Your first film on Mac

Start with a small story

Bring three to five short clips and a music file you have permission to use. Aim for a 20–30 second sequence: an opening shot, two details, and a closing moment. This guide uses the Mac interface. For touch editing, use the iPhone and iPad quick start.

Choose Help → Open Offline Sample to explore a small editable example, or Help → Load Demo Project… for the downloadable Make Your Move film. A fresh working copy protects your earlier demo edits. Mac project creation, import, editing, and movie export require active access; see subscriptions if a command opens the offer.

Create a home for the edit

1. Choose File → New Project… (⌘N) and name the project.
2. Choose File → Save Project (⌘S) and save the .meridian file in a dedicated folder.
3. Choose File → Import media (⌘I), click Browse Media Files…, and select your clips and music.
4. Keep Copy into project enabled to store imported originals in ManagedMedia beside the project, then click Import media. With copying off, keep the linked files in their original locations.
5. Check import results in Window → Background Tasks. Successful items stay imported if another file fails.

A .meridian file records editing decisions; it does not embed all original movies. Keep the project folder and required media together. Read project storage before moving the edit.

Assemble three useful moments

1. Open Media and select the first source. Check that the viewer says Source.
2. Play or scrub to the beginning you want; press I to mark In.
3. Move to the boundary immediately after the useful material; press O to mark Out.
4. Press E, or click Append, to put the marked range at the end of the sequence.
5. Repeat for the other shots. Switch to Sequence and press Space to review.

Source Out is exclusive: the picture at that boundary is outside the selected range. Source steps follow recorded pictures; sequence steps follow the sequence frame rate. See source and sequence transport for mixed-rate footage.

Shape and finish

Select a timeline clip and place the playhead where you want a cut. Timeline → Blade at Playhead (⌘B) splits at that position. Use the clip edges or Timeline → Trim for smaller timing adjustments. ⌘Z undoes a timeline edit when an editing surface has focus.

Open Titles, place the sequence playhead at the title’s start, and choose an Essentials preset. Select the title, replace Title text, and adjust its length so the words can be read. Keep it inside the safe-area guides.

Append your music source, inspect the audio destination, and lower its clip gain so dialogue stays clear. Add short fades at the ends. Start with a modest exposure and color-balance adjustment in Color, then compare adjacent shots.

Export and check the actual file

1. Save the project and choose File → Export sequence (⇧⌘E) or Export.
2. Start with H.264 for a broadly compatible movie. Check the sequence, canvas, frame rate, range, source quality, audio, and captions in the delivery settings.
3. Choose a writable destination with enough space and start the export.
4. Open the completed movie. Check its beginning and ending, listen to the entire short edit, and inspect text and captions.

Keep editing projects as well as delivered movies: the movie is easy to watch, while the project remains editable. Continue through the eight Mac lessons for a more gradual walkthrough.