How to create custom titles in iMovie HD

Question

How to create custom titles in iMovie HD

Hi, I tried to create titles in Photoshop (white type on a black background) that I can then import into iMovie as a still frame or photo. The problem is the type is blurry and not as crisp as when I use the Titles option in iMovie. Is there any way to import type into iMovie without it being blurry?

(Yes I will use the title options as a last resort, I just wanted to try something different)

G5 2 MHZ 160MB RAM;, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on Apr 6, 2010 12:51 PM

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Answer 1

Apr 6, 2010 11:30 PM in response to Cheri Nauman1

The title (image) needs to fit the resolution of the video.

Is your project PAL or NTSC? Widescreen or 4:3? DV or 720p or 1080i?

For instance, DV NTSC 4:3 is just 640x480 pixels, so that's what your image should be.

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Answer 2

Apr 7, 2010 6:03 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

I believe it is DV NTSC and yes I have tried 640 x 480 (at both 72 DPI and 300 dpi just for kicks) and still blurry.

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Answer 3

Apr 7, 2010 6:14 AM in response to Cheri Nauman1

Have you set Ken Burns zoom to 1x? Both start zoom and end zoom? (The zoom value may be used even if KB is disabled.)

The preview on screen in iMovie is always blurry compared to what you will see on TV when playing a DVD (assuming that is what you intend).

Is the movie widescreen or 4:3? For a widescreen NTSC DV movie, the number of pixels should be 854x480.

The dpi value is used only when printing, so it isn't used in iMovie.

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Answer 4

Apr 7, 2010 6:35 AM in response to Lennart Thelander

Hmm, that's good to know about the better resolution on TV, unfortunately this one is intended for YouTube, (for now anyway).

I have one screen that needs to have a logo and a line of text under it, the rest I think I can get away with using the iMovie titles. I wanted to have three lines of text, each one coming on the screen separately and then staying in place, ending with all three on the screen at once. I can get away though, with each line coming on and the fading off separately if I have to.

Thanks for the help!

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