iMovie: The Missing Manual

Chapter 18. iMovie for iOS: The Lay of the Land

Twenty years ago, editing video on a computer was a very big deal. Of course, those computers were incredibly expensive and required lots of training. But with the advent of iMovie, video editing came to the masses. Normal people could edit video on computers they could actually afford. iMovie was, historically speaking, a major breakthrough.

Today, you don’t even need a computer to edit video. Thanks to an app called iMovie for iOS, you can cut clips on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. This is real video editing, too, not just clip-trimming. You can add titles, slo-mo effects, soundtracks, and transitions. If that doesn’t blow you away, consider that you can do all of this on the same device you used to film your movie.

There are some limits. You won’t find as many tools in iMovie for iOS as you will in the Mac version. (Notice how this section of the book is decidedly thinner?) You get fewer options for titles, transitions, sound and video effects, and themes. But in exchange for those sacrifices, you get a video editor that’s easy to use and that fits in your pocket. (Unless you use an iPad or have small pockets.)

Download iMovie

iMovie for iOS, like other iPhone and iPad apps, comes from the App Store. Tap the App Store icon on your touchscreen gadget and type “iMovie” into the store’s search box (or scroll to the bottom of the Featured page and tap the link “Apps Made by Apple.” You’ll see a list that includes iMovie.)

For any iDevice ...