Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Tiger Edition

chapter 14: the freebie programs 409

Here, you can use the pop-up menus to specify a destination folder for downloaded

pictures and specify what happens automatically after they arrive (“Build slide show”

or “Build Web page,” for example).

iMovie HD

If you have a digital camcorder (MiniDV, Digital8, or high-definition format) and

a few hours of free time—all right, a few weekends of it—iMovie helps you make

astonishingly high-quality, fully edited movies. Digital video is great; you can transfer

the footage back and forth between the Mac and the camcorder a hundred times, but

you’ll never see any deterioration in quality.

Phase 1: Set Up iMovie

The first time you run iMovie, it asks you whether you want to open an existing iMovie

file (called a project) or start a new one. After that, each time you launch iMovie, it

automatically opens up the movie you most recently worked on.

If you click Create Project, you’re asked to select a name and location for the movie

you’re about to make. (You can ignore the “Video format” pop-up menu; iMovie

autodetects what kind of camcorder you have once you begin importing footage.)

Figure 14-15:

Here’s iMovie in

a nutshell. Save

your project onto

the drive that has

the most space

(if, indeed, you

have more than

one), because

digital video files

are enormous.

They require 3.6

MB of hard drive

space per second

or 13 gigabytes

per one-hour

tape. Choose ...