iMovie: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue


This page contains errors corrected in the 2/01 reprint.


Here's a key to the markup:

        [page-number]: serious technical mistake
        {page-number}: minor technical mistake
        <page-number>: important language/formatting problem
        (page-number): language change or minor formatting problem
        ?page-number?: reader question or request for clarification


(back cover) The third bullet used to read:

	"...email to friends, or even burn as a Video CD."

It now reads:

	"...email to friends, or even burn as a DVD disk (using Apple's iDVD
	software)."


<vi, vii> The chapter numbers were off by one in the first printing, thanks to 
the incorrect repetition of the "Building the Movie" chapter name. This line 
should be deleted, and the remaining chapters renumbered (i.e., Chapter 6: 
Transitions and Effects ... Chapter 15: Final Cut, Premiere, and EditDV).


(vii) Inserted this table of contents entry in Chapter 12:

	Burning a DVD with iDVD.......298


<91> The first paragraph under "Updating Your Copy of iMovie" used to read:

	Like any software company, Apple occasionally releases new versions of
	iMovie. For example, iMovie 2.0.1 was an important update that appeared
	almost immediately after the original 2.0 version. Each upgrade adds
	extremely desirable new features to the program as well as better
	reliability.

It now reads:

	Like any software company, Apple occasionally releases new versions of
	iMovie. Version 2.0.1 was an important bug-fix update that appeared
	almost immediately after the original 2.0 version; the 2.0.3 version
	added compatibility with iDVD (see page 299) and even more bug fixes.


<113> The last sentence of the second paragraph under "Approach 3" used to 
read:

	The Sony box costs about $400 at this writing.

It now reads:

	The Sony box costs about $400 at this writing. The very similar
	Hollywood-DV Bridge (www.dazzle.com) is $300.


(169) The sixth item label in Figure 7-1 used to read:

	Fontmenu

It now reads:

	Font menu


(221) Removed the bullet before "Now" in the first paragraph.


{237} Deleted the last sentence in the left-hand column of the "Infrequently 
Asked Question": 

	"By the time you type 107,863 (a few seconds shy of iMovie's 
	59:59:00 limit), iMovie says that you're at the limit."


<271> The last sentence of the third paragraph used to read:

	And if you have an extra $10,000 lying around, you can even make your
	own DVD videodisks; just polish up your movies, burn them onto DVDs, 
	and then call up the national buyer for Blockbuster.

It now reads:

	And with the aid of Apple's SuperDrive and iDVD software (see page 
	299), you can even make your own DVD videodisks; just polish up your 
	movies, burn them onto DVDs, and then call up the national buyer for 
	Blockbuster.


<295> The last sentence in the third bullet used to read:

	You bought a lot of expensive equipment to make this disk.

It now reads:

	This is what Apple's iDVD is all about, as described on page 299.


<297> The first paragraph under "Phase 2" used to read:

	At one time, the best-known MPEG-1 creation software was Astarte 
	M.Pack. In early 2000, however, Apple bought Astarte and took M.Pack 
	off the market; Apple will probably re-introduce the program under a 
	new name, and with new features, in 2001. (Visit this book's page at
	www.missingmanual.com to see if this blessed event has occurred.)

It now reads:

	At one time, the best-known MPEG-1 creation software was Astarte 
 	M.Pack. In early 2000, however, Apple bought Astarte and took M.Pack 
	off the market, in order to use its technology for creating iDVD, 
	described on page 299.


<298-300> Replaced the text beginning with "Creating a DVD" with the following:

	Burning a DVD with iDVD

	If your iMovie production is really good, you may have had visions of
	Tower Video dancing in your head. And, sure enough, it's perfectly
	possible to create professional-quality DVD disks just like the ones
	that come out of Hollywood.

	A DVD is a complicated work of art, often featuring menus, alternate
	soundtracks, a choice of camera angles, and the other goodies that make
	rented or purchased DVDs so exciting. Until recently, it therefore
	required an equally complicated piece of software called a DVD 
	authoring program, such as the $2,500 MPEG Power Professional DVD
	(www.heuris.com). Then, even after buying the software, you still 
	needed a machine to burn the DVD discs: the Pioneer DVR-S201, which 
	costs another $5,400. Blank DVDs used to cost about $40 each.

