Want to edit a video on your Mac but aren’t quite sure how to do that? You’ve come to the right place. Here we show how you can use a video editing software for macOS to easily refine and enhance your videos.
The program that we’ll use is iMovie, which is a free video editor by Apple for both macOS and iOS devices.
How to Remove the Audio From a Video
To remove sound from your video, follow these steps in iMovie:
- Open iMovie, create a new project, and import the video you want to edit.
- Drag the video over to the timeline so you can edit it.
- Right-click the video in the timeline and select Detach Audio.
- Click the detached audio in the timeline, and press the Delete key.
You can export your edited video by clicking the File > Share menu.
How to Add Background Music to a Video
You can make your video more interesting by adding some background music to it. With iMovie, you can add both iTunes as well as non-iTunes music files to your videos.
You can add music to a video on Windows computers as well.
Here’s how:
- Make sure your video is on the iMovie timeline already.
- If your music track isn’t in iMovie already, click File > Import Media and add the track.
- If your music file is in iTunes, click Audio and select iTunes.
- Drag your music file and place it beneath your video on the timeline.
- Your video should now have your chosen background music in it.
How to Crop a Video
Cropping lets you remove unwanted areas from your video. For example, if something appears in frame but you don’t want it there, you can crop it out with iMovie.
To do that:
- Ensure your video is placed on the main timeline.
- Click the Cropping option above the mini player.
- Select the Crop to Fill option.
- You’ll now see adjustable handles in the mini player. Drag these handles to specify the area that you wish to keep in your video.
- Click the checkmark icon to save the changes.
How to Increase or Decrease the Playback Speed of a Video
You can speed up or slow down your video in iMovie, and here’s how you do that:
- Select your video clip in the timeline.
- Select the Speed icon from the top-right corner.
- Choose a speed option from the Speed dropdown menu.
- Select Custom from the dropdown menu if you want to specify your own video speed.
How to Split a Video Into Multiple Parts
If you want to make multiple clips from a single larger video clip, you can do that as follows in iMovie on a Mac:
- Place the playhead where you want to split the video into two parts.
- Click Modify > Split Clip at the top. Alternatively, press the Command + B shortcut.
How to Merge Multiple Video Clips
If your video clips are scattered everywhere, you can join them all and make a single clip.
Here’s how to combine video clips in iMovie:
- Select the videos you want to join on the timeline. Hold down the Command key to select multiple videos.
- Click Modify > Join Clips at the top to merge your clips into one.
How to Add Text to a Video
iMovie offers many text styles to add to your video, and you can access them as follows:
- Place the playhead where you want to add the text.
- Click the Titles tab and choose the text style you’d like to add.
- Double-click on the style and it’ll be added to your video.
- You can now type your custom text.
How to Add a Transition Effect Between Two Clips
Video transition effects help a clip from ending abruptly. If you have multiple video clips, here’s how you add a transition effect to make them blend more smoothly:
- Click the video you want to add a transition effect to on the timeline.
- Select the Transitions tab at the top.
- Double-click the transition effect you like and it’ll be added to your video.
How to Add a Voiceover to a Video
With iMovie, you can record and add a voiceover to your video without leaving the app. There’s a built-in recording option that you can use to make custom audio recordings.
You can access this option using the following steps:
- Move the playhead to where you want to add a voiceover.
- Click the Record Voiceover icon, and then click the red button next to it.
- You’ll see a countdown and then your audio recording begins.
- Click the red stop button when you’re done recording.
How to Add a Watermark to a Video
Watermarking your videos on a Mac is as easy as placing your watermark image on your video.
You can do that as follows in the iMovie app:
- Click File > Import Media in iMovie to import your watermark image.
- Drag your watermark image and place it above your video on the timeline.
- Drag the watermark so that it’s the same size as your video on the timeline. This adds the watermark to your entire video.
- Click your watermark in the timeline and then select the Cropping tool from the top-right.
- Choose Fit from the Style menu.
- Click the Video overlay settings option in the top-right corner.
- Click Cutaway and choose Picture in Picture.
- You can now drag and place your watermark wherever you want on your video.
If you use another video editor, check out other ways to add a watermark to a video.
How to Rotate a Video
If your video isn’t in the correct orientation, you can rotate it with iMovie:
- Select your video on the timeline and click the Cropping icon at the top-right.
- Click either Rotate the clip counterclockwise or Rotate the clip clockwise.
- You can click these options multiple times to keep rotating your video.
How to Reverse a Video Clip
You can make your video play backwards with these steps:
- Select your video on the timeline.
- Click the Speed icon in the top-right corner.
- Tick the Reverse option.
How to Add Filters and Effects to a Video
iMovie offers several filters and effects to add to your video clips. You can access them as follows:
- Click the clip you want to add a filter or effect to on the timeline.
- Select the Clip filter and audio effects option from the top-right corner.
- Click the dropdown menu next to Clip Filter.
- You should now see all the filters you can add to your video.
- Click a filter and it’ll be added to your video.
Quickly and Easily Editing Videos on a Mac
There are many Mac video editors in the market but iMovie has to be the simplest one. This app lets you perform nearly all basic video editing tasks without costing you a penny.
Like videos, you can edit audio files as well on your Mac. There are plenty of audio editors for Mac out there that you can use to create and modify audio files on macOS.