iMovie 3 for Mac OS X (Visual QuickStart Guide) [Paperback]

Jeff Carlson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Visual QuickStart Guide | Publication Date: June 19, 2003

Crammed with new features--but lacking any documentation to speak of--iMovie 3 is a tool just waiting to be tapped, and this Visual QuickStart Guide provides the key. If you're already familiar with Apple's video editing software, you'll welcome the easy-to-find coverage of all of iMovie's new features--including seamless integration with other iLife applications, added visual effects, powerful new audio controls and effects, chapter markers, and instant DVD export. If you're using iMovie for the first time, the accessible, step-by-step format will have you making movies in no time. Using hundreds of screen shots (all updated to reflect iMovie 3's new interface) and tips gleaned from personal experience, noted Mac author Jeff Carlson covers all the bases here--from shooting and capturing footage, viewing clips, and working in the iMovie timeline to using special effects and transitions and adding sound, music, titles, and narration. New in this edition is a chapter focusing on working with still images, thorough coverage of interoperability between the other iLife applications, a valuable troubleshooting section, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Crammed with new features-but lacking any documentation to speak of-iMovie 3 is a tool just waiting to be tapped, and this Visual QuickStart Guide provides the key. If you're already familiar with Apple's video editing software, you'll welcome the easy-to-find coverage of all of iMovie's new features-including seamless integration with other iLife applications, added visual effects, powerful new audio controls and effects, chapter markers, and instant DVD export. If you're using iMovie for the first time, the accessible, step-by-step format will have you making movies in no time. Using hundreds of screen shots (all updated to reflect iMovie 3's new interface) and tips gleaned from personal experience, noted Mac author Jeff Carlson covers all the bases here-from shooting and capturing footage, viewing clips, and working in the iMovie timeline to using special effects and transitions and adding sound, music, titles, and narration. New in this edition is a chapter focusing on working with still images, thorough coverage of interoperability between the other iLife applications, a valuable troubleshooting section, and much more.

About the Author

Jeff Carlson is the author of Real World Adobe GoLive, Handspring Visor: Visual QuickStart Guide, Palm Organizers, 2nd Edition: Visual QuickStart Guide, and iMovie 2 for Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide. He divides his time between his Seattle Web design company, Never Enough Coffee Creations, and writing for publications such as Macworld, I.D., and How Magazine. He is also the managing editor of the weekly electronic newsletter TidBITS, which covers Macintosh and Internet issues.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Peachpit Press (June 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321193970
• ISBN-13: 978-0321193971
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,602,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #42 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > iMovie + iDVD

More About the Author

I'm a freelance writer and designer. I've authored and edited a number of best-selling books about video editing, Web design, the Mac, and Palm devices. I'm a columnist for The Seattle Times, contribute regularly to magazines such as Macworld, HOW Magazine, and Photoshop Elements Techniques. The closest thing I have to a real job is Managing Editor of TidBITS.

See my personal weblog at http://www.jeffcarlson.com/, and my iMovie/video editing weblog at http://www.jeffcarlson.com/imovievqs/. More information about my work and current projects can be found at http://www.necoffee.com/.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It might be what you're looking for..., April 22, 2004

By 

jbzoller (Manitowoc, WI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: iMovie 3 for Mac OS X (Visual QuickStart Guide) (Paperback)

The iMovie 3 Visual Quickstart Guide is a thinner book than most others
in the VQSG series. It has only 170ish pages and is labeled for the
beginning to intermediate user. After looking through the book, though,
I don't see any topic that is not covered (and I have used iMovie
pretty extensively). So I think that maybe there isn't such a thing as
an advanced iMovie user; advanced users are probably using Final Cut.
For any iMovie 3 user, this book would seem to satisfy the need.

iMovie is meant for the novice user; it is meant to give the average
person the ability to produce videos that look semi-professional and
can be easily burned to CD-ROM or emailed. This book undeniably meets
this demand. OK, you say, but what about iMovie 4, the newest version
of iMovie? Well, I chose this book for two reasons: first, there is not
a good selection of iMovie 4 materials yet, and second, only buyers of
iLife '04 and new Macs (since March 2004) would have that program
whereas iMovie 3 is still a free download and usable by anyone with
10.1.5 and up.

Although people argue that iMovie 4 is worth the upgrade, that is
another discussion. My focus on the utility of this book is intended to
reach a larger audience. This book contains EVERYTHING you need to know
about iMovie 3 and has added sections on using a digital video camera
and integration with iDVD 2 (only available on Macs with a Superdrive).
The iMovie 3 VQSG is an excellent resource to have around and will
likely find a home in my classroom where my students can benefit from
it.