Apple iMovie HD Manuel d'utilisateur télécharger pdf (Page 31)

Somewhere in your closet is a

full-sized VHS camcorder—the

kind that rested on your shoulder

like a rocket launcher. You want

to get that old VHS video into

your Mac.

If you have a DV camera,

chances are it has a pass-

through mode that enables you

to use it as an analog-to-digital

converter. Connect the video

and audio output jacks on the

VHS deck to your DV camera’s

video and audio input jacks. If

your VHS deck and camcorder

each provide S-video jacks, use

them to get the best picture.

Next, put your camera in VCR or

VTR mode, and read its manual

to see if you have to perform any

special steps to use its pass-

through mode. With some cam

eras, you must make a menu

adjustment. With others, you

simply need to remove the tape.

After you’ve made the appropri

ate connections and adjust

ments, you can play your VHS

tape and click iMovie HD’s

Import button to record the

converted footage coming from

your camera.

Analog-DV

Converter

A faster way to get analog video

into your Mac is through a con

verter, such as those sold by

Formac Electronics, DataVideo,

Sony, and others. These devices

eliminate the time-consuming

process of dubbing VHS tapes

to DV format. Connect a con

verter to your Mac’s FireWire

jack, then connect your old VHS

rocket launcher to the convert

er’s video and audio inputs.

Then, launch iMovie HD and use

its import features to bring in

VHS video. Using iMovie HD’s

Share command, you can also

blast edited video through the

converter back to the VHS

camcorder.

When importing VHS video, you

may notice a thin band of ﬂick

ering pixels at the bottom of the

image. Don’t worry: these arti

facts won’t appear when you

view your ﬁnished video on a

TV screen.

Converting Films

As for those old Super 8 ﬁlm-

based ﬂicks, you’ll need to send

them to a lab that does ﬁlm-to-

video transfers. Many camera

stores can handle this for you.

The lab will clean your ﬁlms,

ﬁx bad splices, and return them

along with videotapes whose

contents you can bring into the

Mac. If you have a DV cam

corder, be sure to use a lab that

will supply your converted mov

ies on DV cassettes—you’ll get

much better image quality than

VHS provides. Some labs also

offer optional background music

and titles, but you can add these

yourself once you’ve brought the

converted video into the Mac.

I wrote a feature article on digi

tizing old tapes and movies for

Macworld magazine’s June

2004 issue. The article is avail

able online; I’ve linked to it at

www.macilife.com/imovie.

Second, light well. If you’re shooting

indoors, consider investing in a set of

video lights. A brighter picture com

presses better than a poorly lit scene.

To learn about lighting, read Ross

Lowell’s excellent book, Matters of Light

and Depth (Lowel Light, 1999).

Vary Shot Lengths

Your movie will be more visually engaging

if you vary the length of your shots. Use

longer shots for complex scenes, such as

a wide shot of a city street, and shorter

shots for close-ups or reaction shots.

Be Prepared, Be Careful

Be sure your camcorder’s batteries are

charged; consider buying a second

battery so you’ll have a backup, and

take along your charger and power

adapter, too. Bring plenty of blank tape,

and label your tapes immediately after

ejecting them. To protect a tape against

accidental reuse, slide the little locking

tab on its spine.

Don’t Skimp on Tape

Don’t just get one version of a shot,

get several. If you just shot a left-to-right

pan across a scene, for example, shoot

a right-to-left pan next. The more raw

material you have to work with, the better.

Converting Analog Video and Movies

Editing takes more than software. You

also need the right raw material. Advance

planning will help ensure that you have

the shots you need, and following some

basic videography techniques will make

for better results.

Plan Ahead

Planning a movie involves developing

an outline—in Hollywood parlance,

a storyboard—that lists the shots

you’ll need to tell your tale. Professional

movie makers storyboard every scene

and camera angle. You don’t have to go

that far, but you will tell a better story if

you plan at least some shots.

Consider starting with an establishing

shot that clues viewers in on where your

story takes place—for example, the

backyard swimming pool. To show the

big picture, zoom out to your camcorder’s

wide-angle setting.

From there, you might cut to a medium

shot that introduces your movie’s subject:

little Bobby preparing to belly ﬂop off the

diving board. Next, you might cut away to

Mary tossing a beach ball. Cut back to

Bobby struggling to stay aﬂoat, and then

ﬁnish with a long shot of the entire scene.

Keep in mind that unless you’re planning

to use the Magic iMovie feature, you

don’t have to shoot scenes in chronologi

cal order—sequencing your shots is

what iMovie HD is for. For example, get

the shot of Mary’s throw any time you

like and edit it into the proper sequence

using iMovie HD.

Steady Your Camera

Nausea-inducing camera work is a com-

mon ﬂaw of amateur videos. Too many

people mistake a video camera for a

ﬁre hose: they sweep across a scene,

panning left and right and then back

again. Or they ceaselessly zoom in and

out, making viewers wonder whether

they’re coming or going.

A better practice is to stop recording,

move to a different location or change

your zoom setting, and then resume.

Varying camera angles and zoom

settings makes for a more interesting

video. If you must pan—perhaps

to capture a dramatic vista—do so

slowly and steadily.

And, unless you’re making an earth

quake epic, hold the camera as steady

as you can. If your camera has an

image-stabilizing feature, use it. Better

still, use a tripod or a monopod, or brace

the camera against a rigid surface.

Keeping the camera steady is especially

critical for movies destined for the

Internet—because of the way these

videos are compressed, minimizing extra

neous motion will yield sharper results.

Compose Carefully

The photographic composition tips

on page 214 apply to movie making, too.

Compose your shots carefully, paying

close attention to the background. Get up

close now and then—don’t just shoot

wide shots.

Record Some

Ambient Sound

Try to shoot a couple of minutes of

uninterrupted background sound: the

waves on a beach, the birds in the forest,

the revelers at a party. As I’ve mentioned

previously, you can extract the sound

from this footage and use it as an audio

bed behind a series of shots. It doesn’t

matter what the camera is pointing at

while you’re shooting—you won’t use

the video anyway.

After importing the footage, use the

Extract Audio command, described on

page 250, to separate the audio.

Shooting with

Compression in Mind

If you know that you’ll be distributing

your movie via the Internet—either

through a Web site or email—there are

some steps you can take during the

shooting phase to optimize quality. These

steps also yield better results when

you’re compressing a movie for playback

on a Bluetooth device, and they even

help deliver better quality with iDVD

First, minimize motion. The more motion

you have in your movie, the worse it will

look after being heavily compressed.

That means using a tripod instead of

hand-holding your camera, and minimiz

ing panning and zooming. Also consider

your background: a static, unchanging

background is better than a busy trafﬁc

scene or rustling tree leaves.

Tips for Making Better Movies

Learn more about digitizing old tapes and movies.

www.macilife.com/imovie

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iMovie HD: Making Movies

Tips for Making Better Movies

iMovie HD: Making Movies

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Apple iMovie HD Manuel d'utilisateur Page 31

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