Very big iMovie project file

Question

Here is what I do. I record a movie with Miglia Eyetv and a Mac Mini, setting Apple Imovie, it is ---.mp4 format. The file is about 1,7 gig. Next I want to remove begin and end, commercials and add some chapters. So I import the movie file into iMovie. After doing the simple editing stuff I end up with a project file about 26 gig (!?). Then I want to share it with iDVD to burn a disk. The disk space that is required is about 7 gig. It is to big for a single layer disk.
The editing work is done on my new iMac. I think I have enough power under the hood to do this kind of work.
Then, I life in Europe, so my records are in PAL. Each time I create an iMovie project its is set in NTSC. I cannot change anything; Preferences doesn't show any option. Importing the mp4 file takes considerable time, probably because the recoding PAL to NTSC.
In short, I want to burn (a standard, 2 hour, movie) on a single layer disk, with normal quality. Then I don't want to hustle withe the PAL - NTSC thing.

Answer 1

You can set the PAL vs NTSC when you create a project. However, if for some reason you cannot, you can export the movie as QuickTime and convert it. You can wait until you have completely finished the movie and then convert it, or you can export it at the beginning when you have just a couple of clips in the movie, and then you can continue to add to your movie and edit it.
See this from iMovie help:
+Exporting your movie for viewing in PAL or NTSC format+
+When you first create a new project in iMovie HD, you can select a video format for the project. The video and images you later add to the iMovie are converted to this format. However, if you need to format your movie to be viewed on a VCR or DVD player that uses another format, you can use the expert export options to convert your movie.+
+NTSC is a format commonly used in North America and Japan. PAL is a format commonly used by devices in Europe. There are also different versions of these two formats, such as DVCPRO-PAL and DVCPRO50-NTSC, so determine the precise format you need before exporting.+
+To export a movie in NTSC or PAL format:+
+Choose Share > QuickTime.+
+Choose Expert Settings from the "Compress movie for" pop-up menu, and then click Share.+
+Type a name for your movie and choose where you want to save it.+
+Choose "Movie to QuickTime Movie" from the Export pop-up menu, and then click Options.+
+In the Video pane, click Settings to open the Compression Settings dialog.+
+Choose a format from the pop-up menu (DV-PAL or DVCPRO-PAL for Europe, DV-NTSC or DVCPRO-NTSC for North America and Japan).+
+Choose a value from the Frames Rate pop-up menu (25 for PAL and 29.97 for NTSC)+
+Drag the Quality slider to the desired quality. Best is recommended.+
+Click OK.+
+Click Size to open the Export Size Settings dialog, and then click "Use custom size."+
+Type a value in the Width field (720 for both PAL and NTSC) and in the Height field (576 for PAL and 480 for NTSC), and then click OK.+
+Click Settings in the Sound pane.+
+Choose Stereo (L R) from the Channels pop-up menu in the Sound Settings dialog.+
+Choose 48.000 from the kHz pop-up menu (or type it in the Rate field).+
+Choose 16 from the "Sample size" pop-up menu, and then click OK.+
+Click OK in the Movie Settings dialog.+
+Click Save.+