Of the five applications in its iLife '05 digital media suite, Apple considers iMovie HD to be the most innovative. This video editing program now enables users to capture and edit widescreen High Definition Video (HDV) from the new generation of HDV camcorders, along with standard DV and the MPEG-4 video format. iMovie HD also includes "Magic iMovie" for making finished movies automatically. The feature does everything in one step-imports video into separate clips, and adds titles, transitions, and music. Then it's ready for iDVD 5, which now includes 15 new themes with moving drop zones that can display video clips or photos in motion across DVD menus, just like the latest Hollywood DVDs.
For professional and amateur moviemakers, this is amazing stuff. But if you want to learn the full capabilities of these applications, Apple documentation won't make the cut. Instead, iMovie HD & iDVD 5: The Missing Manual, now in full color, is the ideal third-party authority that covers all of these changes through an objective lens. This witty and entertaining guide from celebrated author David Pogue not only details every step of iMovie HD video production--from choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto DVDs-but provides a firm grounding in basic film technique so that the quality of a video won't rely entirely on magic.
