Handheld Video Look
 iMovie Tutorial 7

Effect
 Plugin
Camera Shake
 Crops & Zooms
Drifting Focus
 Scratch & Dirt
Video Lines
 Color Effects



This tutorial shows how to make a clip look like it was shot using a handheld video camera.  Of course your original footage may have been shot using a handheld video camera, but this tutorial shows how to achieve the stereotypical visual of "video" footage, complete with exaggerated video scanlines.

Steps

Step 0
 Open an iMovie project containing at least one clip of video.

Step 1 Place the clip in the timeline.
The first step is to add some camera shake to the clip.  If you don't want a hand-held look (e.g. a newscast), you can skip this step.

Note: This effect enlarges the image so that as it moves around the frame, no black borders appear.  This means that the greater the shaking, the more enlarged (and therefore blurred) the image will be.

Step 2
 Choose ss| Camera Shake in the Effects panel and adjust the sliders as desired.

Step 3
 Click the Apply button and wait for the clip to render.
The next step is to make the camera look like it is drifting in and out of focus.  Typically this occurs as either the camera or the camera operator is unable to focus on the action quickly or steadily enough.  It is a useful way of giving a "live" unrehearsed feeling to a clip.

Step 4
 Choose ss| Drifting Focus in the Effects panel and adjust the sliders as desired.

Step 5
 Click the Apply button and wait for the clip to render.
The final step is to add video scan lines to the clip.  This effect is often used in movies to indicate that the source of the clip is video as opposed to film.  Most clips in iMovie projects come from video to start with, but this look has become a shorthand for indicating "video" or a TV screen.

Note: If you plan on recording the final result on video tape for display on a TV screen, make sure you test on a TV screen when viewing the results of this effect.  There can be differences between how the clip appears on a computer screen and a video screen, due to the interlaced nature of NTSC.  PAL users will be less concerned by this.

Step 6
 Choose ss| Video Lines in the Effects panel and adjust the sliders as desired.

Step 7
 Click the Apply button and wait for the clip to render.

Variations

As we mentioned above, each step of this tutorial is optional.  One or more steps can be omitted depending on the desired interpretation of the final result.

Here is a list of combinations, along with possible interpretations of the resulting look:
Effects
 Look
Camera Shake Hand-held camera or ground shake.
Drifting Focus Bad camera equipment or operator.
Video Lines "Video" camera on a tripod.
Camera Shake & Drifting Focus Operator having trouble following/focusing on action.
Camera Shake & Video Lines Hand-held "video" camera.
Drifting Focus & Video Lines Focus problems with "video" camera.
Camera Shake & Drifting Focus & Video Lines Hand-held "video" camera with operator having trouble following/focusing on action.

One interesting variation, giving a somewhat retro science fiction look, would be to apply this series of effects to a clip which has undergone an "old film" look, as described in Tutorial 6.

We encourage you to experiment and discover new and unique looks!

For more tutorials and information about iMovie plugins, please visit www.stupendous-software.com