Chapters on iMovie 10.0

I just found that MetaDoctor does work to add chapters. Fairly easy to use, except editing the chapter names it is slow to respond to clicks. I needed to rename the resulting file from .mp4 to .m4v, per this post: http://starwaresoftware.com/forums/topic/unable-to-make-chapters-in-i-dvd/. Then when dropping the file onto iDVD, it creates two buttons: one for playing the movie, one for scene selection (assuming "Create chapter submenus" is checked in iDVD Preferences > Movies).

Sad that iMovie dropped such an easy feature, and that Apple dropped iDVD. BTW, iDVD 7.1.2 still appears to work on MacOS 10.12 (Sierra). Just copied the iDVD app and its themes from my previous Mac. Of course, I'll have to actually burn the DVD on my old Mac that has a DVD drive, but this Mac is much faster for processing files.

I’m deeply resentful that Apple has removed this functionality from iMovie, but want to thank you for the tool.

It works exactly as expected for me - you load your (otherwise) completed film, scroll through the scenes, add meaningful chapter markers and save the film. You can then jump to the chapters within iTunes and on the AppleTV. This is all I wanted, and it delivers perfectly.

(In the non-Pro version, if you subsequently edit your film, using iMovie to add or remove something, you have to repeat the MetaDoctor process).

No more Chapter Markers in iMovie 10... Apple has once again completely dropped the ball on anything vaguely resembling usability in their software. A much needed feature that has already existed in previous versions has now gone by the wayside, making their software so dumbed down that only a dummy would actually want to use it. Such a shame for a company that used to be on the forefront of quality user interface, usability, and design, which is now dumbed down to the point of being unusable.

I developed MetaDoctor specifically to create chapters markers in .mp4/.m4v files easily. My motivation was in fact the lack (loss) of this capability in iMovie; I did not want to use Final Cut Pro.

MetaDoctor also allows editing of other metadata which is read by iTunes, including cover art.

The Pro version is aimed at adding metadata to purchased movies.

I apologize for the plug, I only intend to add some insights to the discussion.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, and I will try to be brief.

You can open a video file from the "File" menu, click "Open Source...", and navigate to and select the file. Drag and drop is also supported, so that you can drag your video file to the MetaDoctor window or icon to open it.

To add a chapter, use the video pane to move the playhead to the spot in the video where you want a chapter, and click on the "Add" button, use keyboard shortcut Command-I, or simply double click on the video. To edit chapter titles, click once on the chapter in the chapter table to select the chapter, then a second time on the title cell to select it for editing.

Click on the "Save Metadata" button or the "Save" menu item under the "File" menu. The chapters and any other tags you added are written directly to the video file.

iDVD will read the chapters.

You can contact me by email via the support page on the MetaDoctor web page if you need further assistance.

http://starwaresoftware.wix.com/metadoctor

The easiest way I have found to add Chapter Markers to an iMovie 10.x project and then burn to DVD is to:

1. export the iMovie to a file.

2. Fire up Apple Compressor (purchase here)

3. Add your Chapter Markers (search help for Add Marker). There is an option to import them from a file.

4. Select the DVD output format.

5. In the "Job Action" / "When Done", select "Create DVD". You can either specify the creation of an disk img file or burning directly to a DVD.

Your problem, hardware or software, may not be exactly the same as that of the original poster of this older thread, and it can be very confusing for everybody if we try to answer more than one question in each thread, which can also result in you applying the wrong advice to your particular problem.

In order for us to give your problem our proper attention to try to solve it, would you kindly start your own thread, describing the trouble you are having in the fullest detail, including completing your details to show what Mac or iDevice you are using, what operating system, and what version of the application in question. Please remember to post in the forum relevant to your hardware or version of OS X. A full list of all the support forums is here:

http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa

iMovie 10 does not support chapter markers.

Your options are:

1. Create your video in iMovie 9, which supports chapter markers (iMovie 9 is still on your hard drive, in a subfolder /Applications/iMovie 9.0.9 and can still be used).

