Section A.3. Edit Menu


A.3. Edit Menu

The Edit menu contains all of the editing commands described in Chapter 5. In fact, along with the various drag-and-drop editing techniques described in this book, the commands in the Edit menu are the only tools you need to build your movies.

A.3.1. Undo

In iMovie, you can take back not only the last editing maneuver, not only the last ten (as in iMovie 4), but an infinite number of steps, all the way back to the last time you saved your document (or created it, depending on which came most recently). The ability to change your mind, or to recover from a particularly bad editing decision, is a considerable blessing.

The wording of this command changes to show you which editing step it's about to reverse. It might say Undo Import, Undo Move (after you've dragged a clip), Undo Split (after you've chopped a clip in half), and so on. Keyboard shortcut: -Z.


Tip: Remember, saving your project or emptying the project Trash command wipes out iMovie's memory of your last ten steps. You'll no longer be able to undo your previous editing actions.

A.3.2. Redo

We're only human, so it's entirely possible that sometimes you might want to undo your Undo.

For example, suppose that you've just used the Undo command a few times, retracing your steps back to a time when your movie was in better shape, and then decide that you've gone one step too far. That's when the Redo command is useful; it tells iMovie to undo your last Undo, so that you can step forward in time, redoing the steps that you just undid. (If you haven't yet used the Undo command, then Redo is dimmed.) Keyboard shortcut: Shift- -Z.

A.3.3. Cut, Copy, Paste

You can use the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands in three different ways:

  • To move clips around on the Clips pane, on the Movie Track, or between the Clips pane and the Movie Track. For example, you might click a clip in the Clips pane, choose Edit Copy, and then choose Edit Paste. Doing so creates a duplicate of the clip. Now youre free to edit, crop, or chop up the original, confident that you've got a duplicate as a backup. Keyboard shortcuts: -C for Copy, -X for Cut, -V for paste.


    Tip: The beauty of copying clips in iMovie is that it doesn't really create new files on your hard drive and take up more disk space. Although it looks like iMovie's duplicated a physical clip, in fact, it's simply created a new reference like an alias or pointerto the original footage file.
  • To chop out some footage from a clip. In other words, if you use the triangular handles under the Scrubber bar to highlight part of a clip (see Figure 5-3, for example), you can use the Cut command to delete that footage. The result is that you split the original clip into two clipswhatever was on either side of the part you excise. Now you can paste the cut material into the Clips pane or Movie Track, where it becomes a new clip of its own. (You can use the Copy command in the same way, except that it doesn't split the original clip or remove any footage from it.)

  • To transfer a clip to a different project. In iMovie HD, you can copy and paste footage between documents (projects) exactly the way you might transfer text between two word-processing documents. All right, not exactly; iMovie can keep only one project at a time open , and pasting can take a very long time (because you're actually transferring huge video files on the hard drive). Still, this new feature is 100 times better than the old workarounds for re-using clips among different movies.

The Paste command produces different results, depending on what's highlighted:

  • If a clip in the Clips pane is highlighted, iMovie puts the pasted clip there.

  • If a clip in the Movie Track is highlighted, the Paste command always deposits the cut or copied material just after it.

  • If no clip is selected anywhere , iMovie deposits the copied clip just after whatever clip contains the Playhead.

  • If the Playhead is in the middle of a clip in the Movie Track, iMovie deposits the new material right there at the Playhead line, chopping in half the existing clip and shoving its end portion off to the right to make room.

Cut, Copy, Paste, and Clear also work when you're editing text, such as the names of your clips or the text for your credits and other titles.


Tip: To get an interesting "instant replay" effect, try this trick. Copy a short bit of interesting video, such as your friend tripping over his shoelace and hitting the ground. Paste the snippet twice, so that you wind up with three copies of the same short snippet all in a row. Now select the middle copy and apply iMovie's Reverse effect (page 170). Play through this sequence to see your friend fall down, bounce back up again, and then fall down again, for hours of family entertainment. (Of course, there are many other ways to use this technique that aren't quite so reminiscent of America's Funniest Home Videos. )

A.3.4. Clear

The Clear command is identical to Cut except that it doesn't keep the deleted material on the invisible Clipboard. Instead, it simply removes the highlighted clip or selection without affecting what was already on the Clipboard. Keyboard shortcut: the Delete key.

A.3.5. Select All

This command highlights all of the clips in the Clips pane, all of the footage in the Movie Track, or all of the text in a box, as described here:

  • If any clip is highlighted, Select All highlights all of the clips in the same area (Movie Track or Clips pane). You might do this to select all the clips on the Clips pane, for example, in readiness to drag all of them into the Movie Track at once. If audio clips are highlighted, Select All selects all the audio clips.

  • If no clip is highlighted anywhere, Select All highlights all the clips in the Movie Track.

  • If you're editing text, such as a title or the name of a clip, this command highlights all the text in the box. Now you can copy it using Edit Copy or replace it by typing over it.

Keyboard shortcut: -A.

A.3.6. Select Similar Clips

This intriguing new command highlights all of the clips that are the same kind as the one you've currently selected in the Clips pane or the Movie Track. For example, if you click a title clip and then choose this command, iMovie highlights all the other title clips, too. The same trick works to select all black clips, all photos, all transition effects, all clips that were chopped from the same original piece of footage, and so on.

This command can be a quick, efficient way to delete, move, consolidate, or modify a lot of similar material en masse. Keyboard shortcut: Option- -A.

A.3.7. Select None

Memorizing this command (or better yet, its keyboard equivalent, Shift- -A) is an excellent idea. It comes into play quite often; for example, every time you wrap up editing a particular clip and then want to watch your entire movie in progress. You can play back the entire movie only when no clip is selected.


Tip: You can also deselect all clips by clicking anywhere on the metallic-looking surface of the iMovie background.

You can also use Select None after you've been fiddling with the crop handles under the Scrubber bar. Select None makes them disappear, so that none of the footage is highlighted.

A.3.8. Crop

Use the Crop command to trim excess ends off a clip after you've isolated a portion of it using the triangular handles under the Scrubber bar. Keyboard shortcut: -K.

A.3.9. Split Video (Audio) Clip at Playhead

It's often convenient to chop a clip in half; this command does the trick. Drag the Playhead, or press the right and left arrow keys, to position it precisely at the location where you want the split to be made. After you choose Edit Split Video Clip at Playhead, you wind up with two clips. If the original clip was called "Great shot," iMovie names the resulting clips "Great shot and "Great shot/1," for example.

If an audio clip is selected in the Timeline viewer, and the Playhead is parked somewhere within it, the command says Split Audio Clip at Playhead instead, and it chops the audio clip in two. Keyboard equivalent: -T, just as it is in GarageBand.

A.3.10. Create Still Frame

This command adds, to your Clips pane or Movie Track, a new still-image clip created from the frame in the Monitor window. See page 256 for details. Keyboard equivalent: Shift- -S.



iMovie HD & iDVD 5. The Missing Manual
iMovie HD & iDVD 5: The Missing Manual
ISBN: 0596100337
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 209
Authors: David Pogue

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