I currently use a Sony digital camera to record a meeting, then port it to my Mac into iMovie and sandwich it between two short m4v videos, for opening and closing. Then save it to a HD file to be uploaded to YouTube for the organization. It works fine, but I’m wondering if there is a better or quicker way than using iMovie. Any suggestions?
Although it has an odd interface, VideoProc Convertor is a tool that I’ve used to do exactly what you’re describing. Sometimes merging up to 20 videos into one. Here’s the page in their Help file to give you a feel of how it works.
You can do very basic editing in QuickTime Player. Certainly very straightforward to copy and paste in clips onto one timeline. You may have to choose Edit > Split Clip to create an insertion point for your Paste action.
Just wondering what about this method is not enough in terms of easier or quicker?
Any time you’re combining clips you’ll have rendering to contend with. Though it does not sound to me like you’re using any of iMovie’s features such as transitions, you’re banking two clips and then dropping them at beginning and end of your meeting video. @bb1 Gordon’s suggestion would help with more complex editing, but I wouldn’t trade an “odd interface” for the simplicity of iMovie. And @tommy Tommy’s recommendation of QT Player is one I’ve also used from time to time, though I’m not sure you gain anything from it.
Maybe say more about why you’re seeking a different solution?
I’m not so much seeking a different solution as wondering if there might be something out there that I’m not aware of that can speed up the process a bit. The recorded meetings generally last about an hour. Then I load the file into iMovie, add the two clips, and save it to a HD file to be uploaded. I guess I’m wondering if the time iMovie takes to render the new file could be shortened by some other method.
Rendering speed is based on what CPU your machine has. Faster CPU = shorter rendering time. And obviously, using a program that is written to take advantage of your hardware makes a huge difference e.g., Apple silicon vs intel.
But if you don’t have a pro-level Mac, you’ll have to sit and wait. RAM (to a point) and disk drive will not make a difference.
You can try using Handbrake, which is more or less an “industry standard” in the field of video conversion software (and is free).
Thanks to each of you for your input. As I kind of suspected, using iMovie is likely the simplest and quickest way to take care of this task. Never hurts though to ask where you are likely to find good answers.
I’d imagine once you have made one in iMovie it’s a matter of reusing the project file over and over, like a template.
Yes, exactly.