1. Creating logos
for iMovie 09
This isn’t an official iMovie function, but it does help
leverage existing Photoshop skills in learners for use in video.
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2. Both Photoshop CS and Elements have a video template
under the menu file>new option. But to ensure you have the
exact pixel dimensions of your iMovie Project, you can
“right click” on a clip to create a freeze frame as a template.
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3. You can reveal the freeze frame in the finder by ctrl/click or
right clicking on the still image. (You can delete the image
from the project later).
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4. Again right click on the freeze frame in the finder to force it
to open in your image editor of choice.
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5. Just out of interest by going to Photoshop’s Image menu
you can check the pixel dimensions of the freeze frame
taken from iMovie - in this case it is 960x540.
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6. Select the image by the Cmd/A short cut. Then use
File>New>from clipboard Ensure that “background contents” is
set for “transparent.” This will create a new empty document for
our logo design.
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7. Create your design in Photoshop - have fun with layers.
Any text layers need to be simplified (elements) rasterised
in Photoshop CS. I’ve been restrained here !
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8. Merge your layers- it is crucial that your background
remains transparent.
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9. Merge down layers (as opposed to flatten) so that
you are left with one layer but with the transparency
intact.
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11. Drag and drop your logo from the finder to the project.
Make sure you have the “advanced settings” on in the iMovie
preferences. A drop down menu will appear. Choose Cutaway.
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12. You can fade the cutaway in. In this example, I’ve reduced the
the size of logo in Photoshop and placed it bottom left of the
template before saving as a PNG.
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13. Jagged edges can occur with complex image
outlines. A small amount of blur can be
helpful in terms of smoothing the outline.
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14. A note about Final Cut Pro/Express
this kind of work can be extended in FCE/Pro
whole .PSD files with layers can be imported
the file appears as a nested track with each layer intact
each video track can then be animated and effects applied
offering a whole new way of working with time based
Photoshop layers.
