iMovie '11 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

Chapter 12. Advanced Editing

Stumble around long enough in iMovie ’11, and you’ll be able to figure out most of its workings. But in this chapter, you’ll read about another level of capability, another realm of power and professionalism, that would never occur to most people.

This chapter covers two advanced topics:

• Advanced editing theory. Where the preceding chapters covered the technical aspects of editing video in iMovie—what keys to press, where to click, and so on—the first part of this chapter is about the artistic aspects of video editing. It covers when to cut, what to cut to, and how to create the emotional impact you want.

• Back and forth with iMovie 6. It’s a fact of life: iMovie ’11 is at best a distant cousin of iMovie 6. They’re two different programs, designed for different purposes, with different audiences in mind. Each offers features that aren’t found in the other.

  There’s no reason you can’t use both programs, swinging deftly back and forth, using each for what it’s good for. In this chapter, you’ll find out why and how.

The Power of Editing

The editing process is crucial to any kind of movie, from home videos to Hollywood thrillers. Clever editing can turn a troubled movie into a successful one, or a boring home movie into one that, for the first time, family members don’t interrupt every 3 minutes by lapsing into conversation.

You, the editor, are free to jump from camera to camera, angle to angle, to cut from one location or time to another, and so on. Today’s audiences ...