Hey there, Sparky.....
I may be able to help out a bit, if you haven't already sorted things out. All you need is a cable to connect your camera to your mac, then, I believe, you should utilize iMovie, (which you should have already), to capture/import your video. From within iMovie, your camera will probably be recognized automatically once it is turned on. You can even control your camera's operations from within iMovie's control, i.e.: play, fastforward, rewind, etc.... Once it's connected, and turned on, you no longer should need to do anything from the camera. The cable you mention, the "IEEE 1394", is synonymous with "firewire". About that necessary cable, you are correct, on the camera end it should be a mini (4-pin) (firewire 400) connector. On the computer end, (if your "MPB" is a Powerbook), you need a firewire 400 (6-pin) connector. If by chance, I am misinterpreting your mac's abbreviation, "MPB", and you have a Macbook Pro, I believe, you would have no firewire 400 port, but a firewire 800 (9-pin) port only (Powerbook has one of these too) for which you would then need the same cable mentioned above, but also a 6-pin to 9-pin adapter...or...a different cable...a firewire 400 mini (4-pin) to a firewire 800 (9-pin) cable. Check out these links for descriptions:
Belkin 4-Pin to 6-Pin FireWire Cable (6 Ft./1.83 m) - Apple Store (U.S.),
Belkin 9-Pin to 4-Pin Cable (FireWire 800/400), 6 Feet - Apple Store (U.S.),
Sonnet FireWire 800 to 400 Adapter $12.77 | 1-800-525-3888. I hope this helps! good luck!