Likelihood to Recommend iMovie is a great editing tool for beginners and users with little to no experience. If you are looking for a simple, straight forward way to edit your videos without having any training, this is the tool for you. If you are looking for a robust and very advanced editing platform, you may wish to look elsewhere.
Read full review It is easy to use with very little explanation. It seems well suited for a creative individual looking to make a professional video.
Read full review Pros iMovie allows users to upload their own clips and edit them together. You're able to add in more clips as you're working on your project which is great as some film editing software don't allow add ons of video clips once you've begun the editing process. iMovie continually saves as you're working on your project and syncs with your devices so you can work on your project from other like computers. iMovie is quick to update changes which allows time to be saved during the editing process. It's very helpful when you need to adjust 1-2 things and don't want to spend hours waiting for the changes to go through. Read full review Allows for quick and easy "commercials" for our announcements.. Used to create pre and post worship service videos to help people begin and end worship. Used to create special videos for special music. Read full review Cons Audio for video editing is a bit limiting. A pro user would feel limited, but the average person can pretty well do what they need in iMovie and that's what matters for this platform. The design of the UI could use some updating so it doesn't feel so bubbly. This may purely be an aesthetic concern, and maybe the old style makes it more approachable, but i'd prefer to see a more slick design so you don't feel like you are using a kids program. If you ever want to share the project or manually manage files, it can be a bit difficult to figure out. Fortunately Apple allows you to import a project from iMovie into FCPX if you ever want to be upwardly mobile. Read full review Importing files is easy but sometimes difficult to locate. This might be user error but making folders within the imported files would be nice to have. I don't use special effects that often but sometimes they are difficult to find again. Read full review Usability I'd give it a higher rating but there seems to be some things that are so over-simplified that it's tough for an experienced user to work backwards when needed. That said, it certainly is easy enough for a 7 year old to pick up and use without much instruction or training.
Read full review It could use slight improvements. But overall a wonderful product.
Read full review Support Rating Apple does a great job supporting its products. I have never encountered trouble that could not be solved through chat or email. The knowledgebase section of the website, video tutorials online and various user forums also help with most issues. If after using all of these avenues you still have an issue, it may be time for you to outsource your project to a professional!
Read full review I've only had to call one time in several years and they were supportive and helpful.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Not as easy to use as iMovie, and a similar cost structure. iMovie is easier for Apple users / and MS users, to both get proficient at. Movie Maker isn't bad, it just isn't as slick as iMovie. We actually used MovieMaker for a couple of years before migrating most users over to iMovie. We have not regretted the move.
Read full review I have not used other products like Pinnacle Studio.
Read full review Return on Investment iMovie is a very inexpensive alternative to other video editing software. It's very easy to train new users on iMovie, so time is saved there. We started a project where we were tasked to create a new 5 minute video every week. We started with little to no knowledge of video editing, but iMovie was so easy to pick up and use that we were able to start filming and putting together videos right away. If we had to learn a more complex program, like Premiere Pro, it would have pushed our timeline back considerably. Read full review I believe using Pinnacle Studio and what I produced from it aided in doubling our worship attendance. No negative impacts. Read full review ScreenShots