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ZDNet Reviews iMovie

Posted by pudge on from the ismile-for-the-icamera dept.

ajw1976 writes "David Coursey of ZDNet reviews iMovie in his 'Month on Mac' series. It's a pretty a good article that tells how easy it is to create a movie and burn a DVD." A lot of people seem to think home movies/photos/music (the Apple "Digital Hub") is the killer app for consumer Macs these days. iPhoto has a long way to go, but iTunes works great, and I've heard little but good about iMovie.

6 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Dead simple to use by speculums · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lack of advanced features in a free, bundled program benefits 3rd party developers who create applications for people who want to do more than play around with something once in a while. I like how Apple is creating a platform with a broad baseline functionality which I can add more sophisticated applications to if I so choose. I really don't want to pay the development cost on programs I'll never use that much (it costs Apple money to put these programs together).

    --
    Vivez sans temps mort
  2. Complexity is a good thing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    For folks who care to do more than iMovie can provide, there's Final Cut Pro.

    iMovie is movie making for the AOL crowd. FCP is for the, well, Mac crowd.

    1. Re:Complexity is a good thing? by foobar104 · · Score: 5, Interesting

      iMovie is movie making for the AOL crowd. FCP is for the, well, Mac crowd.

      I agree and I don't. A division of my company does video integrations for broadcasters and post production companies. Two years ago those places were overflowing with Avids, a few Expresses but mostly Media Composers.

      Now it's G4s with FCP as far as the eye can see.

      Final Cut Pro on a Power Mac (about $6,000 total) is replacing Avid Media Composer systems (around $100,000) in professional settings.

      I don't think anybody saw that coming.

  3. Re:Which, of course, brings you Final Cut Pro ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Special effects in iMovie aren't too shabby, either. Apple's bundled transitions and effects aren't much, but GeeThree and Virtix have some nice iMovie packages for around $30. Just ten minutes ago I was looking at Virtix's new Bravo filters, and their "Laser" and "lightning" look like they would be pretty handy for those backyard Star Wars reenactments...

    And anyone who dismisses the power and flexibility of iMovie obviously hasn't used it. It is a compelling reason to buy a Mac!

    --R.J.
    "Slacker Survivor" T-shirts!

  4. In defense of iPhoto by daviddennis · · Score: 4, Interesting

    For anyone who doesn't want to spend hours tweaking and digitally redoing their photographs, iMovie reigns supreme. It's really easy to use, and the organizational scheme of rolls is simple and makes it trivial to find your pictures.

    Even though I have a high-end camera (EOS D30), I've been very pleased with iPhoto as an organizational framework for my pictures.

    D

  5. Re:well you know.. by pressman · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Premiere is being dumped left and right by small and big studios alike in favor of FCP. Hell, some production houses are even dumping their Avid's in favor of FCP.

    From a performance and usability standpoint, Premiere just doesn't even hold a candle to FCP. Avid and Media100 still have an edge over FCP, but they are cost prohibitive in the smaller markets; hence FCP being chosen in their stead.

    AfterEffects is used for totally different reasons than FCP. It's more motion graphics oriented than it is editing oriented. AfterEffects is also a low end solution for motion graphics. High end shops are going to go with products from Discreet and Nothing Real.... er Apple.

    --
    Pooty tweet