After you add video clips and photos to the timeline of your project, you can make a clip longer or shorter, change the sequence of clips, or split a clip into two separate clips.
You can trim a video clip or a photo so it appears for a shorter or longer period of time in your project.
With your project open, tap the video clip or photo in the timeline. A yellow highlight appears around the selected clip.
To zoom in on the clip, pinch open in the center of the timeline. When you zoom in, you can see more detail in the clip, which can make it easier to edit.
Drag the beginning or end of the clip to make the clip shorter or longer:
To make the clip longer, drag the edge of the clip away from the center of the clip.
To make the clip shorter, drag the edge of the clip toward the center of the clip.
If you can't drag the edge of the clip, there might not be additional video at the beginning or end of that clip. For example, if you added a video clip that’s 20 seconds long, you can’t make it longer than 20 seconds. It might also mean the clip is at the shortest length allowed by iMovie, which is 0.3 seconds. If you still want to change the duration of a clip, try changing the speed of the clip.
You can change the sequence of clips in the timeline to change when a particular clip appears in your movie. With your project open, touch and hold the video clip or photo in the timeline until it rises off the timeline, then drag the clip to a different location in the timeline.
When you split a clip, you can adjust the duration of each section, remove unwanted sections, or add different titles to each section.
Scroll in the timeline to position the playhead (the white line) where you want to split the clip.
If necessary, pinch open in the center of the timeline to zoom in on the clip.
Tap the clip, tap the actions button, then tap Split. Or tap the clip, then swipe down over the playhead on the clip, as if you were slicing through the clip with your finger.
iMovie places a None transition (also known as a cut) between the two newly created clips. You can change this transition to a cross-dissolve or other transition.
After you add video clips and photos to the timeline of your project, you can make a clip longer or shorter, change the sequence of clips, or split a clip into two separate clips.
You can trim a video clip or a photo so it appears for a shorter or longer period of time in your movie.
With your project open, scroll the timeline to locate the clip you want to trim.
To zoom in on the clip, choose View > Zoom In, press the Command–Plus sign (+), or pinch the trackpad. When you zoom in, you can see more detail in the clip, which can make it easier to edit.
In the timeline, hold the pointer over the beginning or end of the clip that you want to trim until your pointer becomes the clip trim tool. The arrows indicate which directions you can trim the clip:
To make the clip longer, drag the edge of the clip away from the center of the clip.
To make the clip shorter, drag the edge of the clip toward the center of the clip.
If you can't drag the edge of the clip, it means there is no additional video at the beginning or end of that clip. For example, if you added a video clip that’s 20 seconds long, you can’t make it longer than 20 seconds. It might also mean the clip is at the shortest length allowed by iMovie, which is 0.1 seconds. If you still want to change the duration of a clip, try changing the speed of the clip.
For more precise editing, you can use the clip trimmer to add or remove individual frames from a video clip. You can also see how much of your clip is being used in your movie.
In the timeline, select the clip you want to trim.
Choose Window > Show Clip Trimmer. The selected clip appears in the clip trimmer, above the timeline. The part of the clip that is visible in your movie appears between the two white lines, and the parts of your clip that don't appear in your movie are dimmed and outside the white lines.
Hold the pointer over the line at the beginning or end of the clip until the clip trim tool appears, then make the clip longer or shorter:
To make the clip longer by adding frames, drag away from the center of the clip.
To make the clip shorter by removing frames, drag toward the center of the clip.
You can use a different portion of the same clip while maintaining its length in the project:
In the clip trimmer, hold the pointer over the clip until the clip trimmer tool appears.
Drag the selected portion of the clip left or right.
To close the clip trimmer, press Return.
You can change the sequence of clips in the timeline to change when a particular clip appears in your movie. With your project open, click the video clip or photo in the timeline, then drag the clip left or right depending on where you want the clip to appear in your movie:
If you want the clip to appear earlier, drag the video clip to the left, then release.
If you want the clip to appear later, drag the video clip to the right, then release.
You can also move multiple clips at once:
Hold the Command key as you click each clip you want to select, drag a selection rectangle around the clips, or hold the Shift key as you click each clip.
