Top 10 Cool Effects for iMovie to Power Up Your Videos

The very first version of iMovie was released in 1999 for Mac OS 8 and presently, with lots of advancements, this software tool is included with almost all the latest Mac devices.

iMovie is capable enough to import photos and videos from hard drives. One can easily edit them with various tools like adding titles, effects, music, themes, basic color correction, and video enhancement, etc. In this article, we will show you the top 10 coolest effects that iMovie features.

• Top 10 Cool Effects for iMovie You Should Try
• How to Add Effects in iMovie on Mac?
• The Best iMovie Alternative for Windows and Mac

Top 10 Cool Effects for iMovie You Should Try

If you are new to the iMovie platform and want to know about all the adventurous things that are possible with iMovie, then the information provided below will be helpful for you.

1. Blue or Green Screens

It is not important to go to different locations for adjustments of colors on your video backgrounds, rather it is possible at your home itself. Yes, with the help of iMovie you can easily cut any single color from your background, make it transparent and then replace it with other useful color backgrounds.

The most commonly used background colors are green and blue, as they provide completely unique shades as compared to human skin color.

Related: How to Use iMovie Green Screen Effect

2. The Dolly Zoom Effect

This effect is utilized at the time of video shoots. If you have iMovie on your device, then it is possible to create wonders even after shoot using the Dolly Zoom effect.

In this effect, the foreground is made motionless whereas the background appears moving with an additional zooming technique. It helps to create wonderful videos within very little time, and viewers will definitely enjoy such immobile fronts with consistent background zooming.

Related: How to Add Video Effects in iMovie

3. Steadycam Effect

This wonderful effect helps videographers to smooth motions with a professional touch. If you wish to track moving objects with a very keen observation, then steadycam effect will be highly useful for you. This effect can be easily used for professional object tracking applications.

4. External Microphones

There is no doubt to say that sound effects add more beauty to your videos, and they appear much attractive on-screen. The major reason behind the use of external microphones is to record videos with higher production values even with the least expenses.

Generally poor sound quality distracts viewers from your content, but the use of external microphones can improve the sound in videos while enhancing the whole experience and viewers will definitely appreciate your work.

5. Built-in Effects

The impressive built-in effects of iMovie help to change the appearance of videos progressively with time. It is possible to alter color, contrast as well as brightness for any video clip. One can also make use of these special effects, distorting any image content for various applications.

6. Create Cutaway Type Shots

It is also possible to create an interesting storyline by cutting scenes in between, and you will never notice any loss of information by doing this. You can cut scenes from different portions and add them to some other locations. It also helps videographers to make use of different takes so that something with the best appearance can be used.

7. Split Edit to Make Videos Interesting

This effect is commonly used in the video industry as it helps to improve shots to a larger extent. The split edit effect serves producers with immense flexibility so that any audio content can be merged in any situation to make videos more effective. Such types of edits can be achieved fast, and they provide a professional appearance to videos.

You can watch audio waveforms of any clip using this split effect, and it can be used to alter any desired segment of video for creating something more interesting.

8. Split Screen for Videos

This advanced tool helps to create multiple images on the screen at a time so that you can add proper attention to each one of them after comparison, and they can be used for complementing each other.

iMovie helps to improve the quality of each and every shot with added flexibility and producers can make a selection for best audio effects at the same time to create wonders in every take. It serves as the best professional editing tool but can be implemented for short processing only.

Related: How to Make a Split Screen Video in iMovie

9. Movie Trailer Creation

It is possible to announce a forthcoming movie in impressive style by creating artistic shots. You can easily select clips from the whole movie without revealing the suspense, and they can be merged together to develop a trailer in a funny, impressive, and attractive manner. It will help to focus on the movie concept and will soon grab the attention of all viewers towards your creation.

10. Cut in Time for Music

Here you can easily generate an opening sequence for music or movie so that viewers can be brought to the right mood, and they can stay focused till the end. You can build higher interest level viewers using this professional effect, and iMovie helps producers to utilize it effectively.

How to Add Effects in iMovie on Mac?

After getting the top 10 cool effects for iMovie, it's time to learn how to add effects to videos in iMovie.

Here are the detailed steps for Mac users.

Step 1. Import Video Clips

Launch iMovie on your Mac device and create a new project. Then get to the File tab and click on Import to import the video clips you need.

Step 2. Choose a Video Effect to Add

Drag the video clip to the timeline. Click on the Video Effect button, and you will see a list of video effects for you to choose from. Pick one and click on it to apply.

Step 3. Preview and Save the Effect

After applying the effect, you can preview the whole video in the viewing window. If it is OK, click on the export icon to save your work.

The Best iMovie Alternative for Windows and Mac

If you are working on the Windows platform, then you may need any other software tool for all the above effects, as iMovie will not be compatible with your system. Experts recommend Wondershare Filmora as one of the best iMovie alternatives for Windows users, as it has everything that you need to create outstanding videos.

Related: Why Should You Choose Filmora As the Alternative to iMovie?

Same as iMovie, it possesses all basic editing like adjusting audio/video tracks, merging, rotating, cropping, splitting, trimming videos, and many more. This software comes with an easy-to-use interface and all flexible features same as iMovie where you can easily add a green screen, background music, motion graphics, titles, texts, and change faces inside videos as per need.

With just a simple drag and drop feature, you can easily create new projects and save them to any desired video file format. And the resulting videos can also be directly uploaded to YouTube and Vimeo without any trouble.

Filmora has more than 300 built-in effects, and there are more effects available in the Filmstock effects store.

The video below is about the Block Buster Effect from Filmstock. Watch it first to check one of the coolest effects that Filmora provides.

Above are some of the best effects that you can use in iMovie, as well as how to apply them. If you want to get more visual effects and make the video more creative, then you can try the Wondershare Filmora video editor, which is available on both Windows and Mac computers.