How to Enable iMovie Advanced Tools

Both iMovie 10.x and iMovie '11 have advanced tools

By
Tom Nelson
Tom Nelson
Writer

Tom Nelson is an engineer, programmer, network manager, and computer network and systems designer who has written for Other World Computing,and others. Tom is also president of Coyote Moon, Inc., a Macintosh and Windows consulting firm.

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Updated on February 21, 2021

What to Know

  • In iMovie 10: Look in the toolbar above the large thumbnail image in the editor.
  • In iMovie 11: Go to Preferences > Show Advanced Tools.

This article shows where to find the advanced editing tools in iMovie 10 and 11 on a Mac.

Accessing iMovie 10 Advanced Tools

The iMovie 10's Preferences menu doesn't contain an option to show advanced tools. The advanced tools are located in a toolbar above the large thumbnail image in the editor.

iMovie interface showing Advanced Tools location

The row of icons above the large thumbnail image includes many advanced capabilities:

  • A magic wand performs automatic video and audio correction
  • Title settings for entering and editing text
  • Color balance
  • Color correction
  • Cropping
  • Stabilization
  • Volume
  • Noise reduction and equalization
  • Speed
  • Clip filter and audio effects
  • Clip information

You may not see all of these tools at the same time, depending on the type of clip you are working on.

Some of the older advanced tools (such as the green screen) are only visible after you use them. Adding a new, overlapping clip to your timeline causes a drop-down menu to appear. This menu provides options for how two overlapping clips should be processed: Cutaway, Green/Blue Screen, Split Screen, or Picture in Picture.

Overlay options drop-down in iMovie 10

Depending on the options you choose, additional controls display, such as positioning, softness, borders, shadows, and more.

How to Turn on Advanced Tools in iMovie 11

To turn on Advanced Tools in iMovie '11, go to the iMovie menu, select Preferences > Show Advanced Tools, and then close the iMovie Preferences window.

Show Advanced Tools in iMovie '11

Two new buttons appear to the right of the Horizontal Display button in the top right corner of the Project browser window:

  • Comment tool: This is the left one. Drag it to a video clip to add a comment, like adding a sticky note to a document.
  • Chapter Marker: This is the right button. Drag it to each place in a video that you want to mark as a chapter.
Add comment and chapter marker in iMovie '11

There are two other buttons on the horizontal menu bar that splits the iMovie window in half:

  • The Pointer (arrow): Closes any tool that is currently open.
  • The Keyword (key): Adds keywords to videos and video clips to make it easier to organize them.
Advanced tools in iMovie '11
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