iMovie offers a broad selection of title styles and intuitive controls to help you introduce, annotate, and end your videos with style. This guide consolidates the most practical steps and tips for adding, editing, and customizing titles across iMovie on Mac and iOS, drawing from the extensive information available about the feature set.
Accessing the Title Library
All available titles can be found in the Content Library, which is located in the lower part of the sidebar. You can also access them by going to Window > Content Library > Titles, or by using the Cmd-2 keyboard shortcut. With your iMovie project open, the library presents a gallery of title thumbnails you can preview by hovering your cursor over a tile and moving it left to right in the main preview area to see the animation.
Choosing and Adding a Title
To add a title to your project, drag it from the Library onto the Timeline section. Doing this transforms the title into a thin purple banner; as you drag it left and right, yellow vertical guides appear to help align the title to the start, middle, or end of a clip. The title is anchored to the clip with a small hook on its left, and if you move the underlying clip, the title moves with it. The title can span multiple clips and its duration is adjustable by dragging its edges to resize. You can place the title over a video clip, a solid-color background, or a background clip.
Editing Title Text and Style
Click somewhere over the title to view it in the main preview, then double-click the placeholder text to edit. Text boxes typically allow a single line, so keep titles short. To edit font and typography in detail, select the title and click the Adjust button (represented by a 'T') to access mode options. Some early title styles may be non-customizable; if so, try scrolling to later titles for more options. If you replace an existing title with another from the library, the new title replaces the old one while preserving duration, and any preserved text in a matching number of text boxes is kept.
You can customize text further by selecting Show Fonts to open Mac OS X’s Font Palette, granting access to all installed fonts. For basic styling, you can make text bold, italics, or outline, and apply different colors to individual letters within a text box. You can also reposition and resize text within the viewer by dragging or pinching, respectively.
Working with Title Text Across Clips and Backgrounds
To add text to a video clip, photo, or background, add the title and then edit the text. If you’ve applied a theme, titles related to that theme appear at the top of the browser. You can add a background to your title sequence or end credits by selecting Backgrounds and choosing a background to apply at the beginning or end of the timeline. If you prefer using your own background, insert a video clip, photo, or image as the background and then attach a title above it in the timeline.
Changing Title Duration and Position
The duration of a title can be adjusted by dragging its edges in the timeline. If the title sits at the first or last third of a clip, iMovie automatically adjusts its duration to fit that portion. To move a title, drag it within the timeline to a new position; if a title is attached to a clip, it moves with that clip. You can also replace a title with another one while maintaining its duration, but be mindful of the number of text boxes-if you go from two text boxes to one, some text may be lost.
Changing Title Style and Theme Integration
To change a title’s style, select the clip in the timeline, click the Titles button, and double-click a different style. If you apply a theme to your movie, theme-related titles appear at the top of the browser. Mac users typically have a wider range of title styles (close to 50 on Mac), whereas iOS provides fewer options (about 12). You can switch between title styles to suit the moment, such as opening, middle, or closing styles for theme-based openings or endings.
Editing Text Details on iPhone and iPad
On iPhone or iPad, tap a video clip to reveal the inspector, tap Titles, and select a title. To edit text, tap the title in the viewer, choose Edit, type the new text, and tap Done. You can reposition the title to a new onscreen location, resize it by pinching, and change font, color, or position from the inspector. Lower Thirds and Full Clip Duration are available options, allowing titles to appear at the bottom or across the entire clip. You can also apply a style change within the Titles menu by tapping More to access Opening, Middle, or Closing options. Removing a title is as simple as selecting None in the title options.
Tips for Advanced Customization and Limitations
iMovie’s built-in titles are convenient but have limitations: not all title styles are fully customizable, and some styles cannot be altered to display multiple text boxes or complex layouts. For highly customized text, you can create a graphic title in an external app such as Keynote or PowerPoint, export it as a video or image, and overlay it in iMovie. This approach enables more creative control over typography, shadows, and multi-line text, which may be necessary for branded or highly stylized sequences.
Practical Quick Steps
- Open your project in iMovie and go to the Content Library > Titles.
- Choose a title and drag it onto the timeline above the clip where you want it to appear.
- Click the title to edit its text in the viewer, then adjust its duration by dragging its edges.
- Use the Adjust options to customize font, color, size, and placement. If needed, replace with a different title style while preserving duration.
- For more advanced text, consider creating a custom title in Keynote and importing it as a graphic overlay.
Additional Notes on Backgrounds and End Credits
If you want a background other than black for a title sequence, you can use a background from the library or add your own background clip or image. Titles can be added in different parts of the movie-beginning, middle, or end-depending on your narrative flow and the desired emphasis.
