IMovie 10.1.14 Aspect Ratio - Cutting off Time/Date on Video

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Level 1

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IMovie 10.1.14 Aspect Ratio - Cutting off Time/Date on Video

Our old movies include a date stamp in the lower right. The full date does display in Quicktime, but in iMovies, the bottom half of the date is cut off because the ratio is changed. I have read several suggestions but none of this work so that the full date is displayed. For instance I tried "Fix"ing, bringing into Quicktime and rotating back to the original orientation. But that did not restore the full date. How can I change the ratio or whatever is needed so the dates are displayed in iMovie.

Thanks

AMP

Posted on Sep 28, 2020 3:51 PM

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Answer 1

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Rich839

Level 8

47,322 points

Sep 28, 2020 4:04 PM in response to aphilipp

Try selecting the clip in the timeline, then clicking on the crop tool (the one that looks like intersecting angles) in the toolbar at the top right of your screen. In the selection box that appears, click on the "Fit" option. Now see if the Time stamp shows on the video.

--Rich

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Answer 2

aphilipp Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 28, 2020 6:52 PM in response to Rich839

I saw your previous post and tried it earlier today, it did not work for me. I just did it again, and it worked...but I ended up with a narrow, blurry, motion bar at the bottom of the video. I used Crop to Fill (Next to Fit)and cropped the bottom portion and selected the video area I wanted to include (had to play with it a bit) The only drawback is that it added black sidebars, but that is better than just the top half of the date. Now if I could just turn those black side bars into the blurry image effect on either side of videos that is so popular, I would be all set. But then these are videos from the 1990's so I black bars are probably just fine. ;-) Thank you for your help!

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,322 points

Sep 28, 2020 10:18 PM in response to Rich839

You could use the Picture in Picture effect to overlay your video onto a photo or background. That would allow you to resize the overlay so that it is slightly smaller than the photo or video underneath it.

-- Rich

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Answer 4

aphilipp Author

Level 1

12 points

Sep 29, 2020 7:03 AM in response to Rich839

Sounds like a great idea.... but there is no "Video Overlay Settings" button to the left of the "Color Balance" button. The online Help said to click on that button if the "video overlay controls" aren't shown. What am I missing? Thanks

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Answer 5

Rich839

Level 8

47,322 points

Sep 29, 2020 9:22 AM in response to aphilipp

The video overlay icon (the one that looks like overlapping squares) will appear in the tool bar in the upper right of your screen, when you place a clip in the upper timeline above another clip, and then select the upper clip by clicking on it. That will activate the overlay function. Under the overlay icon will appear a selection box where you can select Picture in Picture.

-- Rich

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