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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 30)
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June 14, 2021

Easy to Use!

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to learn
  • Good for beginners and users with little to no experience
  • If you have a Mac, the app is free!
  • It takes up a lot of storage space
  • It can be slow when working with large files
  • The tool is very basic, so if you are looking for very advanced functionality, look elsewhere
Tim Corbett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Quick edits to get raw video presentable fast.
  • Titles are simple to apply.
  • Editing out unwanted recordings is easy.
  • A dedicated YouTube compatible output format would be nice.
  • It is not intuitive to add music over the video.
  • The app itself is a bit of a resource hog.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • 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.
  • iMovie could improve its video size capabilities so you can use the same video for Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter without having to reformat your video.
  • It would be helpful to add a direct voiceover record option as you're editing your movies/videos.
  • It would be helpful to have faster processing times once you're completed with the editing and it's time to publish.
Kelly Reumann | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Simple: The functions are very easy to use in this software as opposed to more advanced software.
  • Quick: Even as an advanced video editor this program is easy to use for quick edits.
  • Transitions: Some of the transitions are pretty cheesy.
  • More output options.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use.
  • Included with standard Mac OS.
  • Integrates easily with YouTube and Facebook.
  • Lacks the flexibility of more professional level editing tools.
  • Is resource heavy on the machine.
  • Titles/overlays are difficult to edit.
Andy Fuller | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Clip selection - simply start a project and tap which clips you want to include.
  • Transitions - it sounds simple, but simple transitions between clips in a phone app are great.
  • Titles - good options for text over your video.
  • The clip trim feature is a little imprecise - but you have to expect that with your thumbs doing most of the editing, not a mouse.
Rene Agredano | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Works similarly with both desktop and mobile version
  • Intuitive functions make it easy to use for novices
  • Easily shares to social media platforms
  • Love the auto-save feature
  • When used on a smaller desktop screen, the menus are difficult to view.
  • I would love to have more integration with YouTube music choices when creating movies.
  • I would like it to more easily integrate with iCloud library (I have to move photos from there to my desktop, as far as I know).
Nicole Glover | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Green screen editing
  • Easily split movies
  • Easily trim start and end of videos
  • The "Share to YouTube" feature always seems to freeze
  • Not easy to figure out/remember how to split a clip, but can it easy to do once you figure out the shortcut
  • A little confusing on how to add music
Cedric Haynes | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Separating audio track from video.
  • Importing pics, video, and other media types.
  • Trimming scenes down to specific timeframes.
  • It can be slow when rendering video for uploading to social media, video channels etc.
  • Can crash at times when the processes become too overwhelming.
  • Most video cameras are supported. Recommendation: Check beforehand to be sure yours is compatible!
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • File management. This is one of the tricky things that is not a benefit if you are a pro user, however iMovie has a built in file management system that makes sure all the files you are using in your edit are carried along with the project file. It's easy to lose these files as it typically requires manual organization - however iMovie does it for you, automatically.
  • The editing UI is designed for a modern generation. No longer are we connected to the manual cutting and pasting of the moviola era, it's a drag and drop friendly platform for the digital generation.
  • Auto save is another huge feature. You never lose progress due to forgetting to hit command + S.
  • 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.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to manage the timeline and drag and drop clips and effects.
  • Immediate preview and captioning of videos.
  • Easy to edit the audio, one click to remove background noise, etc.
  • It's so much easier than other low-end softwares to sync audio in cases where audio and video were recorded separately.
  • The white balance on iMovie isn't as powerful, and it is better to get the lighting and settings right when shooting rather than editing in iMovie.
  • The overall management of raw clips that you imported for your videos can be a little tricky once you cross a few dozen videos.
Ali Rauch | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Intuitive process to make it easy for a novice.
  • Default settings to make the process easier when in a rush.
  • Adding music and headlines is super easy.
  • Sometimes the default settings of how it zooms into a photo make it act the way you don't want, and that can be frustrating. It's like they've made it so easy that when you get better and want to get detailed on custom changes, it won't let you.
  • There are limited headline and text options. Wish they could do custom text/font options.
  • If they had a built-in library of background music to choose from, it would make life so much better.
Jason Stein | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easily make high-end trailers with templates.
  • Quickly convert video from your phone and easily upload to your computer or YouTube.
  • Overlay audio tracks in minutes rather than hours.
  • It would be nice if iMovie had a quick meme function with templates.
  • I also recommend iMovie keep updating their templates on a more regular basis.
Chris McCarthy | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Celebrity interviews and out takes. We host celebrity interviews as sources of inspiration for our millennial audience. We do a lot of editing, and we love to use the out takes as both learning tools, and sources of great humor to post on social media.
  • IMovie is so easy to use, that it helps us invest much more time on the creative artistic side, and less on getting the tech to do what we bought it to do.
  • Great video begins in one’s eye, first. If we capture that right first, then a simple editing tool is all we really need. IMovie does exactly that, while we focus on improving our eye for great video.
  • Some features take getting used to, like syncing voice edits with visual. I might suggest they make it more intuitive for 1st timers, beyond just a video tutorial.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • iMovie splices film together quickly and simply
  • It provides great basic transitions
  • Lining up music or sound to film is fast and easy
  • More detailed look at footage to know where to cut
  • A numbered or ticked timeline would be very helpful
  • A less confusing interface for newer users
November 16, 2018

