Everyone's got some video to work with—whether it's home videos or videos of your puppy growing up, so many of us take videos only to never watch them again. If you learn how to edit videos in iMovie, however, you can create a snappy Instagram clip or maybe even a short film. All you need are the right tools and this guide filled with iMovie tutorials for beginners.
Check out this informative video tutorial from Apple on how to trim edits between video clips in iMovie '09. ILife '09, the software suite from Apple, is the easiest way to organize, view and publish digital content, like pictures, movies, music, and webpages.iPhoto makes managing your photos as easy as taking them. IMovie lets you edit and organize your home videos with ease. And because the iMovie app is available for iPhone, iPad and Mac you can continue to edit your clips on any of those devices. Once you continue past the first screen you'll see your Projects screen. Add Video Clips for Splitting In the welcome window, choose Create project in full feature mode. To import a video, click Add Media Files and choose your desired file in the pop-up browser. When your video appears on the timeline, move the playhead to the desired position and click the Scissor button. Using this method extends or shortens a clip in intervals of one-tenth of a second. In the Project browser, move the pointer over a video clip, and then choose Clip Trimmer from the Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear) that appears in the lower-left corner of the clip. The Clip Trimmer appears, with the selected clip outlined in yellow.
The tool that is going to be your new best friend is iMovie. This amazing editing software helps people cut video clips into one cohesive project and comes free with any Mac. With this short tutorial, you can learn how to cut videos in iMovie and become a proficient editor.
If you're in need of some video clips to practice with, then download video clips from Storyblocks Video.
What is iMovie?
iMovie is what the pros like to call a nonlinear editor. This is a type of software that you can use to cut and edit videos, music, and graphics without changing any of the original files. They're powerful tools for filmmakers and are used to edit almost all of today's Hollywood films. Professional-grade editors like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut cost a fortune and because iMovie is free, it's a great place for beginners to start. The biggest drawback is that it only works with Apple products—sorry PC users.
Like many other Apple products, iMovie is designed to be very intuitive, keeping the average user in mind. Not everyone is a professional editor with years of experience under their belt, and the developers of iMovie know that. This doesn't mean it isn't an effective tool. You can still create jaw-dropping projects in iMovie—all it takes is a little practice. Get started learning how to cut video in iMovie with some of the basics below.
Importing Footage into iMovie
Before you learn how to use iMovie, you have to get your individual clips into the program. This process is called Importing, and it is the easiest part of editing. Once you've created a new project, all you have to do is click the import button or press ⌘ + I. Then select the video and audio clips you want to edit and click Import Selected. This visual demonstration will help get you on the right track.
Step 1: Create a New Project and Select Movie
Step 2: Click on the Import button or Press ⌘ + I
Step 3: Select Your Footage and Audio and Press Import Selected
Now your files are imported into iMovie and are ready for editing!
Cutting Video Clips and Editing Your Project in iMovie
Now you get to turn all of your individual clips into something special. This is the fun part, but there's a lot you can do in the editing stage so it may be overwhelming at first. The editing process is where you cut and trim video clips and add any music and titles. It doesn't sound like much, but once you've mastered these three things, you'll be able to do a lot in post-production.
Step 1: Drag a Clip into the Timeline
Step 2: Adjust and Trim Video Clips by Dragging the Edges
Step 3: Repeat with Other Clips
Step 4: Add Audio by Dragging an Audio Clip Underneath the Video in the Timeline
Step 5: Add Titles by Going to the Titles Tab
Step 6: Drag a Title Template into the Timeline above the Video
Join Our Creative Community
Access the best video tips, design hacks, and deals straight to your inbox.
Exporting Your Video
Now it's time to share your masterpiece with the world! In order to do this, you have to export your finished project. Exporting simply compresses your project into one video file, and iMovie does a great job of doing all the hard work for you. All you have to do is choose the platform you want to upload your video to (like YouTube or Facebook), and iMovie will export and publish it for you. You don't have to worry about all of the complicated settings that look like hieroglyphics.
Step 1: Press the Export Button
Step 2: Select Your Desired Platform
Step 3: Click Next and then Publish
How To Cut In Imovie
Now that you know how to use iMovie, keep editing and you'll be a video editing pro in no time!
To have finer control over how one video clip flows into the next, you can use the Precision Editor.
The Precision Editor is an editing tool that allows you to modify the point at which one clip transitions into the next, trimming or extending frames at the end of one clip and at the beginning of the next clip in the same magnified view. In the Precision Editor, you can see both clips on either side of a transition, and you can see and work with the unused frames from both clips. As you make changes, you can instantly watch to see how your edits affect the transition from one clip to the next.
The Precision Editor also lets you reposition and trim other project elements, including transitions you've added between clips, audio and sound effects, titles, chapter and comment markers, cutaways, picture-in-picture clips, side-by-side (split screen) clips, and green-screen and blue-screen clips, all in the same magnified view.
Cut A Clip In Imovie
To edit the transition point between two clips:
In the Project browser, move the pointer over a clip, and then choose Precision Editor from the blue Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear) that appears.
