iMovie 6 & IDVD: The Missing Manual

While the last version of iMovie gave moviemakers the ability to capture and edit widescreen High Definition Video (HDV) from the new generation of camcorders, iMovie 6 is all about the ease of moviemaking itself. iMovie 6 includes five professionally designed themes with backgrounds, motion graphics, titles, and effects that act as building blocks for your projects. You can preview transitions and stunning new video effects--such as time-lapse video--in real time using the full screen. Or edit audio and add sound effects with a new built-in sound studio. For presenting your movie, Magic iDVD offers easy-to-use themes, including new widescreen options.

Whether you're a professional or an amateur moviemaker, 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 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual 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 details every step of iMovie 6 and iDVD production. The book shows you how to:

Work on multiple iMovie projects at once and drag & drop clips among them
Output your creation to a blog, its own web page, or as a video podcast with iWeb
Use "Magic iMovie" to import your video and make a movie for you
Integrate with other iLife programs to use songs, photos, and an original soundtrack
And a whole lot more

From choosing and using a digital camcorder to burning the finished work onto DVDs, posting it online, or downloading it to an iPod, iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual zooms right in on the details in a clear, concise, and understandable manner. The book also provides a firm grounding in basic film technique so that the quality of your video won't rely entirely on magic.

Customer Reviews:

iMovie 6 & DVD
Good, easy to read and understand, reading this book is a pleasure. I discovered many new items from this book.
--2006-11-13

Pogue just gets better and better.

I'm a Mac "fossil." My first machine was a MacPlus. David Pogue has been there the entire time, and we old timers always appreciated his talent, but when he began "The Missing Manual" series, he rocketed into the tech writing stratosphere. I have almost every book he's written and when another Mac user asks me a question, I often say, "Look it up in Pogue's book. He explains it so brilliantly and thoroughly."

Recently, a friend of mine was invited to speak before a high profile audience in his field of expertise. He needed a presentation and support materials within three days. I said I'd do the best I could, but I was new to certain iLife applications, particularly, iMovie and iDVD. I added, "I just got a book by my favorite author, but I haven't read it." He said, "Is this the guy who does those Missing Manual books you can't live without?" and I said, "Yes." "Great," he said. "I'll be there in an hour. You should have a handle on it by then." We laughed.

He said he had a CD with about 50 photos. Immediately, I found exactly what I wanted to know in this book. It is so well organized, illustrated, and explained, I think it's Pogue's best yet. Very few books have a structure and content that serves so many user levels, from the beginner, to the seasoned pro, plus the technical details for those who want them. I don't even own a video or digi-cam and found his chapters on them highly informative, clarifying the different "standards" and formats.

My friend's presentation was successful. I imported his photos into iMovie, and then used iDVD to burn the presentation on a DVD disk. I'm not saying it was an artistic masterpiece, but it was a lot more professional looking and jazzier than a straight slide show. I couldn't have done it without Pogue's book. His writing has enriched my Mac life so much over the years, if he ever writes a book about Photoshop, I may create a shrine to him.
--2006-11-03

YOU WANT TO BE IN PICTURES...!!
Are you a Macintosh filmmaker and DVD designer? If you are, then this book is for you. Author David Pogue, has done an outstanding job of writing a book that is designed to give you a grounding in professional filming and editing techniques.

Pogue, begins by covering what happens before you get to iMovie. Then, the author shows you how to transfer your footage into iMovie, editing your clips, placing them into a timeline, adding crossfades and titles, working with your soundtracks, and more. Next, he helps you take the cinematic masterpiece on your screen to the world. Finally, he provides an extensive overview of iDVD 6.

This most excellent book is designed to serve as the iMovie/iDVD manual. More importantly, it explores each iMovie feature in depth, offers illustrated catalogs of the various title and transition effects, offers shortcuts and workarounds, and unearths features that the online help doesn't even mention.
--2006-10-15

OK, I see how that's done!
After searching Apple's support site for help with using these two programs, I turned to David Pogue's excellent manual. I have several of David's manuals and this was certainly up to his standards. Easy to read and follow. Although there is a tremendous amount of meat in the programs, you probably wouldn't discover all the potential without spending a little time with another excellent Missing Manual. I would recommend this to anyone interested in building a professional iMovie or creating a smooth DVD collection of favorite images or clips. And, with almost no effort at all, you can build an out of the ordinary slide show made complete with music, fades and a nice variety of special effects.
--2006-08-19

Be your own movie director yourself - painless!
It would be natural to think why does you need to buy this 22 dollars book, if iMovie and iDVD is so easy as Apple claims. But unfortunately, it is not easy as they say, (as all software vendors which want to earn more money by save the cost to print clear written manual) It need some extra help, with more English, I mean. In this point of view, this book is more than worth, in particular, you can learn more tips and advice to successfully make your own movie.

This very book has great illustration on almost every single detail which digital movie newbies would ever wondered, or have curiosity about. It covers from advice on buying camcorder to make chop-and-slice your old camera footage to neatly digitized movie, and make a hard copy to DVD so you can share it with your friend, parents, whatever you name it. And because it was written experienced author who has working for Technology section of the New York Times, and his integrity, make this book more trustworthy.

You could read entire book, as page-by-page, however I would recommend you to try iMovie first, plug your camcorder to your Mac, then if you have something is wrong or missing, and now you should open the book and find the key.

So, I have some trouble when I trying to make my own movie, but now I can naturally use iMovie.

the bottom line is, if you think so clever that you have convince not you'll get lost in the forest of Apple's online help or website, 'cause it is missing manual which should be in the box.
--2006-08-10

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