I do it with iMovie

Catheline Shin | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Easy to use. It doesn’t get any easier than iMovie IMHO. The drop and drag interface is fairly intuitive. No need for a giant manual to get started.
  • Just enough tools. For the layman you need to know where to drop in audio, title screens, transitions, etc. no more, no less. It’s not the most sophisticated but it can get the job done quickly.
  • You can use it on multiple interfaces. For example, I use iMovie on my iPhone, iPad, AND my Mac and it’s all rather seamless. You can start a project in one place and pick it up somewhere else. Now that’s flexible.
  • Exporting. You’d think this would be more intuitive but the language Apple uses is a little bizarre...you can choose to save it as a theater project or as a file but it’s not super clear.
  • Fine tuning. Sometimes you need an exact moment where to stop audio and start a person talking and it can be difficult to get that level of detail to match up.
  • Tutorials. It would be nice for iMovie to have some quick and dirty tutorials for you to take within the software as many others do but as far as I can tell there is no such thing.
Dave Becker | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • When combining clips of audio or video, all you have to do is drag and drop the content. It's very easy to use.
  • You can export your finished video into the most commonly used video formats and resolutions, making it really easy to share your videos with others and online.
  • iMovie saves your projects as you work on them, so you can work on multiple projects at once or save the work of several users on one computer.
  • iMovie is a very inexpensive option for video editing software, especially when you aren't looking for cinematic results.
  • It takes a long time to export videos from iMovie. Depending on the length of the project you're working on, it could take a few hours.
  • There are a decent amount of effects and transitions to use, but the customization of them is lacking.
  • iMovie is only available for Apple devices. Windows has other options, but if you're used to iMovie and have to switch to a Windows computer, you might miss the user-friendliness that came from iMovie.
Jackie Bassett | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Editing precisely so you can cut, then test for perfect, then re-cut from the original without losing anything
  • Enhance the experience of the original video and craft even more content from the outtakes.
  • Easy to use - lets you create fearlessly, as you don't have to worry that you'll lose what you created and you can "just create".
  • My OS X was outdated for the version of iMovie we needed. So we had to Google how to match HW with SW without buying an entire new Mac. There should be some easier options for when this happens. We ended up using Chris's iPad as it was much newer.
  • We'd like to see even more tutorials for the things we can do now. Voice-overs and adding music were easy, but it's pretty intense SW and learning by video is the best option.
  • We had an mp4 video we were working with and we learned the hard way that it's best to always go back to the original. The challenge was, the original had a ton of edits and the changes we needed to make in the last iteration were miniscule. It seems there should be a much cleaner way to do that without losing clarity in the last video.
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