iMovie ’11 Audio Enhancements for iPhone Videos

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared on MacScreencasting at http://www.macscreencasting.com/imovie-11-audio-enhancements-for-iphone-videos on 10.22.2010. Due to recent hacking activity, I’m consolidating my sites and moving the MacScreencasting posts into SkillCasting. I’ll then be shutting down MacScreencasting.

The new iLife ’11 just came out yesterday and I wanted to see the changes in iMovie. As you know, I use iMovie quite a bit for my video editing. I find it faster than Final Cut Express and well, good enough. One of the major improvements Steve Jobs touted was the improved audio. Did he deliver?

This video takes a quick iPhone 4 video, with the raw audio, and shows you 5 key enhancements iMovie brings to the table. They include:

  • Turn on audio waveforms
  • Adjust the volume
  • Add audio effects
  • Reduce background noise
  • And, adjust the equalizer

[View iPhone version]

The new iMovie brings lots of improved audio control to your videos. If you’re shooting with the iPhone, I still recommend using a microphone with the kVConnection cable for the best possible audio. But if you need to make adjustments to your raw audio, the new iMovie ’11 definitely does the trick.

Filed Under: Audio, iMovie, Video

iPhone Video Microphone Update

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/iphone-4-video-microphone-comparison-update on 8.11.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

Well, in the video I shot the other day, I made 2 mistakes. I wanted to correct them and give you a better opportunity to really hear the difference between the microphones.

Nick from VeriCorder let me know that the “fart” feedback was RF interference. If you place your iPhone in Airplane mode, you won’t have that problem. He also let me know that I’m lucky because the current VeriCorder Mini Mic isn’t compatible with the iPhone 4. Apple changed their electronics on the new device and VeriCorder is having to design a new one. So if you have an iPhone 4 and want the Mini Mic, hold off until their new one gets released.

I also forgot to bring my stereo adapter for my Audio Technica microphones. Both of these mics are mono mics. I couldn’t turn the audio track into stereo in ScreenFlow which I used to edit the video. (Using ScreenFlow to edit video is a future topic so watch for that one.) Back in this video, I have the stereo adapter plugged in so you can better hear the difference between the mics. It’s not fair to compare the Kodak video with a mono audio track to the iPhone 4 in stereo.

Anyway, watch and listen to the new video and let me know your audio preferences.

[View iPhone version]

Filed Under: iMovie, iPhone, Video

iPhone Video Microphones

August 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/iphone-video-microphone-comparison on 8.9.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

In my previous post about iPhone 4 iMovie exports, a few people have asked about the audio from the iPhone videos. I originally said that I recommend keeping a pocket digital camcorder like the Kodak Zi8 because it has a mic-in jack.

But it made me think. What if I used an external mic on my iPhone. Would the audio significantly improve?

In this video, I compare 2 solutions I have at home. First is the Griffen SmartTalk Headphone Adapter. It’s really designed for conducting phone calls while using your headphones. The second is the VeriCorder Mini-mic which is a directional microphone.

They’re both pretty inexpensive at less than $20 each. So neither will break the bank. In the post, Peter suggested a kV Connection adapter that would allow you to plugin your existing 3.5mm microphones. I don’t have that so I can’t test it.

I also throw in the Kodak Zi8 with the Audio Technica lav mic (but it’s in mono) so you can sort of get a comparison.

As you watch the video, which audio do you prefer? Do you prefer the iPhone by itself, the SmartTalk lapel, or the VeriCorder? Have you discovered in better iPhone audio solutions? Would you use the Kodak Zi8 with mic-in jack over the iPhone? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear your opinions.

[View iPhone version]

Filed Under: iMovie, iPhone, Video

iPhone iMovie Sound Effects for Transitions

June 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

When I was interviewing Jules Watkins, the creator of Pocket Video Power [aff], it occurred to me that we can liven up our iPhone 4 videos by adding sound effects to the video.

In the video, you see I have 2 simple cuts. I think normally, they’re fine. But by adding a quick swoosh to them, it gives it a little more flair. You can do all this editing in your iPhone iMovie too.

Here’s how you do it:

  1. Create a playlist in iTunes.
  2. Add your sound effects to the playlist and sync them to your iPhone.
  3. While editing your video in iMovie, position the scrub bar over a transition.
  4. Click the Add Media button and select your sound effect to add.
  5. Drag the sound file to align it to the visual transition.

I find half-second transitions work best because it keeps your videos pretty fast paced.

I’ve had different sound effects in my audio library for years. If you don’t have any in yours, I found this collection over at Audio Jungle to have a good assortment to start with.

Have fun adding audio sound effects to your iPhone iMovie projects.

Filed Under: Audio, iMovie, iPhone

New Final Cut Pro X – Video editing for the rest of us?

June 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I was one of the early adopters for Apple’s new Final Cut Pro X. My friend shared the link with me about Conan O’brian’s bash of it. You can see it below.

I think the jury is still out on FCPX. But this was my response to him. Perhaps it’ll share some guidance for you too.

“FCPX is a major re-write. It’s very different from FCP and FCE. For the hard core users, it’s going to be an about face. I know a lot of them don’t like it. And to be fair, their complaints are valid.

However, for the rest of us, it maybe a different story.

I know lots of people swore by iMovieHD. But once you got familiar with iMovie ’08 and now ’11, it’s really a pretty sweat package (for it’s intended audience.) I suspect FCPX will be the same way. The ability to ingest video and begin working on it right away is sweet. The magnetic timeline is nice too. I was immediately able to work with FCPX because of my familiarity with iMovie. I can also see how it has improved upon iMovie.