Or, double-click the gap between two clips with no transition between them.
The Precision Editor opens. In the bottom portion, it shows the clip you started from (A, below), and in the top portion it shows the clip before it (B, below). Or it shows the clips on either side of the gap you clicked.
The transition point between the two clips is represented by a vertical blue line (C, below). The non-shaded frames on either side of the line are the video that plays before and after the transition point (A and B, below). The shaded frames are video that you didn't use in your project (D, below).
To change where the transition point is, do any of the following:
Change the frame before the transition point: Move your pointer over the clip in the top portion of the Precision Editor, on either side of the vertical blue line. The viewer plays the video as your pointer moves. Click when you see the frame where you want the transition to start. The clip in the Precision Editor shifts so that the frame you clicked is at the 'cut point' where one clip ends and the next begins. This action either extends or shortens the clip, depending on where you set the new cut point.
You can also drag the clip, stopping when the viewer shows the frame you want at the cut point.
Change the frame after the transition point: Move your pointer over the clip in the bottom portion of the Precision Editor, on either side of the vertical blue line. The viewer plays the video as your pointer moves. Click when you see the frame you want after the transition. The clip in the Precision Editor shifts so that the frame you clicked is at the 'cut point' where one clip ends and the next begins. This action either extends or shortens the clip, depending on where you set the new cut point.
You can also drag the clip, stopping when the viewer shows the frame you want at the cut point.
Reposition the transition point between the two clips: Drag the transition point handle (the blue dot on the vertical blue line) to the left or right. This action trims frames from a clip on one side of the transition while extending the clip on the other side. The total duration of your project stays the same.
As you reposition a transition point, the viewer shows the endpoint of the clip before the transition. To make the viewer show the startpoint of the clip following the transition instead, hold down the Option key as you drag the transition point handle.
To preview your work at any time, move the pointer over the horizontal gray divider between the upper and lower clips. The playhead (the red vertical line) should be to the left of the blue transition line.
Skim the transition by moving the pointer along the divider; play it by pressing the Space bar. Press the Space bar again to stop playing it.
You can also skim any element in the Precision Editor, such as the unused portion of a clip, by moving the pointer over it.
Click Done in the upper-right corner of the Precision Editor.
To edit a transition between two clips:
Editing or repositioning a transition trims frames from one clip while extending the other. How to merge imovie clips.
In the Project browser, move the pointer over a transition icon, and then choose Precision Editor from the Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear) that appears below it.
The Precision Editor opens. The top portion shows the clip before the transition, and the bottom portion shows the clip after it.
The transition itself, represented by a horizontal blue bar, appears between the two vertical blue lines.
Do one of the following:
Extend or shorten the transition: Position your pointer over either end of the horizontal blue bar, shown below, and drag right or left.
If you can't extend a transition, it means there aren't any unused video frames available on the end of the clip you're working with.
Reposition the transition without changing its length: Position the pointer over the blue bar until it turns into a hand, and then drag right or left. You can also simply drag the video clip before or after the transition to change where it starts and ends.
To preview your work at any time, move the pointer over the horizontal gray divider between the upper and lower clips. The playhead (the red vertical line) should be to the left of the transition.
Skim the transition by moving the pointer along the divider; play it by pressing the Space bar. Press the Space bar again to stop playing it.
You can also skim any element in the Precision Editor, such as the unused portion of a clip, by moving the pointer over it.
Click Done in the upper-right corner of the Precision Editor.
To edit other project elements using the Precision Editor:
With the Precision Editor open, click the Extras button at the top.
Colored bars appear above and below the clips to represent the sound effects, titles, chapter and comment markers, cutaways, picture-in-picture clips, and blue- and green-screen clips you've added to your project.
Drag any element from the center to reposition it, or drag either end to shorten or lengthen it (you can't change the length of some elements).
Now your files are imported into iMovie and are ready for editing!
Cutting Video Clips and Editing Your Project in iMovie
Now you get to turn all of your individual clips into something special. This is the fun part, but there's a lot you can do in the editing stage so it may be overwhelming at first. The editing process is where you cut and trim video clips and add any music and titles. It doesn't sound like much, but once you've mastered these three things, you'll be able to do a lot in post-production.
Step 1: Drag a Clip into the Timeline
Step 2: Adjust and Trim Video Clips by Dragging the Edges
Step 3: Repeat with Other Clips
Step 4: Add Audio by Dragging an Audio Clip Underneath the Video in the Timeline
Step 5: Add Titles by Going to the Titles Tab
Step 6: Drag a Title Template into the Timeline above the Video
Join Our Creative Community
Access the best video tips, design hacks, and deals straight to your inbox.
Exporting Your Video
Now it's time to share your masterpiece with the world! In order to do this, you have to export your finished project. Exporting simply compresses your project into one video file, and iMovie does a great job of doing all the hard work for you. All you have to do is choose the platform you want to upload your video to (like YouTube or Facebook), and iMovie will export and publish it for you. You don't have to worry about all of the complicated settings that look like hieroglyphics.
