Chapter 13
Getting the Most Out of Video Features
Get ready to . . .
Capture Your Own Videos with the Built-In Cameras
Edit Movies with the iMovie App
Play Movies, Podcasts, or TV Shows with Videos
Two built-in applications on your iPad exist to help you view videos. Using the Videos app, you can watch downloaded movies or TV shows or media you’ve synced from iCloud or your Mac or PC. The YouTube app takes you online to the popular video-sharing site. Videos there range from professional music videos to clips from news or entertainment shows and personal videos of cats dancing (and other news-making events). If you like to view things on a bigger screen, you can even use iPad’s AirPlay to send your iPad movies and photos to your TV by using the Apple Digital AV Connector, a $39.95 accessory, or Apple TV, a device that will cost you $99.
In addition, iPad 2 sports two video cameras you can use to capture your own videos, and by purchasing the iMovie app (a more limited version of the longtime mainstay on Mac computers), you add the capability to edit those videos.
In this chapter, I explain all about shooting, watching, and editing video content from a variety of sources. For practice, you might want to refer to Chapter 8 first to purchase or download one of many available free TV shows or movies.
Capture Your Own Videos with the Built-in Cameras
1. To capture a video, tap the Camera app on the Home screen.
In iPad 2, two video cameras that can capture video from either the front or back of the device make it possible for you to take videos that you can then share with others or edit. (See more about this topic in the next task.)
2. The Camera app opens. Use the Camera/Video slider to switch from the still camera to the video camera (see Figure 13-1).
3. If you want to switch between the front and back cameras, tap the icon in the top-right corner of the screen (refer to Figure 13-1).
4. Tap the Record button to begin recording the video. (This button flashes when the camera is recording.) When you’re finished, tap the Record button again. Your new video is now listed in the bottom-left corner of the screen.
Before you start recording, make sure you know where the camera lens is — while holding the iPad and panning, you can easily put your fingers directly over the lens!
Edit Movies with the iMovie App
1. The iMovie app has been included with (and new versions available for) Mac computers for several years, and now a version is available for the iPad. After you capture a video, you can use iMovie to edit it. If you want to edit the video you captured in the previous task, start by purchasing iMovie from the App Store (it costs $4.99), as described in Chapter 9.
Figure 13-1
2. Tap the iMovie app icon on the Home screen to open it.
3. On the screen that appears, tap the New button (see Figure 13-2) to begin a new movie project. Any videos you’ve taken (see the previous task) are listed in the top-left corner of the screen; double-tap one to open it (see Figure 13-3).
4. To scroll through your video, tap the storyboard. Wherever the red line sits (refer to Figure 13-3) is where your next action, such as playing the video or adding a transition, begins.
Figure 13-2
Figure 13-3
5. To add one video to the end of another, double-tap another clip in the list of media. The clip appears to the right of the first one in the storyboard.
6. If you want to add music to your videos, tap the Music button (refer to Figure 13-3) and choose from sound effects, music in your Music library, or theme music (a quick and easy way to add a musical track to your video).
7. To record an audio narration, scroll to the point in the movie where you want it to be heard and tap the Microphone button (refer to Figure 13-3).
8. Tap the Record button, tap Record, and then wait for the countdown to finish, and then record. When you’re done recording, tap Stop (see Figure 13-4).
Figure 13-4
9. In the options shown in Figure 13-5, tap Review to hear your recording, Accept to save the recording, or Discard or Retake if you’re not completely happy with it. If you accept the recording, it appears below the storyboard at the point in the movie where it will play back.
Figure 13-5
You can do more things with iMovie, such as add transitions between clips or rearrange and cut segments out of clips. Play around with iMovie to see the possibilities, or check out iLife ’11 For Dummies, by Tony Bove, and iPhone Photography & Video For Dummies, by Angelo Micheletti.
If you want to create a slideshow with still photos rather than video, tap the Camera button (refer to Figure 13-3) and your stored photos are listed instead.
To quickly return from iMovie to your camera, perhaps to capture more footage, tap the Video Camera button (refer to Figure 13-3).
You can tap the Settings button (refer to Figure 13-3) to open a menu that lets you make settings for playing theme music or not, looping the music to play continuously, and using a special effect to fade your movie in or out at the beginning and end.
Play Movies, Podcasts, or TV Shows with Videos
1. Tap the Videos app icon on the Home screen to open the application.
2. On a screen like the one shown in Figure 13-6, tap the Movies, TV Shows, or Podcasts tab, depending on which one you want to watch.
Figure 13-6
3. Tap an item to open it. A description appears, as shown in Figure 13-7.
Figure 13-7
4. Tap the Play button. The movie, TV show, or podcast opens and begins playing. Note that the progress of the playback is displayed on the Progress bar (see Figure 13-8), showing how many minutes you’ve viewed and how many remain. If you don’t see the bar, tap the screen once to display it briefly, along with a set of playback tools at the bottom of the screen.
5. With the playback tools displayed, take any of these actions:
• Tap the Pause button to pause playback.
• Tap either Go to Previous Chapter or Go to Next Chapter to move to a different location in the video playback.
• Tap the circular button on the Volume slider and drag the button left or right to decrease or increase the volume, respectively.
Figure 13-8
6. To stop the video and return to the information screen, tap the Done button on the Progress bar.
Note that if you’ve watched a video and stopped it partway, it opens by default to the last spot you were viewing. To start a video from the beginning, tap and drag the circular button on the Progress bar all the way to the left.
If your controls disappear during playback, just tap near the top or bottom of the screen and they’ll reappear.
Turn on Closed Captioning
1. iTunes and iPad offer support for closed captioning and subtitles. If a movie you purchased or rented has either closed captioning or subtitles, you can turn on the feature in iPad. Look for the “CC” logo on media you download to use this feature; be aware that video you record won’t have this capability. Begin by tapping the Settings icon on the Home screen.
