Import Sound Effects Into Imovie



Imovie

iMovie does not come preloaded with a ton of music tracks and so you need to add your own tracks to it and then add them to your videos. This guide focuses on how to add music to iMovie on an iPhone so your videos can be made musical.

For this, you need to import your audio or video files before making use of iMovie fade out audio effects. Steps on “how to fade audio in iMovie” via Fade Handles: In order to use iMovie fade out audio effects, follow the instructions listed below. IMovie for Mac allows you to drag music, voiceovers or sound effects from Finder into your project’s timeline. You can also use audio files from your music library, iCloud or other locations using the iMovie browser, or record and add voiceover narrations into your project. To do this, open your project and select Audio above the browser.

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Often what makes a video more interesting is not just the visuals you see on your screen but the music that plays in the background of the video. It is this audio part of the video that makes you feel and not just watch the video on your devices.

If you want to add any kind of music to your videos, you can do so using the iMovie app on your iPhone. Before you do that, though, you will need to add your music to the iMovie app on your device. You can then use that music for your videos to make them more appealing. The following post shows multiple ways to add music to iMovie on an iPhone.

Part 1: How to Add Music to iMovie on iPhone from iTunes

If you are an Apple fan, it is likely that iTunes is your default music manager. If this is where your music files happen to be at, you can easily have them copied over to the iMovie app on your iPhone. The procedure to add iTunes music to iMovie is pretty easy and is detailed below.

  1. Launch the latest version of iTunes on your computer.
  2. Plug-in your iPhone to your computer, find it in the iTunes app, click on it.
  3. Select the Music tab, tick-mark Sync Music.
  4. Click on Done at the bottom.
  5. When the music is synced, you will be able to add your iTunes music tracks to your iMovie projects on your iPhone.

    Add iTunes Music to iPhone

What the above procedure did was copy all the iTunes music files from your computer over to your iPhone. Now that the files are on your iOS device, you can open the iMovie app and import these files into your videos. It is as easy as that.

Part 2: How to Add Music to iMovie using Themes

If you have ever done any projects in iMovie before, you have likely seen the various themes the app offers. These themes come preloaded with transition effects and music files.

You can use these music files in your own videos as well if you want. Getting the iMovie Theme music files and adding them to your videos is fairly easy and is shown below.

1. Launch the iMovie app on your iPhone, tap on the Projects.

2. Tap on Create Project to start a new project.

3. Select Movie as the project type and it will continue.

Select Project Type in iMovie

4. You will be asked to choose the video you want to make a part of your project. Choose a video from your albums and then tap on Create Movie at the bottom.

5. When the video is added to the project and is available on the timeline, tap on it and then tap on the gear icon located at the bottom-right corner of your screen.

Settings Icon in iMovie

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6. You will find several options related to your project that you can customize. And here you need to enable is Theme Music.

7. Once you enable the option, you can then use one of the many themes in your video file.

8. The theme music will be added to your file. Tap on Done at the top to save the changes. That is how you add music to iMovie on an iPhone using themes.

Part 3: How to Add Music to iMovie from iPhone

If you already have the music files you want to add to your videos saved on your iPhone, you can directly use those in your videos. Your iPhone allows you to import music from local storage and use it in your video editing tasks.

1. The first thing you will want to do is either create a new project or edit an existing one in the iMovie app on your iPhone.

2. Tap on the + (plus) sign on your screen to add a new item to your project. This item will be music.

Add Music to iMovie from iPhone

3. On the following screen, you will find several items you can add to your video. Tap on the one that says Audio as you want to add music to your video.

4. It will open your Music app playlists for you to choose a music track from. Select any of your tracks and add it to your project.

Select and Add iPhone Music to iMovie

Adding music to iMovie from your iPhone itself is extremely easy as the music is locally available on your device.

Part 4: How to Add Music to iMovie from YouTube

If the music that you want to add to iMovie is located on YouTube, you will need to go through a few steps before you can add it to your videos. It is because iMovie does not support adding content directly from YouTube.

1. Use an app like AnyTrans to download your music from YouTube and transfer it to your iPhone.

2. Open the iMovie project, tap on the + (plus) sign, select Audio.

3. Select your YouTube audio file. Your selected YouTube music will be added to your iMovie project.

Bonus Tip: How to Add iMovie Sound Effects

iMovie has various sounds effects as well for you to add to your videos. These can be added from within the app on your iPhone.

1. Open the iMovie app and launch your project.

2. Tap on the video spot where you want to add a sound effect and tap on the + (plus) sign.

3. Select Audio on the following screen and then choose Sound Effects.

4. Select the effect you would like to add to your video and it will be added. Your video should now have your chosen sound effect in it at your specified time.

Choose a Sound Effect in iMovie

The Bottom Line

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Adding music from various sources to iMovie on the iPhone is one of the easiest tasks to do. Our guide above makes it even easier for you so you can get all of your music files available in the iMovie app on your iOS device.

