Adding Transitions

Visual transitions add a professional touch to your project. Transitions also help tell a story. For example, a cross-dissolveone clip fading out while another fades in can imply the passage of time. Imagine slowly dissolving from a nighttime campfire scene to a campsite scene shot the following morning.

Similarly, iMovie HD's Push transition, where one clip pushes another out of the frame, is a visual way of saying "meanwhile..." Imagine using this transition between a scene of an expectant mother in the delivery room and a shot of her husband pacing in the waiting room, chain-smoking nervously. (Okay, so this is an old-fashioned maternity movie.)

iMovie HD's Fade In, Fade Out, and Cross Dissolve transitions are "desert-island" transitionsthe ones you'd want when stranded on an island (perhaps while editing an episode of Survivor). But unless you are stranded on an island, don't limit yourselfexperiment with other types of transitions. To preview any transition, select a clip in the timeline or clip viewer, then click the transition's name in the Transitions pane.

Like effects, transitions are visual spice. Season your video with them, but don't let them overpower the main course: your subject.

Creating a Transition

To add a transition between two clips, first click iMovie HD's Editing button, and then click the Transitions button to display the Transitions pane.

Testing the Transition

To see the finished transition, select it and press the spacebar.

If you aren't happy with the transition, you can delete it (press the Delete key) or choose Undo.

Inserting a Clip at a Transition

When you create a transition between two clips, you establish a connection between those clips.

If you need to insert a new clip between those two clips, you must first delete the transition: select it and press Delete. Now you can insert the new clip.

Updating a Transition

Change your mind about using a particular transition style? To change an existing transition, first select it in the clip viewer or timeline viewer. Make the desired changes, and click the Update button in the Transitions pane.

Applying a Transition to Multiple Clips

You can apply the same transition to multiple clips in one step: select the clips in the timeline, select a transition, then click the Add button. You can also update multiple transitions at once: select them in the timeline ( -click on them or use the Edit menu's Select Similar Clips command), adjust transition settings, then click Update.

Some Background on Rendering

When you create a transition, title, or effect, iMovie HD must create the video frames that represent your efforts. This rendering process takes time; you may notice iMovie HD slows down a bit during rendering.

You can continue to work while rendering takes place. You can even play back your movie, although you may notice stuttering playback when iMovie HD reaches areas it hasn't finished rendering.

Although you can work during rendering, you might want to avoid adding multiple transitions or titles in rapid-fire succession, as doing so can slow iMovie HD to a crawl. To gauge how long rendering will take, look at the transitions, titles, or effects that you've added: a little red progress bar shows how far along rendering is.