd-r using idvd. The picture quality is awful. What can I do??????

At what point is the video quality bad? Is it bad on capture? I would recommend using an s-video 1394 firewire converter instead. They capture the video at a higher bit rate. If you have a lot of 8mm tapes to capture, invest in a stand alone DVD recorder. They capture and compress in one shot. If you need to rip it back from the DVD into iMovie again, I would recommend using DVDxDV.

Capturing in iMovie vs FCE

Hello all,
I have just returned from vacation with a little over two hours of film and as I wait for FCE to arrive, I am wondering exactly what the difference is between capturing this footage with iMovie and FCE because I could just capture it now and then edit in a few days with Final Cut. I know that there is another post about this recently, but I don't really know enough about timecodes etc. that are involved in the explanation. Any enlightenment would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

In Anthony thread "Backing up unedited family video: Should I capture using FCE or iMovie?" I explain my ideas about capturing in iMovie vs FCE. See:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2950085#2950085
In that post I suggest that capturing in iMovie might be a possibility in some specific cases where recovering unused media files is important. However, there are two major assumptions when working in FCE:
- you do not need timecode
- you accept to render audio of all imported clips from iMovie
Timecode
It is a counter in the format like 00:01:00:12 (here meaning 0 hours 1 min. 0 seconds and 12 frames) that is recorded by the camcorder while shooting video and audio.
This is not saved by iMovie into the .dv files it creates during capturing; instead it is saved by FCE/P into the QT movie during capturing.
FCE makes use of it to reconnect media and capture project, even though it does NOT display it in its interface.
(Note: what is called "timecode" in the timeline, viewer, and canvas windows has the same format but refers to the beginning of the clip or of the sequence, NOT to the original timecode recorded by the camcorder)
Audio rendering.
The .dv format recorded by iMovie during capturing is not a native format for FCE. FCE can import it as I think most video/audio format, but it has to convert it by rendering.
This isn't a major issue in my opinion (others may disagree...) if: a. you don't mind waiting for audio rendering the first time you import from iMovie; and b. you use the following steps to prevent from rendering more times:
- import the clips from iMovie to the browser
- drag the clips to the timeline (all of them get a render red bar for audio)
- render all (opt-R) (the only time you do it because of the iMovie import...)
- drag back the rendered clips to the browser
- delete the original imported clips
Now in the browser you have clips ready for editing that do not require more audio rendering than any other clip directly captured by FCE.
I hope this answers your question
Piero

I'm using ezcap.tv 116 ezgamer capture card to record my PS3, this is on a windows laptop, Im then moving the recorded videos in mpg format over to my MacBook Pro to use IMovie to edit them to upload to youtube but it won't let me import them.

I'm using ezcap.tv 116 ezgamer capture card to record my PS3, this is on a windows laptop, Im then moving the recorded videos in mpg format over to my MacBook Pro to use IMovie to edit them so i can upload them to youtube but it won't let me import them, even after changeing them to MP4 format, it just comes up with the message: "No Importable Files None of the selected files or folders can be imported. Change the selection and try again."
Ive even tried opening in itunes and copying from thier but they wont open in Itunes, no message or anything they simple just dont open. its strange because it does open in quicktime player.
please if anyone has any ideas that can help me please let me know XD thanks.

First problem: You're fine. The hotter it gets, the more the fans spin up. The computer is designed so that at max load, at max fan speed, it won't overheat (unless it's obstructed by something, e.g. sitting on your bed swallowed by a comforter). It's not the best thing to keep it that toasty for days at a time, but a couple hours at a time shouldn't be a problem.
Second problem: If something in the trash won't delete, just use Secure Empty Trash and it should be fine. Since .torrent files are quite small, it should only take a couple seconds.

I have captured a VHS movie from a VCR to my Mac. I used a Roxie program and it said "capture to IMovie". I said yes. It shows in my events with a green asterisks but it is not showing up in iMovie, It is in my doc but won't go into iMovie. Why?

I used a Roxie program to bring in my video from VHS. I know it's in my computer and when I right click in the event in IMovie and click "capture movie, a screen comes up showing it but it won't capture it and bring it into IMovie. What am I doing wrong

Firefox can find plugins in several locations, but Firefox 21 changed the location of the "shared" plugin folder so older installers like the Microsoft Windows Media Plugin no longer drop the DLL file in the correct location.
There apparently are two ways to address this:
(1) Change a Firefox preference so that Firefox checks the old location. Here's how:
(i) In a new tab, type or paste '''about:config''' in the address bar and press Enter. Click the button promising to be careful.
(ii) In the filter box, type or paste '''plugins''' and pause while the list is filtered
(iii) Double-click '''plugins.load_appdir_plugins''' to switch its value from false to true.
This will take effect after you restart Firefox.
(2) Copy the plugins folder to the new location. Here's how on Win 7 64-bit:
Open a Windows Explorer window to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox
Right-click and copy the '''Plugins''' folder
Double-click the '''browser''' folder to open it
Right-click and paste
Right-click the new copy of '''Plugins''' and rename it to '''plugins'''
After restarting Firefox, the plugins in that folder should now be available.
''Edit: I suggest just doing #1.''

I imported a 17' MiniDV piece into iMovie and it's lost synch. How can that be? I have done no editing, I just want to make it into a DVD.

imported a 17' MiniDV piece into iMovie and it's lost synch. How can that be? I have done no editing, I just want to make it into a DVD.

Hi
Do You mean miniDV tape (interlaced video PAL or NTSC) ?
If so - iMovie'08 or 09 or 11 - are not tools of Choise if You want a DVD as result - They all discards every second line resulting in less quality.
Sync. Problem - If miniDV tape - How was it recorded -
Audio mode - Is Camera set to record in 12-bit 32kHz - Should be 16-bit 48kHz
Recording mode - SP (60 min on a 60 min tape) or LP (90 min on 60 min tape)
If LP-mode - Then You need - Same Camera as recorded - tolerances is to small even for a Camera of same brand and type to play-back.
I would use FinalCut Express and a setting of PAL/N TSC and 32kHz audio if Camera is set to record in 12-bit
If LP-mode - iMovie HD6 is more tolerant in Captuing than FinalCut and Imediatly after Import/Capture - Extract Audio
And set iM HD6 to NOT IMPORT AS INDIVIDUAL Clips - to many drop outs to work.
Yours Wildly Guessing Bengt W

Can I capture with Final Cut Pro and edit in Premiere Pro?

Since it appears that Premiere has issues with capture - at least for me but as I see it for others as well - and that I can capture with iMovie, can I consider using Final Cut Pro for capture - then cross to Adobe Premiere and the suite for editing, finalizing ? Or is there a problem to copy the shots/files from one program to the other (would they remain identified clearly so I could just import shots into Premiere afterward ?)
Thanks
Rob

Hi Rob,
When you capture HDV in FCP it creates a specific Apple HDV codec. This is a codec that is only available if FCP, Motion or Compressor is installed.
The two workarounds would be to use Premiere Pro on the Mac with one of the above mentioned apps installed on the same system or convert to a codec that can be read in Premiere.
Best,
Peter Garaway
Adobe
Premiere pro

Capture in iMovie and edit in FCE 4??

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