Mac OS X Leopard On Demand: Working with Music and MediaMac OS X Leopard On Demand: Working with Music and Media

Exploring iMovie

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The iMovie application lets you create high-quality, professional movies. Using footage from your digital camcorder (MiniDV or Digital 8 format), you can edit and combine different movie files, create transitions between scenes, even capture live video, and then add an audio track (voice or music). iMovie is part of the iLife suite of application, which is sold separately from Mac OS X Leopard.

The iMovie application is simple to operate, yet powerful when it comes to creating professional movies, using footage from your digital movie camera, or any other digital multimedia files; including image stills and audio files.

It's important to understand that creating a movie requires a lot of planning and forethought. You need to assemble the multimedia elements that are used to create the movie.

The iMovie window is your working studio. Inside this one window, you have the ability to draw together all of the elements of your movie, and then arrange them by adding titles and transitions; you can even use special effects. For example, you could create a movie of a family members birthday, using a dozen movie clips, plus background music and narration. You can also add still images, create seamless fades between photos, and movies. It's all here inside the iMovie window.

Exploring iDVD

The iDVD application comes bundled on all Macintosh computers that have a DVD burner. Using iDVD, you can create slideshows of pictures, or become a director and create your own DVD movies, using a digital camcorder. You even have iMovie to help you edit your home movies. iDVD is part of the iLife suite of application, which is sold separately from Mac OS X Leopard.

If you've ever wanted to test your skills at movie production, then the iDVD application is just what you've been waiting for all these years. There are all kinds of layout applications, such as applications for laying material out on paper (Adobe InDesign and Quark Xpress), and there are programs that layout Web pages (Adobe Dreamweaver). With that in mind, think of iDVD as a layout application for the creation of your Oscar-winning production.

Exploring iPhoto

The iPhoto application lets you organize your images into user-defined folders, edit them, and even distribute them to your friends, by placing them on a CD or DVD, or directly over the Internet. iPhoto is part of the iLife suite of application, which is sold separately from Mac OS X Leopard.

When you open the iPhoto application, you're treated to the ultimate in organization and simplicity. For example, you own a digital camera, and you want to move the images from the camera to your computer. Most digital cameras come with their own proprietary programs that let you hook your camera up (USB or FireWire port), and then organize and manage your files.

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However, what if you own more than one digital camera? Now, you have two (or more) proprietary programs that do not communicate with each other, and each program is holding some of your digital images. That makes sorting and organizing the image files as a group nearly impossible.

Fortunately, iPhoto does away with camera-specific programs. When you plug your camera in, iPhoto recognizes the device and lets you move the image files from the camera to iPhoto. The benefits are obvious -- with all your image files in one place, you can conduct searches and sorts faster; and you won't have to move from folder to folder, looking for that missing image.

This gives you the ability to generate slideshows, videos, or a combination of both, along with menus, buttons (just like any other DVD), and then burn it onto a blank DVD that can be viewed by anyone that owns a DVD player.

The iDVD application is powerful, but just like any other layout program, it requires material to use for the layout. For example, when you open iDVD, you need access to video files, audio files, and graphics. The iDVD application doesn't create the materials that make up the DVD; it only organizes them. And, not all DVD players are created equal. Some DVD disks do not work in all the players on the market; especially older DVD players. For information on compatibility issues between DVD writers and DVD players, point your browser to: http://www.dvdrhelp.com.