Are you a content creator, educator, business professional, or an average Joe looking to tweak videos for personal use with your iPhone? You have abundant iOS video editing apps to get your creative juices flowing. Many users swear by third-party apps that unlock advanced video editing with iPhone devices.
However, can you edit a video with an iPhone without downloading anything? Is there a built-in video editing app? Let's find out.
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Is It Possible to Edit Videos With an iPhone?
Of course! You can edit a video with an Apple iPhone using two integrated apps: Photos and iMovie. They have nearly identical interfaces but only several overlapping features: video trimming, cropping, color adjustments, and filters. iMovie also lets you split, detach, and duplicate videos, change their speed and background, and add voiceover, music, sound effects, overlays, and transitions.
However, the Photos app lets you copy color adjustments from a video and paste them into one or more clips. That's perfect for maintaining consistency across videos.
Still, all those features can't come close to many third-party video editing apps. Filmora Video Editor for iOS is an excellent example. This intuitive app has cutting-edge tools and millions of creative assets, from customizable templates for content creators to trendy effects perfect for social media videos.
It lets you add text, music, sound effects, dynamic stickers, filters, transitions, overlays, etc. You can also enjoy speed ramping, motion tracking, masking, noise reduction, background removal, audio extraction, voiceover recording, and other advanced functionalities. Of course, there are standard editing tools for cropping, trimming, splitting, etc.
The best part? Filmora has state-of-the-art AI features for making outstanding videos. Its AI can generate captions, music, and sounds and change voices in your clips.
All these features make Filmora better than your built-in video editing apps. Still, they're sufficient for quick edits. Many iPhone users love their simplicity and don't need advanced functionalities. Here's a comparison table to help you decide which option is best for your needs.
| iPhone Video Editing Apps | Best For | Top Features |
| Photos | Everyday users needing quick edits | Trimming, cropping, color adjustment, filters, and multi-clip color correction |
| iMovie | Everyday users and aspiring professionals seeking entry-level video editing | Transitions, overlays, background editing, soundtracks, and voiceover recordings |
| Filmora | Beginners and professionals seeking top-class features for advanced video editing | Triming, cropping, color correction, transitions, filters, AI captions, AI music, AI sounds, motion tracking, speed ramping, masking, animated text, smart cutouts, and noise reduction |
Let's see how to edit videos on your iPhone using the Photos app and Filmora. We won't include iMovie to avoid repetition because the workflow is identical to the Photos app, while all its features overlap with Filmora, which has considerably more tools. iMovie is also better for Mac users because its macOS version has more functionalities.
How to Edit a Video on an iPhone With the Photos App
Video editing in iPhone Photos is pretty straightforward. Here's what you can do:
- Launch the Photos app, go to Albums > Videos, open a clip, and tap Edit.
- You'll see four editing features: Video, Adjust, Filters, and Crop. The app will automatically select the first.
- (Optional) Tap the Volume button to mute the video. Tapping it again will unmute it.
- If you want to trim the video, move the playhead on the timeline to the desired starting point (tap and hold it to move frame by frame) and drag the left handle to that point. Then, drag the other handle to the left to cut the end of the clip. Play the video to check the result and hit Done. You can then apply the changes to the video or create a new clip.
- If you tap Save Video to modify the existing video, the app will keep the original, letting you revert the changes. You'll see only the trimmed part when you open the video in your album, so select it and tap Edit. You can now tap Revert or make other adjustments.
- Switch to the Adjust feature at the bottom to correct color attributes. The first is Auto, which usually does the trick. Simply tap it to let the app automatically enhance your video. You can reset it with another tap.
- Swipe across to use other tools and customize your video. Simply tap one (Exposure, Highlights, Shadows, Contrast, Brightness, Black Point, Saturation, Vibrance, Warmth, Tint, Sharpness, Definition, Noise Reduction, or Vignette) and drag left or right on the slider to increase or decrease the effect.
- Switch to Filters and swipe to pick your favorite. Once you select one, move left or right along the slider to modify the intensity.
- Tap Crop at the bottom and move the corner handles to resize your video. Alternatively, tap the Aspect Ratio button for presets and switch between vertical and horizontal formats. Finally, you can rotate and flip the video.
- Tap More (the three horizontal dots) in the top right corner and select Copy Edits to apply all the color adjustments to another video.
- Open the desired video and tap Edit > Paste Edits.
- You can also select multiple videos within an album and tap More > Paste Edits.
Related: how to trim a video on iPhone
How to Edit a Video on an iPhone With a Video Editing App - Filmora
Filmora is a video editing app, so it isn't surprising that it has significantly more features than your iPhone's Photos app. We'll walk you through nearly all of them to show you how Filmora can transform your videos.
Here's how to edit a video on an iPhone using Filmora:
- Launch Filmora and tap New Project.
- Choose a video and tap Import.
- Explore all the features at the bottom. Let's start with the first: Trim.
