SPECIALS | 02/06/09 – 02/14/09

iMovie is the application that persuaded me to get a Mac back in late 1999. I had previously edited film and video in college on huge, expensive editing bays, so cutting digital video on a G3 iMac was a revelation. It didn’t take long for me to get a copy of Final Cut Pro. The power, flexibility, and efficiency of pro apps like Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express, Avid, etc, is usually traded away for ease of use in consumer apps such as iMovie. That’s why I pretty much abandoned iMovie once I got the hang of FCP, though I continued to find iMovie fun and easy to use.

That is, until iMovie ’08 debuted. I’m one of the people who was unhappy that Apple removed many advanced editing options in iMovie ’08 in order to make it easier to use and more of a video cataloging tool (iPhoto for movies). I appreciated the iMovie ’08 interface, but found it a little confusing to use.

iMovie ’09 is an attempt to build upon what worked with iMovie ’08, while adding new features and enhanced performance. In a week of testing, I can say that iMovie ’09 mostly accomplishes its goals.

The best thing about iMovie ’09 is that it allows you to truly edit video, rather than simply cut video. Cutaways, match cuts, shot-reverse-shots are all now easily possible.

*Pros*

* The Precision Editor is very welcome. It’s far easier to edit audio and video independently, so you can use the sound from one clip with the video from another. This makes it possible to perform cutaways and perform real edits, rather than basic cuts.
* Video Stabilization – in my experience, this works better than expected, though processing long clips can take several minutes. See an independent example “by clicking here.”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqUAElrJ7Io
* New themes – these are very polished and work well. It’s easy to add them and to make adjustments. The only downside is that everyone with iMovie ’09 will be using them, making your work of art a little less distinct. But they do look incredible.
* New backgrounds and title effects. Some of the new title effects are quite attractive and will be useful.
* New advanced tools – After checking Show Advanced Tools under iMovie Preferences, there are many more drag-and-drop features including Picture-in-Picture, Green screen, Audio Only, Cutaway, and more. These are all completely new to iMovie ’09.
* Stable and fast – for me, at least, no crashes yet.

*Cons*

* I’m still not convinced the new interface is easier to use. I think a more conventional interface with a real, obvious, apparent timeline would make iMovie ’09 an all time, epic winner.
* Limited video effects. iMovie ’09 has a bunch of set looks and effects you can apply to your footage, but there still are not as many as in iMovie ’06 and earlier.
* Again, I wish iMovie ’09 had a conventional timeline, or at least the option for one.

Over all, iMovie ’09 is a very solid update from iMovie ’08. I’ll use it a couple of times a month, especially during the day to prep YouTube content for Small Dog Electronics. So far, it has been fun, fast, and effective–three qualities iMovie ’08 lacked.

This week we’ve put together some Valentine’s Day themed specials, based on items that people have requested in years past. Mostly these are pink-themed specials — free pink case with purchase of pink iPod nano, free pink sleeve or pink Speck shell with white MacBook, etc. These run until the day after Valentine’s Day.

Again, we’ve based these around what people (read: guys) have been looking for in past years. Pink iPods with pink cases are especially popular on February 13, when guys suddenly remember that the next day is Valentine’s Day.

By the way, orders over $200 have free ground shipping, which can take up to five days to deliver. If you wait to order until February 12, you’ll need to select overnight shipping to get your goodies in time for Valentine’s Day.

_Dear Friends_

This week it’s Ed writing for Don, who’s in Tanzania contemplating hippopotami. It sounds like he’s having an amazing adventure. I respect Don for being up for adventure at any time. I don’t think you could create a company like Small Dog if you were adventure-averse.

One of our traditions at Small Dog is to film a company movie every couple of years. The movie is a mix of silly and more-or-less serious interviews, ridiculous skits, and footage shot around the company mixed. A little public domain footage is also edited in. The movie provides an opportunity for a company-wide check-in, and also gives us a chance to laugh at ourselves.

This year it was my turn to create the video. I recorded more than nine hours of footage, interviewing everyone who works here and shooting all the different departments. I recorded all video in HD on a Canon camcorder, and edited it on a 24″ iMac, with Final Cut Studio 2, using a single 1TB LaCie drive to store all the footage. I was grateful that both the iMac and the LaCie drive had FireWire 800, so editing from an external drive was reasonable. The video ended up being 40 minutes long, with several out takes for the DVDs we’ll distribute around Small Dog.

Somehow I was able to do all this in one week, working mostly at night after work. Final Cut Studio was flawless. Final Cut Pro has evolved into my all-time favorite Apple product. Motion was also great to use, though render times were ridiculous on the the 2.8GHz iMac.

The first showing of the movie was a success. There are a few sequences to improve before burning it to DVD, but that will be easy. I recommend that other companies consider making such a movie, and then set a company party around the viewing. It’s a truly fun, bonding experience.

Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be posting clips from the movie to “our blog Barkings”:http://blog.smalldog.com/ and on “YouTube.”:http://www.youtube.com/user/smalldogelectronics Remember to play YouTube clips in high quality for the best viewing experience.

This week, something big is happening… and we want you to figure out what it is. We’ve designed a special “Sudoku”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku puzzle for the occasion.

*Here’s what we need you to do:*
Solve the Sudoku puzzle below AND solve the phrase using the letters in the grey boxes and send your answer to me! Of the correct answers, we will pick a winner at random to win a prize. (Note: The puzzle must be fully completed to qualify.)

*Hint:* Important Event

Not sure how to do it? “Read the rules of Sudoku here.”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudoku

__Can’t see the image?__ “View it here.”:http://www.smalldog.com/sudoku

I almost always have multiple applications running on my Mac. Sometimes I find the visual clutter of multiple apps distracting, even on my iMac’s large 24″ monitor. In the past, I’ve downloaded special word processors (such as “Scrivener”:http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html) that feature full screen/screen shading settings to hide other apps, so I could better focus on writing.

I’ve recently started using Freeverse’s free application called “Think”:http://www.freeverse.com/apps/app/?id=7013 to limit my attention to one application (any application) at any time. Think hides all but one application at a time behind a solid black wall. This means other apps will be active and available for use, but you’ll only see one at a time.

You can temporarily bring a “guest” application above the backdrop by clicking on its icon in the Dock. Clicking into the backdrop will refocus you on the illuminated application, returning the guest to exile.

Freeverses’s website says: “Let’s limit our attention to one application–any application–at any time. Let’s make it easy to change focus when we have to. Let’s allow ourselves to bring other apps up quickly if we need them, but put them out of sight again just as quickly.”

Think uses Mac OS X 10.4.9 or later and is free. “Download it by clicking here.”:http://www.freeverse.com/apps/app/?id=7013

I’ll be posting clips from this year’s Small Dog movie on YouTube all week. You can see these on our “blog by clicking here”:http://blog.smalldog.com/ or on our “YouTube channel by clicking here.”:http://www.youtube.com/user/smalldogelectronics Have a great week!