iMovie basics

If you don't want the clip in the timeline, select it and press the delete button on your keyboard. That will remove it from the timeline. It will still remain displayed in the media browser, without the orange line across the bottom.

-- Rich

Hi,

This link to an online help menu explains the various functions of iMovie. It has a good search feature that allows searching by topic and by search box.

https://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.1/

-- Rich

The terms “project” and “movie” are sometimes used interchangeably. A project is a movie that is still in its editable form, i.e, timeline, preview screen, media browser, editing tools. The term “movie” can also mean a project that has been shared out (exported) and now is in non-editable form, such as a .mov or Mp4.

— Rich

If you have a 60 second video clip in the browser and you select it and click on the plus sign that appears in the clip, all 60 seconds of that clip will be moved to the timeline. (You can also drag it to the timeline.) The clip also will remain in the browser. with an orange line across the entire bottom to indicate that you have used the entire clip in the project timeline. If you go back to the same clip in the browser, and select it, and then while holding down the r key you drag your cursor across a 10 second portion of the clip, you will create a yellow box outlining the 10 second portion of the clip that you dragged across. When you click on the plus sign (or drag the the outlined portion of the clip) that 10 second portion of the clip will be imported to the timeline along side the 60 second clip that you previously imported. As before, the entire clip will remain in the browser as well, in case you want to import it to the again later on in the movie. So, you will always have the original clip in the browser and the same clip in the timeline as many times as you want to import it in.

Does the above cover your question?

-- Rich

I'm not understanding. No video clips are displayed in the timeline unless you drag or import them in there. If you don't want them there then you don't drag or import them in, or you delete them by selecting them and hitting delete. Your videos will always be displayed in the browser no matter what you do to them in the timeline or whether or not you put them in the timeline.

Are you saying that iMovie is automatically placing videos in the timeline that you don't want? Can you describe your importing process, what steps you are taking to import the videos into iMovie in the first place?

-- Rich

I can't tell anything from the screen shot. If you would answer the questions that I posed in my previous post, it might help clear things up.

-- Rich

You are very welcome. Have fun during the Holidays! :)

-- Rich