How to Add Video Effects in iMovie

Step 1. Import videos to iMovie

Lauch iMovie, open your project or start a new project. Note: iMovie supported video formats are: DV, DV Widescreen, HDV 1080i (25 and 30 fps), HDV 720p (25 and 30 fps), MPEG 4 Simple Profile and iSight. And some models of camcorders are not supported. When you import movies to iMovie, make sure your videos are supported by iMovie. If not, you should get a Mac Video Converter to convert DVD and videos to iMovie.

Step 2. Add video effects in iMovie

In the Project Library, select a video clip and you will see a "Gear" appears. Choose "Clip Adjustments". Then you will see an "Inspector " pop up on screen. In this window, the Video Effect shows "None". To add video effect in iMovie, you should hit the Video Effect button and then you will see a list of video effects that you can add to your videos for you to choose. You can mouse over every effect to preview it. Find the particular one you like and click it to apply it to your clip.

Step 3. Preview the result

After you choose the video effect, you can preview your videos in the viewing window to see the whole effect. If you are not satisfied, you can change a video effect as you like. When all is OK, you can then press "Done" to finish.

To apply video effects to polish yuor video, you can also use a iMovie alternative program like Wondershare Filmora. It provides extensive amount of visual effects you can use to apply to your video with a single mouse click. What's more, some effects even allows you to adjust the parameters to achieve more. Below explains how to do it step by step. Get started to download a free trial below:

Step 1. Add video to the program

After you download and install this program, launch it and drag your source videos directly to this program. Note: A media browser is also provided for you to load files from your iTunes library, iMovie, iPhoto, etc. Apart from that, you can also record a video using your video capture device.

Step 2. Apply video effects

Highlight the video you want to apply effect, and click the gear icon to select "Effect". In the window that appears , select your favorite effects template and double click it to apply to your video. Now you can click the Play icon to preview the real-time effect in the right screen window. You can also customize its duration time as you like.

Step 3. Export the video

When you're satisfied with the final result, simply hit "Export" to save on your desktop, or share online on websites like YouTube, Facebook, etc. Additionally, you can also burn it directly to a DVD disk in minutes.