How to Add Text Overlays to iMovie

Learning how to add text overlays to iMovie made a big difference in my videos. With iMovie you can add titles, but they are very limited.

I created my text overlay in Picmonkey and then imported it into iMovie. It’s very easy to do. After you import the image, you can place in any part of the video in iMovie.

Video – Adding Text Overlays to iMovie Videos

Creating Text Overlays in PicMonkey

1. Go to PicMonkey.
2. Click Design. A blank canvas appears.
3. On the left side, under Canvas Color, click Transparent canvas and then click Apply.
4. On the left side click Text.
5. On the text panel, click Add Text. The text field appears on the canvas.
6. Type text into the text field. Make any adjustments using the text window and the text selections on the left.
7. When you have finished, on the left menu, click Basic Edits and then click Crop.
8. Click, hold and drag the selection points until the text image area is a manageable size. Click Apply.
9. Click Save.

Adding the Text Overlay in iMovie

1. Go to your iMovie project. I assume you already have an video in the timeline.
2. Click Import and select the text image you just created. The image appears in the Event assets.
3. Drag the image to the timeline just above the portion of the video where you want the text overlay to appear.
4. Click the image in the timeline to select it.
5. On the toolbar, located above the viewer, select the Cropping tool.
6. For Style, select Fit.
7. Now, select Video Overlay Settings.
8. From the drop-down menu, select Picture in a Picture. The image appears as a thumbnail on top of the video in the viewer. You can now resize it and move it around.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on how to add a text overlay in iMovie.