is iMovie now profesional?

Could iMovie be used to edit and mix a simple commercial clip for You Tube and Co? I am wary of posting this question but I have my reasons which I will outline:

Assuming that it is a valid question then what implications would this have for FCP X.

I get a feeling of De Ja Vu when I think about this.

The thing is that I worked, 3 years ago, for a company where they were seriously experimenting with the iMovie for simple stuff. I am not sure if I am remembering this correctly but I think that there was no way to mix the audio in iMove and the project never really got the green light because of this. To put this into context this was happening at a start up media factory company with about 30 edit bays with a crazy amount of new relatively unexperienced editors, coming and going. Put it this way Final Cut Studio was definitely to complex for a lot of the stuff we were doing.

Some how the tables have turned. Most of us have seen the iMove - FCP X theories that are out there.

blog.nicedissolve.com/2011/04/what-is-fc...ationship-to-imovie/

It is funny that we now have buried in the FCPX 10.1.0 PRE-RELEASE DISCUSSION thread stuff about iMovie and how it may or may not spill over into FCP X.

www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/...discussion?start=400

Also wondering what kind of effect this has on FCP X. In a sense FCP X is more professional because it´s little brother is so professional

Yes, it is.

As I said in another thread I'm seriously considering to take iMovie X on a few laptops to a coming national sports event for editing on-site reports and uploading the edits to our national broadcaster while the event is going on. I think it will be perfect for this kind of work. The speed, the ease of use and the capabilities of this app have grown exponentially with this release.

- Ronny

If this is iMovie Pro, then what are the trolls going to call FCPX?

LOL!!

- Ronny

Don't do it Ronny! If you do, you'll make iMovie professional! :woohoo:

Thanks for the responses

Pretty much what I guessed.

@ Ronny can you do sound fades in iMovie now?

I need to check back with my ex boss and see if he still has some of the criteria he had back then for why iMovie could or could not make the cut. He was really into templates. And felt that a lot of our work was too simple for the full blow edit monster known as FCP Studio.

What I am now wondering is what is it like getting a timeline/project out of iMovie… Going to FCPX should be a no brainer but what if I wanted to go to Avid or Premiere Pro. Does any one know if this is possible? If not Avid and Adobe should probably make sure that it is possible ASAP. Imagine reading that in the feature list of AVID or Premiere Pro. "Has the ability to import iMovie" timeline!" :woohoo:

I remember in FCP Legacy days, FCP projects slowly started coming into production houses and most had a copy of FCP lying around if only so that they could import FCP projects every now and again. Which got me thinking that maybe this time around a lot of (remaining) post production houses/ post specialists will get FCPX in the beginning simply so that they can ingest and tweak all those timelines from "Journalists" in the field who edited on iMovie.

iMovie X does audio fades fine (only +3dB, but thats OK).

But FCP X can't import iMovie X Events or Projects yet.

While I haven't switched to Mavericks yet and have not used the new iMovie, I always found it too limited for anything other than very simple shorts. I use iMovie for making trailers for some vids as I found the trailers fun for the children of the clips I shot for my wife's school theatrical productions. Then I would just import the media into FCPX to do the actual edits.
Now the new iMovie will not import, I do hope Apple will update FCPX to make the Apps compatible. There are issues also with iOS/iMovie/FCPX not being seamless in transfers between OS's/Apps.
Have shot some footage on a new iPhone5s and liking it for what is capable of. Given it is just a phone, the results aren't all that bad. Along with a GoPro, ads some extra B-role or quickie on the spot abilities that I wouldn't have otherwise.
Still all said and done, I look forward to seeing what the new iMovie will do, but at the same time I will make sure that I keep the older versions around. Just don't see it replacing FCPX and being "Professional".
Greg

"Professional" is such a subjective word in media production, it now has absolutely no universal meaning, and thus should never be used again. Ban the "P word"!

Yes I am aware of the dirty connotations of the p-word but think that it is none the less relevant for this post. Because if iMovie is professional then what does it make FCP X in the eyes of people who have to see things through their professional tinted glasses :dry: This is turn has implications for the rest of us who are not so narrow minded! :blink:

Looks to me iMovie is the new FCE X

Wasn't iMovie08 supposed to be a <cough> professional application named "First Cut" at its early stages, and Steve Jobs made iMovie out of it? It was meant as capture and logging app for the transfer of rough cuts into FCP.

I have put my intern onto playing around with iMovie. For his semester project (document the work of the other interns), it seems to be sufficient.

Yeah we should not underestimate iMovie!

Like how many people will move from iMovie to FCP X compared too from Avid or Premiere?!?

Maybe this will be decisive in the greater scheme of things?

paurray wrote: Yeah we should not underestimate iMovie!

Like how many people will move from iMovie to FCP X compared too from Avid or Premiere?!?

Maybe this will be decisive in the greater scheme of things?

See, that's the biggest thing that people don't get, if iMovie is free on every Mac, then everyone will learn to edit with it and when they become pros they will move to FCPX. Everything is always the long term plan with apple, they are not a shortsighted company and know how to plan for the future. It's just like getting kids used to the iPod so they get the phone when they get older. What kid with an iPod is going to move to an android or anything else? None of the other cell phone makers have anything close to the iPod and none of the other NLE developers have anything close to iMovie.

@ Julian

Music to my ears now you are talking about iPods :evil:

Possible the most amazing device that Apple even invented. Remember its predecessor the Walkman.

And for me FCP X, iMovie what ever you want to call it has a very iPod feeling!

Need to check out iMovie but something tells me that I will love it. :blush:

BenB wrote: "Professional" is such a subjective word in media production, it now has absolutely no universal meaning, and thus should never be used again. Ban the "P word"!

Yes there is allot of talk about if someone makes money with it is professional, but I really don't 100% agree with that. There are "tools" that are made for the professional market that come with tools and assets that are required by professionals to get the job done.

But a professional, the user also knows what can be done with that tool in his box with limitations or not. So could iMovie be used to make a product for a customer. Well a professional will know this.

So the question shouldn't be Is iMovie now professional? but more Can a Professional now use iMove [strike]for his needs?[/strike]. Why not?

paurray wrote: @ Julian

Music to my ears now you are talking about iPods :evil:

Possible the most amazing device that Apple even invented. Remember its predecessor the Walkman.

And for me FCP X, iMovie what ever you want to call it has a very iPod feeling!

Need to check out iMovie but something tells me that I will love it. :blush:

Yes to good old days when the iPod was around. Apples trojan horse which the iPhone took over that position.

So the question shouldn't be Is iMovie now professional? But more Can a Professional now use iMove for his needs?. Why not?

Could not have said it better. Totally agree.

- Ronny

adding one and one you could then say, that iMovie is a trojan horse :silly:

I've seen people with pro tools effectively charging for equipment hire who's professionalism - both in terms of their ability to use their tools and their attitude - are dwarfed by other people on much less expensive equipment.

I don't want to turn this thread into a debate about professionalism but I tend to view it the same way the tax man does: If you make your money with it, that's professional. As for so-called below/above the line stuff, I've been a glorified button pusher on big projects for international brands and had complete creative control on projects for smaller firms. I prefer the latter generally.

As for iMovie being professional, that's like asking if a hammer is professional. You could go around smashing windows with it or knock a few nails in. Depends on the user and the use.

As for iMovie being professional, that's like asking if a hammer is professional. You could go around smashing windows with it or knock a few nails in. Depends on the user and the use.

Nice and concise