Chapter 5: Fun with Photo Booth and Front Row

In This Chapter

Using Photo Booth to take photos

Capturing video with iMovie

Working with the Apple Remote

Using Front Row

Many Apple switchers and first-time owners quickly notice the unusual feature that accompanies the latest iMacs and MacBooks: a tiny square lens and LED light at the top of the Mac screen. That square is the lens of your Mac’s built-in iSight camera, which allows video chatting in iChat or a quick, fun series of photos or video clips via Snow Leopard’s Photo Booth and iMovie applications — you can even take your user account photo with your iSight camera (in the System Preferences window)!

Ah, but there’s more — you can also buy an Apple Remote, which appears to be a stick of chewing gum with buttons (or an old-style iPod Shuffle). You can use an Apple Remote to control your Mac from the comfort of your lounge chair or breakfast nook via Snow Leopard’s Front Row software. What’s that you say? Your last computer didn’t have a remote control? You’ve never used a computer video camera? Well then, good reader, you’ve come to the right place!

In this chapter, I show you how to use your Mac’s remote to dazzle your friends and family with all sorts of digital media; then, I demonstrate how easy it is to produce photos and video with your iSight camera. Sassy!

Capturing the Moment with iSight and Photo Booth

Does your MacBook or iMac have that tiny lens at the top of the screen? Then you’re in business with your built-in iSight camera . . . pat yourself on the back and do the Technology dance.

If you’re using a Mac mini or Mac Pro, you’re not stuck out in the cold! You can still add your own iSight external camera or use a FireWire DV camcorder for your Photo Booth input. (Many external USB and FireWire Web cameras support Mac OS X as well.) Snow Leopard automatically recognizes any supported external video camera.

Figure 5-1 illustrates a typical MacBook iSight camera. With iChat, you can videoconference in style — you’ll find everything you need to join the ranks of the iChat elite in Book V, Chapter 3. Photo Booth allows you to snap digital pictures just as you did in the old automatic photo booth at your local arcade, but Photo Book comes complete with visual effects to add pizzazz and punch to your photos.

The iSight camera’s indicator light glows green whenever you’re taking a snapshot or recording video . . . which, when you think about it, is A Good Thing (especially if you prefer chatting at home in Leisure Mode).

Need to quickly get a picture of yourself for use on your Web page? Or perhaps your iChat icon needs an update to show off your new haircut? Photo Booth can capture images at 640 x 480 resolution and 32-bit color — and although today’s digital cameras produce a much higher-quality photo, you can’t beat the built-in convenience of Photo Booth for that quick snapshot! To snap an image in Photo Booth, follow these steps:

1. Launch Photo Booth from the Applications folder.

Figure 5-2 illustrates the application window that appears. (Ignore the rather silly gentleman who wandered into the frame. I doubt he’ll be in your Photo Booth window!)

2. (Optional) Click the Effects button to choose an effect you’d like to apply to your image.

Photo Booth displays a screen of thumbnail preview images so that you can see how each effect changes the photo. You can produce some of the simple effects you may be familiar with from Photoshop, such as a black-and-white image or a fancy color-pencil filter . . . but it can also deliver some mind-blowing distortion effects, and even an Andy Warhol–style pop-art image!

To return the display to normal without choosing an effect, click the Normal thumbnail, which appears in the center. (Paul Lynde’s spot, for those of you old enough to remember “Hollywood Squares.”)

Of course, you can always launch your favorite image editor afterward to use a filter or effect on a photo — for example, the effects available in iPhoto. Photo Booth can apply these effects automatically as soon as you take the picture.

3. (Optional) Click a thumbnail to select the desired effect.

When you choose an effect, Photo Booth automatically closes the Effects display.

