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iMovie

iMovie

Overview

What is iMovie?

Apple offers iMovie as a video editing platform supporting video creators with high quality effects, support for 4k resolution, audio editing, and other features supporting the creation of videos and movies.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

iMovie, a popular video editing software, is widely used across various industries and professions for its user-friendly interface and …
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Easy to Use!

9 out of 10
June 14, 2021
Incentivized
I use iMovie to edit video footage. As someone with no formal editing training, I started using iMovie because it was a free app that came …
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Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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Free Tier

$0.00

Cloud

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

iMovie 10 Demo and Tutorial - How to Make Movies on Your Mac

YouTube

Basic German Pronunciation Practice - using iMovie to edit a teaching demo

YouTube

iMovie for Apple iPhone 4 review and demo

YouTube

Apple iMovie for iPad 2 video demo

YouTube

Show iMovie Projects Easily on Apple TV - iMovie Theater Demo

YouTube

iMovie 11 Trailer Demo i movie

YouTube
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Product Details

What is iMovie?

iMovie Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

Apple offers iMovie as a video editing platform supporting video creators with high quality effects, support for 4k resolution, audio editing, and other features supporting the creation of videos and movies.

Reviewers rate Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.1.

The most common users of iMovie are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(98)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

iMovie, a popular video editing software, is widely used across various industries and professions for its user-friendly interface and cost-effectiveness. Users appreciate iMovie's simplicity, making it accessible to those with no prior experience in video editing. It serves as a valuable tool for marketers who need to create videos quickly and easily, allowing them to produce content for social media, product reviews, and online communities. Small businesses also find iMovie beneficial as it enables them to compete in the marketplace by efficiently creating personalized video content.

Teachers and students often turn to iMovie for its ease of use when creating demos, presentations, and showcasing their work. Additionally, religious organizations rely on iMovie for tasks such as editing weekly sermon videos and assembling mini-movies. The software’s robustness and simplicity make it suitable for both beginner and hobbyist video editors.

iMovie is not limited to specific industries and professions; it offers advanced features like green screen, picture-in-picture, audio separation, titling, and transitions. Therefore, it finds favor with businesses that heavily utilize video as a key component of their marketing collateral. Moreover, the software is chosen by creators of YouTube videos with millions of views due to its low cost and user-friendly interface. It is also commonly used for creating step-by-step tutorials and marketing videos for SaaS platforms.

One of the significant advantages of using iMovie is its ability to quickly piece together movie projects when other editing software is not available or accessible. Its interface shares similarities with more advanced professional video editing programs, providing a stepping stone for users looking to transition to more complex software in the future.

Design departments frequently employ iMovie for various purposes such as advertising an app game, creating demo videos for the App Store, or splicing together game footage. It has also been extensively used by videographers to edit videos intended for platforms like YouTube and Vimeo.

iMovie's applications extend beyond professional use cases. It caters to personal video editing needs as well, allowing users to incorporate photos, video footage, and music into quick and simple videos. It effectively assists individuals in creating content for personal blogs, social media platforms, and sharing memories with friends and family.

In summary, iMovie's versatility, cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and robustness make it a go-to tool for a wide range of users. From marketers and small businesses to educators and hobbyist editors, iMovie provides an accessible and efficient solution for all video editing needs.

Intuitive and User-Friendly Interface: Users have found the user interface of iMovie to be intuitive and easy to navigate. They appreciate the drag and drop functionality, which simplifies the process of adding and arranging clips, audio, and titles.

Highly Praised Automatic Save Feature: The automatic save feature in iMovie has received high praise from users. They have mentioned that it prevents them from losing their progress and allows them to work on multiple projects simultaneously.

Efficient File Management System: Users appreciate the efficient file management system in iMovie. It automatically carries all the files used in an edit along with the project file, preventing any loss of files or requiring manual organization.

Dedicated YouTube compatible output format: Many users have expressed the need for a dedicated YouTube compatible output format in iMovie. Some reviewers have mentioned that the current export options do not optimize videos specifically for uploading to YouTube, which can result in reduced video quality or compatibility issues.

Unintuitive music addition: Several users find it unintuitive to add music to their videos in iMovie. They have mentioned that the process of adding background music is not straightforward and requires additional steps, causing confusion and frustration.

Resource hog: Users feel that iMovie is a resource hog, with several reviewers expressing concerns about its performance on their devices. They report experiencing slow processing times and lag while editing projects, indicating that iMovie may be demanding on system resources.

