iMovie '09 & iDVD: The Missing Manual

Editing to the Beat

Without a traditional timeline in iMovie '09, you could pull your hair out trying to match a transition with a beat in the background music. To make sure you don't go bald, iMovie offers a subtle, but very powerful, tool called a Beat Marker.

Beat markers are not the same thing as chapter markers (Phase 2: Insert Chapter Markers) or comment markers (Shortening or Lengthening Clips). Instead, they're specially designed indicators that correspond to particular musical moments in your background track. Video clips that you add to your project automatically snap against these beats, even resizing themselves if necessary. Later, adjustments you make in the Precision Editor will also snap to line up with the beats you mark.

The truth is, beat markers are the biggest iMovie improvement that no one's talking about. They're not even listed in Apple Marketing's short list of cool new features. What beat markers lack in publicity, they make up for in power. They'll save you huge swaths of time editing a movie to the beat of a song.

Before you do anything, go to View → "Snap to Beats" and make sure that "Snap to Beats" is enabled.

Phase 1: Add your Background Music

Start with a new project. Drop a background music track into your project, as described on Background Music.

Now, at this point, you may protest, "Wait a minute! You told me songs won't play unless there are also video clips in place!" You have learned well, Grasshoppa. And your concern is justified. Your song appears ...