Review: iMovie '08

With the release of iMovie ’08, Apple has redefined its consumer video program’s mission and methodology. With the popularity of broadband Internet access, and particularly the YouTube video sharing Web site, iMovie is now focused on helping people quickly and easily capture, view, organize, and edit movies all in one place, and then readily share them online in a variety of formats. It does this better, faster, and more easily than any other consumer-level application I’m aware of on any platform. Think of iMovie ’08 as iPhoto for video.

However, in repositioning iMovie ’08 so firmly as a consumer product, many of the program’s more advanced features have been lost, making it an inappropriate choice for prosumers and professionals, and upsetting many users of the prior version.