Importing Video from iMovie HD - What's the Trick?

Hello brilliant Mac Fans,
I've been working steadily to create a cool demo reel for a client using iMovie HD (6) and Keynote '08. Well, the file in iMovie is Widescreen DV, and looks great. When I export it at full quality (as a dv file,) I play it in Quicktime and everything looks dandy, but when I drag that same file into Keynote, it has the wrong aspect ratio and has skips here and there...
I guess my question is, for Widescreen video, what are the ideal settings? Does anyone know the best frame rate, kind of file, etc. that plays well with Keynote?
Thanks to all for reading...

Hello Carol,
you can create slideshows in iPhoto, iMovie and iDVD. In iPhoto you can create your slideshow in a few simple steps with music and transitions, then export it to iDVD for DVD authoring. One drawback (for me) is that you choose the duration for each picture and a transition, and these will be applied to all the pics in the slideshow, so not much room for customisation. On the other hand, if you want something quick and simple, this might be the right approach.
In iMovie you can import the pictures from your iPhoto library and create a slideshow. Here you have the possibility to completely customize all the settings (length of each pic, different transitions and music) and you can add titles and effects if you like. The process in iMovie will be longer as you'll have to import the pics one by one and change settings everytime you want a different outcome, but it will be a more personalised creation.
In iDVD you can create slideshows more or less like in iPhoto with more or less the same options. You can import your pics from the iPhoto library or from a folder and set duration and transition type and add music.
There have been several posts on this forum regarding problems with pic quality when played from DVD on TV - one problem is that pictures and video are not the same (pixels vs. lines, interlacing etc.). I personally have had the best results by importing photos into iMovie and applying a Ken Burns effect to each, but have to say that I don't work much with pictures (mostly video), so you'll probably get other sound advice from other users.
hope this helps
mish

Similar Messages

How do I import DVD to IMovie? What is the best way to import DVD to a Mac?

Hi everyone!
I need some help, so here are my questions.
How do I import DVD to IMovie? What is the best way to import DVDs to a Mac?
I would like to keep the original quality from the DVD.
Thx.

You need to convert the VOB files in the TS-Folder of the DVD back to DV which iMovie is designed to handle. For that you need mpegStreamclip:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/video/mpegstreamclip.html
which is free, but you must also have the Apple mpeg2 plugin :
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mpeg2/
which is a mere $20.
Another possibility is to use DVDxDV:
http://www.dvdxdv.com/NewFolderLookSite/Products/DVDxDV.overview.htm
which costs $25.
For the benefit of others who may read this thread:
Obviously the foregoing only applies to DVDs you have made yourself, or other home-made DVDs that have been given to you. It will NOT work on copy-protected commercial DVDs, which in any case would be illegal.

Imported video from imovie, when i try to play only have audio, screen is red and flickering

imported video from imovie, when i try to play only have audio, screen is red and flickering. new mac pro.

steved
Thanks for the reply with additional details.
In order to help you with the Elements Organizer 13 and Premiere Elements 13 issues, we need details of that video from iMovie.
You should be able to get the important details of the iMovie video by telling us the export settings that you used for the iMovie export.
Minimum information..
Video Compression
Audio Compression
File Extension
Frame Size
First, update Premiere Elements 13 and Elements Organizer 13 each to the 13.1 Update (See Help Menu/Update in an opened
Premiere Elements 13 project.)
We will be watching for further details in order to plan and carry out troubleshooting strategy.
Thank you.
ATR.

Can I import video from a Firewire camcorder using the Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter?

I have an older camcorder that has a firewire interface. My new iMac does not have any firewire ports. Can I import video from the camcorder using a Thunderbolt to Firewire Adapter or is the Thunderbold adapter only used for hard drives and displays?

