Your time-lapse races past the moment you wanted people to see. Slow it down in iMovie on your iPhone, then save the finished video to Photos. Start with half speed to double its length, or slow just one section to give that moment more screen time.
Slow down your time-lapse in iMovie
Use iMovie to slow the whole time-lapse after recording it. The current iPhone app requires iOS 17.6 or later.
If you need the app, install iMovie from its App Store page. Open iMovie, then tap Start New Project. Choose Movie, select your time-lapse, then tap Create Movie.
Tap the clip in the timeline, then tap Speed and drag the slider left. At 1/2x, a 10-second time-lapse becomes 20 seconds long. Tap outside the inspector when you’re finished. Your next move is to save the result as a video.
Save the slower video to Photos
Use Share Video to save the finished clip; Export Project creates an editable iMovie project.
- 1.In the Projects browser, select your project.
- 2.Tap Share, then Share Video.
- 3.To change output settings, open Options, choose your settings, then tap Back or Done.
- 4.Choose Save Video to save to Photos. For a file instead, choose Save to Files, select a folder, and tap Save.
Give just one section more time
Open your movie project in iMovie, then select the time-lapse clip in the timeline. Tap Speed, then use the yellow range handles to select the section you want to slow down.
To create another range boundary, tap Add. Drag the speed slider left to slow the selected range. Repeat the range adjustment for any other sections that need more time. Tip: keep this edit for moments that need extra attention, then save the result through Share Video as described above.
Understand the limits of Photos and Camera settings
Looking for a speed slider in Photos? Its Playback Speed control is for eligible high-frame-rate recordings; Apple provides no supported Photos slowdown method for ordinary Camera time-lapses. The separate black vertical bars adjust videos recorded in Slo-mo.
Apple’s Camera controls offer no interval or playback-speed selector for Time-lapse. The settings under Settings > Camera > Record Video and Settings > Camera > Record Slo-mo configure other recording modes and do not change an existing time-lapse’s speed.
There’s also a limit to what any editor can recover. Time-lapse capture records at intervals, so slowing the finished clip cannot bring back moments that were never recorded.
If a strong slowdown looks choppy, move the speed slider closer to the clip’s original speed. Half speed doubles the duration, but it does not restore real-time footage.
Try CapCut for another editing option
CapCut supports a constant slower speed and speed changes across a clip. Its US App Store listing requires iOS 13.0 or later, making it an option for iPhones that cannot run the current iMovie app. Availability varies by region.
Open CapCut. Tap New project, or Edit > New Video on versions with that layout. Import your time-lapse. Select the clip in the timeline.
Tap Speed, or Edit > Speed if the control sits inside the editing menu. Choose Normal for a uniform slowdown, or Curve to vary the speed across sections. For Normal, reduce the speed below 1x. For Curve, lower the control points for the parts you want to slow down.
Preview the result to check the pace. Tap Export to export the edited video. If CapCut is unavailable or you cannot complete the edit, try Clideo’s browser speed changer below.
Use Clideo without installing an app
Clideo works in an iPhone browser and requires internet access for uploading and processing. Open its Speed Video tool. Tap Choose file to upload your time-lapse.
Under Change video speed, select 0.5x for half speed, 0.75x for a smaller reduction, or 0.25x for quarter speed. Alternatively, adjust the slider.
Tap Export. Wait for processing to finish.
Tap Download to save the processed video. Clideo reserves watermark removal and higher-quality export for paid plans, so check those limits before choosing it for your finished clip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pause on one frame instead of slowing the movement?
Yes. In an iMovie movie project, touch and hold the time-lapse clip and move to the desired frame. Select the clip. Tap Speed, then Freeze. Adjust the yellow handles to change the pause’s duration. This holds one moment instead of slowing movement throughout the clip.
Can I slow a clip inside an iMovie Magic Movie or storyboard?
Yes. Open the Magic Movie or storyboard project. Tap the clip, then the right-arrow button. Tap the clip again. Choose Speed. Drag the slider left, down to one-eighth of the original clip speed. Tap Back to return to the clip list.
Does AI slow motion recover the missing frames?
No. AI interpolation synthesizes intermediate frames. Those frames are generated, not recovered original footage.