iMovie 6 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

Problems with Sound

Sound problems are especially frustrating when you’re working with digital video, because they bear no resemblance to sound problems with more familiar equipment. In any other situation, if sound is too low or too loud, for example, you can adjust it with a knob. But what you do about random electronic beeps and buzzes that weren’t there on the original tape?

Sound Is Too Soft

If one particular clip is too soft, see Section 8.8.

If, however, the entire movie soundtrack plays back too quietly, it’s probable that iMovie has nothing to do with the problem. Instead, your overall Mac volume is probably too low. Visit the Sound panel of System Preferences and adjust the output volume of your machine, or tap the Volume Up key on the top row of your keyboard. Make sure that iMovie’s own volume slider (just above the Movie Track) is up all the way, too.

Audio Fade Doesn’t Stick in PAL Project, Ends with Burst of Sound

Certain audio features don’t play correctly in PAL projects in iMovie 6.0.1. Audio fades, for example, may play fine in iMovie but become loud when sent to a DVD, a QuickTime movie, or a camcorder. Some fades may have a burst of sound at the end.

Until Apple fixes this bug, the best bet is to record the audio as it plays in iMovie, using a shareware Mac-recording program like Snapz Pro X, Audio Hijack, or WireTap—and then import that recorded audio back into the project.

Random Electronic Beeps

It’s hard to imagine anything more frustrating than finding a permanent—or, ...