Get step-by-step instructions for editing your home videos.

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Once you have your video footage digitized, you need to start editing the clips you want to use in your movie.

  1. Click your first clip and play it all the way through.
  2. Find a section you want to use and scroll to the beginning of it using the Scrub tool. (That's the small white triangle right below the clip viewer.)
  3. Place your mouse pointer underneath the blue area where the Scrub tool sits and drag the mouse until you reach the end of the section you want to use.
  4. Go to the Edit menu and select Copy.
  5. Click next to the clock at the bottom of the screen to make it active.
  6. Go back to the Edit menu and choose Paste (or hit Command + V). The new clip will open up in the clip viewer.
  7. Double-click the clip in the time line and give it a name in the dialog box. Be as descriptive as possible.
  8. If you make a mistake, use the Undo command or the Restore Clip command in the Edit menu.
  9. Set an audio fade in or fade out if you want to.


Right on! You've made your first edit! Continue the process until you finish making all your subclips. Don't worry if they're not in the correct order. You can rearrange them in the time line later.

The rough cut
When you're done making your edit selections, think how you want your story to progress. Start lining up your subclips in the time line to make a rough cut. You'll be tempted to start adding transitions and other effects, but it's best to wait until all your clips are in their final order. If you want to crop some of the clips so that you have only the best moments, do it now.

Add transitions and effects
Transitions such as Fade In/Fade Out and Cross Dissolve help clarify a story for viewers when used in the right places. If they're overused or used at the wrong time, they can have an adverse effect on the way viewers perceive your story.
  • Use Cross Dissolves (fading from one image to another) to show the passage of time.
  • Use Fade In and Fade Out transitions to signify a change of scenes. Outgoing footage will fade to black or white while incoming footage fades up from black.


Here's how to add a transition.
  1. Find a place where time or location appears to change from one clip to another.
  2. Click the Transitions button and click a transition once to choose it.
  3. Adjust the speed of your transition.
  4. Drag the transition into your time line between clips and let go of the mouse. A new transition will appear in the time line and begin rendering.


Depending on the speed of your computer, it might take a few minutes for an effect to render. When it's finished, position the playback controller in the time line to a point just before the transition and click Play to watch your edit.

Continue until you have all the transitions you want. Play back your movie from start to finish. When you're satisfied, add titles, effects, and a soundtrack. Output your movie to another DV tape or make a compressed QuickTime movie to post on your website.

Congratulations! You're an indie moviemaker.

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