2. On the screen that appears (see Figure 13-9), tap Video in the Settings section on the left side of the screen.
Figure 13-9
3. On the menu that displays on the right side of the screen (refer to Figure 13-9), tap the Closed Captioning On/Off button to turn on the feature. Now when you play a movie with closed captioning, you can click the Audio and Subtitles button to the left of the playback controls to manage these features.
Go to a Movie Chapter
1. Tap the Videos app icon on the Home screen.
2. Tap the Movie tab, if it isn’t already displayed.
3. Tap the title of the movie you want to watch. Information about the movie is displayed (refer to Figure 13-7).
4. Tap the Chapters tab. A list of chapters is displayed, as shown in Figure 13-10.
Figure 13-10
5. Tap a chapter to play it.
You can also use the playback tools to go back one chapter or forward one chapter. See the “Play Movies, Podcasts, or TV Shows with Videos” task, earlier in this chapter, for more information.
Delete an Item from the iPad
1. Tap the Videos app icon on the Home screen.
2. Locate the item you want to delete on the Movies, Podcasts, or TV Shows tab.
3. Press and hold the item; the Delete button appears, as shown in Figure 13-11.
Figure 13-11
4. Tap the Delete button. The item is deleted.
If you buy a video using iTunes, sync to download it to your iPad, and then delete it from your iPad, it’s still saved in your iTunes library. You can sync your computer and iPad again to download the video once more. Remember, however, that rented movies, once deleted, are gone with the wind.
iPad has much smaller storage capacity than your typical computer, so downloading lots of TV shows or movies can fill its storage area quickly. If you don’t want to view an item again, delete it to free up space.
Find Videos on YouTube
1. Although you can go to YouTube and make use of all its features using iPad’s Safari browser, there’s an easier way: using the dedicated YouTube application that’s preinstalled on your iPad. This app provides buttons you can tap to display different content and features using your touchscreen. Tap the YouTube icon on the Home screen to open the app.
2. Tap the Featured button at the bottom of the screen, if it’s not already selected (see Figure 13-12).
Figure 13-12
3. To find videos, tap in the Search field in the top-right corner of the screen; the keyboard opens.
4. Type a search term and tap the Search key on the keyboard.
5. Use your finger to scroll down the screen to see additional results.
6. To display the top-rated or most-viewed videos, tap the Top Rated or Most Viewed button at the bottom of the screen.
7. When you find a movie you want to view, tap it to display it. The movie begins loading; see the next task for details about how to control the playback.
When you load a movie, you can use the Related and More From tabs in the playback window to find additional content related to the topic, or find more videos posted on YouTube by the same source.
If you find a movie you like, tap the More From tab and you can then tap the Subscribe button to subscribe to all movies from this source. View your subscriptions by tapping the Subscriptions button at the bottom of the YouTube screen.
Control Video Playback
1. With a video displayed (see the previous task), tap the Play button. The video plays (see Figure 13-13).
Figure 13-13
2. Tap the Pause button to pause playback. (If the button isn’t visible, tap the screen once to display it.)
3. To move forward or backward in the movie, tap the circular button on the Playback progress bar and drag the button to the right or left.
When the video is finished, you can replay it from the beginning by tapping the Play button again.
Change Widescreen Media Views
1. In the previous task, you watched a video in one of three available views for widescreen content. To change to another view, tap the Full Screen button (a two-headed arrow at the far right of the playback controls; refer to Figure 13-13) and the video displays in a full-screen version with a black border.
2. To return the movie to its smallest size, tap the button on the right side of the playback controls. Tap the button in the upper-right corner to return to the medium view.
You can use the double-tap method of enlarging the playback in either of the two larger screen formats. Double-tapping the smaller of the two moves you to the largest full-screen view. Double-tapping the largest full-screen view zooms in further. Depending on the quality of the video, the largest zoom factor can produce a rather grainy image.
Flag Content as Inappropriate
1. If there’s a chance your grandkids can get hold of your iPad, you might appreciate the capability to flag inappropriate content on YouTube. First you have to set a restriction in your YouTube account using your computer and then set a flag using the iPad YouTube app, which causes a passcode to be required in order to access that content. With a video open in the YouTube application in the smaller view, tap in the black area near the top of the screen to display tools, as shown in Figure 13-14.
2. Tap the Flag option.
3. Tap the Flag As Inappropriate button that appears.
Figure 13-14
Rate Videos
1. Display a video you want to rate in the small view.
2. Tap the Like or Dislike button (refer to Figure 13-14).
3. You’re asked to sign in to your YouTube account. After you sign in, your Like or Dislike rating is accepted.
You can view the highest-rated videos on YouTube by tapping the Top Rated button at the bottom of the screen.
Share Videos
1. Display a video you want to share in the small view.
2. Tap the Share button (refer to Figure 13-14). Tap either Mail Link to this Video or Tweet.
3. In the e-mail form shown in Figure 13-15, enter a recipient in the To field and add to the message, if you like. If you chose to post a tweet, enter your message in the Tweet form.
Figure 13-15
4. Tap the Send button to send a link to the video or post your tweet.
Add to Video Favorites
1. Display a video you want to add to Favorites in the small view.
2. Tap the Add button (refer to Figure 13-14).
3. On the menu that appears, tap Favorites.
4. To view your favorite movies, tap the Favorites button at the bottom of the YouTube screen. Your favorite videos are displayed.
To delete a favorite while on the Favorites screen, tap the Edit button. Delete buttons appear on each movie. Tap the movie-specific Delete button to remove that movie. Tap the Done button to leave Editing mode.