iMovie A side-by-side clip creates a split-screen effect, showing two different video clips playing next to each other in the same frame, with each clip taking up half of the frame. Side-by-side clips are useful for showing two people or groups of people engaged in a different aspect of the same situation. For example, you could show a person arriving at a surprise party in one side of the clip and the group awaiting the arrival in the other.
To add a side-by-side clip:
Make sure Advanced Tools are turned on.
Open the project you want to add the side-by-side clip to so that it’s showing in the Project browser.
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In the Event browser, select a video clip or a frame range that you want to use as a side-by-side clip, and then drag it over a clip in your project.
When you see the green Add (+) symbol, release the mouse button.
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In the contextual menu that appears, choose “Side by Side.”
In the Project browser, the side-by-side clip appears with a blue border around it above the video clip you added it to, at roughly the spot where you added it (toward the beginning, middle, or end of the clip).
Depending on the length of the side-by-side clip you added, it may extend beyond the clip you added it to (only if there’s another clip after the clip you added the side-by-side clip to). You can drag the split-screen clip so that it begins at a different point in the main clip. To reposition where the split-screen clip appears in the project, drag it to a different clip.
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Play back the effect by placing the playhead (the red vertical line) anywhere before the side-by-side clip in the Project browser, and then pressing the Space bar.
Press the Space bar again to stop playback.
To adjust the side-by-side clip:
You can position the side-by-side clip so that it begins exactly where you want it to, and you can switch which side of the frame it appears on. You can also set it to slide onscreen when it begins and then slide offscreen when it ends.
To adjust the side-by-side clip, do any of the following:
To reposition the clip, click to select it in the Project browser (so that its border turns yellow), and then drag it to a new position above the same clip.
To switch the side of the frame where the clip appears, double-click the clip in the Project browser to open the inspector. Choose Left or Right from the “Side by Side” pop-up menu, and then click Done.
To apply a slide effect, double-click the clip in the Project browser to open the inspector. Select Manual (below the Slide heading), and then drag the slider to set the duration of the slide. Then click Done.
To delete a side-by-side clip:
Click to select the side-by-side clip in the Project browser (so that its border turns yellow), and then press Delete.
The sound from the original clip and the sound from the side-by-side clip play simultaneously. You can reduce the volume of either clip so that sound from the other clip stands out. Go to this topic to learn how: Reduce the volume of competing audio clips.
You can edit side-by-side clips the same way you edit standard clips in your projects. For example, you can trim them using the Clip Trimmer, adjust their audio, crop them, add video effects, and so on.
If a side-by-side clip covers a transition in your project, the transition is overridden and doesn’t play.