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iMovie Tutorial 0005 - Adding Titles and End Credits

  Yet another feature of iMovie is the ability to easily add titles and end credits or other captions to your video.

  1. Open iMovie. Click the Title tab in the clip tray and click on each of the title styles to see a short preview.

  2. Select a title style for an opening title. I chose Centered Title for my opening style, and typed in the text that I wanted to appear. You can set the font, color and size of the title as well. It is best to remember that fonts with thin lines do not show up well on television screens due to the interlaced nature of the signal (thin, or single pixel lines appear only in every other frame, causing a highly annoying flickering). Choose a bold font, with a size larger than 14 pt (or pixels). Click the Preview button for a preview of what the title will look like superimposed over your video.

  3. Once you have the title finished to your liking, drag it from the tray to the timeline in front of your first clip. The title will take a few seconds to render.

  4. To add brief closing credits, I chose the Centered Multiple title style. This gives me several lines of text that I can modify. I can add more lines as needed. This is best when you have just a few lines of text. Again, choose a font that is easily to read. It is best to be consistent in your use of fonts. Use the same fonts throughout unless it adds to the style of your video.

  5. After finishing the closing title, drag it to the end of the last clip and drop it into place.

6. Preview your entire video. If you need to edit the titles, double-click the title in the timeline (NOT in the clip tray), and make your modifications. You can edit the speed, color, font, size, and text at any time.

This is a highly useful feature of iMovie. I often find myself firing up iMovie just to make titles for use in other projects, such as the titles for the semester-end slide shows on the display cubes in the labs. I also use it for titles that I import into Premiere or AfterEffects. Titles add greatly to the feel of a professional quality video project for class. Don't underestimate the power of a good, clean title or scrolling credits!