Adding Polish with iMovie Themes

iMovie includes Apple-designed iMovie theme elements that you can use to add consistent looking scenes throughout your movie. This is a great way to add an interesting opening to your movie, introduce a new chapter, segue from one clip to another, or show closing credits along with a closing video.

Best of all, you can customize the theme elements to incorporate your own video or photos.

Tips

Different theme elements to choose from

iMovie includes five theme styles: Travel, Road Trip, Pass Through, Reflection - White, and Reflection - Black. Each theme style includes various theme elements, such as Open, Chapter, Bumper, Lower Third, and Credits. Theme elements have associated places to be used throughout a movie, although ultimately where you decide to use a theme element is up to your personal style.

Where to use the Open theme element

The Open theme element is great for the opening of your movie. It includes a place to display your movie title, along with a drop zone for one or more scenes from your movie.

Where to use the Chapter theme element

The Chapter theme element is great for the beginning of a new chapter or new section of your video. It includes a place to display your chapter title.

Where to use the Bumper theme element

The Bumper theme element is typically used to segue between two sections of your movie or a movie scene and a break. Bumper elements typically include multiple drop zones and may or may not include a place for a title. Bumpers are typically seen on a news or documentary show before or after going to commercial, as a way to keep viewers interested in what’s coming up after the break.

Where to use the Lower Thirds theme element

The Lower Thirds theme element is used to display to a title or graphic that appears over a single video clip, using the lower third of the screen. It is often used in documentaries or news segments to introduce text to a given video clip, such as the name of a person or location just introduced. Many times lower thirds includes motion and text to add pizzazz when introducing viewers to something new.

Where to use the Credits theme element

The Credits theme element is used at the end of a movie, to display credits or a list of names associated with the movie just shown.

Coordinate iMovie themes and iDVD themes

All five iMovie themes have corresponding themes in iDVD. You may decide to coordinate your projects by using the same themes in your movies as on your DVD menus. You’ll even find some iPhoto themes and books have similar theme styles.

Creating custom movies for your drop zones

Instead of dropping your existing photos or movie clips into a theme drop zone, you may decide to create a custom movie clip to be used in a drop zone. This way, you have more control over exactly what gets played from a drop zone. Keep in mind that drop zones in movie themes are usually only displayed for a few seconds.

Steps

Add scenes to your project using iMovie themes

To view the different themes available in iMovie, click Themes. Use the pop-up menu at the top of the Themes pane to get a feel for what each theme looks like. Select the Reflection - White theme.
Use the scroll bar to see the various theme elements included with this theme.
Select the Open theme element and watch the preview. This is a great choice for the opening of a movie, as it allows us to incorporate a title and video in an opening sequence.
In the Title 1 field, type a movie title. As the preview plays, you’ll see your title used at the end of the preview.
Make sure the Drop Zone Editor is visible. If it is hidden, click the Show Drop Zones button.
Drag video clips from your timeline into the drop zones labeled 1, 2, and 3. Notice the preview changes to include your new video in the theme and a reflection of your video appears underneath the theme drop zones. This is an example of the advanced compositing available with iMovie themes.
Replace the video in drop zone 2 with a photo from your iPhoto Library. To do so, click Media, and then click Photos. Drag a photo from your iPhoto Library to drop zone 2. Watch as the preview updates to show your photo added to the theme.
Click Apply to create a new video clip that uses your title, video, and photo. You’ll see a new clip added to the end of your movie. After iMovie finishes creating, or rendering, the clip, drag it to the start of your movie to be your new opening sequence.
Select the Lower Third theme element. The preview updates the theme element with the video from drop zone 1. This would be a great choice in the middle of your movie to give viewers additional information, such as who a person is the first time they appear in your movie. Enter the name of the person you want to introduce in the title field and click Apply to create this sequence. Move it to the middle of your movie when it is finished rendering.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully applied your video, photos, and a title to two different theme elements. Continue experimenting with different theme elements to see how they can best be incorporated in your movies.