How to Cut a Video in iMovie (with Pictures)

This wikiHow teaches you how to split and trim a video clip at a selected point in iMovie, using a Mac, iPhone, or iPad. iMovie is Apple's official video editing suite for all desktop and mobile macOS and iOS platforms. You can use iMovie's "Split Clip" tool to split video clips and make clippings anywhere in a video.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: On a Mac

Step 1. Open the iMovie app on your computer

The iMovie icon looks like a purple

video camera in a white star on a purple background. You can find it on the Dock or in your "Applications" folder.

Step 2. Select the video project you want to edit

Double-click a movie or video project on your Projects page to open the editing tools.

The video editor will be in the lower half of the app window

Step 3. Find the exact moment when you want to cut your video

Play the video clip in the editor in the lower half of your screen, and pause it at the exact moment you want to cut.

You'll find an editing roll of the entire video in the bottom half of the screen.
You can click on the video roll with the left mouse button at any time to jump here.
The white vertical playback bar should be at the exact point where you want to cut.
You can press the spacebar on your keyboard to play and pause the video.
Use the right and left arrow keys to move the playhead forward or backward one frame.
A full list of all the keyboard shortcuts for iMovie can be found on Apple's official help page here:

Step 4. Press ⌘ Command+B on your keyboard

This keyboard combination will automatically split the clip into two parts, at the exact moment where the white vertical video line is.

After splitting, you can select one of the two parts, and delete it by pressing Delete on your keyboard

Step 5. Right click on the moment in the video you want to cut (optional)

As an alternative to the keyboard shortcut, you can also mouse over the video clip in the editor at the bottom, and right-click on the exact moment you want to cut.

Step 6. Select Split Clip from the right-click menu

Like the keyboard combination, this will cut your video at the exact moment you selected.

Step 7. Left click the moment you want to cut in the video (optional)

As a final solution, you can browse the video and select the moment you want to cut by simply left clicking.

This will automatically place the white vertical line in the video clip at this exact moment

Step 8. Click on the Change menu or 'Edit' on the menu bar

This button is located on your Mac's menu bar at the top of your screen. A drop-down menu will open.

Step 9. Click on Split Clip in the 'Edit' menu

This will cut the video at the exact moment you selected with your left mouse button.

Method 2 of 2: On an iPhone or iPad

Step #1. Open the iMovie app on your iPhone or iPad

The iMovie icon looks like a purple one

in a white star on a purple background. You can find it on your home screen or in an app folder.

Step #2. Tap the project you want to edit

Select the video or movie project you want to edit on the 'Projects' page to open its details.

Step #3. Tap on the Edit button

You'll find this button below the thumbnail and title of the video. The selected video will open in the editor.

Step 4. Press and hold the video roll at the bottom and drag it

You can press and hold the video roll at the bottom of your screen and drag it to the exact moment you want to split the video.

You'll see an editing roll of the entire video in the bottom half of the screen.
Make sure you position the white vertical playhead exactly when you want to split the clip.