Please pass the word for those who may be interested in the iMovie and iDVD programs:
I have many short films that I made in high school. I wanted an Mac for many reasons, but one big "plus" that really made up my mind was the included iMovie and iDVD programs. These programs can perform some fantastic tricks and really "jazz" up your movie, but be warned... If your little flick is over 10 minutes long, or you actually plan to USE the available special effects, you WILL have problems... Movie chapters on your DVD may not work. The soundtrack may be out of synch. iMovie may "quit unexpectedly"-- really frustrating! I was told by an Apple rep that I was trying to do to much with the programs and that I should at least upgrade to the Final Cut Express for $399. He said the FCE application could handle my "professional" (ha!) work. iMovie and iDVD, he said, are really for a five minute movie of your neighbors baby blowing out a candle on a birthday cake, for example. Well, that is all fine and dandy... but why did I hear this NOW and not hear it before I made the purchase? Why did I at least read that somewhere on Apple's site??? Honestly, I love my iMac, and I'm sure I would love to have Final Cut Express-- I may even purchase it one day. Of course, even if I have FCE, I'm not so sure that iDVD will be able to handle the encoding and burning (this where where many of the problems are). There is nothing on Apple's page that suggested to me, in any way, that the iMovie and iDVD programs would not be able to handle the work I wanted to do. (My longest short film being 40 minutes long.) Had I known that I would need Final Cut Express, perhaps I would have worked it in my budget and purchased it when I purchased the iMac. Bottom Line: I do like Apple and I do like iMovie and iDVD. However, the advertising and marketing for those applications/programs is very, very misleading. It should be known that those programs will only handle tiny projects. Thank you so much for reading this. Troy _________________________________________________________________ Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963 | The next meeting of the Louisville Computer Society will | be March 25. The LCS Web page is <http://www.kymac.org>.
