Chapters on iMovie 10.0

Try putting your Mp4 movie into Garageband, and adding your chapter markers there by playing the video and tapping the letter p on your keyboard

wherever you want to place a marker. Then share the movie to disk, on your desktop. See if your Windows media player recognizes the

chapters. I know that Quicktime player does.

I am running Garageband 6.0.5, that has the chapters feature. I understand that Garageband 10 has eliminated chapters. If you have the later version, I have read about an app called MetaDoctor that you can get on the Mac app store. It costs $5.00 or $10.00, depending on whether you get the pro version. It purports to be able to add chapter markers to movies. Haven't used it myself, but for $10.00 it might be worth a try.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B__WfBszS5FOcjhUNTJ2MFI3RWs/view?usp=sharing

I created this video with iMovie, and added chapters and tags with MetaDoctor. If you add to iTunes, you will be able to see the tags.

I had successively, iMovie HD (6.0.3), iMovie 11 (9.0.4) and iMovie 10.0.5.

With OSX 10.9.5 (Mavericks) I can use all of then. I avoid upgrading my OSX, I could loose the compatibility. I loaded Yosemite on an external disc, but I didn't try it.

iMovie HD is by far the easiest one for building films and for adding chapters, but it is poor for video improvement.

Now, I import movies from my video camera with iMovie 10.0.5 and I build the film by small sections, with all the video effects and improvements. In particular, importation of JPG pictures with Ken burns effect, transitions etc.... is much better with iMovie 10.0.5.

Then I export mp4 files and drag them into iMovie HD, where they appear as video clips. The conversion is long, as the codec is different. Then it is possible to rebuild the film and to add chapters ..... and finally use iDVD.

Tried this, but garage band says mp4 is an unsupported format. ("The movie file “Library 2.16.16.mp4” cannot be played back in the native video engine. Please consider converting the movie using QuickTime Player 7 or similar tools to H.264 or other QuickTime Player X compatible formats.")

Thanks for the link. I posted there too. I don't know that this is really hijacking, since I've tried everything else listed and nothing else worked for me -- to add chapters to a movie. So maybe this will help others who are trying to do the same thing.

Anyway, I did figure out how to do the basics in metadoctor; it's pretty intuitive. But, still, iDVD doesn't create buttons for scene selection when I bring in the movie.

You can add a marker in the latest iMovie (10.1.1):

It is not a chapter marker though, nor can you use it add text (like in FCP X) so it seems to be of very limited use.

Geoff.

Mark,

Thanks for posting the info.

iDVD works well on Sierra. On High Sierra, however, most of the themes are not functional, and difficulties rendering and burning projects have been reported. After some initial difficulties I have been able to create and burn projects without problem using HIgh Sierra. I have had to adapt malfunctioning themes by using photos or short vids to create a theme. It does still work, though. Just wanted to give you an alert in case you upgrade to High Sierra.

-- Rich

Anyone know if this problem has been fixed with the current version of iMovie? (10.0.9 for me) I have the option to "Add marker"--is this a chapter marker??

Thanks

Thanks.

I think I found a solution just using YouTube annotations.

I will check out garageband too.

Where can I see examples of iMovies that have had chapter titles added with MetaDoctor?

Thanks! Most useful plug I've read in a year. A solution for two -- seemingly unrelated -- things I need.

I bought the pro version of metadoctor, but I can't figure out the help. I don't know how to bring in my movie, add chapters, title chapters or export the movie back to iDVD. Searched online too.

Make sure the "Create chapter submenus" option is selected under the Movies tab in the preferences. Also, each chapter must have a title.

That seems to be marked by default. The key for me was creating .mov files. But, anyway, metadoctor works!