Moving clips freely along iMovie timeline

Hi, Victoria,

No updates have been made that change anything in this area.

You can move clips around in the main timeline but unfortunately you can't have spaces between them. In the timeline the clips still are "magnetic" and lock together once added or moved. If you need spaces between them you can add a black background of appropriate length. You can also place the video clips in the timeline above the main timeline, and there you can move them around freely with spaces between them, as long as you have a clip (usually a background clip of appropriate duration) in the main timeline below. You won't be able to insert transitions between the clips, however.

Likewise, audio clips added in the audio track beneath the time line will lock onto the video clip above with a little connector on the left side of the audio clip. So, when you move the video clip it takes the audio clip with it. If you delete the video clip, it deletes the audio clip that is attached as well. You can detach the audio clip by placing your cursor on it and, while pressing, dragging the audio clip straight down to the bottom-most audio well until the connector detaches. You actually can see it stretch and detach. Then you can delete or move the video clip above it independently of the audio clip. Or, you can move the connector point by clicking in a different place on the audio clip while holding down the Option and Command keys. The connector will move to wherever you click.

From a workflow standpoint, it usually is easiest to first edit your video clips and insert whatever transitions you want to use, and then add and edit your audio clips afterwards.

Hope this helps.

-- Rich

You are very welcome. 🙂

-- Rich