- Whether you tap Trim or select your video on the timeline, you'll access more editing tools. The first is Animation. Tap it to choose one, adjust its duration, and hit the Checkmark to save the changes. Don't worry if you want to revert them; Filmora has an Undo button in the Player panel for non-destructive editing.
- Tap Volume to increase or lower it and add a fade-in or fade-out effect. You can also mute the video.
- Tap Crop and drag the corner handles or select an aspect ratio.
- Go to Speed and accelerate or slow down your video. Switch to the Curve tab to use speed ramping and highlight specific parts.
- Tap Custom to modify the beats (you can add and delete them).
- Tap Extract Audio to separate it from the video track. You can now add captions, voice effects, and beats, reduce noise, and stretch the audio. You can also tap Recover Audio.
- Return to the previous tools and tap Captions. Then, specify a language and audio source and hit Add Captions so Filmora's AI can generate them.
- If you want to use this video as an overlay in another, tap Mask and pick a rectangle, circle, star, mirror, or another shape, and adjust its size.
- Tap Smart Cutout to use the chroma key or replace the background or the sky.
- Go to the Mosaic tool, select an effect, and resize and reposition it in the Player panel.
- Hit Rotate to mirror, flip, or turn your video to the left or right by 45 degrees with each tap.
- Change the opacity, reduce noise, reverse your video, and create a frozen frame. Once you hit Freeze, you'll see more tools, including Animation and Style. For instance, you can make it look like a Van Gogh painting.
- Tap Filter or Adjust to correct colors. Simply pick one and drag the intensity slider.
- Filmora lets you split videos into multiple parts. Move the playhead to the desired frame and hit the Split button below the timeline. It's right in the middle, between the Crop tools.
- Tap Add Music (unless you want to keep the video's audio) and import or search for songs matching the video's vibe. Tap them for playback and downloads, and hit the Plus button.
- Select the audio track and drag its handles to adjust the duration. You can also customize it, including adding sound effects and recording your voice.
- Filmora's AI can make unique music for your video. Go to AI Audio, select the mood, theme, time, and number of tracks under AI Music, and hit Generate. You can also use text prompts under AI Sound to instruct the AI to create sound effects.
- Return to the main interface and tap Text. Type your text, resize and reposition it in the Player panel, and choose the style, font, or template.
- Explore more eye-catching titles under Art and animate your text.
- Select your title track on the timeline to reveal text editing tools. One includes Tracking, letting you stick text to a moving object.
- Tap Sticker in the main interface and choose a dynamic sticker. Like text, you can animate it and make it track a moving object.
- Add an overlay by tapping PIP and choosing a video, photo, or solid-color background.
- Tap Effect and explore opening, closing, lens, audio, energy, glitch, retro, VHS, cinematic, and other effects.
- If you've split your video, frozen a frame, or added another video, tap any Transition button separating the clips to make them flow smoothly from one to another. Then, pick an effect and adjust its duration. You can tap Apply to All to save time if you want to use identical transitions.
- Other helpful tools let you modify the background, customize a watermark (ideal for branding), use a template, and mark the progress. Tap Background to blur it, change the color and style, or change it to an uploaded image or video.
- Hit Inspiration for funny, mood-related, and intro templates. You can also tap Progress to add and stylize a progress bar.
- Finally, hit Export and choose the desired settings.
Tips for Editing Videos on an iPhone
Video editing requires finesse. Here are the essential tips to follow for professional results:
- Remove unnecessary parts - Trimming the beginning and end of a video and cutting silent fragments (e.g., pauses in interviews or tutorials) is crucial for polishing the footage and making it more fast-paced. That helps retain viewers' attention.
- Embrace color correction - Modify the brightness, contrast, exposure, and other color parameters to make videos more visually pleasing. Besides manual adjustments, experiment with filters. After all, they're presets for unifying your clips and maintaining consistency.
- Clean the audio - Recording high-quality audio is vital, but you can also fine-tune it in post-production. Make it crisp, balance all audio levels, and reduce background noise for a smooth listening experience.
- Choose music wisely - Music should match your videos' atmosphere. For instance, intense action music wouldn't go well with a tutorial, just like calm tones wouldn't help convey the dramatic tone of action shots. Focus on the vibe and add copyright-free music accordingly.
- Add captions - Many people watch videos without sound, making captions paramount for more views. They can also help the DHH (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) community enjoy your video content. That's where AI comes into play because it can save time and create dynamic captions.
- Use effects moderately - You don't want to overwhelm your viewers with sound effects, stickers, and other elements. Use them to capture people's attention, not distract them throughout your video. Focus on the story instead.
Mastering video editing skills on your iPhone may take time, but these tips will guide you to a higher proficiency level.
Conclusion
Video editing with an iPhone is straightforward, regardless of your chosen app. However, integrated options like the Photos app leave much to be desired. Therefore, rely on Photos for quick edits and use a top-of-the-line video editor like Filmora for more sophisticated creations.
