Narrative based film creation possible but can be difficult to build.Limited control of effects and transitions and these can’t be easily customised.Exporting is easy with a number of presets for popular devices such as iPhone, AppleTV.Templates make presenting a number of clips look professional and will definitely impress the family.Adding media from your iPhoto and iTunes library is easy.

Copes with HD formats from DSLR, AVCHD and Flip videos it also natively supports editing of Mp4 video.

iMovie is very easy to use and high quality video products can be created and shared quickly.

iMovie is fast, easy to use and produces a range of outputs ready formated for iPod, iPhone, Apple TV or Mp4 video. IMovie offers a brilliant way of bringing these video snapshots together into a a single video production using stunning video transitions to link the footage. I find iMovie video creations tend to be a number of short 1 minute clips of events and trips. One of the best features for a quick turn around are the stunning iMovie templates that come with iLife 09. There are some sound controls but they are limited to the audio from the recorded clip and a single secondary audio source (e.g. You can trim, crop, re-order, add image effects, text, transitions and media from your iPhoto and iTunes libraries. iMovie offers both direct to MobileMe and YouTube as a one click export option.

I tend to use iMovie to quickly chop, edit and add soundtrack to family films and then share them via iTunes for my iPhone and Apple TV and share the films securely with friends and family via MobileMe. iMovie automatically indexes video files held in your iPhoto library which makes access to my various family clips really easy. I primarily use iMovie with video captured using my Digital SLR. I very much view iMovie as a quick editing solution with a fast turn around workflow. IMovie comes as part of the iLife suite of applications and thus is available on every new Mac. If you are hoping for a winner well it really depends on how you want to work and be creative with video. This is a quick guide to outline how I use both FCE and iMovie and the benefits /drawbacks of each. Personally speaking, although I primarily teach students to use Final Cut I also use iMovie in equal amounts.

We are frequently asked what Mac video editing we would recommend for general classroom use, iMovie or Final Cut Express.

Chroma key no imovie