Gauging Disk Space
There is one indisputable fact about working with DV: The files are huge. Because every second of DV requires megabytes of storage, your iMovie projects will consume enormous amounts of disk space. Because disk space is such an important item to manage when you are creating your movie, iMovie displays a disk gauge in the lower center of the iMovie window (see Figure 3.7).
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Figure 3.7 The disk gauge works like the gas gauge in your car, except in reverse; in iMovie, a full gauge is not good.
The amount of free space shown is the amount of space on the disk on which your iMovie project is stored. You should always have at least 500MB free to be able to create even a few minutes of DV movie. The indicator bar shows you how much of the free space you are currently using. It also changes color to show you the status of your disk space. If it is green, you are in good shape (more than 400MB of space is available). When it turns yellow, you need to keep a close eye on your disk space. When it turns red, you are about to run out of space.
Which Disk, You Ask?
The disk gauge shows you the free space on the drive on which you have stored your iMovie project.