iMovie help

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reddelreddel
Posted:
in Mac Software edited January 2014
Is there a way in iMovie that I can overlap one video on top of another? Like where you can put one video track above another?



For instance I did a little video blog where I"m talking about my new macbook and I'd like to take a picture of that macbook I took earlier and lay it over the top of the video with a Ken Burns effect while you still hear my voice talking about it in the background.



Can I do that kind of thing with iMovie?

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  • Reply 1 of 10
    addaboxaddabox Posts: 12,665member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by RedDel


    Is there a way in iMovie that I can overlap one video on top of another? Like where you can put one video track above another?



    For instance I did a little video blog where I"m talking about my new macbook and I'd like to take a picture of that macbook I took earlier and lay it over the top of the video with a Ken Burns effect while you still hear my voice talking about it in the background.



    Can I do that kind of thing with iMovie?



    Not sure if I'm following you, but:



    If you want to have an image of the MacBook "floating" over the existing image (so that you can still see the underlying video track and the MacBook is superimposed over that), that involves something called the "alpha channel" and no, iMovie doesn't do that.



    If you want to dissolve from you talking, to an image of the MacBook, and back to you talking, with the audio track of you talking running continuously, then sure, no problem.
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  • Reply 2 of 10
    reddelreddel Posts: 43member
    No nothing fancy like transparency. In fact it doesn't even need to dissolve, just a straight cut. I just want to show the macbook clip for a few seconds while I'm still talking about it. Then cut back to the video of me without interruption in the sound.



    So how do I do that? I'm used to using Vegas on a PC.
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  • Reply 3 of 10
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    Yes, you can do that.





    To replace images in a clip while maintaining running audio:

    Choose iMovie HD > Preferences, and then click General.

    Select the "Extract audio when using Paste Over at Playhead" checkbox.

    Select the video or photo that you want to insert.

    Choose Edit > Cut or Copy.

    Do one of the following:

    To paste the entire video you selected in step 3, position the playhead at the first frame to be replaced. When you paste the clip, it will replace a portion of video equal to its length.

    To paste over a specific segment of your movie, select the part of the video clip you want to paste over. (To learn more about selecting part of a video clip, see Related Topics below.)

    If the video you're pasting is longer than the selected frame range, the excess video will not be pasted. If the video you're pasting is shorter than the selected frame range, the extra space will be filled with a color clip (or the still image, if you paste a still image).



    Choose Advanced > "Paste Over at Playhead."

    The audio track of the original video is retained and appears in audio track 1 of the timeline viewer.
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  • Reply 4 of 10
    reddelreddel Posts: 43member
    Thank you so much. Though it does seem like it's more trouble then it's worth. In Vegas all you have to do is add a new video track on top of the old one and place the picture on that track where you want it. Higher track gets priority.



    Please tell me this is just how iMovie works because of it's limits. I'd like to know that Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express work more like Vegas in this kind of situation. Since that is one of the reasons I switched to Mac.
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  • Reply 5 of 10
    amoryaamorya Posts: 1,103member
    The Final Cut family do support multiple video tracks. You just plop the new track over the top and it makes a cutaway.



    Having said that, the imovie method is not that hard really. The text I quoted was taken from the help. Once you've set the preferences (which you'll only have to do once), you just paste the clip using the "Paste Over at Playhead" command, rather than the usual Paste command.
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  • Reply 6 of 10
    cosmiccigarcosmiccigar Posts: 2member
    Greetings!

    I have been searching for info on if it is possible to overlap video clips - where the footage from both clips is visible, one over the other. From reading this thread I believe that it is not possible to do this in iMovie...is that correct? Does that mean Final Cut is the only option to do this?



    Thanks!
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  • Reply 7 of 10
    jvbjvb Posts: 210member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cosmiccigar View Post


    Greetings!

    I have been searching for info on if it is possible to overlap video clips - where the footage from both clips is visible, one over the other. From reading this thread I believe that it is not possible to do this in iMovie...is that correct? Does that mean Final Cut is the only option to do this?



    Thanks!



    Final Cut would be your best bet. However, I'm sure there are some freebie apps that perform the same function. Might want to look into that as Final Cut is not cheap software.
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  • Reply 8 of 10
    cosmiccigarcosmiccigar Posts: 2member
    Thanks jvb - at least now I know and don't have to keep trying to find a way with iMovie. I may have to bite the bullet and get Final Cut - I want to do it while I'm still a student and can get the discount!



    Thanks again!

    -cc.
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  • Reply 9 of 10
    jvbjvb Posts: 210member
    If you're like me you'll keep searching for free apps until you finally give in and make the purchase. I'm broke
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  • Reply 10 of 10
    bergermeisterbergermeister Posts: 6,784member
    There are several plug ins that can do what you guys are after with iMovie without breaking your budget or buying Final Cut.



    Collection 10 over at GeeThree has multi-tracks, picture in picture:



    http://www.geethree.com/slick/index.html



    Choose the collections carefully and you can get a lot of cool effects for not that much money.
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