Recently, we reviewed Givit, a free app for all iOS devices that lets you record and edit videos. We liked how easy Givit makes it to stitch video clips together, so you can share a collection of video highlights with friends instead of sending off a long reel of unpolished material. You can even add special effects like a music soundtrack or slow-motion replay, among others.
At Macworld/iWorld this week, Givit announced an update to the app that introduces even more special editing effects. The first brings a better way to trim videos. Previously, to trim a video and select a highlight, you’d have to watch the video and select your starting and stopping points during video playback. Now, you can pause the video, tap on the frame, then scroll through the footage to mark the starting and stopping point of the clip and trim at more precise moments.
Another change is the ability to integrate still photos from your photo stream into your videos. If you’ve shot a video of, say, your dog fetching a Frisbee at the local dog park, you could add a still image of your dog holding the Frisbee in his mouth to start the video off, for example. If you’d like, you can make a slideshow of just still images set with Givit’s transition effects and music.
Other welcome features include title pages for your videos with various background images to choose from (these background images are cloud-based, so Givit can add more without users having to wait until the next app update); the ability to drag and drop highlights or still images to different parts of the video; and the ability to rotate video clips that have been shot in the wrong orientation. So, you can flip those pesky portrait-oriented videos and zoom in to where the action is happening.
Givit is a free universal iOS app, available now in the App Store. The update requires iOS 5.0 or later and is expected to launch in early February.
Author: Leah Yamshon, Associate Managing Editor
Leah Yamshon is a former Macworld editor.