Quit other applications before importing to make sure that their actions in the background (such as checking email, playing music, etc.) don't interfere with the import process. Otherwise, you could encounter dropped frames or stuttery playback.
If you have an iSight camera that's connected at the same time as your camcorder, and you want to capture live video with it, click the camera icon next to the mode switch and choose iSight from the popup menu that appears.
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If you're importing sections of your tape (instead of the entire tape), rewind to a few seconds before the start of what you want to capture. This gives you some buffer while editing.
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Press the spacebar in Camera mode to start importing footage. Press it again to stop.
The free space indicator in the lower-right corner of iMovie's window keeps tabs on how much room is left on your hard disk. As the disk fills up, the indicator text changes from black to yellow to red. When no more space is free, iMovie stops the import process.
You can also import QuickTime movies (or other formats that are compatible with QuickTime, such as AVI movies) from your hard disk. Simply drag the QuickTime file from the Finder onto the Shelf or the Timeline. However, since most QuickTime movies are smaller in size, the resolution may not be as good as your camcorder's footage.
You can buy analog-to-digital converter boxes, which enable you to connect an analog cam-corder or VCR to your Mac and import that footage into iMovie. I used one recently to digitize and edit the video from my wedding, since VHS tapes noticeably deteriorate.
If, as you import, you hear an echo, check your camera's volume level. If it's audible, you'll hear the footage's audio first from the camcorder's speakers, and then from your Mac's speakers a fraction of a second after.
iMovie HD's Magic iMovie feature imports video and adds transitions automatically. However, since we're editing manually, we don't need to use Magic iMovie.
