As you may have seen from our YouTube channel, we've put up a few travel vlogs. Editing a video can be annoying at the best of times but if you don't have the right sofware, it can make it ten times harder. I've searched through so many free apps that were available for my Windows 10 laptop but there was always something that let them down such as restricted access to features or requiring you to have a watermark across your video. After hours trying different ones out I realised I had overlooked the most obvious option. I've had an iPad for a while and it comes with the iMovie app for free. Although this version has limited features compared to the full version on MacBooks and iMac's it seemed so much better than anything I had tried previously and seemed like it should be good enough for what I needed. I know getting this app relies on having an iPhone or iPad, but more people are migrating towards these because of their multimedia uses. I'm going to try and show the different features available within the app to try and help you decide whether it would be a good fit for you.
Importing & Starting Off
The first step when you open iMovie is to select whether you want to create a movie or a trailer. I've never needed to create a trailer before but I can definitely see its uses. After this you'll have to choose your theme/template of which there are a decent amount so you there should be something suitable for everyone. For the videos I've produced I ended up using the simple theme as it gave the clean and professional look I wanted.
Next you will see the editing section open up which is where you can add in your clips. You can scroll through your folders to find where your content is and then click onto the clip that you want to add into the timeline. From here you are able to preview the clip, drop it into the timeline or add it to a clip already there to access the 'picture in picture' feature so that you can have one smaller video playing within the main video or splitting in into two different sections. This is great if you have multiple clips you want to include at the same time. There is also the option to add in photos and audio both from your folders and using the iPads camera and microphone.
Editing Your Video
When you select your clip in the timeline a variety of options open up. The first one lets you complete three actions. You can split the clip if you want to break it up into multiple sections, detach the audio if you either don't want it included, and lastly you can duplicate the clip. There is also a zoom function which lets you pinch zoom into the video to achieve the right size. The second option is to adjust the speed of the clip. On this version of the app (2.2.2) you can only slow down the footage but you may be able to speed it up on newer iPads etc. It will also let you freeze a clip if you want to hold the action to show a key part.
The third option will let you alter the volume level which works on a percentage scale. You can reduce it to a lower level than the initial volume which may come in useful for including background music while keeping the original audio for example. You are also able to increase it up to 500% of its original level so it gives you a bit of freedom to switch up the levels to suit what kind of output you want. The fourth option allows you to add text to the clip and you can choose from different styles to suit your video such as fading in and out. If you are including the 'picture in picture' type video, when you select the additional clip, this text option will change to let you choose how you want the two clips to appear, such as side by side or one within the other. The fifth and final option lets you add filters to your clips to alter them for your own preference. Some of them are more intense than others so make sure you preview them before going ahead.
Exporting Your Video
When you are happy and have finished editing you can watch it back to make sure everything runs smoothly before exporting it. If you are completely happy with your video you can upload it directly to one of your social platforms such as YouTube or Facebook. You can also save it onto the iPad so you have a copy, and it will let you choose the resolution you want it in. I know this will depend on what resolution it was filmed in, but I recommend exporting in the highest one possible to get the best out of your video.
Overall I think that the iMovie app is great even though it's only a simplified version. If you are like me, who doesn't make loads of videos and can't afford to get a full version of video editing software and you already own an iPad/iPhone, then this is definitely worth using. If you want to see what kind of videos you can produce using the iMovie app, have a look at our YouTube channel and check out some of the videos such as our LA vlogs.
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