Using Titles in iMovie 10

Adding titles to movies in iMovie 10 adds a touch of professionalism. Before you can use the titles in iMovie, you'll need to start a new project. The timeline opens, where you'll add the titles that you select. Depending on the theme you choose, different titles are available.

Get Started With iMovie 10 Titles

There are several preset basic titles in iMovie 10, as well as stylized titles for each of the video themes. Access the titles in the Content Library in the lower-left corner of the iMovie window. The themed titles are only accessible if you selected that theme for your video, and you can't mix the titles from different themes in the same project.

The main types of titles in iMovie are:

• Centered titles: Useful for introducing the name of your film.
• Lower thirds: Used to identify people and places.
• Credits: Used to identify the people involved in making the movie.

Add and Modify Titles

You can add and edit titles easily in any iMovie project.

1. Drag and drop the title you choose into your iMovie project. The title appears in purple. By default, the title is four seconds long. However, you can extend it as far as you want by dragging either end in the timeline.

2. If the title isn't overlaid on a video clip, it has a black background. You can change this by adding an image from the Maps & Backgrounds section of the Content Library.

3. To change the font, color, and size of a title, double-click the title in the timeline. The editing options open in the Adjust window. Ten font options are preinstalled in iMovie. At the bottom of the list, you can select Show Fonts, which opens your computer's font library, and you can use anything installed there.

   One nice feature, design-wise, is that you don't have to use the same font, size, or color in the titles that are two lines. The feature gives you the freedom to make creative titles for your videos. You can't move the titles around on the screen, so you're stuck with the predetermined location.

Layer Titles in iMovie

One of the limitations of iMovie is that the timeline only supports two video tracks. Each title counts as one track. So, if you have a video in the background, you can only have one title on screen at a time. Without a background, it's possible to layer two titles on top of each other, which gives more options for creativity and customization.

Other Options for Titles in iMovie

The titles in iMovie 10 can feel limiting at times. If you want to design something that goes beyond the capability of any of the preset titles, you have a few options:

• For a static title, create something in Photoshop or another image-editing software, and then import and use it in iMovie.
• If you want an animated title, export your project to Final Cut Pro, which offers more ways to create and edit titles.
• If you have access to Motion or Adobe After Effects, use either of those programs to create a title from scratch.
• Download a template from Video Hive or Video Blocks and use it as the basis for making your video titles.