iMovie Square Video: How to Make Square Videos on Mac and iPhone

Searching the internet for ways to make an iMovie square video for your Instagram feed or other social media platforms? Look no further! This article shows you how to crop your video in order to create a square video in iMovie. And we do this step by step.

Cropping and Trimming Videos: Is There a Difference?

There’s a definite difference between trimming and cropping a video. For instance, you can crop your video footage to eliminate an unsightly thumbprint covering the lens or to focus on a particular piece. Resizes, on the other hand, maintain the entire image and simply change the size. If you resize the video, the resolution will be lower, which results in a lower-quality video. This week, we’ll be discussing cropping as part of the workarounds. You’re not just resizing a video when you crop it; you’re also re-framing it.

Can iMovie Crop Video?

Maybe you’ve done some research and found that iMovie doesn’t allow you simply crop to make a square video! What now? You don’t have to resort to Final Cut Pro or other expensive video editing software. There’s still hope. Even though there is no way to convert your video file to square dimensions in iMovie (sorry, there simply isn’t one! ), there are workarounds!

How to Make a Square Video in iMovie on Your Mac

To make an iMovie square video, you’ll need to use two programs: iMovie and Keynote.

First, you’ll want to import media to iMovie and edit as you normally would. Here you can adjust all the audio and video settings with filters, trims, and transitions. When you’re done, export the edited video from iMovie. To crop the video into square dimensions, you will need to open Keynote and change aspect ratios.

Follow These Steps:

Step 1: You’ll first need to Choose a Theme. From the Basic section in Keynote, you’ll want to go with “Basic White”.

Step 2: Then you’ll want to clear the text boxes that auto-populate on the screen. To do this, click and drag (or press “cmd + A”) the text boxes, then tap Delete.

Step 3: After that, drag and drop the video onto the empty slide. What you’ll need to do is select Custom Slide Size from the dropdown menu on the Document tab (you’ll find that in the top right corner).

Step 4: To make an iMovie square video, set your dimensions and click “OK”. It might seem obvious, but making a square video requires a format that has the height and width as the same. For example, 400x400 or 800x800 pixels.

Step 5: To make your video fit the square proportions, drag the corners out.

Step 6: On the top center of the screen, you’ll find a text button that you can use to add text to your square video. To add any text, simply click that.

Step 7: To change the background color from white, click on the white background area in the upper right corner. Then, navigate over to the Format tab, and choose a background color from the Background section.

Step 8: If you’re happy with how everything looks, you can export the video by clicking File > Export To > Movie. A pop-up window will appear. Click Next after selecting a video resolution.

Step 9: The final step is to click Export and choose where your square video will be saved.

How to Make a Square Video in iMovie on Your Apple iOS Device

It’s no secret that phones are the main choice of video recording devices nowadays. While having a camera roll full of videos is awesome and convenient, some social media platforms (we’re looking at you, Instagram) prefer square videos. Even though Instagram has made some changes and is now more user-friendly for horizontal and vertical videos, you may still want to crop your videos to fit a square since mobile devices prefer square videos. The good news is you can use iMovie to crop a video on your iPhone and you don’t even have to go to the app store. You already have the iMovie app on your phone.

You can use the crop tool in iMovie on your iPhone or iPad by following these steps:

Step 1: Open iMovie on your iPhone.

Step 2: Navigate to the projects section to start a new project.

Step 3: Choose a movie (video from your device) by tapping the plus (+) sign.

Step 4: At the bottom of the screen, click Create Movie and select the video file you want to crop.

Step 5: Click on the timeline tab in the bottom left corner of the screen.

Step 6: Next, tap the tiny magnifying glass in the upper right corner of your screen.

Step 7: By using your thumb and forefinger, you can zoom in and out of your movie.

Step 8: To view the video in preview mode, use the “play” button.

Step 9: When you’re satisfied with the results, click Done.

Step 10: By tapping the square with an arrow icon, you can save your iMovie square video to your Camera Roll.

iMovie Alternatives

Due to the fact that square video formats take up less space than landscape video on a mobile newsfeed, you may need to adjust a video if you want to post it to social media. And if you’re a Mac or iPhone user, you’re likely to turn to iMovie for square video solutions. But because iMovie doesn’t actually let you create a square video without either adding black bars or using another program first, there are easier alternatives. Some free iMovie square video alternative options are:

• FlexClip
• Wave Video
• Animaker
• Clideo
• Filmora

These are free and easy builders and templates, making cropping videos easy, even for those who don’t have all of the technical know-how.

But if you want a professionally edited and filmed square video for your social media platforms or profiles, consider using a video production company, like us! Our team of experts is prepared to assist you in bypassing the limitations of iMovie and the DIY difficulties you may face. Searching for an iMovie square video alternative? Contact us today!