The fastest way to add text in iMovie

Open your project in iMovie, position the playhead where you want the text to appear, then click the Text button in the toolbar at the top. Choose a text style from the menu that appears — iMovie calls these "titles" even when they appear mid-video. Double-click the text box that lands on your timeline, type your words, and adjust the font, size, and color in the inspector panel on the right. That's the core process.

The text will appear for about 5 seconds by default. You can make it longer or shorter by dragging the edges of the text clip on the timeline, the same way you'd trim a video or audio clip. If you want the text to fade in or out rather than appear suddenly, click the text clip, then look for the Fade In and Fade Out options in the inspector.

Key Takeaways

  • Text in iMovie lives on the timeline as its own clip, separate from your video, so you can move it, resize it, or delete it without touching the footage underneath.
  • iMovie offers preset text styles (called titles) that include animations, but you can also add plain text with no animation by choosing the "None" style.
  • You control how long text stays on screen by dragging its edges on the timeline — shorter drags mean shorter display time.
  • Text color, font, and size are all changed in the inspector panel on the right side of the screen after you double-click the text clip.
  • If you want the same text style to appear multiple times in your video, you can copy a text clip and paste it elsewhere on the timeline.

Where the text button lives and what it does

The Text button sits in the toolbar at the top of iMovie, next to buttons for transitions and effects. It looks like the letter "T" in a box. When you click it, a dropdown menu appears showing different text styles — some animate in from the sides, some fade in, some appear with a typewriter effect. Each style has a name like "Fade", "Bounce", or "Typewriter".

When you select a style, iMovie places a text clip on your timeline at the position where your playhead is sitting. If your playhead is in the middle of a video clip, the text appears on top of that video. If your playhead is between two clips, the text becomes its own separate clip. Either way, the text is independent — you can move it, delete it, or change it without affecting your video footage.

How to edit the text itself and change how it looks

Double-click the text clip on your timeline to open the text editor. A text box appears on your video showing the placeholder text "Double-click to edit". Replace it with whatever you want to say. As you type, the text updates on your video in real time.

Once you've typed your text, look at the inspector panel on the right side of the screen. You'll see options for Font (the typeface), Size (how big the letters are), Color (click the color box to pick a new one), and Alignment (left, center, or right). Some text styles also have an Outline option, which adds a border around your letters to make them stand out against busy backgrounds. Adjust these settings until the text looks the way you want it.

If you want to use the same text style and formatting elsewhere in your video, right-click the text clip on the timeline and select Copy. Then click where you want the copy to appear and select Paste. You can then double-click the pasted text to change the words while keeping the same style and colors.

Controlling how long text stays on screen

Text duration is controlled on the timeline, not in a menu. Click the text clip to select it — you'll see a thin border around it. Position your cursor at the right edge of the text clip until the cursor changes to a resize arrow, then drag left to make the text shorter or right to make it longer. Dragging the left edge moves the text earlier or later without changing its duration.

If you want text to appear for exactly 3 seconds, you can also right-click the text clip, select Clip Settings, and type a duration in the box that appears. This is more precise than dragging if you need exact timing — for example, if you want each word of a title to appear for the same amount of time.

Adding animations and transitions to text

The animation is built into the text style you choose at the start. If you picked "Bounce", the text bounces in. If you picked "Fade", it fades in. You can't change the animation after the fact without deleting the text and starting over with a different style.

However, you can control how fast the animation plays. Select the text clip, then look in the inspector panel for Duration under the animation settings. A longer duration makes the animation slower and more dramatic; a shorter duration makes it snappier. You can also turn off the animation entirely by choosing the "None" style — this gives you plain text with no movement.

If you want a transition between your text and the video underneath (like a dissolve or a wipe), that's a separate tool. Click the text clip, then look for the Transition button in the toolbar. This adds a fade or other effect at the moment the text appears or disappears.

Positioning text on the screen

By default, iMovie centers text on the screen. To move it, click the text clip on the timeline to select it, then look at the video preview in the center of the screen. You should see the text with a small circle or crosshair in the middle. Click and drag that circle to move the text anywhere on the screen. Release to drop it in place.

Some text styles are designed to appear in specific positions — a title style might always appear at the top, for example. If you want to move text that's locked to a position, you may need to switch to a different text style that allows free positioning. The "None" style gives you the most control over placement.

Troubleshooting text problems

If your text is hard to read against your video background, add an outline or change the text color. Click the text clip, then in the inspector panel, look for the Outline option and turn it on, or click the Color box and pick a contrasting color. Black text with a white outline is usually readable over any background.

If text is appearing in the wrong place or at the wrong time, check the timeline. Make sure the text clip is positioned where you want it to appear — if it's sitting on top of a video clip, it will appear during that video. If it's between two clips, it will appear as its own separate moment. Drag the text clip left or right on the timeline to change when it appears.

If you can't see the text editor when you double-click a text clip, make sure the inspector panel is open on the right side of the screen. If it's closed, click the Inspector button in the toolbar to open it. On older versions of iMovie, the text editor might appear in a separate window instead of in the inspector — look for a floating window with text formatting options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make text appear and disappear at specific times without changing the video?

Yes. The text clip on your timeline is separate from your video, so you can make it as short or as long as you want. Drag the edges of the text clip to control exactly when it appears and disappears. The video underneath keeps playing normally.

How do I add subtitles or captions to my video?

Use the same text tool — add a text clip for each line of dialogue or caption, position it at the bottom of the screen, and make it last as long as the audio you're captioning. For longer videos with many captions, this becomes tedious, so some people use external captioning tools and then import the video into iMovie. iMovie itself doesn't have an automatic captioning feature.

What if I want different text styles in the same video?

Add each text clip separately. Click the Text button, choose a style, add the text, then click Text again and choose a different style for the next piece of text. Each text clip is independent, so you can mix and match styles throughout your video.

Can I make text move across the screen?

iMovie's built-in text animations are limited to fading, bouncing, and typewriter effects — they don't include motion paths that move text across the screen. If you need text that travels from one side to the other, you would need to use a more advanced video editor like Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve.

Why is my text blurry or pixelated?

This usually happens if your video resolution is very low or if you've made the text extremely large. Try reducing the text size slightly, or check that your project is set to the correct resolution for your video. In iMovie, go to File > Project Settings and confirm the resolution matches your source video.