Using iMovie Lab
The objective of this lab is to learn how to use iMovie to create simple animations.
Creating Animation Files to turn into a Movie File
First we need to make some files that will be our animations.
- The first step in creating your movie is generating a set of .jpg
files that can be stitched together into a single movie file. For one
approach to doing that, take a look at the page
of Final Programming Project Tips.
- Use (or modify) one of your functions from
the Animations lab to generate a set of files
that can be turned into a movie.
Hints:
- You probably want to create a sub-directory of CS107Labs to contain
your movie files. Then, let dir = "M:\\CS107Labs\\newFolderName"
when you call
saveMovieToFile
.
- Your file numbers do not need to be consecutive integers but do need
to increase as your movie progresses.
Turning an Animation into a Movie File
- Open iMovie: Go to Finder -> Applications -> iMovie.
- Import your pictures into iMovie: Click on the Finder icon again.
Browse to find some pictures for your animation. Just drag them into
the Project Area (upper left). Do the same thing for sounds. You can
place your sounds wherever you would like them on your timeline.
- Set the duration for each frame: Click on the "i" (Inspector)
icon in the middle of the screen. A window will pop up that will allow
you to change the duration of your pictures. Four seconds is too long;
one second or a half second seem to be okay values to use. You may
choose whatever duration is appropriate for your animation. You may
also choose whether you want the same duration for all of your pictures,
or whether you want them to vary.
- Remove the "Ken Burns" effect: To remove the Ken Burns effect
(specifying a starting and ending rectangle to animate between) on each
picture, select all of the pictures (Go to Edit -> Select All). Then
click on the Crop icon (looks sort of like a square) in the middle of
the screen. Choose "Fit" at the top of the picture that opened in the
upper right of the screen.
- Check that your movie plays correctly at this point: Click on the
first picture in the timeline. Then click on the Play arrow to watch
the movie. Make modifications if necessary.
- Save your movie: Go to Share -> Export using QuickTime (on the tool
bar at the top). Follow the instructions to choose a name for your
movie file and browse to find a location to save it. Your movie should
have a
.mov
file ending.
- Check to see that your movie project and your movie file are
saved on your M:Drive or somewhere else where you will have access to
them again. (i.e., They should not be saved only on the hard drive of
a lab machine!)
What to Submit
There is nothing to submit - this lab was practice so you know how
to create a movie file for your final project.