Change the look of your iMovie project

Change the way your movie looks with effects like video filters, color adjustment tools, and the Ken Burns effect.

Change the look of your iMovie project on iPhone or iPad

iMovie includes effects that can change the way your clips look. If you want a particular look, use a preset filter like B&W (black and white) or Sepia. And for any photos in your iMovie project, you can adjust the Ken Burns effect that sweeps across and zooms in and out on the image.

You can use the green screen effect in iMovie to add green-screen content as an overlay.

Use filters in iMovie on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Add a filter to a single video clip in a project:

  1. Tap a video clip in the timeline to select it.

  2. Tap the Filters buttonNo alt supplied for Image, then tap a filter to preview it in the viewer.

    iMovie on iPad project with Filters gallery open
  3. Tap outside the filter to apply the filter, or tap None if you don’t want to use a filter.

You can also add a filter to an entire project:

  1. Open a project.

  2. Tap the Project Settings buttonNo alt supplied for Image, tap a filter, then tap Done. Filters are applied to all the video clips in the project, but not to photos or other still images.

If you want to add a filter to a photo, use the Photos app to apply a filter, then add the photo back into the timeline of your project. The Photos app includes many of the same filters as iMovie.

Adjust the Ken Burns effect

iMovie automatically applies the Ken Burns effect to any photos added to an iMovie project. You can adjust the effect or turn it off altogether.

  1. In the timeline, tap the photo you want to adjust.

  2. Tap the Actions buttonNo alt supplied for Image to show the Ken Burns effect controls in the viewer.

  3. To set the way the photo is framed at the beginning, tap the Start buttonNo alt supplied for Image, then pinch to zoom in or out and drag the image in the viewer.

  4. To set the way the photo is framed at the end, tap the End buttonNo alt supplied for Image, then pinch to zoom in or out and drag the image in the viewer.

  5. To turn off the Ken Burns effect for the photo, tap Ken Burns EnabledNo alt supplied for Image.

Change the look of your iMovie project on Mac

iMovie includes effects that can change the way your clips look. You can quickly improve the way a clip looks and sounds. If you want a particular look, use a preset filter like Black and White or Sepia. Adjust colors, match colors between clips, fix whites or grays, and more with the built-in automatic color adjustment tools. Or make manual color adjustments.

You can use the green screen effect in iMovie to add green-screen content as an overlay.

Quickly improve the way a clip looks and sounds in iMovie on Mac

To quickly improve the way a clip looks and sounds, select the clip in the browser or timeline, then click the Enhance buttonNo alt supplied for Image above the viewer.

Use a preset filter in iMovie on Mac

  1. Select one or more clips in the browser or timeline, then click the Clip Filter and Audio Effects buttonNo alt supplied for Image above the viewer.

  2. Click the Clip Filter button.

  3. In the window showing the different filters, hold the pointer over a filter to preview the filtered clip in the viewer, then click a filter to apply it to the selected clips.

  4. To turn off a filter, click the Clip Filter and Audio Effects buttonNo alt supplied for Image, then click Reset.

Automatically change video colors in iMovie on Mac

  1. Select one or more video clips in the browser or timeline.

  2. Click the Color Balance buttonNo alt supplied for Image above the viewer, then choose an option:

    • To make automatic color adjustments, click Auto.

    • To match colors between clips, click Match Color, drag your pointer (which is now an eyedropper) over another clip that you want match with the selected clip, then click when you’ve found a frame you want to use as the source for the color match.

    • To fix the whites or grays in a clip, click the White Balance button, then click the part of the clip that should be white or gray in the viewer.

    • To use skin tone to change the color of a clip, click the Skin Tone Balance button, then click an exposed part of someone’s skin in the clip in the viewer.

  3. When done, click the Apply switchNo alt supplied for Image. To turn the effect on or off, drag the switch. Or click the Cancel buttonNo alt supplied for Image to remove the change.

Manually change video colors in iMovie on Mac

With the built-in color correction tools in iMovie, you make clips look as natural as possible, or you can completely alter the colors of clips. Select one or more clips in the browser or timeline, then click the Color Correction buttonNo alt supplied for Image above the viewer to show the color correction controls:

iMovie for Mac project window with Color Correction controls visible
  • To adjust shadows, brightness, contrast, or highlights, drag the sliders in the multislider control on the left.

  • To adjust saturation (the intensity of the color), drag the Saturation control in the middle.

  • To adjust color temperature, drag the Color Temperature control on the right.

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