The February meeting was held on Friday the 9th. Our main feature was an introduction to video editing using iMovie and we also had a surprise first demo of Apple’s new HomePod.
iMovie
Ben gave us an introduction to iMovie, Apple’s consumer video editing application which is included with Macs, iPhones and iPads. He showed us how to import clips from a variety of sources, edit them on the timeline, add transitions and backing music or sound. Ben shared his expertise with a number of tips on how to mix different types of shot (such as wide and close-up), make the most of clips shot from different angles and at different times, and effectively use slow-motion sequences. He finished off with an overview of the sharing options available for the finished movie.
HomePod
Apple released their new home speaker, the HomePod, on the day of the meeting and one of our members brought along his unit picked up only a couple of hours before. We were able to experience the excellent room-filling sound from the small (but surprisingly heavy) device and try to bamboozle Siri with our music choices (she only understood “Dr. Mabuse by Propaganda” with a comedy accent!).
News
We also discussed some of the month’s Apple news stories:
- Apple adds a “Battery Health“ feature to iOS 11.3 Beta 2.
- Warnings about 32bit apps coming to macOS High Sierra soon.