iMovie Advanced Tools

Adding to my previous post, to put a clip later in the song you can first place a black background in the video timeline, adjusting its duration to as long as you want. Then add your audio clip below it. Then place your video clips freely above the background clip anywhere you want. The video will only be attaching to the background clip below it, not to the audio clip, but that shouldn't make any difference.

-- Rich

Hi, Ben,

Assuming you are using iMovie 10, when you add an audio clip to the audio well below the video timeline the audio clip will automatically lock to the video clip. You will see a little attachment handle.

With your cursor you can slide the audio clip along the timeline and the attachment handle will move with it to keep it attached to the video clip above it. If you want to detach the audio clip, put your cursor on the audio clip and, while pressing down, pull the audio clip downward until the handle pulls off.

-- Rich

Hi, Ben,

Click on the "Background" tab at the top of your screen. That will reveal a selection of backgrounds, including black. Choose any background color you want and drag it into the timeline. Once it is in the timeline you can drag it out to any duration your want, or click on the little information "i" button on the upper right of your screen and change the duration in the little duration box on the right -- then press the return button on your keyboard.

iMovie '11 (iMovie version 9) has the Advanced Tools feature. It can be obtained from third party vendors, like Amazon, as part of the iLife '11 package.

Amazon.com: iLife '11 Family Pack [OLD VERSION]: Software

However, iMovie 10 contains most of iMovie 9's advanced editing tools that you can access in iMovie 10 from the toolbar at the upper right hand corner of your iMovie screen, from the Settings button above the timeline to the right, and from the iMovie menu.

-- Rich

I'm not quite understanding. Conceptually, the audio clips attach to the video clips, not the other way around. Put in your video clips first, and each audio clip that you add below will automatically lock on to the video at the left hand edge of the audio clip. You don't need manually to add the attachment handles. If you want to move the attachment handle to a different video, hold down the Option and Command keys and click with your cursor along the audio clip. The attachment handle will move to wherever you click. Each audio clip attaches only at one point to the video clip above it. You can't add multiple attachment handles to a single audio clip.

If you want to add the audio clip first, you need to add it to the very bottom audio well (below the main audio well) where it doesn't need to be attached to anything. Then you can add the videos in the timeline, and when you are done you can use your cursor to move the audio clip up to the topmost audio well, and it will attach to the first video clip that is above the left hand edge of the audio clip. As I mentioned above, you can move that attachment point by holding down the Option and Command keys and clicking along the audio clip.

-- Rich

Glad it worked for you. 🙂

-- Rich

Good luck with your project! 🙂

What you did with the music and vids is totally cool. Very artistic.

-- Rich