Photo position in iMovie

By default, iMovie imports photos centered — if I understand what you mean by centered. For example, a photo imported with a Ken Burns zoom will start at the center of the photo and zoom in to the center.

But once you've intentionally imported photos OFF-center — done by dragging the Preview image — the default is no longer applied to future imports. (iMovie always imports using the Ken Burns settings last applied, or the settings of the clip last selected.) It's not obvious how to return iMovie to the center.

Here's how:

1. Select a photo in the iPhotos list. Open the Show Photo Settings window.

2. Turn ON the Ken Burns checkbox. Stop the Preview animation.

3. Click on the left side of the Start/End thingy. (To activate the Start position.)

4. Drag the zoom slider all the way right, then all the way left. That centers the photo for the Start position.

5. Click on the right side of the Start/End thingy and repeat the zoom drag.

Now both the Start and End positions should be centered.

If I missed the point of your question, please say.

Karl

Aha! Now I get it.

There's no way to do that with iMovie's own tools. Nothing shows you the center of the preview screen — the point where you want the two figures touch.

I suggest opening a copy of the photo in a graphics editor and adding horizontal and vertical lines of your own that intersect where the two figures touch.

Draw two other vertical lines, equidistant right and left from the centerpoint. And two horizontal lines above and below the centerpoint. In other words, draw a box around the centerpoint that you can use to center the picture in the Preview window of iMovie. Position the lined photo, then import it. Try the transition on that import and adjust as necessary.

When it's right, import the original photo — containing no lines — and add the transition to THAT.

The trick is, the Ken Burns settings you use on the image containing lines — including its pan and zoom — will become the default settings for the actual photo. Whatever settings we apply are applied to SUBSEQUENT imports too until changed. So when you get the photo containing the lines right, the image without the lines will be right too.

Karl