Starting an iMovie Project
An iMovie project can be as simple or as complex as you like, depending on how much
you want to add to your movie in addition to the essential video. The tasks outlined
here are organized in the ideal order to follow for all your iMovie projects. Remember
that when you make changes or adjustments to any video in iMovie, the actual media
is not affected. You can remove adjustments you’ve applied to video at any time, and
your original video is always intact, safe from undesired changes, so feel free to try
different things and have fun.
To create an iMovie project:
1
Choose File > New Project.
2
Type a name for your project.
3
Choose the aspect ratio you want to use for your finished movie from the Aspect Ratio
pop-up menu.
Base the aspect ratio you choose on the dimensions of the video and photos that you’ll
use in your project.
Chapter 2
Learn iMovie
33
 Standard (4:3): Produces a movie for viewing on a standard TV screen or on the
web. When viewed on an HDTV, there will be black space on the left and right sides
of the video, known as “pillar box.”
 iPhone (3:2): Produces a movie for viewing on the iPhone.
 Widescreen (16:9): Produces a movie ideal for viewing on a widescreen monitor or
high definition television (HDTV). When you view the movie on a standard TV, there
will be black space above and below the video, known as “letterbox”.
You can mix video formats and sizes in a single project. If you’re using video and
photos of different sizes, choose the aspect ratio that best suits the media. If this results
in “letterboxing” or “pillar boxing” in some of the content, you can add it to your project
and then crop it to remove the black bars. (To learn about cropping video, see
“Cropping Video Images” on page 28.)