iMovie® '09 and iDVD® Portable Genius

Chapter 6. How Do I Create Cool Transitions, Titles, and Effects?

To add pizzazz, you can apply one of iMovie's slick themes to either a new movie or one you've already created. Your movie will probably also need transitions to smooth the movement from one clip to the next, and it will almost certainly require titles to provide its name and credits; it may also need a map to show where it takes place. Display iMovie's Advanced Tools so that you can create effects such as cutaways, picture in picture, or superimpose an actor or presenter on another clip by using a green screen.

Applying Themes

A theme is a predefined set of transitions, titles, and effects that you can use to give a movie a finished feel. You can apply a theme when you start creating a movie or at any point after that.

To apply a theme when you create a movie, click the theme you want in the Theme area of the New Project dialog box.

To apply a theme to a movie you've already created, press

In either case, you can select the Automatically add transitions and titles check box if you want to have iMovie add them. Transitions and titles are an important part of themes, so when you do apply a theme, you'll probably want to select this check box.

When you're applying a theme to a movie that already contains clips, there's one complication: ...