Newbie needs help, advice and alternatives to imovie

Question

Hey all,
I am running into problems using imovie 08. Here is the project: Importing large amounts of VHS footage using a canopus input device. I have no problem importing. the problem exists when I try to delete rejected footage. I know this has been posted before, but i really did not notice a solution. I hear things like, "be patient. it takes time" but I am getting spinning wheel that wont go away. I click on the imovie icon in the toolbar and it says, 'imovie not responding" in the greyed out area of the box. So i am forced to shut down or force quit.....losing not only the clip, but the entire import.
Is there any way to avoid this? it is a fairly new imac, so its not as if the cpu or memory cant handle the project.
Now part two.....I want to import all these ideally with imovie, then edit ideally with idvd. First, i want to import everything (i am borrowing a work imac for winter break) and later (summer?) i want to edit. but, i dont think i will be able to do this since i cannot get rid of the scenes...or do i just wait and do this in idvd? IS there an easier way? snap pro? final cut? i want to avoid the rendering times (takes imovie over an hour just to open!) and the freezing. my end product will be DVD's slideshows,
Could I easily, using these programs, simply make a copy of the DVD's on a LG dvd recorder (stand alone) and edit this video later? or do i have to then import that in DV format, and end up with the same problems? eventually, i want to do lots of editing so the stand alone is not a good permanant solution. I also dont get it: are these DV files or MOV files? the computer shows both. what else imports this format that may allow me to edit the video in an easier, non freezing way?
thanks for reading. meanwhile, i will continue to scan the forums.
Mike

Answer 1

But, let me see if i understand you correctly: import with imovie, but THEN use QT or Mpeg streamclip? or do i import with those programs.
Actually, I would probably use Vidi (free) to import the source files. It is an older utility and does just one thing -- it captures the raw DV footage and stores it wherever I want. This is handy if I have yet to determine which video editor I plan to use. Once the raw footage is stored on my hard drive, and can perform preliminary cuts of footage I definitely don't plan to use. This saves time importing/re-rendering the content I do actually keep and plan to use, as well as, the thumbnailing of content if it went directly to iMovie '08.
also, can you explain why this is what you call destructive editing?
Destructive editing is editing that actually modifies the source file. All versions of iMovie have the ability to "split" the source content into smaller segments and trash ones you don't want. By this I mean it actually divides a source clip into smaller segments, re-writes the segments you want to keep, and deletes those you don't. This is destructive. Once the segments are deleted and the project updated, they are gone for good. iMovie '08, FCE, and FCP, on the other hand, are intended to be used non-destructively. This means You can select a segments and add the segment to one or more projects one or more times without physically changing the source file. In other words, there is no real need to physically remove content you don't want since you can simply tell the project which frames to include in the project. Think of it as either copying the source frames you want to project. In actually, in iMovie '08 you are just copying frame references to the project and not the physical content itself -- which is why I call it "by-reference" editing. Since not actual footage is copied to the project in iMovie '08, the project files are much smaller. In addition, unlike iMovie HD, your edits do not have to be rendered to physicals which also ad to a projects size. Instead, in iMovie '08, the status of the project is simply rendered in real time for viewing which is why the CPU requirements are so high for this application.
do i loose quality on this?
Generally speaking, you lose quality every time you transcode your content. Since there is no physical intermediate file in iMovie '08, every frame in our output is transcoded at least once. In iMovie HD, only the titles, filters, transitions, special effects and such are re-rendered (re-compressed to the default project compression format) which means that all other content is exported as a "reference" file pointing to the original source content as it was imported into the project. This is why you will probably see a lot of talk about DVDs made with iMovie HD looking better than those made with iMovie '08.
a lot?
That really depends on what you are doing and how good the original content is in terms of quality. If you are importing content that is automatically transcoded or manually transcoded as part of the import and then re-render it part of a special effect and then convert it to a target compression for a particular use, then you could end up with the equivalent of a third generation copy of your original content. If the original content was of outstanding quality, then you may see little or no visual deterioration. If starting with something like QVGA digital camera content, then you may be tearing your hear out when you see the finished product.
do i really need to jump thru all these hoops just to primarily delete rejected clips? a process that imovie 08 should be able to handle quite easily, but does not.
The best approach you be for you to do your preliminary editing as you import. Since you will be importing manually, you can plan ahead and only import the content you actually plan to use by starting and stopping the import process manually. By blocking or importing individual segments manually and allowing them to thumbnail independently, you should not be constantly running into the problem where the computer locks up for hours because you are importing an hour plus of content all at once. I have never run any timing tests, but it often seems that the import time sometimes grows geometrically with the amount of content imported simultaneously and not linearly on my rather old G5. (It may just be my imagination, but I'm not sure.)
the second comment i get. So, i can really keep all the cruddy stuff in my import, and simply do not add it to the idvd project?
Normally, each project you create in iMovie will end up as a separate "title" on your DVD. You can crate a single long movie or several shorter projects than can be selected as independent playback selections in your DVD project. The basic function of iDVD is to take the files you send to it and convert them to MPEG2/PCM content to be burned to a DVD along with the interactive menus needed to play them back on a commercial DVD player which access content written to specific types of files. While an application like DVDSP will offer limited editing options, they are nowhere as good as what you can do in the video editor. Use iMovie to create the file as you wish to play it back and use iDVD to write those files to your DVD.
that might help me avoid the issue i am having, but will not help me save drive space.
As I have already said many times before, the best way to save drive space is not to import content you don't really want. The average DV25 file video content alone takes up an average of about 28.5 mbps for or about 12.825 GB of hard drive space for every hour of imported video plus whatever space is needed for your audio. (There are different "flavors of DV but most often it is imported as DV/DV for iMovie.)
that might help me avoid the issue i am having, but will not help me save drive space.
The best way to see what is going on is to simply open one of the files and look at the "Inspector" window. The "Format:" entry should tell you what compression formats were actually used to create the files. The DV file will be DV video with DV audio. The MOV files will likely depend on the actual source file and/or the default project type selected in the case of iMovie HD imports. Basically, if the import routine automatically transcoded the content, it will often end up in an MOV file container as explained previously.
i like the sound of vidi and will check it out now.....ok. did that. looks good! so, basically, i get one big file at no signal loss, that i can mess with first, then bring into imovie?
Exactly.
any reason i would NOT want to do that?
Probably not as long as you import and do your preliminary editing one tape at a time. In this way you can get rid of most of the dross immediately. If however, there is a long segment you know you'll never use, why import it at all.
I only have so much time off work here, and hope to do it all during my vacation. this issue was causing me a headache. hopefully this will now make things a little easier.
Best of luck. Consider it a "learning experience." (I.e., "no pain, no gain.")