Crippling change in iPhoto causes consternation

Mr. Curmudgeon

This blog merits a Mr. Curmudgeon heading because I am angry at Apple for changing a function in iPhoto for the worse.

I have the occasion to make slide shows from time to time using iPhoto. Why? It’s simply because iPhoto does it better, sharper, cleaner and faster than any other software. Final Cut Pro, and iMovie won’t produce the high resolution files that I need, and I don’t know of any other software that will do what I need.

iPhoto export to QuickTime

The QuickTime tab at the top of the Export palette in iPhoto was a convenient and powerful tool. It’s gone now.

One example of this is that I want to take a bitmap image (JPEG, Photoshop, PNG, etc.) and convert it into a QuickTime movie of a specific resolution and of a certain duration. This used to be simple. I would import the bitmap image into iPhoto, then Export that image (or a group of images) to a QuickTime movie of a specific resolution and with a precise duration. It took seconds. And, QuickTime seems to be able to make a movie of any resolution (there may be a limit, but I have never discovered it).

Four times each year I prepare high-resolution image shows (I will refrain from calling them “slideshows”) for an event called Pecha Kucha. These shows consist of 20 images arranged in order, and exported to QuickTime at a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels and at an interval of 20 seconds each. They must be exactly six minutes and 40 seconds in duration, finished. I choose this resolution because it is the maximum native resolution that can be projected by the fabulous Epson projector that we use. These shows are simply stunning in quality. Bright, clear images that gently dissolve from one frame to the next

iPhoto Export menu new

In the new iPhoto menu there is only a Slideshow menu. This has been enhanced, but the process is convoluted and confusing. It’s also much slower than it used to be.

The only weakness of this method is that the only transition possible is the dissolve. But, I like that, and can easily live with that.

I have been teaching time-lapse photography to my students for over a year, and we use this technique to create title and credits sequences to paste at the front and back of the student time-lapse projects, and it has worked perfectly.

That was until last week when my students went to iPhoto to make these little movie clips only to discover that Apple took the QuickTime feature out of the Export menu, making it about 12.23 times more difficult to make a QuickTime movie from a still frame in iPhoto. It’s still possible, but it’s harder, and it takes a boat load of steps to get it done where it used to be one step. And, it’s about 17.23 times slower now – I don’t know why.

It is now necessary to enter the Slideshow mode, then click on the gear (settings) that is in the control badge. Once in that palette, one must set (or reset) the controls for the style of the slideshow (it wants to default to the Ken Burns effect), the sound settings, and the duration and transition effects.

iPhoto Slideshow panel

This is the first of three panels where changes must be made to the Slideshow settings in iPhoto. Here I enter the duration of the image in the final movie – 5.0 seconds, and here I turn everything else off except the Transition. Here it is set to Dissolve.

I like the ability to define a different transition than dissolve – which used to be the only choice – so this story is not all curmudgeonly. Apple gets some style points for this change.

iPhoto slide show music pane

In the music panel I turn off the Play music during slideshow setting so it doesn’t insert Bach’s Air on a G String into my title sequence.

Once you have made the changes to the Slideshow settings, you select your image – and there can be only one image in the Album – and choose Export from the File menu. If you have more that one image in the Album, even if not selected, all images will be exported into the movie you make. As a result of this dumb change, I am now forced to make a separate Album for each individual image I want to export. That’s not a big deal, but it’s not like it used to be.

iPhoto slideshow style pane

As charmed as I am by Ken Burns, I don’t like the effect for my simple movies. I use the Classic setting, which means: leave it alone.

In the Export palette you choose Slideshow, then you uncheck the checkbox that automatically exports your work to iTunes, and then you click on the Custom Export button at the bottom.

Custome Export menu

After changing the Slideshow settings, I choose Export, then click on the Slideshow tab, and choose Custom Export. I also turn off the default Automatically send slideshow to iTunes setting.

In the Custom Export palette, you choose a new name for your movie, and choose Custom Settings, which takes you to the QuickTime palette. Here you uncheck the Sound checkbox (unless you want sound, which forces you to go back a few steps and include sound in your Slideshow settings), and you uncheck the Internet streaming checkbox (unless there is a reason you want that).

iPhoto QuickTime Options

The next palette that comes up is this one, where you add a title for your movie, and you can select the Options for exporting to QuickTime – which are critical to success.

In the Video settings, you can choose from a huge list of standard codecs for various types of output. Mine is a custom size, so I choose the Size button, and then pull-down from the next palette to Custom and enter my custom dimensions. Once that’s done I click OK, and OK, and Save, and then I go make a cup of tea because it takes so long. Making a five-second title sequence took about six minutes this morning, which is about 50 times longer (really) than it used to take. Again, I don’t understand why except that I can see that they are using Compressor to make the movie, where I don’t think that was the case in the previous version.

