Create the Extra Assets

For each series I’ve created an image to use at the beginning and end of each video.  You can use Photoshop, Pixelmator, or any program with layers.  I make one file with layers for each element so I can easily export images for this and any future series quickly from one location.  These plates will be used for every video in the series.

I wanted an audio stinger for the beginning and end, so I used CamelAudio’s Alchemy synthesizer to quickly dial up a tone and record a techy filter-sweepy chord.  These are saved as 44.1 kHz AIFF files, authored and trimmed to fit; 4 seconds for the intro, 2 seconds for the end.

iMove Project Setup

I’ve heard a lot of complaining about the “magnetic timeline”, but after using iMovie 11 for several projects I am hooked.  Putting together a project like this would have been much more time consuming and tedious with a traditional A/B roll video editor.

I start by opening iMovie and importing the captured video files.  I make sure to import the files for each video separately so they are easy to tell apart later.

iMovie has a few options for importing.  I “copy” files rather than “move” them, and always leave the “Optimize Video” option unchecked.  If you do optimize video, iMovie will do a transcode of your file during import.  This can take a lot of time, and puts one more generation of unnecessary compression on your files.  Leaving this setting off will simply copy your file into the project as-is.  This is preferable since I’ve already saved my captures as QuickTime friendly H.264.

With all source files imported I make a new “project” for each video.  I name them appropriately now because the exported movies will automatically carry the name as well.  This step saves a lot of time and confusion later!  I drop in the begin/end plates and set them for 4sec/3sec durations, with no Ken Burns effect.  I also drop in the audio stingers.

Replace the Audio Track

In each project I drop the complete source video into the timeline.  I right+click on each video and select “Detach Audio”.  Then I drag+drop the edited audio track I created during the audio pass.  I now have the original (purple) and new (green) audio tracks.

Sometimes I get lucky and these two audio tracks line up, but more often than not they will be a little off.  If they are off it’s an easy fix.

I zoom in to maximum on the timeline and play the project from the start.  There is always some dead time at the beginning as I get going, so I let it roll until I reach the spot I want to keep.  At this point I will scrub forward/backward on the timeline to make sure I am at exactly the frame before the audio starts, then right click and choose “Split Track”.  Repeat this for the video track, with the selector snapped to the audio track’s split point.  Delete the first section of audio, then double click the remaining purple audio track to open the inspector.  Set the audio volume to zero.

I then play back the project again, this time listening for the beginning of the newer edited track.  When I reach the same starting location, I again scrub the play head to get the right frame, and split the clip.  Delete the front section of audio again, and click+drag the green audio file to match the start position of the purple audio file.  Bring the purple tracks audio volume back to 100% and play them both.  They should now be in sync.  (There will also be some phasing as the two tracks play on top of each other!)  I delete the original, purple audio track.

Video Edit

It’s free sailing from this point on!  I simply start playback from the beginning and watch the video.  Any time I reach a spot where I took a break, made a mistake, etc, I simply split the audio and video tracks at the beginning and end of that section, and delete them.  I make sure to turn off automatic transitions so I get a hard cut rather than a fade.  If I need a header transition between sections within one video, I drop in a text transition and a couple cross dissolves.

Export Final Video

For output of my final video I choose “Export using QuickTime” from the “Share” menu.  Use the “Options” button to choose video and audio settings.  I generally use H.264 compression set to “High” quality, with “Best / Multi-Pass” encoding.  Size = Current.  Sound is set to AAC, 44.1 kHz, 128 kbps.

If I am exporting directly to YouTube I will select “YouTube” from the “Share” menu, and choose the preset publishing size that matches my project size.