Rather than an adapter, I would suggest you purchase a 4 pin to 9 pin Firewire 800 cable to run from the camera to the Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter. Those FW 400 to 800 adapters frequently do not work so well for importing video in my experience.
The Firewire cables are pretty inexpensive if you get them online. For example try Monoprice.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=103&cp_id=10301&cs_id=1030104 &p_id=3541&seq=1&format=2

Problem importing video from a DV camera into the new imovie 10.0? I have a Sony DCR TRV17 connected via Firewire port that worked in 9.0.9 but not under 10.0...

I have a Sony DCR TRV17 that I used to pass through VCR tape video via Firewire port to my Mac Pro under Imovie 9.0.9 without an issue. Now under Imovie 10.0 the video shows in the import window, I can start recording yet when I stop recording the recorded clips do not show up anywhere. The movie file I'm creating still indicates that I still need to import video. Anyone having similar problems?

Hey Dave,
I had this issue only once before but was lucky enought to find it was a specific event causing the import to freeze. It took me some time to isolate the problem though. I would recommend letting it sit there for some time before you try any troubleshooting. Larger libraries can take long periods of time to update.
This is a good thread for this issue. I would first try removing the iMovie.plist as elikness mentions.
1. Open Finder
2. Click on "Go" in the menu bar.
3. Click on Go To Folder on the dropdown menu.
4. Type "~/Library/Preferences/" in the text field and click Go.
5. Find the com.apple.iMovie(some number).plist file and move it to Trash.
Quit and relaunch iMovie to see if this took care of the issue before attempting the next step. If you're still having an issue then you can try what I needed to do which is isolating the problem event.
1. Open Finder.
2. Go to the Movies folder. You should see iMovie Events here.
If you have a larger event library I'd recommend renaming the iMovie Events folder to say, "iMovie Events COPY". Then create a new empty folder named “iMovie Events”. When you launch iMovie 9.0.9 all events will be missing at this point. Quit iMovie if it is open. Then you can either drag each event from iMovie Events COPY to iMovie Events or you can select and drag several at a time. Each time you drag an event folder back into the new iMovie Events folder launch iMovie 9.0.9 to see if you are having the same issue. Wash and repeat until either you have found the problem event or you have imported all events.
If you find the problem event you can reimport the clip from iMovie 9.0.9 by going to File > Import > Movies and navigating to that events iMovie Original Movies folder to find the clip.
Hope this helps!

Imported video from iMovie has no audio

I created a project in iMovie '09 (from a video and audio imported from a camcorder) and exported it to iDVD '09 (using share, iDVD). However, when I opened the project in iDVD the video had no audio. Does anyone know how to export a project from iMovie to iDVD with its original audio?

Hi
Don't use "Share to iDVD" (in any version of iMovie)
BUT
• "Share to Media Browser" and as LARGE
(Not HD or other resolutions)
(only Medium can be used if Large fails (done that occational to me))
• Then - START A Brand New iDVD project and in this use the Media button (down to the right) and Movies and from here import Your movie.
Yours Bengt W

Want to record edit and burn dvds of videos from canon camcorder what is the best way

what is the easiest way to transfer recordings from my canon camcorder hd to dvds after editing. The new imovie does not have idvd on it to burn dvds.

I'm assuming you're editing in iMovie? If you still have an older retail version of iLife, you can use that to install iDVD - I am using it with mavericks. Or, the retail 09 and 11 iLife disks are still available at some online resellers. The best thing out there still is iDVD with its customizable menus, themes, etc. However, there are other options for just burning: one good ons is Roxio Toast; then there is the free app Burn (basic I'm told, but works). Or google for others. Personally, I'd get iDVD.
The new iMovie (or the older versions) did not have iDVD built in - it's just a link to the iDVD application. FWIW, I prefer to use the older iMovie versions because they have more quality options to choose from when exporting. With the new iMovie, choose to export to file and choose your recording size and then you can drag that file into a burning app (or iDVD if you get it).

My computer crashes when I try to export from iMovie. What is the problem.

Why does my computer crash when I try to export it?

