How to make a vertical movie

In case you haven't cropped from the browser before, here is a link to Apple's help menu with step by step instructions:

https://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.1/#/mova56757e7e

I forgot to mention that the browser cropping is done from the media browser that displays when you select the project media item at the top of the iMovie project sidebar.

As mentioned, the now vertical video will display in the preview screen with black bars on each side. The black bars will remain after you export it as well. Although it displays vertically, it still will be a horizontal video because of the black bars. Thus it may not qualify as a vertical video for purposes of Facebook reels or You Tube shorts.

If you need to remove the black bars, follow this procedure: Select the clip in the timeline and then click on the crop tool. In the crop controls you will see two rotatation rectangles. Click on one to rotate the clip sideways so that it fills up the 16:9 widescreen. Export it sideways to your desktop. Open it in QuickTimePlayer and do an Edit/Rotate to rotate it right side up. Then save. You will now have a vertical movie without the black bars.

-- Rich

-- Ric

The only way is to use the crop function’s Crop to Fill option. That would mean losing a lot of display area of the clip.

When you record a vertical movie and import it into iMovie, iMovie will add black bars on each side to make it fit the horizontal 16:9 aspect ratio of the iMovie screen. The viewable portion of the clip within the black bars will still be vertical. When you export it it will be in a horizontal aspect ratio, but with black bars on each side. In other words, it will be a horizontal movie that will be usable in You tube and Facebook, like any other horizontal movie.

— Rich

You can crop the video in the media brower rather than the time line, and then you won’t have the wide screen horizontal restriction. You could crop it in any configuration that you want, including vertical, by adjusting the rectangle that appears on the preview screen. After you crop it, drag it from the media browser into the timeline. It will display vertically with black bars on each side.

— Rich

Glad you got it to work! The video is totally cool.

There isn't anything in iMovie to tell the dimensions of the crop, but you got it perfectly. Eyeballing it can work pretty well. You can even use a ruler to measure the aspect ratio on the screen.

Where there's a will there's a way.

-- Rich