2. Create your video in iMovie 10, then add the chapter markers in GarageBand per this article:

http://www.maclife.com/article/howtos/add_chapter_markers_imovie_’08_videos

Well Alan,

Marco is stuck with iMovie 9.09, as the new Garageband 10.0.1 doesn't support podcasts any more, so no chaptermarkers via Garageband. Unless you use the previous version of GB(6.0.5) as well.

Ben

Ben,

Thanks for letting me know that. I should have verified that this still works before posting it as a solution.

If anyone is aware of third party solutions, please post them here.

As for me, I will be saying with 9.0.9 for this and other reasons.

I am up to iMovie v 10.1.1 and do not wee an "Add markers" selection. What menu is that in?

ALSO, be aware that El Capitan and iMovie v9 are NOT compatible. Problems with photos (they will NOT import) and video skimming us upside down.

You can add chapters by moving your movie to Garage Band or by adding them in iDVD before burning. In Garage Band you can add the chapters precisely where you want them, whereas in iDVD the Chapters can only be inserted by time intervals, e.g, one every 3 minutes, one every 2 minutes, etc.

Start by exporting your movie to File as an Mp4 on your desktop. Then open Garage Band, Create a New Project, and drag your Mp4 movie into the screen. Then play your movie and every time you tap the "p" key on your keyboard you will add a chapter marker at that point. Then use the Share menu to share directly to iDVD.

Alternatively, you can drag your Mp4 movie directly to iDVD, adding it by clicking on the + menu on the lower left of the screen, selecting Add Movie in the drop down menu, and then dragging the movie into the resulting drop box on the link that pops up in the screen. Once it's in the link, right click on the link once, and you will get options to add chapters. As I mentioned, the chapters can be added only by time interval, not by precise placement.

Thanks for the tips. I had used Garage Band in the past for chapter markers buy read somewhere in a recent discussion that the newer versions of Garage Band did not allow this. But I tried last night and it seemed to work fine.

Geoff, I am currently away from my computer but will try the markers in iMovie 10.1.1 when I get back.

ALSO, be aware that El Capitan and iMovie v9 are NOT compatible. Problems with photos (they will NOT import) and video skimming us upside down.

For people who want to edit movies in the Mac environment the best course of action is to use an older operating system on your Mac which is quite easy to do.

If you want to do movie editing, and remain in the Apple club, (and I do) you've really got to keep a partition on your hard drive with OS 10.9.5. That way, you can run iMovie HD 06 or iMovie 09 (and set chapter markers with just one click) as well as iDVD, and use Disk Utilities to burn DVDs (or better yet, the new M-DISCs) with ZERO issues. Using iMovie HD 06 and iDVD I can easily edit a one-hour movie, set my chapter markers, and burn a Hollywood quality M-DISC DVD in less than 30 minutes. (M-DISC will last 1000 years.)

In fact, our organization has gone so far as to set up Mac Minis running 10.9.5, iMovie HD 06, and iDVD for the sole purpose of our movie editing. Basically, these machines are, "frozen in time". Someday, hopefully, in the future, Apple will provide better tools as they once did in the past. Until that time, this is our solution.

Here is my story:

1) I used ScreenFlow to create a one hour MP4.

2) I want to have chapter markers so the viewer can zoom to whatever section they want to.

3) Screenflow actually allows this so I used it.

4) I ran the video on my iMac and to the right of the video controls is a drop down box with all my chapters which work.

5) I was excited and emailed the result to my PC since a lot of users will be viewing it on on a PC

6) Unfortunately Windows Media player does not recognize the chapter markers at all.

7) I thought I would import my MP4 to iMovie and try to use the chapter markers there but they have been removed. That's unfortunate because one would think killing a feature like that is not a good idea - you should make it better and not worse.

8) Now I don't know what to do. People say I could use annotations in YouTube but that *****. I don't yet see a 3rd party solution. Perhaps in something like final cut but that is too expensive for the simple thing I am trying to do.

Any suggestions?