How To Edit Vertical Video on iMovie

In this article, we'll teach you how to edit vertical video on iMovie for platforms like TikTok and IGTV. iMovie doesn't readily make it known how to best edit vertical video...I know shocker, right? However, there is a method to enable allowing you to edit native vertical video in iMovie on Mac. It's a crucial tip to know how to edit vertical video in the ever-present social media world. 

Thanks to apps like TikTok and IGTV, vertical video is on the rise and likely here to stay. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear cut way of editing vertical video inside iMovie. So today we'll walk you through a workaround to help you edit vertical videos inside iMovie on a Mac.

​Traditionally, when you import a vertical video into a standard Movie project, you'll be left with these black bars on either side of the vertical video, these bars, otherwise referred to as Wings, will be attached to the video, even upon final export. And we don't want that. We want native vertical video. 

So with iMovie launched, instead of clicking on the Create New button to start a movie or a trailer, instead click on File - then App Preview. This App Preview project option was created for iOS app developers to quickly format vertical videos that appear in the app description on the App Store. However, whether you're an app developer or not, you can use this feature to edit vertical videos inside iMovie. So click OK to get into the project. 

Once inside, simply import your vertical video footage into the project and drag it down to the timeline. Now you'll noticed in the video preview monitor, there are no more black bars on the sides of this video, which tells us this is indeed a project for vertical video. You'll simply continue to edit your video as you would normally inside iMovie, adding more clips, applying effects and titles, etc.

Depending on your level of familiarity with iMovie, you'll notice inside the Titles and Backgrounds tabs, you won't have as many options available as you do when you're editing standard horizontal video. But not to worry, should you really want to add the pop up text effect or any other title or background, simply jump into a standard movie project, apply the effect to your timeline, then select it, copy it - then jump back over to your app preview project and paste the item onto your timeline and adjust the size accordingly.

Once you're ready to export your finished vertical video, simply click on File - Share - then App Preview. This window will appear confirming that you're about to export a 1080x1920 sized video which is the resolution for vertical video, click Next and choose where to save your file on your Mac. Once it's finished exporting you'll now have your vertical video formatted and ready to upload.

Watch Video: How To Edit Vertical Video on iMovie
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