iMovie

  
When Apple first released iMovie for the iPhone 4,1 was gripped by a palpable sense of longing. Sure, it was exciting to have a mobile version, but Apple's own video-editing suite seemed ideally suited for the iPad's larger screen.


Thankfully, Mr Jobs announced an updated version during the launch of the iPad 2, finally delivering iMovie to its rightful home. Now it's here. It makes what's essentially a very complex task not only accessible, but touchable.

This update runs on the iPad 2 (but not, alas, the original iPad}, iPhone 4 and fourth-generalion iPod touch, potentially exposing millions of iOS device owners to a top-notch video editor.

That tactile interactivity makes video editing more engaging. You get a better sense of assembling the movie using your fingers instead of being once removed by the mouse on a computer.

EDITING VIDEO Without a doubt, having the larger iPad screen for editing is an improvement on the iPhone and iPod touch.

Clips in your project are marked with an orange bar, so you can see sections you've already used. Editing clips in the timeline is as intuitive as you can expect a video editor to be: When you tap a clip, those bright yellow selection handle orbs appear, begging to be dragged.

When you need to make more specific edits, pinch outward on a transition icon to open the Precision Editor. This takes advantage of the screen real estate to show both video clips around the transition and view the unused footage of each, helping you choose more deliberate edit points.

EDITING AUDIO The audio tools at your disposal have broadened in this version, which is a relief.

It's now possible to view audio waveforms for video and audio clips, making it easier to determine edit points.

iMovie for iOS now offers multiple audio tracks: one for the video track, one background music track, and three foreground audio tracks. A limited library of sound effects is also available.

However, as welcome as these features are, I'm still left longing for more control. When you trim an audio clip, there's no way to fade out the edit point, leaving an abrupt ending if you trimmed mid-sound.

SHARING YOURMOVIE In the previous version of iMovie, you needed to send a finished movie back to the device's Camera Roll before exporting it. Now, you can export the movie directly to YouTube, Facebook, Vimeoand CNN iReport, as well as to the iPad's Camera Roll.

HD-quality options are offered for each of them, which is good if you have the bandwidth to send 720p files.

iMovie also supports devices like the Apple TV. When you start playing full-screen and tap the AirPlay icon, iMovie creates an AirPlay-compatible version that appears to be 720p resolution.

Another option enabled by the iPad 2 is direct playback to an HDTV or projector via HDMI. When connected, the TV mirrors what's on the iPad.

LITTLE ANNOYANCES While there are plenty of new options in the new iMovie, there are some oversights as well. For example, Apple doesn't even try to support the variety of video formats that people are likely to be shooting in, and accessing songs and videos to include in a project needs finer organisation.

TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY?



Apple's iMovie for iOS 1.2 is a friendly, easy-to-use app that makes great use of the iPad 2's large screen. This new version reinforces the value of an app that was already fun to use and capable enough to turn casual video clips into movies you want to share far and wide.