Step 1: Press the Export Button
Step 2: Select Your Desired Platform
Step 3: Click Next and then Publish
How To Cut In Imovie
Now that you know how to use iMovie, keep editing and you'll be a video editing pro in no time!
To have finer control over how one video clip flows into the next, you can use the Precision Editor.
The Precision Editor is an editing tool that allows you to modify the point at which one clip transitions into the next, trimming or extending frames at the end of one clip and at the beginning of the next clip in the same magnified view. In the Precision Editor, you can see both clips on either side of a transition, and you can see and work with the unused frames from both clips. As you make changes, you can instantly watch to see how your edits affect the transition from one clip to the next.
The Precision Editor also lets you reposition and trim other project elements, including transitions you've added between clips, audio and sound effects, titles, chapter and comment markers, cutaways, picture-in-picture clips, side-by-side (split screen) clips, and green-screen and blue-screen clips, all in the same magnified view.
Cut A Clip In Imovie
To edit the transition point between two clips:
In the Project browser, move the pointer over a clip, and then choose Precision Editor from the blue Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear) that appears.
Or, double-click the gap between two clips with no transition between them.
The Precision Editor opens. In the bottom portion, it shows the clip you started from (A, below), and in the top portion it shows the clip before it (B, below). Or it shows the clips on either side of the gap you clicked.
The transition point between the two clips is represented by a vertical blue line (C, below). The non-shaded frames on either side of the line are the video that plays before and after the transition point (A and B, below). The shaded frames are video that you didn't use in your project (D, below).
To change where the transition point is, do any of the following:
Change the frame before the transition point: Move your pointer over the clip in the top portion of the Precision Editor, on either side of the vertical blue line. The viewer plays the video as your pointer moves. Click when you see the frame where you want the transition to start. The clip in the Precision Editor shifts so that the frame you clicked is at the 'cut point' where one clip ends and the next begins. This action either extends or shortens the clip, depending on where you set the new cut point.
You can also drag the clip, stopping when the viewer shows the frame you want at the cut point.
Change the frame after the transition point: Move your pointer over the clip in the bottom portion of the Precision Editor, on either side of the vertical blue line. The viewer plays the video as your pointer moves. Click when you see the frame you want after the transition. The clip in the Precision Editor shifts so that the frame you clicked is at the 'cut point' where one clip ends and the next begins. This action either extends or shortens the clip, depending on where you set the new cut point.
You can also drag the clip, stopping when the viewer shows the frame you want at the cut point.
Reposition the transition point between the two clips: Drag the transition point handle (the blue dot on the vertical blue line) to the left or right. This action trims frames from a clip on one side of the transition while extending the clip on the other side. The total duration of your project stays the same.
As you reposition a transition point, the viewer shows the endpoint of the clip before the transition. To make the viewer show the startpoint of the clip following the transition instead, hold down the Option key as you drag the transition point handle.
To preview your work at any time, move the pointer over the horizontal gray divider between the upper and lower clips. The playhead (the red vertical line) should be to the left of the blue transition line.
Skim the transition by moving the pointer along the divider; play it by pressing the Space bar. Press the Space bar again to stop playing it.
You can also skim any element in the Precision Editor, such as the unused portion of a clip, by moving the pointer over it.
Click Done in the upper-right corner of the Precision Editor.
To edit a transition between two clips:
Editing or repositioning a transition trims frames from one clip while extending the other. How to merge imovie clips.
In the Project browser, move the pointer over a transition icon, and then choose Precision Editor from the Action pop-up menu (looks like a gear) that appears below it.
The Precision Editor opens. The top portion shows the clip before the transition, and the bottom portion shows the clip after it.
The transition itself, represented by a horizontal blue bar, appears between the two vertical blue lines.
Do one of the following:
Extend or shorten the transition: Position your pointer over either end of the horizontal blue bar, shown below, and drag right or left.
If you can't extend a transition, it means there aren't any unused video frames available on the end of the clip you're working with.
Reposition the transition without changing its length: Position the pointer over the blue bar until it turns into a hand, and then drag right or left. You can also simply drag the video clip before or after the transition to change where it starts and ends.
To preview your work at any time, move the pointer over the horizontal gray divider between the upper and lower clips. The playhead (the red vertical line) should be to the left of the transition.
Skim the transition by moving the pointer along the divider; play it by pressing the Space bar. Press the Space bar again to stop playing it.
You can also skim any element in the Precision Editor, such as the unused portion of a clip, by moving the pointer over it.
Click Done in the upper-right corner of the Precision Editor.
To edit other project elements using the Precision Editor:
With the Precision Editor open, click the Extras button at the top.
Colored bars appear above and below the clips to represent the sound effects, titles, chapter and comment markers, cutaways, picture-in-picture clips, and blue- and green-screen clips you've added to your project.
Drag any element from the center to reposition it, or drag either end to shorten or lengthen it (you can't change the length of some elements).
You can also use the Precision Editor to extend the audio from one clip so that it overlaps the next clip.