	All of this changed explosively in January 2001, when Apple CEO Steve
	Jobs announced two new products: the SuperDrive and iDVD. The
	SuperDrive, available at first only in certain Power Macintosh G4
	models, is a combination CD/DVD player and CD/DVD recorder. In other
	words, Apple has broken new ground; it's selling a $3,500 computer that
	includes an adaptation of the very same $5,400 Panasonic DVD burner
	described above.

	iDVD, meanwhile, is the extremely easy to use, free software that comes
	with the SuperDrive. The steps for creating a DVD are simple: First,
	update your copy of iMovie to version 2.0.3 or later, using the free
	updater at www.apple.com/imovie. Then, when you're finished editing 
	your project in iMovie, choose File -> Export; in the Export dialog 
	box, choose the "For iDVD" option. Save the file to your hard drive, 
	keeping in mind that it will occupy a relatively enormous amount of 
	space.

	Next, drag your exported movies from your desktop into the iDVD window,
	as shown in Figure 12-12. Drag them around into a sequence you like;
	click their names to retitle them. Use the slider that appears when you
	click a thumbnail to choose the frame you'll want to represent that
	movie in this "table of contents" view. Use the Themes controls to
	specify a look for your main menu screen, or drag a graphics file from
	your desktop into the iDVD window to use it as the backdrop for your 
	main menu.

	Click the Preview button in the lower-right corner to summon a virtual
	remote control, which you can use to hold a dress rehearsal for the
	finished DVD; for example, when you click one of the thumbnail images,
	the DVD player will play the corresponding movie.
	
	Finally, click the Burn DVD button at the lower-right corner of the
	screen; insert a blank DVD (which Apple sells in five-packs for $50).
	Your SuperDrive does the rest. It takes about two hours to burn one 
	hour of video (the maximum for iDVD), a far cry from the 12 or 24 hours
	required by previous DVD software. You can play the resulting disk in
	any standard DVD player; your audience will at last get to savor your
	digital video in its full glory.

	Tip: If you can't justify buying a new Mac just to burn a couple of
	DVDs, you can hire a video service to do much of the work for you. For
	example, you can send the MPEG-2 Þles necessary for DVD mastering to a
	DVD mastering facility, who's already got the equipment. (Search the 
	Web for DVD mastering services; you'll Þnd plenty of them, including
	www.digitalforce.com and www.ßickfactory.com.) The service costs about
	$300.


{326} The second sentence in the second paragraph under"Manipulating Tracks" 
used to read:

	"In fact, doing so is precisely the central move in overlaying new 
	video over an existing audio track (see page 219)."

It now reads:

	"(Old-timers may remember that this was the central move in overlaying
	new video over an existing audio track in iMovie 1.)"


<332> Inserted the following paragraph before the Tip:

	If you highlight some footage and then press Shift-Option, the Edit ->
	Paste command changes to say Add Scaled. Whatever you're pasting gets
	stretched or compressed in time so that it fits the highlighted region,
	speeding up or slowing down both audio and video accordingly. The 
	effect can be very powerful, very comical, or just weird.


<369> The second section used to read:

	The Picture Appears in Widescreen Format

	If your footage appears in widescreen format-a width-to-height ratio of
	16:9, just like a Hollywood movie-once again, some non-Apple software 
	is probably to blame. This particular glitch is a side effect of the 
	Action GoMac control panel. (It affects only some camcorders.)

It now reads:

	Weird Font-Cropping Glitches

	If the font iMovie uses for its clip names and timecodes doesn't look
	right (for example, the labels get chopped off), you probably have
	Microsoft Office, whose Curlz MT font conflicts with iMovie 2's font. 
	To solve the proble, open your System Folder -> Fonts folder and remove
	the Curlz icon, then restart iMovie.


(390) Changed the following index entry:

	DVDit, 299

To:

	DVDs
	    burning your own, 298-300


(393) Added the following term to the index:

	iDVD, 299


(399) Added the following term to the index:

	SuperDrive, 299