Time

It is difficult to keep track of my work time when editing an iMovie. A change in the process made quite a bit of difference. To reduce transfer time and to avoid wasted memory space I no longer import the entire clip. My earlier movies would take one hour to import to the computer per data cassette and then a few additional hours watching and cropping. Now I only import selected sections, reducing the import time to less than 30 minutes.

The time does vary depending if the message/purpose of the iMovie is clear (that is another post) and how “focused” I am during the process. I usually import the clips from the video camera at home while I try and edit/crop during my daily discretionary time. If I had to volunteer a time for the entire process I would feel comfortable with one to two hours from import to draft clip. Even though I have reduced the import time, more of my energy is focused on smooth audio transitions (another post) and using Garage Band for the voice-overs and original music.