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General discussion

iMovie trouble- Please help me

Jan 19, 2008 10:47PM PST

Well, I'm having a few problems with iMovie HD. Any help is extremely appreciated.

I know that the problems are to do with the application and not my computer because I have two macs and I'm having similar trouble on both computers.

First off, when I try to import any high quality JPGs into my iMovie HD project, it reads them as video clips. As a video, it slowly zooms in on the image for 5 seconds. I have over come this problem by reducing the video clip to less than 1 second so that it doesn't move- but it still an annoyance that I would like to be ride of completely.

Secondly, I was wondering if there is a way to extract files from the iMovie HD trash. Usually it's not much of an issue because if I accidentally delete a file I just reopen my project where I saved last. But this time- I was in the middle of saving my project when the iMovie HD application unexpectedly quit, and when I reopened it all of my work was in the trash.

Also, in relation to the second problem- now that I've reopened my project after the application unexpectedly quit, I am trying to start over but my project won't accept any files.

I have had these and similar problems repeatedly in the past and the frustration of it has left a lot of projects unfinished. Again, any help or suggestion is extremely appreciated. Please email me at black_voids_revenge@yahoo.com or post here.

Discussion is locked

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That slow zoom may be a "Ken Burns" effect you turned on or
Jan 19, 2008 11:49PM PST

It's on by default. Not a bug but a feature.

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iMovie
Jan 20, 2008 12:44AM PST

Yep, sounds like the ken Burns effect. Just turn it off.

Regarding the trash. When you open iMovie, does it tell you that it found a load of things in the trash and give you the opportunity to view them and put them back into the project?

It should do.

P

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A little clarification...
Jan 20, 2008 1:43AM PST

Which version of iMovie HD are you referring to? I use iMovie HD 5. I think 6 is similar.

I agree with the others - sounds like "Ken Burns Effect" is on. Can you tell us how you import those jpegs? The way I do it is to bring the jpegs into iPhoto first. Then, in iMovie editor mode, under the clip pane, there are a series of buttons... Clips, Photos, Audio, Titles, Tans, Effects, iDVD... Click on Photos. This will allow you to access the iPhoto libraries and albums. Note the Ken Burns Effect stuff - uncheck the check box. If you are importing by simply dragging the photo into iMovie, the well... you know what happens.

As for "extracting" files from the iMovie trash... You want to be in "Clips" mode. In the lower right of the iMovie window, there is a trash can and the amount of space that trash is using. Click once on it. That will open the trash can window (if you have a lot in the trash, it could take a while). Drag the item in the trash, that you want to recover, to the clip pane portion of the iMovie window.

If the iMovie project unexpectedly quit (that is so much more um... gentle... than "crashed" isn't it?) in the MIDDLE of saving, then it is likely somehow corrupted. I don't know that this is recoverable, which may be why you can't add more to it. If you can open the project and have available hard drive space, you can try "save as..." another iMovie project. This may fix the corruption. Another thing to try is Sharing or exporting as a full quality QuickTime and re-importing as a new project... Or, you could open the offending project and copy the clip you want, close that project and start a new project and paste that clip you just copied from the old project... Or you can drag the clip out of the offending project to a folder somewhere, open a new project and drag that clip into the new project...

And I would suggest not posting your email address here - unless you want a ton of spam...

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What Macs are you running HD on?
Jan 20, 2008 9:18AM PST

I know that my friend and I were working on a project together, and his new MacBook just had issues with it. It crashed 3 of 4 times while we were in the final stages of editing... and that was with the most current version of HD on Leopard.

When you import the pictures, they should not be read as video clips. I will say that, like everyone else, you probably have the Ken Burns effect on. Under Media and under Photos, select Show Photo Settings. A gray/black window should pop up and you should be able to turn it off. Now the photos are still photos, but they appear as video clips because they are being played in the project. By changing the length of time that the photos will be shown in the film, you can customize how long you want them to appear. This can be done by changing the photo settings as well. They are not video clips, but they go on the same bar as the rest of the video clips do since they are going to be seen on the screen. I hope I got that right for you Wink.

You should be able to restore the items in the trash if it says you can... Though you may end up reorganizing them from scratch. I've actually experienced a problem where I could not drag video clips into the film. I think that it usually deals with the position of the playhead thing or whatever clip you have selected. It may also be related to any clips that have been locked to the playhead. The best thing to do would be to move around the clips you have in place and see if that works. It's nothing major.

Hope you get it worked out,
-BMF