Drag the clips to a new location in the timeline.
When you split a clip, you can adjust the duration of each section, remove unwanted sections, or add different titles to each section.
Scroll in the timeline to position the playhead (the white line) where you want to split the clip.
If necessary, choose View > Zoom In or press Command–Plus sign (+) to zoom in on the clip.
To split the clip, choose Modify > Split Clip or press Command-B.
After you split the clip, add a transition like a cross-dissolve between the clips.
“CUT!”
Okay so you’re probably not yelling “Cut” while recording video on your iPhone, but what else are you supposed to do to get rid of those 30 seconds of awkward babbling during the middle of your clip?
That’s what editing is for. And with this list of apps, you don't have to be an editing whiz to make a spectacular video. We’ve put together our list of apps deemed the best video editor for iPhone, with our own feedback after using them. The first eight apps are free and the last two are paid if you wanted to get that next level editing ability.
Let’s start off with a classic; iMovie.
iMovie is one of the most basic video editors out there and it’s a great place to start. This app
is free and already installed on all iPhones after the iPhone 4. iMovie is great for beginners or th
ose who don’t have a lot of time to invest in editing their footage.
Included in the mobile app are stock transitions, filters, and music options, making it easy to personalize your videos. Outside of the what’s included, this software isn’t extremely customizable. The app does allow for 4K and 1080p60 videos, which is impressive for mobile.
iMovie is a great beginners guide to video editing. This app definitely leaves room for you to customize your videos, but it may also seem lacking in a few areas. If you’re looking for an app to get your video looking sharp, without spending much time or effort this is it!
Pro tip: Use iMovie as a way to sort, cut, and trim footage that you will later edit on your desktop.
Next up is Splice by GoPro, let’s take a look!
Instasize is one of the best photo and video editing apps out there for creatives and aspiring photographers on Instagram. From basic editing tools such as cropping and resizing to a vast library of filters -- with Instasize, your photos can be Instagram-ready in just a few steps.
Included in the app are over 80 photographer-inspired filters, and access to new exclusive ones every month for premium members. You can also make custom adjustments to your photo's colors, brightness, contrast, and more to get it just the way you like it.
For those who want to look their very best, the app offers a suite of beauty tools that can subtly remove blemishes, adjust discolorations, and smoothen imperfections. You can even apply patterned borders, add typography to your images, and create beautiful collages with the help of magazine-like layouts.
- Cost: Free or $4.99/month for a premium subscription
With an app like Instasize, anyone can achieve a double tap-worthy grid in no time.
With an app like Instasize, anyone can achieve a double tap-worthy grid in no time.
Splice is a simple editor from GoPro that lets you edit footage from your GoPro camera or your video library
on your phone. Load your clips to your project and then start trimming and reordering to create your story. You can select custom transitions between clips, add filters to individual clips (just like on Instagram), customize font text, adjust volume of each clip, and control the speed of each clip. This was our fav
orite part!
The ability to control the speed of each clip allows you to make awesome slo-mo clips and really bring your videos to life. Splice also allows you to add music from their library of stock options, upload your own from your library, or record a voice over inside the app. This feature lets you take your video to the next level!
GoPro also created an additional app that is loaded with templates and lets you create a video in a matter of seconds. Check it out!
Quik is the faster, less customizable sibling to GoPro’s Splice. Quik offers twenty-eight templates that you
can use for your video. You can reorder your clips, trim their length, and add titles with just a couple of taps. Then when you’re done, it spits out a video in the resolution of your choosing.
There aren’t a ton of great music options included that you can choose from, but you can grab music out of your own library. You can also set the desired duration for the total video which can be handy if you’ll be posting it somewhere with a maximum video length, like Instagram’s one minute limit.
The best part about Quik is that the music is automatically timed to the cuts of your film. Another bonus is that inside the templates, all the transitions are automatically generated. This cuts back on your ability to customize, but saves you tons of time!
Next up is Clips from Apple, let’s dig in.
Apple followed suit and created a similar app to iMovie, called Clips. The biggest difference between iMovie and Clips, is that you have more ability to customize your videos in this app. Clips also allows you to record straight from the app, as well as upload videos that are already in your library.
