
The quick answer is that users are typically shooting vertical (9:16 aspect ratio) video for social media, and iMovie likes keeping aspect ratios typical to movies and television shows. If you need clarification on anything I mentioned, be sure to refer to the video.Īlso, keep in mind that I’m talking about iMovie and Keynote which are Mac-specific but you CAN do this same process with PC-based software.Users may want to know why iMovie is cropping videos on their iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Now, adjust your video and get it like you want it to look.Go to the top right-hand corner and click on the “document” section and adjust the size to the square dimensions you want.
Drag your movie file onto a blank page in a keynote presentation. Keep in mind that if you’re converting the entire video into a square (as in, there’ll be no blank space at the top or the bottom of the square, it’ll all be covered by your movie), you’ll need to make sure nothing will be cut off when we turn it into a square (refer to the video for more info on what I mean here). Edit your movie like normal in iMovie. If you’d rather watch this post than read it, here’s your chance. The problem is, so many of you are editing your movies in iMovie or another budget-friendly software and they just don’t have the capabilities to edit your movie into a square natively – BUT – y’all know I love a good hack. Think about it, have you ever been scrolling and saw a video – which catches your eye more, the one that’s smaller and horizontal or a bigger, square video? Why? Because when someone is scrolling the ol’ ‘book on their phones, a square video takes up way more “real estate” on the screen than a horizontal video does (and the same with vertical, of course). How to make a square video in iMovieįun fact: Square and vertical videos have a better viewing and retention rate on Facebook. It’s been a mystery until now but I’m teaching you how to hack the system and create a square video in iMovie.