Getting Comfortable
The iMovie HD Interface
Let’s take a quick look at the iMovie interface, already loaded with our demo film.
The iMovie interface is divided into 3 main regions: the Clips Pane, the Monitor, and the Editing Region.
- Clips Pane: This is the gallery of video clips you’ve imported. Think of this as your “ready” area, your album of possibilities. Select the clips you’d like to use, view them on your Monitor, and drag them down to the Editing Region.
- Pane Selector: The bank of tabs that opens additional tools to edit Photos, Audio, Titles, Transitions, and Effects, or export your movie to iDVD 5.
- Monitor: The large viewing window where you will play your clips, make trims, and view your work-in-progress. Select any clip and it will open for viewing. Click within the Editing Region itself to view any portion of the movie you’re building.
- Play, Home, and Full-Screen manage playback and display.
- Scrubber Bar: The blue navigation bar at the base of the monitor. Drag the Playhead back and forth, or click your cursor to jump to any point in your footage.
- Playhead: The white triangle on the Scrubber Bar that marks the precise frame of video you’re currently viewing. You can also control the Playhead from within the Editing Region.
- Editing Region: The editing work space at the bottom of the screen which provides either a Clip or a Timeline View of the movie you’re building. This is where you’ll drop your clips, assemble them in sequence, make trims, and add effects, titles, and transitions.
- Clip Viewer:
- The clips in your sequence will appear as storyboard panels, laid out one by one in sequence.
- Every panel is the same size. You’ll see all of your clips at a glance, but very little about how they relate to each other.
- Clip Viewer only shows your video clips. To work with audio, you’ll have to switch over to Timeline Viewer.
- Timeline Viewer:
- The Timeline lays out all of your clips as a series of consecutive horizontal tiles.
- Clips that are longer in duration appear as longer tiles. You’ll be able to judge the relative lengths of every clip in your sequence.
- The Timeline displays your 2 Audio Tracks as well as your Video Track.
- Use the Zoom Slider to magnify the Timeline for detail work.
Now that you’ve had a quick rundown of the iMovie interface, you’re ready to roll up your sleeves. Let’s start working with the clips you’ve imported.
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