iMovie (2013): Add transitions to your movie
Add transitions between clips automatically
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With your project open, choose Window > Movie Properties.
Information about the movie appears above the viewer.

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Click the Settings button.
Editable movie settings appear above the viewer.
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Select the “Automatic content” checkbox.

If you have applied a theme to your movie, iMovie inserts standard cross-dissolve transitions between clips, with occasional transitions based on the theme. Not every space between clips gets a transition.
iMovie also adds a theme-styled opening title over the first clip and an end title over the last. For more information about themes, see iMovie themes overview.
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To include only standard, non-themed transitions in your movie, click the Theme button, select No Theme, click Change, and then deselect the “Automatic content” checkbox.
Note: If you already have a theme applied to your movie and select No Theme, all theme elements are removed from the movie.
With automatic transitions turned on, you can double-click the edge of any transition in a movie and change its duration in the precision editor. For more information, see Trim, split, and move clips.
Add a transition between clips manually
To add transitions manually, you must first turn off automatic transitions. For more information, see Disable automatic transitions.
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Select Transitions in the Content Library section of the sidebar below the Libraries list.
The browser shows all the available transitions. If a theme is set for your movie, theme-styled transitions appear above the standard transitions.
To preview a transition, skim it in the browser.

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Drag a transition between two clips in the timeline.
A transition icon
appears between the clips.
Add a cross-dissolve transition between clips
To add a cross-dissolve transition between clips, you must first turn off automatic transitions. For more information, see Disable automatic transitions.
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In the timeline, click the edge of either clip you want to connect with a cross-dissolve.
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Choose Edit > Add Cross Dissolve (or press Command-T).
A cross-dissolve transition appears between the two clips in the timeline.
Note: If you select a clip in the timeline and choose Edit > Add Cross Dissolve, a cross-dissolve is added to both sides of the clip.
Change the default duration of transitions in a movie
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With your movie open in the timeline, choose Window > Movie Properties.
Information about the movie appears above the viewer.
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Click the Settings button.
Editable movie settings appear above the viewer.
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Drag the Transitions slider to set the default transition duration in seconds.
Note: If your default transition duration is longer than is allowed by the available media in adjacent clips in your movie, the longest possible duration is used instead.