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Are you working on your next blockbuster in iMovie? Your movie isn’t complete until you’ve got a personalized soundtrack to go with it. Fortunately, iMovie makes adding music, voiceovers, and sound effects as simple as tapping on the screen.

How to add music to iMovie

When it’s time to add music to iMovie, you have options. You can add theme music and soundtracks, your music from iTunes or iCloud drive, or songs that you’ve created in another app and imported into iMovie. You can also create additional sound effects or voice overs using your phone’s external microphone. By using some (or all) of these music options for your project, you’ll discover endless opportunities for creating a unique soundtrack to accompany your film or slideshow in iMovie.

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How to get music on iMovie using Themes

When you start an iMovie project, the software applies the simple theme by default. You can change the theme you use based on your personal preferences and the content you are creating. Using a theme is the easiest and quickest way to create a video in iMovie. An iMovie theme includes coordinated tiles, transitions, and music to help your project look cohesive and professional.

iMovie comes with seven ready-to-use themes. You can try out different themes before choosing the right one for your movie. Here’s how to add theme music to your movie:

  1. Open iMovie and tap on a video clip to edit. If you don’t have any videos in iMovie, tap the + icon to choose one from your camera roll.
  2. Tap edit and then the settings icon in the bottom right corner.
  3. Scroll through the themes and choose one to experiment with.
  4. Toggle the Theme Music button to the on position.
  5. Tap Done.
  6. Tap the play icon to test the music.
  7. If you are happy with the music, tap Done. If you want to choose a new theme, go back to the settings and try again.
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How to add your own music to iMovie from your iPhone

If you sync your iTunes music to your phone, you can easily choose a track to add to your iMovie project. iMovie allows you to choose from your playlists, albums, artists, and individual songs, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Here’s how to add a song to iMovie from your iPhone.

  1. Open or start a new video project in iMovie.
  2. Tap +.
  3. Tap Audio.
  4. Tap My Music.
  5. Choose from playlists, albums, artists, or songs.
  6. Choose a song from your list and tap +.
  7. Your music will be available in your iMovie project. It will show up on a green line when you play through your movie on the edit screen.
  8. Tap Done.

How to add a song to iMovie from iCloud Drive

If you sync your music library to iCloud, you can access it to use in your iMovie videos. To add a song to iMovie from your iCloud drive, follow these step-by-step instructions.

  1. Open an existing project or start a new project in iMovie.
  2. Scroll through your movie so that the vertical white starts where you want your song to start.
  3. Tap the + icon.
  4. Tap Audio.
  5. Choose iCloud drive from the list.
  6. Choose the folder where your song is and tap the name of the song you want to use for your iMovie project.
  7. Tap +.
  8. Tap Done.

Can you add Spotify or YouTube music to iMovie?

Unfortunately, Spotify only licenses music for use within the Spotify app. If you have a premium Spotify account, you can listen to your favorite music offline, but you won’t find the file in a format supported by iMovie. YouTube also posts music in a format that iMovie doesn’t recognize.

We have heard of third-party apps that allow you to convert Spotify music or YouTube music to music files supported by iMovie, but we can’t recommend these as they violate the terms of the music license.

How to add other audio to iMovie

Import Sound Effects Into Imovie File

Now that you’ve got your background music and/or soundtrack figured out for your iMovie, it’s time to add in some unique sound effects and voiceovers to your video. These are especially useful for explainer videos and tutorials, where you've recorded your iPhone's screen and are now explaining what's going on there. You can add both sound effects and voiceovers over the background music.

How to do a voiceover in iMovie

Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Video Editor

The voiceover option in iMovie allows you to record external audio, and add it to your movie whether or not you already have a music track added to your video. Here’s how to do a voiceover in iMovie.

  1. Navigate to your iMovie project or start a new one.
  2. Tap Edit.
  3. Scroll through your video and position the white vertical line to where you want your voiceover.
  4. Tap +.
  5. Tap Voiceover.
  6. A small record window will pop up below your video.
  7. Tap Record when you are ready and speak into the microphone.
  8. Tap Stop when you are finished.
  9. Tap Review to listen to your audio, and if you aren’t happy with the results, tap Retake.
  10. When you are happy with your voiceover, tap Accept. Your recording will show up as a purple line beneath your video.

How to add iMovie sound effects

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You add sound effects to your iMovie just like you add voiceovers. Here are step-by-step instructions.

Import Sound Effects Into Imovie Converter

  1. Begin a new project or open a project you are working on in iMovie.
  2. Tap Edit.
  3. Scroll through your video and position the vertical white line at the spot where you want to add a sound effect.
  4. Tap +.
  5. Tap Audio.
  6. Tap Sound Effects.
  7. If you tap on a sound effect, you can play it to see if it will be a good fit. When you find one you like, tap + to add it to your movie. Your sound effect will show up as a light blue line underneath your video.
  8. Tap Done.

How To Import Sound Effects Into Imovie

Adding music, sound effects, and voiceovers to iMovie is a simple way to make your video project more unique and professional. As you experiment with different themes, songs, and sound effects, you will find that there are endless opportunities to create the perfect sound profile for your movie.