Add comment markers and chapter markers

You can add comment markers and chapter markers to any video in your projects so that you can easily skip to the sections you’ve marked. You can add as many comment markers and chapter markers as you like.

  • Comment markers: You can mark any frame of video in your project with a comment and then return to the frame by choosing the comment marker from the markers pop-up menu. Comment markers don’t appear in finished projects; they appear only in the Project browser.

  • Chapter markers: When you use chapter markers to mark specific points in your movie, viewers can use the markers to quickly jump to those points in the movie after it’s been exported or burned to DVD. Also, as with comment markers, you can mark any frame of video with a chapter marker and then easily return to the frame by choosing the chapter marker from the markers pop-up menu.

Applications and devices that recognize iMovie chapter markers include iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Front Row, QuickTime Player, DVD Player, and most standard DVD players.

To add comment markers or chapter markers:

  1. Open your project, and if you don’t see the Chapter Marker and Comment Marker buttons (shown below) in the upper-right corner of the Project browser, turn on Advanced Tools.

  2. Drag a comment marker (A, below) or a chapter marker (B, below) to a frame in your project.

    Image of Chapter Marker and Comment buttons

    A brown comment marker (A, below) or an orange chapter marker (B, below) appears above the video clip, with a placeholder number selected for editing.

    Image of comment and chapter marker bars

  3. Type a comment or a chapter name for the marker.

    Image of the chapter marker and comment bars with names

    If you want to retitle a marker later, double-click its colored bar in the Project browser and then type a new title.

To skip to a marked frame in your project:

  • Choose a comment or a chapter name from the pop-up menu in the upper-right corner of the Project browser. If you have titles in your project, you can also choose a title.

    Image of the chapter markers and comments menu

    The marker you chose is outlined in yellow in the Project browser so that you can easily find it.

To export your movie with chapter markers:

If you’ve added chapter markers to your project, you can simply burn the project to a DVD or export it, and the chapter markers will be recognized by iDVD, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Front Row, QuickTime Player, DVD Player, and most standard DVD players.

  • Click to select the project in the Project Library, or open the project, and then do one of the tasks listed below. The Share menu appears in a light gray bar across the top of your computer screen.

    • To share your movie with iDVD, choose Share > iDVD, and then burn it to a DVD.

    • To share your movie with iTunes, choose Share > iTunes.

    • To send your movie to the Media Browser, choose Share > Media Browser.

      When you send a project to the Media Browser, it will be available for use in iDVD the next time you open iDVD, which recognizes chapter markers.

    • To export your movie as a movie file, choose Share > Export Movie.

      Keep in mind that movies exported in the tiny format don’t include chapter markers.

    • To export your movie using advanced QuickTime options, choose Share > “Export using QuickTime.”