As you'd expect, Smith covers his bases in terms of explaining iMovie's essential capabilities. More valuably, he takes readers beyond the basics of connectivity and clip splicing. A typical example: While makers of traditional film-based movies can depict characters against a brick-wall background with no worries, bricks can cause jitter and compression problems in digitally recorded sequences. Therefore, Smith says, digital video producers need to zoom closer to subjects that are backed by a complicated surface. Not all of his advice is as explicitly technical. He also offers advice on orienting elements in the video frame, choosing subtle but effective music, selecting costumes, and storyboarding. He's written (and, no less importantly, helped lay out) a superb book that balances the technical and artistic sides of digital video production on the Macintosh. --David Wall
Topics covered: Digital video production, with emphasis on the tools and resources available on the iMac DV and other editing platforms based on Mac OS and FireWire. Using the iMovie application as his prime tool, the author explains story planning, visual design, time management, and other technical aspects of videography. Sound, lighting, music, costumes, and the like receive ample coverage, as do editing techniques, titling, transitions, and narration.