Users recommend trying iMovie before investing in more expensive software. They suggest using iMovie for basic video editing and creating advertisements and marketing videos. Exploring iMovie's features and clicking on everything is advised to get familiar with the tool. Users also recommend providing training on iMovie's shortcuts and key features. Utilizing iMovie's built-in features, such as intros and credits, is recommended. Users find iMovie to be a great tool for beginners in video editing and production. It is suggested to save iMovie videos on a separate drive due to storage space. Starting with iMovie is recommended for those who have never edited video before or want a simple and straightforward tool. Overall, users think iMovie is worth considering for creating and editing videos, even in its free version.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 27)
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Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie is free for Apple devices, and it have a plus with that. The other software are for pay and are a little bit more complicated to use. iMovie is fast, intuitive, and have and extended free library with free royalties to use in different platforms of social media or video websites.
Tim Corbett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Movie Maker Online (moviemakeronline.com)
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.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Final Cut Pro can be expensive if you are not ready to fully divulge in video content for your brand/company. iMovie is a great starting place as it's easier to understand how to use it (in terms of UI/UX) and great for a team just starting out/figuring out a strategy for their video content.
Jonathan Teixeira | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Adobe Premiere Pro, screenflow, and iMovie. All for different things. If we're doing heavy editing, some effects, and overlays, we use Premiere. If we're recording a bunch of stuff all at once and doing a screen record, we record with screenflow and edit while we're there. And for simple videos (slicing things together), iMovie is our choice.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Other tools are available but most of them are paid while iMovie is free. iMovie is easy to learn and anyone can get started quickly with it. Some built-in effects are available with one-touch import so you can import them and just needed to add context in it, you are ready to go.
Kelly Reumann | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie has its place in the world of video editing software. It's definitely not the fanciest on the market but it is simple and easy to use and gets the job done and done well! There are times where I'll gravitate toward iMovie because I just don't need the extra features that come with something like AfterEffects. My colleagues also prefer it since they have less video editing experience and their computers aren't as well equipped to handle something like AfterEffects
Rene Agredano | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have an iPhone and recently bought a Macbook, so it was a natural choice. YouTube's movie creator was basic and not nearly as functional as iMovie (although I just wish the two worked together when creating movies). My Mac-based coworker says he used to use After Effects but no longer does, iMovie is his primary choice too. We love how it's easy to share files in situations where he wants to add more complicated elements to the movies I create.
Cedric Haynes | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie is just as good and a lot cheaper than the competition. For my simple projects, it works well. For more advanced tasks, I outsource the work to better video editors and they usually work with Final Cut or Adobe Premiere. There’s no need for me to upgrade to anything else right now but that could change.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie is not a pro video editor like FCPX or Adobe - however if you are entry level and not looking to advance further, I'd recommend staying there. If you plan to get more experienced in the industry, I'd leave it behind in an instance and move on to a pro editor.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie was way better when it came to the likes of Filmora and Windows Movie Maker. Both look amateurish, and Filmora is even paid to begin with. The ability to match and sync audio unto a much smaller fraction of a second, the overall smoothness of product, and the easy to use features are what scores it for iMovie.
Dan Talvi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
While iMovie worked for our organization for a while, we eventually moved to other software to create our video media content. iMovie was a great fit for entering into the realm of video content creation, but lacked the functionality provided by Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere Pro in terms of adding and controlling specific aspects of effects to our productions.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I have used Adobe After Effects. After Effects is perfect for creating animated title cards as well as video and audio splicing. The basic nature of iMovie means little to no lag, whereas After Effects may suffer from this (especially with larger audio files). However, if you only need basic video and audio trimming and combining, iMovie is the program for you.
Dave Becker | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie is kind of like Premiere Pro Lite. You can create videos, easily, and export them, but you don't get the fine tuning and control that you get with Premiere Pro. That being said, Premiere Pro is much more expensive, and takes a much longer time to learn. It made more sense to install iMovie on a few computers in the office, and let people work on the simple videos they needed to make, than to install Premiere Pro and hold multiple training sessions for people to use it once or twice.
Jackie Bassett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie has all the capability most video producers need. Great videos are made in the editing because the right content is already there. Adobe has a great product but their editing software doesn't have to be that intense, as when it is, it takes away from the great creative intelligence that's already in there. We have several Adobe products but their film editing options are unnecessarily complex (and far too expensive.) Using Adobe we were corrupting original video more than we were editing. Final Cut is great product too, but it's overkill for us.

In a world where entire Sundance Film Festival winning films can be made entirely on an iPhone 5, the video-editing software needs to be just what we've found iMovie to be: Simple to use, brilliantly capable, and affordable.
Kenneth Hess | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
iMovie compares very well with Premiere's and Final Cut's basic video and audio editing and for simple transitions. For the heavier lifting, you'll need a better application. iMovie isn't meant to be a Hollywood-level application but it can hold its own for most things. It's free, which makes it a good choice for most of us.
Sam Jacob Dev | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Though iMovie lacked some features and functionalities compared to the competition, the main reason we went with this product was that it was totally free and our business had the ability to trial run and accomplish needed things for shorter projects. Compared to other products it needed huge investment from the business. Since we already owned a mac, it was a matter of just having to download the app from the App Store.
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