== Importing .mov Quicktime into FCExpress4???? Still Pix?? ==

Question

If I switch to FCE4, will it fix what I hate about IMovie?? IMPORTATION.
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I want to upgrade from IMovie (I use 06HD because I like the full timeline) and my main motivation is to eliminate the very tedious time-consuming importation process. I make MP4 HD1080 files with a camcorder and also have many .mov files. Importing, say, 10 gigs takes DAYS. Literally. Using Quicktime Pro to covert to DV files takes as long (I assume that Imovie '06 HD is USING Quicktime to convert all the .mov and .mp4 files to the .DV files that IMovie is made for).
Does Final Cut Express 4 actually edit .mov and .mp4 files, or does it convert them like IMovie does? Would the importation process in FCE4 be FAST, like it is in FC Pro?
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And a still photo question: I just used IMovie '06 HD to edit a 20 minute movie on my trip to Nepal. Half of it was made from 7 megapixel stills, almost always using the Ken Burns Effect to zoom right or left aty various speeds. It was easy and looks great. Would FCE4 import and manipulate those kind of still as well as IMovie?
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Finally, does FCE4 have a version of Compressor, so my final movies will fit on on one DVD in the highest quality?
Thanks for helping.
Steve H

Answer 1

Let's take this in steps, because of the many questions.
Does Final Cut Express 4 actually edit .mov and .mp4 files, or does it convert them like IMovie does?
FCE does edit .mov Quicktime files, as well as DV in realtime. .mp4 files won't work in FCE, they will first need to be converted using Quicktime Pro or MPEG Streamclip to a Quicktime file FCE can use.
Would the importation process in FCE4 be FAST, like it is in FC Pro?
The speed of import depends on the computer that you are working on. However, FCE is pretty much the same interface as FCPro, and is in most respects the same. FCE should work for importing exactly the same as FCP does, except that it can only work with DV, HDV, AVCHD, and several Quicktime codecs.
Would FCE4 import and manipulate those kind of still as well as IMovie?
Yes, FCE should work as well as iMovie for stills. While no editing program was designed for still image manipulation, and thus the quality of any results are still not perfect, anything you make in FCE you should expect to be of comparable quality to iMovie stills. As to the Ken Burns effect, here I believe you are in for a treat. iMovie HD ('06) only allows you to pick start and end points for the effect. FCE lets you individually keyframe motion, so you can build any photo effect you'd like. For example, you could have a photo that pans from left to right, zooms in, then stays still for 30 seconds before rotating while at the same time zooming back out and moving off the screen. FCE lets you manipulate the parameters for a clip, and save how you want them to be at a particular time, giving you endless possibilities for animation of stills and video alike.
Finally, does FCE4 have a version of Compressor, so my final movies will fit on on one DVD in the highest quality?
FCE does not have a separate program (Compressor) as FCP does. However, if you export as Quicktime Movie then no quality will be lost. You then import that movie into iDVD for burning. iDVD does the encoding so that it will compress your files to fit on the DVD, at the highest quality possible. FCE's lossless export allows iDVD to burn so that you see minimal quality degradation between editing and viewing on your TV.
Hope this helped. I also switched from iMovie HD to FCE because I wanted more options. For me, the ability to have up to 99 video and audio tracks for advanced compositing as well as keyframing were what really drew me in. I couldn't have been more happy with the decision I made!