Content

• Familiarity
• iMovie wtf?
• Looks
• conclusion
• Last word

Familiarity
In the past I have used both iMovie and Windows Movie Maker (WMM) when making video for the internet. Starting out with little knowledge of video editing software this can be a daunting task, fortunately I had a lot of experience with non-linear audio editing suits such as Sonar. Basically video editing software and sound editing software is pretty much the same thing just one has a video track. If you have used audio editing software like Sonar, Logic Pro, Pro Tools or a similar product you will be familiar with most of the functions of video editing software.  Usually video editing software has a viewing screen or two, a time line, effects preset and file navigation.

iMovie WTF?
Windows movie Maker was probably the first video editing software I used. It was great! So simple, so easy to understand having had some experience with non-linear editing. Where as iMovie…. wtf? It makes to sense to me xD iMovie has some really cool features and is all sexy like a Mac should be but I couldn’t get my head around it.
iMovie only has one channel for the whole video, audio and transitions/effects and the video is set out in a block not a time line completely unlike every other video editing software I’ve used. WMM at least looks like the professional software bridging the gap should you choose to upgrade. WMM has one video channel, a channel for the audio that comes with the video, extra audio track (for backing music or overdubbing) and then a track for your transitions/effects. I personally find this layout much simpler than iMovie and easier to edit.

Looks
Now It’s not all bad for iMovie, it’s so fast and so smooth you wonder why you ever bothered turning your PC on in the first place. The scrubbing tool is constantly in play so it makes finding the right part of the video clip you are looking for a lot faster than WMM where you have to do a lot of starting and stopping. Being on a Mac this is also a totally doable feature, I hate to think how this would slow down a PC. But also selecting the part of the clip you want isn’t always intuitive if you’ve used other software. You drag your cursor across the clip to select a part to add to your “video block”. Simple enough and a nice feature you might think, well yes, if you’ve never used any other software ever before. It took me a minute to figure this out as I was trying to cut and edit the clip like I have done so many times before.

Conclusion
WMM is not the shiniest nor the most advanced piece of software in the world but it is simple and easy to use. You wont be able to shoot The Matrix on it but nor will you in iMovie. I found WMM a lot easier to sequence my video into the right order and add titles, simple transitions. iMovie confused me, I don’t know if I’m missing some secret button that makes iMovie really usable but I’m really not that interested (I have Premier Pro now )

Both have trouble importing each others file types, WMM doesn’t like .mov, iMovie doesn’t like .wmv.

Final Word
Personally I liked WMM better than iMovie when I started out. No matter how much of a Mac fan boy I have become even I started with a PC. It’s better to start with what you have than never to start because some one told you you’re gear wasn’t the best. If you’re wondering whether to get a Mac or a PC that’s a totally different blog for another day. For me iMovie is too silly for words and WMM is so Windows it hurts, but in a good way, like how we all use Word not that Mac equivalent I don’t remember the name of.

:3