Noob question-- importing HD footage?

Question

So, I have a question about editing HD footage--on iMovie on in general--that YOU probably already know, it's just been awhile for me. I've edited footage on non-linear programs in the past, but it's been QUITE a few years (we're talking like Premier, Media 100... never really used iMovie).
Basically, I have some footage that was shot of a friend's wedding that he was hoping I could pull from my former film student experience to help edit.
Problem is, the footage he gave me-- Quicktime files burned onto DVDs-- was just converted from the native AVCHD footage (from MTS files), into HD.
As I understand it, whatever family member shot the footage must have just copied it on-site from the camera's memory card to a computer/laptop HD (instead of just importing all the footage from the chip) to save time/space, and then was converted when it became apparent that the MTS files couldn't be edited.
As a default, I went to iMovie-- again, a program I'm not familiar with-- and "Import HD Project," but none of the files are selectable (I CAN import them as "Movies" though). From my Googling, I see a lot of talk about iMovie NOT being able to use HD footage, so I figured it was worth asking.
Basically, the options I'm faced with are:
1) Get the original MTS footage, reconvert it to something other than HD (apparently HD was chosen simply because the end result was a lot better/less pixellated than MOV or MPG files), and edit from that,
2) Ask him to borrow the camera that this was originally shot on, try to put the MTS footage BACK onto the memory card, and reimport it properly this time.
Anyway, I'd really appreciate any input you can give. I'd been meaning to do this for him for a few weeks now, but now that I've seen what a hassle it is, I'm really starting to have second thoughts...

Answer 1

phasmatrope wrote:
.....I went to iMovie.....and "Import HD Project," but none of the files are selectable (I CAN import them as "Movies" though).
The option in iMovie's menu File>Import>iMovie HD Project relates purely to importing older iMovie projects, that is, from versions iMovie HD 6 and earlier - these have an entirely different structure to versions '08, '09 and the latest iMovie '11.
So, for the wedding video, don't attempt to use that option - use File>Import>Movies. You indicated that this option worked for you, so go for it!
Forget all that you may have read about iMovie not handling High Definition video. As Tom said "You heard wrong". I've created countless HD projects in both iMovie '09 and '11 with no problems whatsoever regarding quality. The final quality is excellent, whether using the Large (960 x 540) or Full (1920 x 1080) import setting. But, bear in mind that I import 1080i AVCHD clips (.MTS files) directly from my camcorder (or from an archive), whereas you will be importing converted clips of possibly inferior quality. The best format to convert to is Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC), the very format that iMovie generates when ingesting AVCHD clips. In non technical language, AIC expands (decompresses) the video into full frames to enable efficient editing within iMovie.
The best solution is to follow Tom's advice and use ClipWrap to transcode the .MTS files (assuming they are still available). Otherwise, as I mentioned, simply import what you have using File>Import>Movies. Hopefully, the quality in the final product will be acceptable to all parties!
John