Does it happen with different iMovie projects or does it keep doing it with the same one? Might be a corrupt movie file.
Do you have iLife 11 on disc? If so you might try reinstalling iMovie and try it again, first without updating anything, and if that works then try updating and see if the problem comes back. It could also just be that iMovie is corrupt.

Importing clips from iMovie - jittery

Just got Final Cut Pro 5 and I'm having a problem with importing clips from iMovie into FCP5. The clips were fine in iMovie, but the images are jittery in FCP. I tried Apple Care, but they wanted to charge me $200 to answer my question eventhough I just bought the software yesterday!
any ideas most welcome - thanks

Nowhere is it advertised that iMovie is compatible with FCP.
One is a consumer format, with less features, like lack of timecode. The other is a professional format, which relies heavily on timecode.
Yes, output to tape from imovie, then capture with FCP.
#20 Using iMovie to Capture for FCP edit
Shane's Stock Answer #20:
iMovie handles the media differently from FCP, specifically where audio is concerned. So it is not a recommended workflow. Here's why...
iMovie captures using DV Stream (.dv) standard which does not use timecode. That is a big disadvantage over the way that FCP captures in that you can't go back and recapture the material at a later date if you need to revisit a project.
The DV/NTSC specification (the one FCP uses) also calls for seperate tracks for audio and video, even if you capture it as one clip. iMovie' DV stream format is muxed audio and video, which means that they are tied together (I can't get into specifics because I ain't no engineer or programmer). FCP is a bit more demanding and captures the seperate audio/video tracks, either in a single media file or as seperate video and audio files. With FCP you could capture video only or audio only because each is defined by the DV specs. while with iMovie you can't.
Also, if you drop the iMovie footage into the timeline, your will get the RED render bar forcing you to render the footage in order to see it...
"There's no need to fear, UNDERDOG is here!"

Can someone help with importing video from Canon XA10 (AVCHD) into PE 11?

In PE 11 when I import video from my canon xa10 (avchd) the quality is terrible, I also have a canon xa20, 60D and gopro that I video with and they all turn out with great video quality. Is there a reason why the xa10 video quality is bad? Setting I need to change?

dillonknopp
Thanks for the follow up.
In Premiere Elements 11 and 12 takes over setting the project preset based on the properties of the first file drag to the Timeline. Sometimes it does it right; sometimes not. You can check what the project has set by using the readings from Edit Menu/Project Settings/General and the readings for Editing Mode, Timebase, Frame Size, and Pixel Aspect Ratio even if the fields look grayed out. If the project preset is set for NTSC AVCHD Full HD1080p30, then the Edit Menu/Project Settings/General should be as represented in the following screenshot
Please refer to setting the project preset yourself manually and then importing the source media into the project.
ATR Premiere Elements Troubleshooting: PE11: Accuracy of Automatic Project Preset (New Project Dialog) Setting
Depending on how the current stage of troubleshooting progresses, you might want to post a screenshot
of your Expert workspace, showing the Edit area monitor display of the rendered Timeline.
We will be watching for your results.
Thank you.
ATR

I can not import videos from my camera or open them... quits finder

So i have a canon powershot SD300 and I can't import videos from it using I photo (the program quits)... so I used the camera software and when I go to click on it to show review, or try and open the video files (avi-quicktime) my finder quits! What's up with that? I have added an Xvid update so I could run Xvid files... I don't know if that would do anthing. Can anyone help?

JordanFox,
Welcome to the Apple Discussions.
Your friend is correct; iPhoto 2 does not handle video files. You'll need at least iPhoto 5 to keep videos in your library. There is no other way to get it than to purchase a copy of iLife, either version 5 or version 6. Upgrades from one version to another cost money, updates within a version (ex; 6.0 to 6.0.6) are free downloads from Apple.
Try using Image Capture (in your Applications folder) to upload the video clips to your Mac. You can manage them yourself in your Movies folder.
Regards.