QuickTime Movie settings

In the Movie settings, I uncheck the Sound and Prepare for Internet Streaming checkboxes, and I set the size of my movie to a custom dimension that matches the original images (or the projector). Once I have done that, I click OK, and then Save the movie to QuickTime.

In the end, the results are gorgeous, so I shouldn’t be complaining so loudly.

But I hate change when it makes my life more difficult, or when it doesn’t make sense to me. This makes no sense to me.

Why did they make it so hard when it used to be so easy?

 

About Brian Lawler

Brian Lawler is an Emeritus Professor of Graphic Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and was a Guest Professor at Hochschule München from September, 2021 to September, 2022. He writes about graphic arts processes and technologies for various industry publications, and on his blog, The Blognosticator.
This entry was posted in Curmudgeon, Mistakes you can avoid, Software and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

8 Responses to Crippling change in iPhoto causes consternation

  1. Don Smith says:

    They really messed up iPhoto taking the export to Quicktime out. iPhoto used to make the smallest size slideshow ever . I really wish they would put that feature back. I wrote and complained on Apples web-site and if enough people did that maybe they would put that feature back in. I am starting to feel like Apple only cares about phones now instead of computers and software

  2. Lisa Tassitino says:

    I don’t even have the custom export button. I have no idea how to get it to quick time. 🙁

  3. Marie Hanlon says:

    Hi Brian

    I have just discovered your blog and have scanned through it with much interest.
    Will go back and read in detail, but wonder if you have any advice relating to timing issues. You use a single time span for each of your 20 images, my project had almost 60 images with variable timings ( 5 – 8 seconds approx) The project was done in collaboration with a composer so precise timing really mattered. When we attempted a second export with a new version of the soundtrack all the selected timings reverted to a uniform 5 seconds….it was infuriating, especially as it had taken so long to do in the first place. This may not be a problem you have encountered but if you have any suggestions I’d be most grateful.

    Marie Hanlon

    • Brian Lawler says:

      Hello Marie,

      Apologies for my delay in responding. I have been researching this, and I think the best recommendation is for you to use Keynote. It has the ability to assign screen duration to each “slide” and that would allow you to make a timed show with your images.

      Even when iPhoto worked, the frame dissolve rate had to be constant.

      Also, please look at Boinx Software’s FotoMagico 4.0, which is VERY cool for making slide shows. I don’t know if it allows for individual pages to be timed differently, but it has many wonderful features that may solve your problem.

      Brian Lawler

  4. Don Smith says:

    HERE IS HOW TO GET YOUR EXPORT TO QUICKTIME BACK
    You will need the plugin from an earlier version of iPhoto and you find that in – iPhoto app / package contents / content / plugins and copy the “QTExporter.iPhotoExporter” folder and save it where you can find it.
    O.K. now that you have that go to iPhoto app / show package contents / content / plugins and place your QTExporter in there and it will probably ask you to authenticate do that and open iPhoto and you are in business. I couldn’t believe it was this simple. YEAH! note: I will add that I have Quicktime pro 7 installed and I only say that incase it doesn’t work for you.
    Enjoy

    • Brian Lawler says:

      Dear Don,

      Thank you for your suggestion for “fixing” iPhoto…

      I tried your suggested technique, and it didn’t work, alas.

      And, now, with the new Photos application, the entire thing is gone.

      Oh hell! Oh, well.

      I have been learning how to make slide shows in Photoshop and in Lightroom. Don’t know which one I prefer to replace my old easy way.

      Best wishes,

      Brian P. Lawler

  5. Don Smith says:

    Update to previous post
    HERE IS HOW TO GET YOUR EXPORT TO QUICKTIME BACK
    You will need the plugin from an earlier version of iPhoto and you find that in – iPhoto app / package contents / content / plugins and copy the “QTExporter.iPhotoExporter” folder and save it where you can find it.
    O.K. now that you have that go to iPhoto app / show package contents / content / plugins and place your QTExporter in there and it will probably ask you to authenticate do that and open iPhoto and you are in business. I couldn’t believe it was this simple. YEAH! note: I will add that I have Quicktime pro 7 installed and I only say that incase it doesn’t work for you. This was absolutely the best feature of iPhoto and I am glad to have it back. Please let me know if this works for you.
    Enjoy

    • Brian Lawler says:

      Hi Don,

      I found the plug-in on an older machine I own, and I copied it to the new machine with the new iPhoto. I installed it in the same location in the new iPhoto, and it does not appear to work.

      I love the idea that I could have the old export back.

      But, I haven’t had the success you have had.

      Any suggestions? Do I need to remove the new export module first?

      Brian Lawler

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