Importing to imovie

iaoish · Jun 29, 2009

hi yall,

I have some footage on a DV-tape from a camcorder. When I play this on the cam it looks fine, like it should be.
But when I import that footage with imovie the footage shocks most of the time. like it is beening fasttracked for a second every so seconds.

If anyone knows what I am talking about and know how to solve this, greatly appriciated.

thebrain · Jul 1, 2009

man there are so many factors that come into play. here are some quick tips that MIGHT solve the problem:

1. See if you can use the firewire connection (rather than the USB) USB ALWAYS SUX with video!!!!!

2. make sure you close all other programs, especially programs that might play video (including quicktime, safari, firefox, VLC Placer, etc)

3. Make sure you recently restarted your computer

4. change the preferences/settings/options in iMovie

would be easier if you posted the version of iMovie you have, what camera model/make, and camera connection you are using.

would be dope if you could check out my youtube channel and subscribe if u have an account:

http://www.youtube.com/HuseyinTheBrain
http://www.3rdPerspectiveFilms.com

Defy · Jul 1, 2009

^lol @ the promo stuck into the post

but he's right, pretty much.

thebrain · Jul 1, 2009

i luv to help people man, but i'm a pro-videographer i get paid to train people how to work with video [ ! ] enuff boasting... just to make sure you know the difference:::

HERE IS A PIC OF FIREWIRE:

HERE IS A PIC OF USB:

if u stick it in the wrong hole and force it, you will blow your motherboard, no joke [ ! ]

FIREWIRE IS WAY BETTER WHEN WORKING WITH VIDEO

Defy · Jul 1, 2009

lmao!

thebrain · Jul 1, 2009

Defy said:

...for dog lovers.

and for fat a$$3s:::

iaoish · Jul 1, 2009

thebrain said:

Thanks for the reply man, sorry that I didn't post enough info. But here are the anwsers.

1. I used firewire I am 100% sure about this.

2. I think I closed all other programs but firefox might have been running.

3. Not sure if I had.. but will do the next time.

4. I'll check those

5. I used imovie08 the cam I imported from is a sony, don't know which type exactly, But it was filmed on another cam not sure which brand though.

I use a:
Macbook
Intel Core 2 Duo 2 GHz
2Gb DDR2 sdram

Will check out your channel.

Nevasoba · Jul 1, 2009

Defy said:

Dies

thebrain · Jul 1, 2009

OH... another thing. sometimes if you reuse a tape too many times it messes up. either dust particles get in it or it messes with the timecode... if u don't understand that's fine, just know that you can't reuse a dv tape for ever.

i had this problem happen to me when i reused a tape for more than 5 times. when i shoot important stuff i ALWAYS use a new tape. I ALWAYS use the same brand tape as well. The only time i use a tape more than 3 times is if i'm shooting some "test" footage

...but when this problem happened to me it usually ruined only a couple seconds of footage here and there.

HERE IS ANOTHER TIP... Run Apple update
1. click on the apple logo in the very top-left of the screen
2. select software update
3. update ALL software & make sure you have some free space

iaoish · Jul 2, 2009

Thanks man, I never used a tape more then one time, though. I understand about the dust.. these tapes are delicate (sp?) but if the tapes run smooth when I play it from the camera directly. I will try again this weekend. If these anwsers don't work I don't know what to do.

thebrain · Jul 4, 2009

i have seen similar problems with iMovie b4. there are 3 things i can think of that may cause this.

1. Your computer sucks & there is nothing you can do about it except upgrade and free up some more HD space by deleting stuff.

2. YOU NEED TO UPDATE YOUR APPLE SYSTEM. video codecs, software versions, and everything NEEDS to be updated. go to the apple logo at the top-left and select Software Update. UPDATE EVERYTHING EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU DON'T NEED IT. make sure you have plenty of disk space beforehand.

3. The settings are incorrect. make sure that when you click the little "camera" logo that it reads the model/make of your camera correctly when capturing. (different versions of iMovie might be different, but try and see if it detects the right camera after hooking it up).

