How I Learned To Master iMovie on My MacBook

One of the reasons why I wanted to ditch my Sony Vaio PC and “upgrade” to a Mac was because of the video editing capabilities. Windows Movie Maker is okay, but there are limits to what you can do with it. iMovie is standard with Mac products, and in my quest to make more videos, thought that improving their quality was the obvious next step. But when I got the MacBook and starting playing around with iMovie, I felt like I was in a foreign land. I didn’t get it at all, and it was a lot different than what I was used to with Windows Movie Maker.

So for months, I would open iMovie, tinker around with it, get frustrated, and then ultimately quit without creating one video. I didn’t have the patience or the courage to continue. My son had a MacBook and made it seem so easy to use, and tried to give me a few lessons. But then he would get aggravated with me for not catching on quickly and then I would give up.

Such is life…

But one night in December, I was adamant about editing a video I had just shot on my laptop. And I wasn’t going to save it and transfer it to my Vaio so I could edit it there. If it took all night, I was going to get it. Within 2 hours, my video was edited and complete.

Here’s how I did it:

• Get friendly with the UNDO button- When editing on iMovie, most versions have an UNDO button. It has become my best friend throughout the learning process. If I don’t like something I’ve done, or added something that doesn’t look good, I simply UNDO. Then continue.
• Video tuts on YouTube- Whenever I wanted to know how to do something—how to transition, add a title, a theme, etc., I would simply search for it on YT and voila, I had my answer. Googling and searching for your answers is a great way to learn iMovie.
• Use it, learn it- The more you use iMovie, the more you learn how to use it and what it can do. You also get familiar with how it works and how to edit the way you want. Me being afraid of it and not using it was actually holding me back from advancing. But once I let go and used it, I learned how to do most everything I needed to do.
• Keep it simple- One thing I don’t like is when I watch a video and there are too many bells and whistles keeping me from really enjoying the video. Sometimes less is more, so editing and keeping the video simple is not only a good aesthetically, but makes an impressive video.
• Developing my style- I notice that when I watch other videos online, a lot of people have a style. The way the edit and transition, add music, etc. Developing my style is a great way to master iMovie, because you are basically using the same features and items each time you edit the video. My style is what I like to call “simply fabulous”—I have a beginning (or opener), text or title, then the actual video with a few break-ins. And then credits and an outro. I pretty much do that with any edited video I produce.

Mastering iMovie isn’t as hard as it looks. I hope these few tips help you!

Have you mastered iMovie? Or if not, what is holding you back from using it? Let me know!