Are these answers in your book?

[Erica Sadun]

>Dear Erica,
>        I have just ordered your imovie book from Amazon. I'm doing a 
>short doc on the transition between 2D and 3D animation, here in 
>Hollywood. It's non-profit and for a festival in Italy ( 
>Futurefilmfestival.org).

Cool.

>I also ordered the David Pogue book and the visual quickstart guide, 
>because I need all the help I can get.
>
>Some of the questions I'm hoping to find an answer to are below. If 
>you have answers for these in your book, great, I'll read them when 
>I get it! If not, would you be so kind as answering them for me, if 
>you could spare the time? Here they are:
>
>(a) Is it really OK to change an imovie clip file name from within 
>imovie (not the finder). A friend who uses imovie 2 said she had 
>problems, even though D.Pogue says you can.

Sure. I change 'em all the time.

>(b) If I import a clip from another project, am I actually importing 
>the complete media, or the clip that I have now imported in my new 
>project just "points" at the one from the project I imported it from?

The complete media. It can totally kill your disk space.

>I am asking this, because I imported clips from a project residing 
>on an external HD , onto my actual computer drive. Once the external 
>drive was not connected, I was getting picture, but not sound. 
>Connect the external...I have sound.

That's just weird. Are you sure your camera wasn't connected?
If it is, sometimes the audio is playing back there, not on your
computer.

>(c) Can I back up my projects by "splitting" the contents of one 
>media folder into 2 groups - just for storage on a DVD - and later 
>when I'm working on it, drop one half of the clips back into the 
>original media folder, so it's "restored"? I mean, is the physical 
>act of taking clips out of a media folder damaging to the clips?

I wouldn't. I guess it's probably okay, so long as its restored,
but I just wouldn't do that if things are really important.

>Whatever you can answer for me, I would be extremely grateful, I am 
>perfectly aware that time is very precious, even the time it took 
>you to read this.
>
>Thank you in advance!
>
>Grazie!

Prego.

But I really mean it, when I say please don't contact me
off-list.

Everyone who does is on a deadline. And most everyone
says this is one-time urgent.

And I really feel pressured to reply.

But I have three kids.

One is a very high needs baby. It's been a tough
year. He's still on a 3-hour 'round the clock
schedule.

I write because that's my job.

I participate on the groups because it's my hobby.
I receive no compensation for my participation on
these lists.

When people write me off-list, I don't have the luxury
of just clicking "next" and ignoring the post. So...please...
I'd rather you wouldn't.

That's why I keep posting these "please do not contact
me off-list" messages.

If you need urgent help, there are people out there
who provide phone consulting. They generally charge
by the hour with certain minimum fees.

These constant, constant, constant messages off-list
are a terrible drain on me, and I'm about *that*
far from unsubscribing from MacDV and iMovieList.

Ciao. -- Erica


>
>Silvia with a Desperate Deadline
>
>
>
>Silvia Pompei
>Cell:    (323) 394-0980