Trim and accommodate videos and photos in iMovie

Fine-tune your movie by changing the length of clips, changing the sequence of clips, and splitting clips.

Trim and arrange clips on iPhone or iPad

Trim clips

You can trim a video clip or a photo and so it appears for a shorter or longer menstruum of time in your projection.

iPad iMovie project open with a video clip selected in the timeline

  1. With your project open up, tap the video clip or photo in the timeline. A xanthous highlight appears around the selected clip.
  2. To zoom in on the prune, compression open in the center of the timeline. When you zoom in, you can encounter more detail in the clip, which can make it easier to edit.
  3. Drag the beginning or end of the prune to make the clip shorter or longer:
    • To make the clip longer, drag the edge of the clip away from the center of the clip.
    • To make the clip shorter, drag the edge of the prune toward the heart of the clip.

If you can't drag the edge of the clip, there might not exist additional video at the beginning or end of that clip. For case, if yous added a video clip that'south twenty seconds long, you tin can't make it longer than 20 seconds. It might too mean the clip is at the shortest length allowed past iMovie, which is 0.3 seconds. If you lot all the same desire to change the elapsing of a clip, try irresolute the speed of the clip.

Accommodate clips

You can change the sequence of clips in the timeline to change when a item prune appears in your moving picture. With your project open, impact and hold the video clip or photo in the timeline until it rises off the timeline, then drag the clip to a different location in the timeline.

Carve up clips

When yous separate a clip, y'all can adjust the duration of each section, remove unwanted sections, or add together different titles to each section.

  1. Scroll in the timeline to position the playhead (the white line) where y'all want to split the clip.
  2. If necessary, pinch open in the eye of the timeline to zoom in on the clip.
  3. Tap the prune, tap the actions push button, and so tap Split up. Or tap the clip, so swipe downwardly over the playhead on the clip, every bit if you lot were slicing through the clip with your finger.

iMovie places a None transition (also known as a cutting) betwixt the two newly created clips. You lot can alter this transition to a cross-deliquesce or other transition.

Trim and conform clips on Mac

Trim clips

You can trim a video clip or a photograph so it appears for a shorter or longer catamenia of time in your movie.

Mac iMovie project open with a video clip selected in the timeline

  1. With your projection open, scroll the timeline to locate the clip you desire to trim.
  2. To zoom in on the clip, choose View > Zoom In, press the Command–Plus sign (+), or pinch the trackpad. When yous zoom in, you tin see more detail in the clip, which can brand it easier to edit.
  3. In the timeline, concur the pointer over the beginning or end of the clip that you lot want to trim until your pointer becomes the clip trim tool. The arrows indicate which directions you can trim the clip:
  • To brand the clip longer, drag the edge of the clip abroad from the centre of the prune.
  • To brand the clip shorter, elevate the edge of the clip toward the centre of the clip.

If you can't elevate the edge of the clip, it means at that place is no additional video at the beginning or terminate of that clip. For case, if yous added a video clip that'southward 20 seconds long, you can't make it longer than xx seconds. It might also mean the clip is at the shortest length immune by iMovie, which is 0.ane seconds. If you still want to change the duration of a clip, try changing the speed of the clip.

Add together or remove frames with the clip trimmer

For more than precise editing, you tin employ the clip trimmer to add or remove individual frames from a video clip. You tin also run into how much of your prune is being used in your movie.

  1. In the timeline, select the clip you desire to trim.
  2. Choose Window > Prove Clip Trimmer. The selected clip appears in the clip trimmer, above the timeline. The role of the clip that is visible in your pic appears between the 2 white lines, and the parts of your clip that don't announced in your motion picture are dimmed and outside the white lines.
  3. Hold the pointer over the line at the beginning or end of the clip until the prune trim tool appears, and then make the clip longer or shorter:
    • To make the clip longer by adding frames, drag away from the center of the clip.
    • To make the clip shorter by removing frames, elevate toward the heart of the prune.

You can use a different portion of the same prune while maintaining its length in the project:

  1. In the prune trimmer, hold the arrow over the clip until the clip trimmer tool appears.
  2. Drag the selected portion of the clip left or right.
  3. To shut the clip trimmer, press Render.

Arrange clips

Yous can change the sequence of clips in the timeline to alter when a detail clip appears in your movie. With your project open, click the video clip or photograph in the timeline, then drag the clip left or correct depending on where yous want the clip to appear in your movie:

  • If you want the clip to appear earlier, drag the video prune to the left, and so release.
  • If y'all desire the clip to announced later, drag the video clip to the correct, then release.

You tin can also movement multiple clips at once:

  1. Concord the Command fundamental equally you click each clip you want to select, drag a option rectangle around the clips, or concur the Shift key as y'all click each clip.
  2. Drag the clips to a new location in the timeline.

Dissever clips

When y'all split a prune, you can adapt the duration of each department, remove unwanted sections, or add different titles to each section.

  1. Roll in the timeline to position the playhead (the white line) where you want to split the clip.
  2. If necessary, choose View > Zoom In or printing Command–Plus sign (+) to zoom in on the clip.
  3. To split the clip, choose Alter > Carve up Clip or printing Command-B.

After you lot split the clip, add a transition like a cross-dissolve between the clips.

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