1.) Rewatch source and make descriptive notes about clips I might want to use. I have libraries for entire shows and movies typed up and searchable ("Character A setting fire to a house," "Character B looking sad while the fire burns," etc.).
2.) Rip source from DVD using Handbrake. Due to an iMovie quirk re: sound not actually detaching when you tell it to if you have certain speed alterations in your vid, I import without the audio track.
3.) Scrub through mp4 file for the clips I want and use Quicktime's trim feature to get them down to manageable portions. I find iMovie takes FOREVER to deal with clips that are over about five minutes, so I keep it under that.
4.) Import. I usually keep all clips for a single episode in one of what iMovie calls "events." Movies I split up as needed to keep it easy to find what I need without scrolling forever in a single event.
This makes the process work much more smoothly for me because I have a good idea of what clips exist, thanks to my notes, and where to find them, thanks to the separation via events.
I have also hacked iMovie to be non-linear by creating some blank footage (I just stuck a book over my laptops's camera and hit "record" in Quicktime for 30 seconds) that I use to fill in space until I get where I want. I use the beat marker function to keep things where I put them. (The beat marker will stay where you put it in the music track, so if you stick your blank footage in until you get where you want, put the clip that you want in, and then put the beat marker at the front of that clip, you can add stuff in front of it, then just trim the blank footage until the front of your original non-linear clip lines up with the beat marker again. If that doesn't make sense, I can dig up a screencap.)
no subject
1.) Rewatch source and make descriptive notes about clips I might want to use. I have libraries for entire shows and movies typed up and searchable ("Character A setting fire to a house," "Character B looking sad while the fire burns," etc.).
2.) Rip source from DVD using Handbrake. Due to an iMovie quirk re: sound not actually detaching when you tell it to if you have certain speed alterations in your vid, I import without the audio track.
3.) Scrub through mp4 file for the clips I want and use Quicktime's trim feature to get them down to manageable portions. I find iMovie takes FOREVER to deal with clips that are over about five minutes, so I keep it under that.
4.) Import. I usually keep all clips for a single episode in one of what iMovie calls "events." Movies I split up as needed to keep it easy to find what I need without scrolling forever in a single event.
This makes the process work much more smoothly for me because I have a good idea of what clips exist, thanks to my notes, and where to find them, thanks to the separation via events.
I have also hacked iMovie to be non-linear by creating some blank footage (I just stuck a book over my laptops's camera and hit "record" in Quicktime for 30 seconds) that I use to fill in space until I get where I want. I use the beat marker function to keep things where I put them. (The beat marker will stay where you put it in the music track, so if you stick your blank footage in until you get where you want, put the clip that you want in, and then put the beat marker at the front of that clip, you can add stuff in front of it, then just trim the blank footage until the front of your original non-linear clip lines up with the beat marker again. If that doesn't make sense, I can dig up a screencap.)