Macintosh products are known for being easy to use, and deservedly so. You can muddle your way through pretty much any Mac OS program, and make it do what it's supposed to, without a manual or the online help. The latest version of the video-editing software for Mac OS, iMovie 2, is no exception, but David Pogue delivers real value in iMovie 2: The Missing Manual. Composed in Pogue's trademark friendly style, the book contains enough excellently written explanations and examples to significantly flatten the iMovie 2 learning curve, so it's a pleasure to read, bookmark, and refer back to.

For an example of how this book is technically precise in an engaging way, consider how it explains the purpose of the QT Margins check box, which has to do with compensating for a margin-cropping characteristic of televisions. Pogue proposes an equivalent label: "'QT Margins' means 'Assume this movie will be shown as a QuickTime movie, and therefore won't have chopped-off margins.'" The meaning of a fairly cryptic label becomes absolutely obvious.

Further kudos go to the book's designers for their liberal inclusion of illustrations. Where multiple frames are needed to illustrate a point, they're included. Tips and notes serve a valuable purpose, and are likely to introduce even seasoned iMovie editors to features they've missed on their own. --David Wall

Topics covered: Capturing video with a camera, then editing it on the Mac to include appealing transitions, effects, titling, and audio. The process of exporting edited video from the computer (such as for videotape or Web publishing).


Book Description
When it created iMovie in 1999, Apple Computer made digital video editing almost as easy as using a word processor--and even less expensive. Built into most modern Macintosh models is the circuitry needed to record pro-quality video from a digital camcorder, and then send the edited movies back to TV or tape with zero picture-quality loss. Now Apple takes the revolution to the next level with the dramatically enhanced iMovie 2.0. The new software adds the option of inserting new video over a continuous audio track; removes limitations on the number of raw clips from which to choose scenes; and offers bonuses such as special effects and brightness and contrast adjustments, much greater typographical flexibility in its title- and credit-maker, and a far more useful and complete audio-track editor. But one thing hasn't changed: iMovie 2, though much more sophisticated than its predecessor, still doesn't come with a single page of printed instructions. Pogue Press/O'Reilly's iMovie: The Missing Manual, released in May 2000, became an instant bestseller, requiring two reprints in three months and earning rave five-star reviews on Amazom.com. This entertaining guide covers every step of iMovie video production, from choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto CDs. The book's philosophy: Giving someone iMovie without also teaching basic film technique is like giving a map to a teenager without teaching him to drive. Now author David Pogue is back with an expanded, revised edition, now called iMovie 2: The Missing Manual, rewritten to cover iMovie 2 and nothing but. Far deeper and more detailed than the meager set of online help screens included with iMovie, the book helps iMovie users realize the software's potential as a breakthrough in the cost, complexity, and difficulty of desktop video production. With a technical review by Glenn Reid, architect and lead engineer of both iMovie and iMovie 2.


Book Info
(Pogue Press) A complete course in iMovie 2, providing the essentials of film technique, showing how to make home movies look professional. also shows how to edit films and how to save the movie on tape or as a QuickTime movie to send to friends via e-mail. Encourages readers to explore the boundaries of their filmmaking imagination. Softcover.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When it created iMovie in 1999, Apple Computer made digital video editing almost as easy as using a word processor—and even less expensive. Built into most modern Macintosh models is the circuitry needed to record pro-quality video from a digital camcorder, and then send the edited movies back to TV or tape with zero picture-quality loss.

Now Apple takes the revolution to the next level with the dramatically enhanced iMovie 2.0. The new software adds the option of inserting new video over a continuous audio track; removes limitations on the number of raw clips from which to choose scenes; and offers bonuses such as special effects and brightness and contrast adjustments, much greater typographical flexibility in its title- and credit-maker, and a far more useful and complete audio-track editor.

But one thing hasn't changed: iMovie 2, though much more sophisticated than its predecessor, still doesn't come with a single page of printed instructions.

Pogue Press/O'Reilly's iMovie: The Missing Manual, released in May 2000, became an instant bestseller, requiring two reprints in three months and earning rave five-star reviews on Amazom.com. This entertaining guide covers every step of iMovie video production, from choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto CDs. The book's philosophy: Giving someone iMovie without also teaching basic film technique is like giving a map to a teenager without teaching him to drive.

Now author David Pogue is back with an expanded, revised edition, now called iMovie 2: The Missing Manual, rewritten to cover iMovie 2 and nothing but.

Far deeperand more detailed than the meager set of online help screens included with iMovie, the book helps iMovie users realize the software's potential as a breakthrough in the cost, complexity, and difficulty of desktop video production.

With a technical review by Glenn Reid, architect and lead engineer of both iMovie and iMovie 2.