Importing Footage from an Analog Camcorder


The process of importing footage from an analog camcorder in iMovie is much the same as when importing from a digital camcorder. However, you need a go-between device that converts the camcorder's analog signal to digital information on the Mac. Products from companies such as Canopus (www.canopus.com) or ADS Technologies (www.adstech.com) feature a FireWire port for connecting to your computer and RCA-style inputs for connecting to your camera; some devices also include an S-Video port.

To import from a non-DV camcorder:

1.

Connect the conversion device to the Mac via FireWire, and to the camera using RCA or S-Video cabling.

2.

Switch the camcorder to VCR or Play mode.

3.

Push the camcorder's Play button.

4.

Click the Import button in iMovie.

5.

When finished, click Import again to stop capturing video, and press the Stop button on the camcorder.

Tip

  • Since you're importing converted analog data, iMovie doesn't automatically split clips according to scenes. You'll have to use iMovie's editing tools to trim and organize the clips, or manually start and stop importing according to scenes.


Importing Old VHS Tapes Using a DV Camcorder

If you own a digital camcorder, but still have some older VHS (or other format) tapes, you can bring that footage into iMovie to edit or even just store digitally. Connect your VCR to your camcorder and record the contents of the VHS tape to the DV tape. Then you can import your footage into iMovie normally. (Or, use an analog-to-digital converter between the VCR and your Mac.)

Another option is to use a recent Sony DV camcorder, which performs an in-camera analog-to-digital conversion.

Analog tape doesn't last foreversave your wedding/graduation/school play on disk. As a gift to my wife on our tenth wedding anniversary, I digitized the video from the ceremony (shot by my uncle on VHS), cut together the highlights, and burned it to a DVD. I'm glad I didthe image and sound quality had severely deteriorated (Figure 7.18).

Figure 7.18. The quality of VHS tapes deteriorates dramatically, as evidenced by this 10-year-old clip. (The damage is more dramatic full-size; see it at www.jeffcarlson.com/imovievqs/vhs.html.)






iMovie HD 6 & iDVD 6 for Mac OS X (Visual QuickStart Guide Series)
iMovie HD 6 and iDVD 6 for Mac OS X
ISBN: 0321423275
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 197
Authors: Jeff Carlson

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