Thread: Total n00b at Adobe Premiere Pro & iMovie...HELP!!!

Okay, so I've been editing video for about six years now. I used to use Windows Movie Maker (I know what you're thinking, but if you didn't use the transitions and are good at editing, you could make something good) and Sony Vegas. I've done a variety of different kinds of shorts and videos. Movie/TV music videos and fan trailers were what I started out doing and six years later I'm quite good at them. Recently, I switched over to the top notch i7 27'' iMac with pretty much all the top specs across the board. I now have iMovie and Adobe Premiere Pro. I very much want to edit video with this machine as I hear it is just a breeze when you get used to it.

Yet, after looking through both pieces of software, I realize that I am a total n00b again and am going to need some serious help getting into the swing of things. I know this may not be the best place to ask...I'm just not sure where to look. I did some Googling and this is one of the first forums that popped up, so I joined and here I am.

I've got two 4.5 GB files of 1080p HD video in .m4v form (compressed blu-ray rips of Iron Man and Iron Man 2, to be exact). I'd like to import those two movies in either of the two programs I've mentioned to create a music video. When I try to in iMovie (I figured I'd start there), it tells me that it's going to be 8 hours before one movie is done "optimizing" and I can begin editing. And Premiere Pro looks too complicated to just jump in. Can somebody please help me? I haven't edited in a while and it's starting to get me down.

Link me someplace? Just shoot of in this thread here? Somebody please help. Thanks a ton in advance.

I am not an expert at Premiere, but have used it. Here is my, very limited advice:
a) Unlike alot of software, Adobe maintain a very good online help system. Perhaps Adobe Support
b) YouTube is packed with a collection of helpful and unhelpful videos. I tend to think that if a video tutorial lasts more than 3 mins, it is likely to be rubbish.
c) Some members of forums.creativecow.net produce 'tutorial' videos.
d) The Adobe GUI may look intimidating. I advise making a list of the terms it uses to describe the bits and pieces (e.g. Project, Sequence. Clip).
e) Get a sense of what all the different Windows offer; and consider which are the most useful (e.g. Project, Effects, Timeline, Effects Controls).
e) Premiere should be able to do anything that Movie Maker can do.

(Before doing this, you may wish to check, but I am not sure you are allowed to rip off those particular videos and use them for music videos.)

Imovie is like flying a Kite
Premier Pro is a space shuttle

No you won't be able to dive right in and use it but it's an exceptionally powerful editor, It can easily handle any task you throw at it.

Which bundle of Adobe software did you purchase? Production Premium?

I bought the CS6 Master Collection. I am a student in college so the software was significantly cheaper than it would have been otherwise. I've heard nothing but great things about the software...I'm normally a quick learner and didn't realize I wouldn't get the hang of things very quickly.

To Tim Andrews, I realize the works I mentioned are copywrited...these particular music videos I like to make are not meant to be money-makers or anything like that. They are simply a passtime for me; a hobby.

Adobe TV has a great selection of video tutorials. They cover just about everything under the sun!

Google Adobe TV CS6 tutorials.