This is the second in a series of articles reviewing Apple’s iLife 06 software suite. Applications will be reviewed in this order: iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, iMovie, and iLife summary. I will not be reviewing iTunes because iTunes 6 has been out for a while, and it’s ubiquitous. Also, the score on this page reflects this application only, not the suite as a whole. Read on for more not-so-mind-numbing (I hope!) drivel.

iMovie is Apple’s oldest, er, most mature iLife application, having made its debut in 1999 (nearly seven years ago; feeling old yet?).  iMovie 1 and 2 were very different from iMovie 6; they were released before iLife and lacked the integration of later versions. iMovie 3, released in 2003, marked a shift toward the current iMovie incarnation, with integration with other iLife applications, an updated user interface, and abysmally slow performance. It was absolutely painful. iMovie 4 was mainly a performance update and iMovie 5 introduced the Magic iMovie feature and high-definition video support. Along the way, a few new features (new effects, titles, transitions, etc...) made their way into iMovie as well. iMovie 6 is an evolutionary update, but helps polish iMovie’s shine.

iMovie’s user interface is somewhat different from previous versions. The most obvious change is that it sports the smooth metal look that the rest of iLife 06 does. The changes go deeper than that, however; the interface has been streamlined some. The number of tabs on the right side of the window has been reduced, as similar functions have been grouped into the same tab. For example, the Audio (music, sound effects) and Photos tabs from iMovie 5 have been rolled into one “Media” tab. The same has been done with the Titles and Transitions tabs (which have been rolled together with a couple new features into the “Editing” tab). While this may add another click to accessing some functions, the interface feels slightly less cluttered. This move was necessary to add some additional editing features without making the window a complete mess.

Like previous versions, iMovie is integrated into other iLife applications well. iMovie 6’s integration is a bit tighter. GarageBand projects can now be added into iMovie projects, but require an “iLife” preview.  (See the GarageBand review for more details.) iMovie projects can be sent to GarageBand so a soundtrack score can be added. Also, iMovie allows movies to be added to an iWeb site. iMovie will format the movie to be viewable on the internet and will add it to your iWeb site. You can choose to have it formatted for a video podcast or web page. It’s pretty straightforward and painless. I really have to give Apple credit; even though iWeb has some quirks and limitations, Apple has done a lot to make creating web sites much more accessible to the average user. The result is, well, it’s awesome. And I guess that’s the whole idea: to empower the user, even if they aren’t a geek or creative professional. But I digress.

iMovie has always made creating professional-quality videos fairly easy. iMovie takes this one step further with its Themes. Themes are basically a group of titles that share a common visual style. The Themes include an opening title sequence, a chapter title, subtitle, “bumpers,” and credits titles. The themes are well-designed and give movies an added sense of continuity. As an extra cool bonus, the iDVD sports themes to go along with iMovie’s themes--I’ll get into that more in the iDVD review. The themes feature drop zones like iDVD’s, that you can drop video clips or photos into, and they’ll appear at various parts though the theme element. Note that you must add items to the drop zones before applying the theme to the project, otherwise you’ll just waste the time it took for the theme element to render.

iMovie’s editing additions are somewhat hit-and-miss. iMovie adds little in the line of non-theme (i.e. iMovie 5-style) titles and transitions. I’m actually kind of disappointed that Apple couldn’t be more creative. There’s a lot of room for improvement in this area. Apple did not neglect iMovie’s video effects, however. iMovie 6 adds a number of Quartz Compositor effects into iMovie (if you don’t know what Quartz Compositor refers to, all that you need to know is that it allows for some slick visual effects). The “Water Color” effect is my favorite; it gives your video a painted look. iMovie 6 adds a new editing tool: audio effects, which allows you you to make tweaks to the audio. For example, you can change the audio’s pitch from “Monster” to “Chipmunk” (iMovie 6 really uses those terms; I’m not making this up), add an echo effect, or adjust the audio with a graphic equalizer. Note that these audio effects can only be applied to the video’s audio itself. You can’t apply them to, say, a song you add to the movie. Bummer.

One of the coolest small new additions is that iMovie allows for output in an iPod-friendly format:

Apple’s podcasting fixation is evident in iMovie; the chapter marker feature can now be applied to so-called enhanced video podcasts, which allow for chapters (so you can skip to other points in the video). iMovie will encode the movie into H.264 video at an iPod-friendly resolution and add it to iTunes so you can upload it onto your iPod. No longer do you have to plunk down another $30 for QuickTime Pro to format your movies for the iPod--as long as you own a Mac, that is. Previewing effects before applying them has been improved in iMovie 6, although it can be sluggish on G4 Macs. Previews all take place in the main viewer, instead of the mini viewer now, and can be paused at any point in the preview. Oh, and did I mention you can now open more than one project at a time?

iMovie 6 makes an already great application even better. For the home user, iMovie is a complete package. More advanced users may be enticed by Final Cut Express, but will likely find that iMovie is plenty flexible as well. If you’re on iLife 05, you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons of the upgrade, because if you’re not into podcasting or don’t own a video iPod, there aren’t many major additions outside of the audio effects and themes. For everyone else, however, iMovie 6 is a must-have upgrade. I’d give it a 4.0 for iMovie 5 users and a 4.5 for everyone else. Unfortunately, I’m limited to one final score. Either way, iMovie 6 is a blockbuster. Now go make your own blockbuster!

Previously in this series

1. iLife 06 Review Part 1: iPhoto
2. iLife 06 Review Part 2: Garageband
3. iLife 06 Review Part 3: iWeb