Application for importing videos from a digital camera

I have a Canon PowerShot SD100 that I got a year and a half ago. It came with a CD that included software that could be used to import both the pictures and videos it took. However, after installing it, the CD got lost, probably ended up in the trash, and now I have no way to import the videos onto my new computer. (I use iPhoto for the pictures.)
Canon doesn't have a version of that same software, called ImageBrowser, available for download, and I've looked on my computer, but I can't seem to find any application that I could use to import the videos.
If anyone knows of a free application that would let me import my videos, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks a ton!
Jill

I don't use any software for importing videos from my camera I take the memory card out the camera. I insert it into my card reader. The memory card mounts on my desktop I can then drag and drop the movies from the card into my movies folder.

My iPad is logged into my iCloud account, but my wife's iTunes. I have uploaded video footage from my iPhone to my iCloud. It appears on the iPad but is not accessible in iMovie? What's the fix?

My iPad is logged into my iCloud account, but my wife's iTunes. I have uploaded video footage from my iPhone to my iCloud. It appears on the iPad but is not accessible in iMovie? What's the fix?

You shouldn't have to change your iTunes account to not have to purchase it twice. If your devices are using different iTunes IDs, just purchase it on one device, then import it to your iTunes library by connecting the device to your computer, opening iTunes and going to File>Devices>Transfer Purchases. Once in iTunes, you should be able to sync it to your other device (assuming both devices are syncing with the same iTunes library). (And even if they were syncing with separate libraries, you could use Home Sharing to copy the app from one library to the other.)
Or, am I missunderstanding something?

After connecting my Sony camcorder to imac (Snow Leopard) to import a video the import window does not open. I have imported videos from the sam camcorder successfully before. What could have happened? Puzzled)

After connecting my Sony camcorder to Imac (Snow Leopard) to import a video to imovie 09 the import window does not open. In the past I have successfully imported videos from the same camcorder. What could have happened? Puzzled

Oh my! Obviously, I don't know what I'm doing. But I do know that my goal was to do both---backup AND free some space. My iMAc is old (2006) and I upgraded it a year or so ago to Snow Leopard. I didn't think I had the capability of backing up without an external drive, but maybe I do since I upgraded. Do I?
But I bought this My Book mostly for freeing space because I like to make cards in Photoshop and I'm forever running out of space when I get too many layers (don't really know what I'm doing there, either).
Is there some way that I can rectify my mistakes and start all over?
Thank you so much for beng so prompt with your reply and patient with mine. I tried for so long to see the dialog box with the library listings. When I launched iPhoto, even with holding down the Option key, it kept immediately launching into the full screen. Finally, after an hour of doing it over and over again, it worked when I held the key down for 5 minutes. Then when I was typing my reply, I kept getting a message to "Request Time Out." Didn't know how to do that, so kept hitting the OK button and kept typing for another half minute. Finally, when ready to send, Safari couldn't do it. "Try again" exasperated me until I realized I would have to begin again and use Firefox. When I got there and ready to type, I got the message that my message had been retrienved and did I want to use it?!!
So your kindness is very much appreciated.

I updated imovie, which is now totally different. I tried to import videos from iphotos, but the system is now stuck on "import" and it doesn't include iphotos. Clicking on "close" doesn't work. How do I get out of "import"?

I updated imovie, which is now totally different. I tried to import videos from iphotos, but the system is now stuck on "import" and it doesn't include iphotos. Clicking on "close" doesn't work. How do I get out of "import" and then how do I access iphoto?

I have asked a moderator to provide assistance, they will post an invite on this thread.
Once you get a reply, if you click on their name, you will see a screen like this. Click on the link as shown below.
Please do not send them a personal message, as they may not be on duty for a long time, and your message will not be tracked properly.
There are some useful help pages here, for BT Broadband customers only, on my personal website.
BT Broadband customers - help with broadband, WiFi, networking, e-mail and phones.

Importing Video from iMovie HD - What's the Trick?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for