4. Click the Camera button.

You’ll notice that the image appears in the film strip at the bottom of the window. Photo Booth keeps a copy of all the images you take in the film strip so that you can use them later. After you click a photo in the filmstrip, a series of buttons appears, including

♦ Sending the photo in an e-mail message

♦ Saving the photo directly to iPhoto

♦ Using the image as your Snow Leopard user account icon

♦ Using the image as your iChat Buddy icon

To delete an image from the Photo Booth filmstrip, click the offending photo and then click the X button that appears underneath.

Producing Video on the Spot with iMovie

“Mark, am I limited to capturing still images with my Mac’s camera?” Oh, pshaw on limitations . . . you’re a Mac owner, after all! You can also use your iSight camera to snag video clips (complete with audio) in iMovie.

You don’t need an expensive digital camcorder to produce video clips for use in iMovie! Your Mac’s camera can capture those clips for you — think of the party possibilities! (Or the opportunity for practical jokes. But then again, you’re not that kind of person, now, are you?) To capture video directly from your iSight camera into iMovie, follow these steps:

1. Launch iMovie from the Dock or from the Applications folder.

2. Click the Open Camera Import Window button to switch to Import Video mode.

In case you haven’t used it yet, the button is located at the far left of the toolbar running down the center of the iMovie window, and it sports a camera icon.

3. Click the Camera pop-up menu at the bottom of the Import window and click Built-in iSight.

4. When you’re ready to start recording video, click the Capture button.

iMovie displays a sheet allowing you to select the location for the movie clip (including the approximate amount of time you can record). You can also choose to add the video to an existing iMovie Event or a brand-new Event. To help keep things steady in your clip, click the Analyze for Stabilization after Import check box to enable it — but note that the stabilization process will significantly add to the time it takes for iMovie to save your clip to disk.

5. When you’re ready to start recording video, click the Capture button.

iMovie automatically displays the incoming video in the monitor window while it’s recorded. (As you might expect, the goofy behavior on the part of the distinguished cast usually starts at about this moment.)

6. Click the Stop button to stop recording.

After you’ve ended the recording, iMovie creates the video clip and adds it to your Clips pane.

I go into much more detail on iMovie in Chapter 4 of Book III, but that’s the gist of recording video clips.

Controlling Your Mac Remotely with Front Row

Okay, you’ve seen some neat stuff so far, but things get really cool about now! With Apple’s Front Row software, you can turn your Mac into a multimedia presentation center that can show off all your digital media to your adoring public (and friends and family to boot). In fact, with the Apple Remote, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of the couch to start the show.

The Front Row application performs four different functions:

♦ Watching DVD movies with DVD Player: If you already loaded a DVD into your optical drive, you can watch it. (Sorry, your Mac doesn’t load the DVD for you. I guess some things have to remain manually driven for a few years yet.)

♦ Viewing photos and slide shows: Front Row calls upon iPhoto so that you can see your albums, film rolls, and slideshows.

♦ Displaying TV shows, movies, videos, and movie trailers: You can choose any video you download from the iTunes Music Store or save to your Movies folder. If your Mac has a high-speed broadband connection to the Internet, you can also watch movie trailers straight from the Apple Web site.

♦ Coaxing your favorite music and podcasts from your iTunes library: Find your songs and playlists available from Front Row.

All this is accomplished with the awesome infrared Apple Remote you see in Figure 5-3. It’s as simple to use as an iPod Shuffle!

To launch the application, press the Menu button on the remote. As long as your Mac is on, Front Row runs automatically. To put your laptop to sleep after a night of fun, press and hold the Select/play/pause button.

Table 5-1 includes the important functions of the Apple remote in Front Row.

You can also go the mundane route and use keyboard shortcuts to control Front Row. (But it’s nowhere near as cool.) Table 5-2 explains the keyboard shortcuts.

Your Apple remote is supported by only a handful of applications at the time of this writing — for example, you can’t use it as a presentation aide in PowerPoint or as a playback controller in GarageBand. However, it’s a sure bet that Apple will continue to add functionality to the Apple remote in the future, so check the Apple remote section of Snow Leopard’s online help system to keep tabs on what’s happening!