Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

I was saddled with the chore of creating a post-50th high school reunion video. Over 300 participants were counting on my results. iMovie came with my new Macintosh so that's a logical program to use for the project -- right? I had known of David Pogue's SANE software manuals for many years. He makes no assumptions about your skill level and avoids "tech talk" and embraces a sense of humor. How could I go wrong with his iMOVIE Missing Manual? I didn't! The only reason that I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 was because on occasion I had difficulty finding what I was looking for (the subject should have been in the index). But a careful reading of the book allowed me to create a DVD. Of course, it can't teach you creativity, but Pogue has a delightful way of suggesting some of the ways you can make your video interesting. Thanks David (and the co-author too).

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

you can edit any video files in imovie by converting to mp4, mov, or dv.[...]

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

I admit it: I am late to the video party. I really never spent much time considering, playing, editing, even understanding what video was about. My experience was simply going to the movies.

But I've surely noticed there has been a revolution in video. Everyone except me was doing video. Sending their created videos to YouTube, iPhones and everywhere else on the Internet for showing.

Apple is famous for making software that is simple to use and made for the masses. But I needed an excellent book on the basic of iMovie '09 and then how to make a DVD with my video on it: enter iDVD.

iMovie '09 & iDVD is another book in the great series of The Missing Manual. The authors, David Pogue and Aaron Miller assume nothing. They go over the basics of movie making. They start with your video cam or any device which can generate a digital movie file.

Explained simply for newbie cinematographer the book has all the essentials without preaching to you. Just good plain explanations; with plenty of great graphic examples.

I followed along and was anxious to begin my own production. I was amazed how they walked me through all the steps.

There is a wonderful Table of Contents as well as index. Aside from the soft hardback edition, I also read the contents in electronic format available from O'Reilly.

I have nothing but praise for this book. The iDVD portion of the book went through all the steps necessary to create a DVD rendition of my movie which played in a plain vanilla DVD player.

I recommend the book without reservations and it has earned a prominent place in my book library.

Hardily recommended.

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

Now that these new versions of iMovie '09 and iDVD are being used by a lot of our Bay Area Mac User Group members, we are starting to get questions on how to use them. Let's face it. Using the HELP menu doesn't always help in these programs. One of the best things to come on the market for us is the Missing Manual series and this book does not disappoint. And yes, it is true "It should have been in the box" as they say on the cover. I started using iMovie a bit more with this version and saw right away that there were more powerful features. I even took a class at the Apple Store recently with another club member. Although it was helpful I had lots of questions when I got home and starting trying some of things I learned at the class. Now that I have this book, I have a security blanket to use when needed. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like a good book to open up and refer to as I am working on a new application. This one, as all their Missing Manual books, is a good, complete manual.Chapters are complete and from the basics to more in-depth instructions, you will learn a lot. Isn't that what it's all about?I am not going to go on and on listing all the chapters and what each does. Just know that you learn how to: import your videos from various sources, create projects, learn how to build a movie, how to split a clip, use transitions and themes, how to edit various effects, learn about video stabilization, color fixes cropping and rotating and also how to set up a title, subtitle and credits. And more! There is so much help in these books. Now, all I need is 48 hours in my 24 hour day. iMovie '09 & iDVD, The Missing Manual ISBN: 978-0-596-80141-0David Pogue & Aaron Miller, authorsO'Reilly Publishing, [@][$]

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

Using this book with iMovie '09 has made video editing fun for the first time. My family audience loves the videos I made using Final Cut Express but I hated every minute of doing them. After our trip to Africa this summer I decided to "short cut" and use iMovie and bought this book to speed me along. Voila- it is working perfectly and I'm enjoying the process.

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

iMovie '09 and iDVD: The Missing Manual

by David Pogue and Aaron Miller

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of the Missing Manual series of books from oreilly.com. Whether it's the OS, iLife or iWork, there's a book. They're easy to read and just plain useful for getting work done.

If you're into iMovie '09 and iDVD, this book, is a must. iMovie '09 and iDVD are packed with new features. Without a good user guide you're going to miss a a lot of what it offers.

Pogue and Miller bring a clear understanding of the program and how to use it, free of techno-babble. You may know Pogue from his witty New York Times columns. Everything is lavishly illustrated with color photos. There are hundreds of tips and power features.

A lot has happened in the past few years. Tape-based video cameras are being replaced by those storing on hard drives, DVDs and memory cards, along with new video formats. The book discusses the new breed of cameras. Despite having similar names, iMovie '09 is not an update to to iMovie HD. It's a different program based on a different paradigm and a vast improvement over iMovie '08, a much maligned, earlier attempt to rewrite the program.

The book takes you through a discussion of different cameras, importing video, editing and building your movie, adding titles, transitions, sounds and special effects and the many ways of exporting. The final portion of the book deals with iDVD to burn your movies and slide shows to disc.

Comments about oreilly iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual:

I have just finished reading the latest book in the O'Reilly "Missing Manual" series on "iMovie '09 & iDVD". Amazing!

As a manual reader and a Mac user from way back I may have been getting a bit blas_ about manuals, in that I was used to the idea that an experienced general Mac user could find his or her way around the basics of a program, and that a good manual would set that into perspective for you and give you all the extra richness and detail necessary to really use the program.

About a year ago I dipped into iMovie once, to grab a clip from an existing video recording. Some fiddling and trial and error got the job done, but I had no idea of how the rest of the program worked. As far as iDVD is concerned I had no idea of what it was for. Now having read the book, I know heaps about both programs and, with the book by my side, would be happy to start using them.

What I found amazing, in regard to iMovie, was how much it could do and how many features were available _ and how much of that is not obvious to a first time or casual user. In the case of this program it would seem that a good manual is essential to its basic use. I guess that this is a reflection of the complexity of iMovie being such that even Apple can't make it simple!

The book is co-authored by David Pogue and Aaron Miller. It's a good quality soft cover and has 447 pages, including a 10 page Table of Contents and a 12 page Index. The Part covering iDVD starts at page 321.

The book is divided into four Parts:

Part One: Editing in iMovie _ importing video, projects and events. movie building, video chunks, transitions themes and maps, video effects, fixes, titles, sound, photos and advanced editing.

Part Two: Finding Your Audience - exporting to other devices, the Web and QuickTime, and using QuickTime Player.

Part Three: iDVD '09 _ importing video, chapters, themes, burning, menus, slideshows, Map, themes and advanced use.

Part Four: Appendixes _ menus, troubleshooting, keyboard shortcuts, Visual Cheat Sheet.

As well as covering the use of the programs, the book gives a good insight into the workflow of movie editing and publishing _ not a trivial exercise. It would seem that a 'quick and dirty' approach can give a reasonable result quickly, but with extra effort very high quality results can be achieved using these consumer level tools.

As always with 'Missing Manual' books the Table of Contents and Index are logical and comprehensive and make navigating to the bit you want very easy. In fact I find these manuals easier to navigate than the computer or on-line Help systems.

iMovie has had a checkered career in recent years with several major changes between versions of differing levels of complexity. iMovie 09' marks a return to more professional features so that it is new for everyone. On the other hand 'iDVD '09 is exactly the same as that in the previous version of iLife _ but not many people knew much about it then either!

My assessment is that this latest Missing Manual _ iMovie '09 and iDVD '09 is an example of the usual high quality of the series and an essential read to get anywhere with iMovie '09, even at a basic level.