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Boro22

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 3, 2023
92
9
Hi, I am new to MacOS. Just ordered a Mac Mini

what is the best process if I want to do a video montage of photos (on my Iphone) and play background music to it.

what software is best for this?
 

hg.wells

macrumors 65816
Apr 1, 2013
1,012
724
Either Photos or iMovie on your Mac. iMovie if you want more control.

Both are free, Photos will be installed by default and iMovie you will need to download from the App Store.
 

cthompson94

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2022
802
1,156
SoCal
I agree with hg.wells, I would possibly try to lean/learn iMovie since if there is any chance you want to get a little more advanced you will have familiarity with it especially with maybe one day wanting to cut clips into it and whatnot
 
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Boro22

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 3, 2023
92
9
Thank you. How easy it for this scenario.

I have loads of video clips of my toddler daughter on phone. How easy it to extract the best bits of that video files and put into montage.

In terms of music overlay, does the software provide royalty free music that matches the scene or can I use music from my Apple Music subscription?

Sorry not sure how it works.

It’s currently a faff doing it on my windows machine as have to go onto windows iCloud which is not as quick. Hence once of the reasons I am switching to Mac mini.

Hope I made the right choice…
 

cthompson94

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2022
802
1,156
SoCal
Thank you. How easy it for this scenario.

I have loads of video clips of my toddler daughter on phone. How easy it to extract the best bits of that video files and put into montage.

In terms of music overlay, does the software provide royalty free music that matches the scene or can I use music from my Apple Music subscription?

Sorry not sure how it works.

It’s currently a faff doing it on my windows machine as have to go onto windows iCloud which is not as quick. Hence once of the reasons I am switching to Mac mini.

Hope I made the right choice…
The best bits wouldn't be too bad, it would be a little harder on the phone for precise cuts and by harder I mean just a little more time as opposed to a mouse or of course dedicated video editing tools.

Music overlay you can find a lot of free royalty free music online there are a lot of them, but you have to search for it and like anything downloads you want to be careful. I do not know of any specifically free royalty-free music. I think (I don't have access to any of my devices right now to check) the photos app has built in royalty free music when it generates the photo slideshows. Maybe someone who sees this thread may know of a trustworthy dedicated website for that.

I hope you are happy with your Mini choice too, it really is a great computer especially with the Apple Silicon. It will be a little bit of a learning curve compared to Windows, but stuff like what you are trying to do will be easier especially with your stuff syncing to photos app via iCloud or say even airdropping it to the Mini
 
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ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,361
276
NH
Technically you can add whatever music you want to a movie clip for your private use. You can't post them to the public, like YouTube or Facebook.. In fact, they like to reject any video with music regardless. Sometimes FB's algorithm will replace the audio with a royalty free version.

I think both iMove and Photos come with a few royalty free tunes and sound effects.

I don't think you will be able to add music from a subscription. You may have to purchase and download the song for your private use.
 

Boro22

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 3, 2023
92
9
I have just tried iMovie but its doing some fruatsting things that I don't want it to.

for example, when I add a simple photo - its keeps panning across the photo (even though all the settings are off?)

any ideas?
 
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