With Clips, you can add captions directly to your video by simply recording your voice, while recording video in the app. This is definitely a bonus because now you don't have generate captions when you upload to Facebook!
Clips goes further and gives you the option to add filters to your photos or video clips that are in your project. Better yet, you can use emojis and animated graphics to spice up your videos. 😎
Clips is a great editor for fun and engaging videos, definitely one of our new favorites! Let’s look at Perfect Video next!
Perfect Video is another great tool to add to your video toolbox. My favorite part of the app is that it allows you to set the orientation of your project. This means, if you shoot vertical or horizontal, you can set the orientation of the whole project to your choosing. We always choose horizontal, check out our post on iPhone recording tips.
This app allows you to all the basic editing tasks, but goes a step further by letting you adjust the color in real time. With Perfect Video you can also add animated subtitles to your clips.
A major perk to this app is that it also has “Square Video,” so that your video can be optimized for Instagram! Also available in this editing software is the ability to change the speed of your video clips, similar to Splice from GoPro.
Perfect Video is great for going a step beyond iMovie, without upgrading on price. Videorama is up next and can be thought of us as the Canva of video editing.
Videorama is made to help you create quick and effective video content. If you’ve ever used Canva or Ripl, this app behaves very similarly to those. Videorama works fast and is pretty straightforward to use.
Combine photos, trim videos, and reorder your clips to put together a video that will have your followers liking and commenting all day! Videorama allows you to customize your video with unique filters and themes that will catch your viewers’ attention.
The only downfall I saw with this app was the fact that some of the options presented in the free version are actually paid features. Of course, these purchases range from $0.99 to $2.99 in price, so the cost isn’t extreme but it can be a little annoying.
Up your social media video game with Videorama! Next on the block is Adobe Express!
Adobe wasn’t about to be left out of this list and Adobe Express is the app that keeps them in the race. This app is one of our favorite editing apps because it puts everything in one place for you.
You can start out with a blank canvas, or you can use one of the templates that they’ve got preloaded to get your project started. Once you select your template, you can also select a theme from their extensive options.
Music is added to every video by default, but you can easily turn music off, switch between one of the royalty free songs in their library, or upload your own! This app is completely free for now and allows you to download your video without having to have a watermark or logo plopped on the end. Woohoo!
Last but not least of our free video editor apps, is FilmoraGo.
FilmoraGo mirrors a lot of the editing features of Videorama, but has a few advantages when it comes to sound and music features. FilmoraGo has all the basic editing features you would expect and it gives you handy themes that will help streamline your editing process.
A major benefit to this app is that you have the ability to record voice overs to narrate your videos. FilmoraGo takes it to the next level with its Audio Mixer that lets you adjust and balance music, audio, and voice over.
FilmoraGo is a great editor for trendy themes and fun animations in your videos. Next, we’ll go over a couple of paid editors that can really enhance your video.
LUMAFUSION
LumaFusion is an editor that allows you to edit up to three tracks at a time. This app lets you create layers of effects that create truly one-of-a-kind effects for your videos. A huge perk to LumaFusion is that it integrates with Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive to make sharing these larger files easy to do!
Finally, we’ll look at Vizzywig 8HD. This bad boy does literally everything.
VIZZYWIG 8HD
Vizzywig is the granddaddy of all video editing apps. This app is the equivalent of having Adobe Premiere at your fingertips. Vizzywig 4K is the first all-in-one movie-making application that combines the camera record mode and the video editing mode together in the camera view.
This app has their own, Universal Picker, which allows you to select, edit, transform and import multiple photos and videos (in order) in one step from your albums, Dropbox, or external data.
Vizzywig lets you completely customize your slides by adding music, studio intros and titles. Additionally, you can add lower-thirds and b-roll in just seconds from your phone.
CONCLUSION:
Editing your videos on your iPhone just got easier. Now that you have a list of apps to choose from, your video marketing is about to take a huge step forward.
What was your favorite app on the list? Let us know if we missed your go-to, we’d love to hear from you!