How to Create a Project in iMovie
Turn on your camera., Connect your camera to your computer., Set the Automatic/Manual switch., Click import., Organize your imported video., Analyze your video., Pick a size., Click Import.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Turn on your camera.
Set it to VTR, VCR, or PC Connect.
This will vary depending on the type of camera you have, but in general, you want to put it in output mode, not record mode. -
Step 2: Connect your camera to your computer.
Locate the cable that came with your camera.
Whether that's a USB cable, or a Firewire cable, there will be one large end, and one small end.
Connect the smaller end into your camcorder, and the broad end into your computer.
If you are importing from a camera that can shoot HD video, an HD Import Setting dialog appears.
Select Large or Full, and then click OK.
If the Import window does not open, choose File > Import from Camera. , This will let iMovie control your camcorder's transport.
Automatic rewinds the tape to the beginning, imports all the video on the tape, then rewinds the tape back to the beginning.
Use this for bulk importing.
Manual lets you rewind and fast-forward the tape so that you can import only that footage you want to include in your movie.
Use the transport controls to set your tap to the point where you want to begin importing. , From the Save To pop-up menu, choose the disk where you will store your video files.
If you have a second drive, that's a good place to store your video, rather than your system drive. , Determine how you want to manage the imported video in your Event Library:
To add the imported video to an existing event (video you’ve already imported), select “Add to Existing Event,” then choose the event’s name from the pop-up menu.
The first time you import video, there won’t be any existing events in your Event Library.
To create a new event, type a name for it in the “Create new Event” field.
If the video you’re importing was recorded on several different days and you want iMovie to create an individual event for each of those days, select “Split days into new Events.” , iMovie can smooth shaky video through a process called stabilization, and can analyze your video for the presence of people.
To do this, select “After import analyze for,” and then choose an option from the pop-up menu:
Stabilization reduces the camera motion in your video so that shaky parts can be played back more smoothly.
Analyzing video for the presence of people marks the footage that contains people.
Note: stabilization and analyzing video for people can take a long time. , If you’re importing HD video, choose a size from the “Optimize video” pop-up menu.
If you’re not sure whether the video you’re importing is HD video, check the camera’s user manual for information about how to set the camera to record HD or standard-definition (SD) video.
If you're still not sure, connect your camera to your television.
If your your TV is wide screen, standard video will have black bars on the left and right sides of the video.
If your TV is standard, an HD video will show black bars above and below the video.
If your video fills the screen, then it's the same format as your tv: widescreen or standard.
The option you choose overrides what you selected in step 4 in the HD Import Setting dialog (which you see only the first time you import video). , If you’re importing automatically, you can leave your computer and come back when the import is complete.
If you’re importing manually, click Stop (in the lower-right corner of the Import window) when the section of video you want has been imported.
Then use the import controls to set your video to a point where you want to begin importing again, and repeat starting at the first import step.
Continue in this manner until you have imported all the video you want. -
Step 3: Set the Automatic/Manual switch.
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Step 4: Click import.
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Step 5: Organize your imported video.
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Step 6: Analyze your video.
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Step 7: Pick a size.
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Step 8: Click Import.
Detailed Guide
Set it to VTR, VCR, or PC Connect.
This will vary depending on the type of camera you have, but in general, you want to put it in output mode, not record mode.
Locate the cable that came with your camera.
Whether that's a USB cable, or a Firewire cable, there will be one large end, and one small end.
Connect the smaller end into your camcorder, and the broad end into your computer.
If you are importing from a camera that can shoot HD video, an HD Import Setting dialog appears.
Select Large or Full, and then click OK.
If the Import window does not open, choose File > Import from Camera. , This will let iMovie control your camcorder's transport.
Automatic rewinds the tape to the beginning, imports all the video on the tape, then rewinds the tape back to the beginning.
Use this for bulk importing.
Manual lets you rewind and fast-forward the tape so that you can import only that footage you want to include in your movie.
Use the transport controls to set your tap to the point where you want to begin importing. , From the Save To pop-up menu, choose the disk where you will store your video files.
If you have a second drive, that's a good place to store your video, rather than your system drive. , Determine how you want to manage the imported video in your Event Library:
To add the imported video to an existing event (video you’ve already imported), select “Add to Existing Event,” then choose the event’s name from the pop-up menu.
The first time you import video, there won’t be any existing events in your Event Library.
To create a new event, type a name for it in the “Create new Event” field.
If the video you’re importing was recorded on several different days and you want iMovie to create an individual event for each of those days, select “Split days into new Events.” , iMovie can smooth shaky video through a process called stabilization, and can analyze your video for the presence of people.
To do this, select “After import analyze for,” and then choose an option from the pop-up menu:
Stabilization reduces the camera motion in your video so that shaky parts can be played back more smoothly.
Analyzing video for the presence of people marks the footage that contains people.
Note: stabilization and analyzing video for people can take a long time. , If you’re importing HD video, choose a size from the “Optimize video” pop-up menu.
If you’re not sure whether the video you’re importing is HD video, check the camera’s user manual for information about how to set the camera to record HD or standard-definition (SD) video.
If you're still not sure, connect your camera to your television.
If your your TV is wide screen, standard video will have black bars on the left and right sides of the video.
If your TV is standard, an HD video will show black bars above and below the video.
If your video fills the screen, then it's the same format as your tv: widescreen or standard.
The option you choose overrides what you selected in step 4 in the HD Import Setting dialog (which you see only the first time you import video). , If you’re importing automatically, you can leave your computer and come back when the import is complete.
If you’re importing manually, click Stop (in the lower-right corner of the Import window) when the section of video you want has been imported.
Then use the import controls to set your video to a point where you want to begin importing again, and repeat starting at the first import step.
Continue in this manner until you have imported all the video you want.
About the Author
Denise Harris
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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