Tips

Identifying chapter markers in the timeline

iMovie inserts a yellow diamond in the timeline viewer for each chapter marker in your project.

Chapter marker ordering

iMovie always numbers chapter markers sequentially. If you add a new chapter marker in front of an existing chapter marker, any following chapter markers are renumbered automatically.

Chapter markers for chapter one

When inserting chapter markers, don’t forget to insert a marker for chapter one at the beginning of your movie and give it a name. This way, when you add your movie to an iDVD menu, the scene selection menu automatically created will include your chapter one title. This is especially useful when recording theater shows, where each act is titled. Otherwise, iDVD will still insert a chapter marker, but will label the first chapter "Beginning," which may not be what you wanted for the title of your first chapter.

Chapter markers within one second

If you attempt to create a chapter marker within one second of an existing chapter marker, iMovie will display an error that there is already a chapter marker near this location. Also, iMovie always assumes there is a chapter marker at the start of your movie, whether or not you have added one. As such, you cannot add a chapter marker within the first second of your movie, unless it is at the first frame of your movie.

Moving video clips after setting chapter markers

Chapter markers are associated with a time location in your movie, not a specific clip. If you rearrange your movie clips after adding chapter markers, the chapter markers stay in their original location. As such, it’s best to insert chapter markers as a last step, once the flow of your movie has been finalized.

Chapter markers and iDVD

By creating chapter markers in iMovie, you guarantee your iDVD projects will have your correct chapter names and starting points. While iDVD can add chapter markers after the fact, they are based on elapsed time in your movie, not when specific scenes occur. (The default is every 5 minutes, but you can change this number.) Chapter markers based on elapsed time help viewers to advance through your movie quickly, but are not scene-specific. Also, when you add chapter markers using iDVD, they’re only applied to the individual iDVD project, not the original movie file. For these reasons, it’s always best to add chapter markers to your movie when you’re making it, to ensure you can have the correct starting point and name for each scene. Chapter markers can also be used for your video podcasts.

Steps

Add chapter markers to your iMovie project

1. Click the timeline viewer button, and adjust the zoom slider to the left to see your entire movie in the timeline viewer.
2. Click the Return button to place the playhead at the start of your movie. Click the Chapters button, and then click Add Marker. You’ll see a new chapter marker created.
3. Type a new name to reflect the beginning of your movie.
4. Move the playhead to another place where you want to add a chapter marker. Click Add Marker and enter a new title for your second chapter marker.
5. Add additional chapter markers as needed to your movie.
6. Save your iMovie project.