Submit Hint Search The Forums LinksStatsPollsHeadlinesRSS
14,000 hints and counting!

Create linked iMovie projects for longer DV films Apps
Recently I encountered a problem: I needed to make a movie longer than 60 minutes (which is the MiniDV standard). In order to utilize iMovie's "export to camera" feature I am so used to by now, I would have to create two projects for two parts of the movie (each under 60 minutes total), and export them separately to different tapes. This would create all kinds of little cosmetic issues, like the titles, transitions, etc. will be a bit different in each project, I would have to re-import DV clips (and I already have the complete movie edited and ready), and so on. Frankly, I just hoped to squeeze it into one hour, but there was nothing I could do about the good footage.

Here is the solution I came up with...

After your movie is complete (with "to be continued..." and "part two" titles in the middle), quit iMovie. Open the project folder, and simply duplicate the project file, then rename both files ("My Movie Part I", "My Movie Part II") and double-click Part I. When iMovie loads, select second part of the movie in the timeline window, and drag it back to the shelf, then save and close the project. Repeat the operation with the second file, moving the first part to the shelf.

You will end up with two exportable project, sharing one media folder and identical styling. Be careful, if you edit something after the split, NOT to empty the iMovie Trash - that could delete media clips used by the "twin" project.

[Editor's note: In order to drag clips back to the shelf, you need to have the timeline viewed in "clip" mode, not "timeline" mode. This is a great little trick if you create longer iMovie projects ... wish I would have known about it about six months ago, when I ran into the same problem!]
    •    
  • Currently 1.00 / 5
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  (1 vote cast)
 
[4,604 views]  

Create linked iMovie projects for longer DV films | 6 comments | Create New Account
Click here to return to the 'Create linked iMovie projects for longer DV films' hint
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
iMovie: The Missing Manual
Authored by: bradhenry on Jan 30, '03 02:26:03PM

The book iMovie: The missing manual (or whatever it is called), is a great book for hints like these and tons of technical details.



[ Reply to This | # ]
I did a similar thing...
Authored by: a1291762 on Jan 30, '03 04:21:37PM

I wanted to split my movie into several parts without losing the original. Rather than copy all the data (which is pretty huge) I just created symlinks (ln -s) to the files. iMovie didn't seem to mind either.

You could use this to create 2 versions of your movie, the "complete" version and the "parts" versions. The "parts" contain symlinks to the "complete" version's data.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Longer than 1.5 hour DVDs?
Authored by: peterneillewis on Jan 30, '03 09:54:57PM

I've got a similar sort of problem, I want to put the video footage of my brother's wedding on a DVD. But there is more than 1.5 hours and although it's not all that exciting, I want it all on one disk. I'm not too worried about the quality and I'd have thought by sacrificing the quality a bit I should be able to get a lot more than 1.5 hours on a DVD - but not with iDVD. Is there any way (without having to buy expensive software - I don't mind $50-$100 or so) to do more than 1.5 hours of footage and still be able to do buttons and menus and such to divide up the content?

Thanks.
Peter.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Buy a longer DV tape!
Authored by: funwithstuff on Jan 31, '03 05:05:40AM

Not sure what the situation is with NTSC DV, but in the UK and Australia you can buy 83 minute DV tapes. I know I've edited down to fit on one of those before. Just that little bit extra.

With regard to the DVD question, you could try Formac Devideon software. It only works if you have a Devideon superdrive, or perhaps (according to a Versiontracker comment) any Formac firewire device. It will allow you to tweak many of the same things as DVD Studio Pro, and also burns SVCDs. Rough edges ("Menu" shouldn't be spelt "Menue", obvious iDVD knockoff) but it should work. I haven't tested it.

Bear in mind, though, that squeezing a whole lot of video onto a DVD-R isn't going to look as good as the same length of footage on a commercial DVD. There's much more space to play with on a pressed DVD, and the compression is of better quality. Plus, viewers tend to get bored after much more than an hour. But good luck.



[ Reply to This | # ]
Buy a longer DV tape!
Authored by: igstudio on Feb 03, '03 09:41:04AM

NTSC standard for MiniDV is 60 min (90 in extended play mode, which results in quality degradation).



[ Reply to This | # ]
Additional hint info
Authored by: igstudio on Feb 03, '03 09:47:58AM

The method I described in the original post, works rather reliable, if your movie has no transitions between clips. iMovie names transition clips automatically, so if you decide to add a transition in part I, and then in part II, iMovie most likely will replace the transition clip file, since they reside in the same Media folder.
Titles seem to work fine.



[ Reply to This | # ]