iMovie for iPad

[Jason Jenkins]

You saved me, Nick! To think I was this close to dropping $3,500 on a new Macbook Pro…

Jason Jenkins
Flowmotion Media
Video production… with style!

[Craig Seeman]

It does seem to handle H.264 native editing better than FCP though.

[Mark Suszko]

I would love to play with the new ipad to find ways of using it in production and display. Now that it has a camera, this could make a wonderful tool for realtime virtual overlays. Carry it down the street in front of you, and it could overlay all kinds of virtual stuff onto the environment.

The entertainment and training possibilities are immense.

In a studio environment, the same thing could be used like Jim Cameron’s virtual camera periscope, to overlay CGI backgrounds with the live-action as you plan out a scene.

I see there’s an ipad app that emulates visually my old tascam portastudio cassette 4-track. How neat it would be to use the multitouch ipad as a portable control for all manner of things onma set, from audio faders and DMX lighting controls, to remote focus or inter-ocular convergence pulls. Using it for on-set continuity checking, where you can onion-skin the live camera view with the grab you took of scene 34-B, just holding the thing up like a viewfinder.

And of course, making a slate with it.

[Nick Griffin]

Mark-
I’m not saying that there aren’t multiple very cool things that can and will be done with the iPad. There’s already a teleprompting app in addition to the ones you mentioned. There’s a place for flip cams, too, just not when used by do-it-yourselfers as a replacement for a real camera with a real lens, real mics, real lighting, real camera support and real technique. (IMHO.)

[Mark Suszko]

Oh I completely agree, Nick. But it is undeniable that one of the vectors from which new innovations for our biz comes is the prosumer sector. Tools made for noobs, in the hands of pros, can do remarkable things. Witness the DV camcorder revolution. And nobody should blithely dismiss iMovie: remember, the most powerful and common transitions are cuts and dissolves, you don’t necessAarily need an entire suite to do just that and still make art. If you know what you’re doing, that is.

I also see a VJ and soundboard app for the iPad if there isn’t one already: a soundboard is an interface of pre-recorded clips you can access randomly, like sound effects for morning zoo DJ’s, that sort of thing. The VJ app would let you use multitouch to live-switch between pre-recorded clips and timelines on the ipad.

A virtual switcher panel interface would be awesome to handle those 2-camera hotel lecture things, switching live so you don’t have to edit later. The ipad wouldn’t be the actual switching hardware, just the interface.

[Nick Griffin]

[Mark Suszko] “sound effects for morning zoo DJ’s”

Oh, boy! SFX for Morning Zoo DJ’s. Now THAT’S progress. (Long live NPR.)

[John Davidson]

I remember when my friends and I used to make fun of Final Cut Pro – it was only about 7 years ago. Oops.

One day all editing will be done via touchscreen. Personally, I’m looking forward to it. Considering the new FCP update is rumored to be just around the corner, it may be sooner than we think.

[Martin Curtis]

[Mark Suszko] ” Tools made for noobs, in the hands of pros, can do remarkable things. Witness the DV camcorder revolution. And nobody should blithely dismiss iMovie: remember, the most powerful and common transitions are cuts and dissolves, you don’t necessAarily need an entire suite to do just that and still make art. If you know what you’re doing, that is.”

Remember the first “movie” shot and edited on the iPhone HD? It was very well done. Sure, the guy and his crew were professionals and had lots of supplementary gear and it was fiddly work, but they did it and that’s kind of the point.

My iPhone vids still look shaky and wobbly, but that’s the point too.

Nifty things are coming. Some are already here.

[Timothy J. allen]

Didn’t we discuss the future of touchscreen editing in these forums right after “Minority Report” came out, in 2002? As I recall, my Media 100 at the time didn’t have much more storage space or RAM than the iPad2 will have.

[Mark Suszko]

A vertical touchscreen will tire you out fast. A multitouch table that works like a cross between a virtual light table and a KEM might be useful though. For me, the less repetitive motion you need to do, the better. The ultimate interface will not be like doing 8 hours of tai-chi in a room with your client.