iMovie is a product of Apple and was originally released in the year 1999. Like many applications designed by Apple, it only runs on the Macintosh operating system. If you bought your Mac new from an Apple Store, it may already have iMovie. If you do not have iMovie, it is available as part of Apple's iLife suite which can be purchased from Apple for $79 or $99.
iMovie is Apple's basic video editing application, aimed for the amateur consumer. Apple makes an advanced video editing suite, Final Cut Pro, which is aimed at a more expert market. Though the features of iMovie have grown and changed over the years, the same basic tasks can be completed with all versions of iMovie.
Final Cut Pro: Final Cut Pro is a non-linear video editing software developed by Macromedia Inc. and then Apple Inc. The most recent version, Final Cut Pro X, runs on Mac personal computers powered by Mac OS X version 10.6.7 or later and using Intel processors. The software allows users to log and transfer videos and still images onto a hard drive (internal or external), where it can be edited, processed, and output to a wide variety of formats.
Compared with Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Pro has a lot of editing features in comparison to iMovie. You could add more clips onto your timeline in comparison to iMovie. Final Cut Pro has more precise sounding which means that you can have as many soundtracks as you want or need in comparison to iMovie. But Final Cut Pro takes a lot more time to fully compose a whole production in comparison to iMovie. iMovie is mainly used to edit footage and still images. iMovie is easier to understand whereas Final Cut Pro is a more complex user to understand. The boxes in iMovie is where you add your clips and still images, "Drag your clips here" section is your timeline which is where your overall production will come together and the media section is where you can add audio via GarageBand and the default sounds already on the program.
What's iMovie's benefits and limitations?
You can:
Edit video footage.
Create your own footage to edit.
Bring items from other programs such as iPhoto, iTunes, GarageBand, and iLife.
Create an interactive and fun learning environment.
Increase student buy-in to a project.
Create individuality among an assignment using all the effects that iMovie holds.
But:
Students must work on the same computer for the entire time they are creating their project. Once the movie is exported, it can no longer be changed.
iMovie is very movement sensitive. Users should have full attention on their project when editing a movie.
vLearning iMovie can be challenging. The layout is not "beginning user-friendly."
The longer your iMovie project is, the longer it will take to export into a format that can be viewed by other users.
iMovie imports video footage to the Mac using either the FireWire interface on most MiniDV format digital video cameras or the computer's USB port. It can also import video and photo files from a hard drive. From there, the user can edit the photos and video clips and add titles, music, and effects, including basic color correction and video enhancement tools and transitions such as fades and slides.
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