How to Blur Something in iMovie with Apple Devices [iPhone/Mac]

iMovie is a powerful but user-friendly video editor for Apple users. This editor can trim, merge, and crop the video. Moreover, you can apply effects from the iMovie library to your video. For example, the blur effect in iMovie is a practical one that helps you to cover a passerby’s face in your video or blur your private information. If you do not know where to find this effect with your iPhone or Mac, then this article is a must-read for you since it covers all the steps you need on how to blur a part of a video in iMovie.

Part 1: How to Blur in iMovie on Mac/iOS

Some of you may be curious whether iMovie has a blur effect. The answer is no; there is no such effect for you to apply to the video inside the iMovie directly. However, you can create one with the help of other free platforms like Canva. With Canva, you can create a blurred image to cover the faces in iMovie. Therefore, check out the guide here to learn how to blur faces in iMovie on your Mac and iPhone.

Apply Blur Effect in iMovie with Canva on Mac

Step 1.Launch the "iMovie" app on your Mac. Then, right-click the "My Media" option on the left side. Choose the "Import Media" option and select the video to import. You can preview the video to find the face you want to blur.

Step 2.Press "Shift", "Command", and "4" keys, hover your mouse over the face in the video and draw a square to take a screenshot of the face in the video, which will be on your Mac desktop. Go to "Canva’s" official website and log in with your account.

Step 3.Click the "Create a design" button. Enter the dimensions for a new canva. Upload the screenshot you just took. Adjust the screenshot to fit your canva. Next, click the "Filter" button above and adjust the blur effect from the dropdown option.

Step 4.Save this blurred image in PNG format by clicking the "Download" button. Go back to "iMovie", import this image, and drag it to the timeline over the video. Click the "Overlay" button and choose the "Picture in Picture" mode from the first dropdown option.

Step 5.Then click the "Crop" icon to resize the image to fit your screen. Adjust the image’s position and let it cover the face in your video. You will see a keyframe tool in the preview monitor window.

Step 6.You need to track the faces by clicking the keyframe. Repeat this step and adjust the blur while you play the video to see the moving pattern of the face. Then, you are done.

How to Blur a Part of Video in iMovie on iPhone

Step 1.Open "iMovie" on your iPhone, tap plus icon to create a new project, and choose "Movie". Import the video from your Photos.

Step 2.You can also go to "Canva"’s website to create a blurred image on your iPhone. Then, go back to iMovie and tap the small plus icon to import the blurred image from Photos.

Step 3.Tap the three-dot icon and choose the "Picture in Picture" mode. Then, the photo will be placed above your video. You can tap the crosshead icon to adjust its place to blur the video or its particular part.

Part 2: Easier Way to Blur Faces in a Video

As you can see from the content above, it is a tricky process to apply the blur effect in iMovie since there is no such effect inside iMovie. Is there a quicker way to help you blur the faces in your video apart from creating the blurry effect in advance? Yes, there is, and here comes the AnyRec Video Converter – the most straightforward iMovie alternative you can find on the market. As a powerful converter, this program is compatible with multiple video formats and offers different presets designed for platforms like Twitter, Instagram, etc. Moreover, there are several filters in different styles for you.

How to Blur Something in iMovie Alternative on Mac

Step 1.First, get a free download of "AnyRec Video Converter". Install and launch it on your Mac. On the main interface, you can click the "Add Files" button to select a video from your Mac to import. You can also drag the video file to the "AnyRec Video Converter" window to import.

Step 2.Click the magic wand icon under your video file’s name to enter the editing window. On the new window, click the "Watermark" tab to go on. Then, click the Image "Watermark" option and upload a blurred or mosaic image.

Step 3.Drag the image on the preview window to adjust its position. You can also adjust its opacity through the slider bar below. Then, click the "OK" button to keep these changes. Now you can choose a destination folder by clicking the Save to dropdown button. Then, click the "Convert All" button to export it.

Tip: In this way, you can successfully blur faces in the video with this iMovie alternative. Meanwhile, before exporting the video, you can also choose a different output format if you are about to share it on social media.

Part 3: FAQs about How to Blur in iMovie

• Can I track the movement when applying the blur effect in iMovie?

  Yes. It works for iMovie on Mac. The keyframe feature in Mac’s iMovie enables you to adjust actions in each frame and track the movement of a thing. But if you are using iMovie on your iPhone, you can’t.

• Will the picture quality be affected after using the blur effect in iMovie?

  No, it won’t be affected. Because iMovie is an advanced video editor that will preserve your video’s original quality and export the video in good condition.

• How to blur something in iMovie on an iPad?

  Blurring something in a video in iMovie with an iPad is the same as how to do it on iPhone. So, you can directly follow the steps above for iPhone to blur your video on the iPad.

Related Articles

• Detailed Steps to Add iMovie Watermark on Mac/iPhone
• 2 Easy Ways to Export/Save/Convert iMovie to MP4 Videos with High Quality
• Top 7 Tools and Apps to Blur Face to Avoid Being Seen in the Photo
• The Complete Guide on How to Add Subtitles in iMovie on iPad, iPhone, and Mac