4. Capture rate---it may be capturing too slow or improperly... usually following the above steps will fix this. AGAIN
-make sure you are using firewire
-unplug other USB/Firewire devices that you are not using
-capture to a scratch disk if possible (a firewire capable external hard drive)
-check your setting to make sure you are capturing the right format (HD, SD i dunno)

PLEASE free up some disk space and update your computer (remember to empty the trash bin)

thebrain · Jul 4, 2009

i have edited & captured 100s of videos... i usually use final cut pro. i had the same problem happen with some footage. it would skip about 1 second of footage every now and then... try to notice if it is skipping the same spots. if it is, it probably is the tape. as in my case... it was the tape

iaoish · Jul 4, 2009

Damn, I've send you a PM I deleted some files from my HDD and still got the problem. (I went a little more detailed in the PM).

I don't think it's the comp because I never had this problem before.. the tape should be good too since when I view it on the tape or while importing even it looks like it's fine.

I am updating now but all they offer me is a Safari update and a Java update...

When I import it selects the right cam maybe the import settings are on HD while it's a DV tape.. maybe this could be the problem but on the other hand... the picture should be scrambled then if the resolution should conflict.

Do you know where I can check these settings? I couldn't find them so quickly.
I also have Final Cut Express.. is there a way I can import with this program? That would be a lot of work because imovie is easy to use in contradiction to FCE... it's just simple footage that needs to get chopped into pieces and have some chapters added.

thebrain · Jul 5, 2009

YES!!! "Capture" is the correct term. capture with final cut express! and then you can just throw the .mov into iMovie. i personally think iMovie is a POS and final cut is lovely, but hey, do what you do.

SAVE THE PROJECT IN FINAL CUT BEFORE CAPTURING!!! that way it will be easy to find the .mov file. if you don't save the project before you start capturing the video it will be labeled as untitledXXXXX.mov

iaoish · Jul 6, 2009

I'll try to 'capture' in FCE tomorrow, but I'd rather use imovie because FCE is far more complex then imovie. I just know how to edit simple movies. That's why imovie is good for me.

Do you maybe know if you can udjust the frame setting for importing from a cam to imovie? It would be great if I can use imovie one day again.

But I'll try the work around and create a .mov file.
Thanks for the info.

iaoish · Jul 7, 2009

I tried in FCE but he said he couldn't capture because of dropped frame rates.
I tried different tapes, all the same result.

This is weird because I have made dvds from other tapes earlier, same method, same equippment.

Could my camera be broken? Everything else about it seems to be working, same for my laptop.

thebrain · Jul 7, 2009

mess with the setting in FCE. video/capture settings, i think. this is a common problem. i'm a put it like this iMovie sux, so google you're final cut problem about the "dropped frames" issue and see what you find. it could be many things. professionals like me use a scratch drive to capture video so the internal hard drive won't be slowed down.

scratch drive = external hard drive with firewire capabilities

iaoish · Jul 7, 2009

I have a external drive with firewire but I have only one firewire port that's for the cam while importing.. that's a shame.
Thanks, I will do a google on the problem now and see what I can come up with.

iaoish · Jul 10, 2009

I changed the prefrences from NTCS to PAL I don't know why they were on NTCS.
Could this also effect imovie?

Since then I could import a tape without any errors, one which before showed dropped frames.
Then I tried the tapes I orriginally wanted to import but they still showed dropped frames.
Haven't tried any other tapes so far.

(I live in Europe that's why it needs to be pal and not ntcs)

Importing to imovie

Sicc OG

@HuseyinTheBrain

Cannabis Connoisseur

@HuseyinTheBrain

Cannabis Connoisseur

@HuseyinTheBrain

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

@HuseyinTheBrain

Sicc OG

@HuseyinTheBrain

@HuseyinTheBrain

Sicc OG

@HuseyinTheBrain

Sicc OG

Sicc OG

@HuseyinTheBrain

Sicc OG

Sicc OG