I’ve also seen some downsides. There aren’t traditional tracks like we’re used to using to stack video, images and audio on top of our main track. And the rendering of the final video is ridiculous. I’ve tested a 2:40 minute video w/limited effects and it’s taking over 30 minutes.

I’ve done something similar with ScreenFlow and the results take about 7 minutes. And oh yeah, it has multi-tracks so I can bring in (no ingesting required either) several different camera videos, sync them all to the clap, and then switch between each track for different camera angles. This one feature is very important to me as I want to record w/3 different cameras. I have to easily be able to drop them all into a timeline and switch between them.

FCPX won’t do this easily. My $99 ScreenFlow does.

In the meantime, I like FCPX; I’m just not in love with it–yet.”

Filed Under: Final Cut, iMovie, Video

Upload iMovie Video to Dropbox

July 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared on MacScreencasting at http://www.macscreencasting.com/upload-iphone-imovies-to-dropbox on 7.5.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacking, I’m moving all the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting.com and shutting down the MacScreencasting site.

While shooting our family July 4th video at the Kansas City T-Bones game, I got an error message when I tried to upload it wirelessly to YouTube. Yes, I kept my unlimited data plan so I wasn’t too concerned about the MB’s. But even with the compression and Medium 640 x 360p output, it crapped out on me.

Not to worry though. Where there’s a will, there’s got to be a geeky way.

I uploaded the video to Dropbox instead.

Dropbox is a cloud based storage area. I use it to transfer large business files to clients. I can create a directory, place files in it, and share the directory only with that client. It’s a great service and you get 2 GB’s free to try it out. What was great though was that I could upload a video from my Camera Roll to it. It compressed the file and uploaded it to my Public Dropbox file.

I tried using Box.net too but their app didn’t recognize movies on my iPhone.

Once uploaded to Dropbox, I could quickly share the link via email so I could let the grandparents know that night’s video was available. I also liked the added security knowing that this video wasn’t available on YouTube for the whole world to see. There’s a place for that (like this video!) but sometimes you don’t want everyone to see it. I could have just as easily created a shared directory on Dropbox and uploaded the video there where only they could access the directory. For ease, I just placed it in the Public folder.

Uploaded business, client, and training videos to your Dropbox account can be a great way to immediately share your iPhone videos. And you may find it a little more reliable too.

Filed Under: iMovie, iPhone, Video

iPhone iMovie Export Settings

July 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared on MacScreencasting at http://www.macscreencasting.com/iphone-imovie-export-settings-and-quality on 7.5.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacking, I’m moving all the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting.com and shutting down the MacScreencasting site.

A lot of people have commented that iMovie on the iPhone won’t wirelessly export HD movies. And at first, I too was disappointed. However, it’s not that bad. Here’s why.

This video shows the differences between the HD, Large, and Medium export settings in iMovie. Yes, the HD version looks bad, but if you’re doing mobile video editing, you’re not going to be able to upload it anyway. The files are way too big. I exported the exact same video all 3 ways into iPhoto. Here are the sizes for the exact same 1:49 minute movie:

1280 x 720 HD  138 MB
960 x 540 Large  70 MB
640 x 360 Medium  47 MB

There is no way AT&T or any other carrier would let you upload those types of file sizes. But for web video, I don’t think this is a problem. That’s because most websites and blogs do best with 640 x 360 video anyway. The HD and Large videos are just too big for most web pages. Therefore, I think you’ll be surprised with the quality of the Medium 360p output setting.

The other thing I noticed was that YouTube degraded the quality further. It wasn’t much, but it was noticeable.

This video wasn’t shot with my iPhone obviously. But the video I’ve seen and knowing that I embed 640 x 360 into my blog page anyway, I think the Medium 640 x360 iPhone output is acceptable. Can you live with your 640 x 360 output for now?

[View iPhone version]

Filed Under: iMovie, iPhone, Video

5 Secrets to Better iPhone Video with iMovie

July 5, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/five-secrets-to-better-iphone-video-with-imovie on 6.28.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

Last week, along with a few million other users, I got my new iPhone. One of the features I’m most excited about are the new video capabilities–particularly iMovie.

I think being able to shoot, edit, and upload videos on the fly is a real game changer for small businesses and solo-preneurs. I envision users creating video training, promotions, and real-time communications. After playing with iMovie this past weekend, I’ve come across 5 key tips to help take your iPhone videos to the next level.

This 8-minute video demonstrates the 5 tips and concludes with a summary completely shot & edited on the iPhone.

The 5 key tips to take your iPhone video to the next level are:

1. Use lots of short videos
2. Add bumper graphics
3. Kill Ken Burns (effect)
4. Export to iPhoto
5. Create a self-portrait boom

[View iPhone version]

There you have it, 5-key tips to improve your iPhone videos. What are your tips? Share with me your iPhone video creations in the comments too. I can’t wait to see ‘em.

Filed Under: iMovie, iPhone

Greenscreen Video and Screencasts

June 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Note: This post originally appeared at http://www.macscreencasting.com/greenscreen-video-in-screencasts on 6.21.2010. Due to recent WordPress hacks, I’m consolidating my sites and I’ll be moving the MacScreencasting posts over to SkillCasting. Then I’ll shut down MacScreencasting.

A lot of people incorporate picture-in-picture video into the screencasts. But did you know you can incorporate even more dynamic green screen (chromakey) video into your screencasts? And did you know you could use iMovie ’09 to do it?

This video shows you a 5-step process utilizing iMovie ’09. But while it’s easy, don’t kid yourself. It takes planning to get everything working together. Watch how.

[View iPhone version]

Filed Under: iMovie, Screencasting