How can I maximise the image quality of still images imported into iMovie? What image file format is best to use with iMovie to this end? Is it RAW, TIFF or JPEG? What image size should I set in Photoshop? What resolution (pixels per inch) is best? In what format is it best to render the project if still image quality is the criterion? I am using version 10.1.10 on a relatively new Mac Book Pro. Alan Boyle.
MacBook Pro 15", 10.13
I usually don't pay much attention to still images, but concentrate more on the videos. I'll give you my comments anyway in case they may be of some help to you. Perhaps others who are more attuned to photos will chime in here. I just wanted to get the thread started.
Your image choice formats are RAW, TIFF, JPEG and PDF. RAW will get converted for editing anyway, so no point in going out of your way to use it. JPEG is compressed but works fine. I think that most people use it. TIFF is more uncompressed but has very large file size. PDF I've used a couple of times and it seems to work O.K, but nothing special. Keep in mind that anything you put into iMovie will be rendered out in a video format, either Mp4/AAC or a pro res .mov file. So I suspect that there won't be much difference between iMovie quality with TIFF versus JPEG. So I go with JPEG that most people use. Go with TIFF if you don't mind the file size.
You can use any resolution in iMovie up to 4K, but it should be at least 640 x 480. You want to go bigger for more quality. This would particularly be true if you are planning on using a lot of Ken Burns zooming on the photos. In that case I'd go 1920 x 1080, or even 4K if your camera can do it. Stick to iMovie's 16:9 aspect ratio, in landscape mode, because iMovie will crop it to that to fit the dimensions of its 16:9 screen, or it will add black bars to make it fit the screen. One thing that comes up from time to time on this forum are reports of photos displaying black in iMovie. That can mysteriously happen in some cases if the long dimension is greater than 4000, so then you would need to reduce the long dimension to something under 4000, sometimes down to 2500.
I'm not sure about what rendering format would be best for stills, but everything rendered out of iMovie will be Mp4/AAC except for the Best Quality (pro res) setting, in which case you would get a .mov file of the best quality but also 4x file size. Experiment for yourself to see which video and image formats suit you best. For the most compatibility across a wide number of devices and uses, Mp4 at High Quality setting would be the best. Always choose the Better Quality compression and the highest resolution for you project, if quality is the concern. You will get larger file sizes, however.
You might want to post your question in the Photos for Mac forum. Those folks are very knowledgeable about photo resolutions and formats.
-- Rich
That's interesting. I have not had that issue with JPEGs. Try restarting your computer and opening iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Sometimes that cures issues related to rendering.
Also, try converting the JPEGs to TIFF format and see if it makes any difference.
-- Rich
Thanks Rich for this full response. My problem is that with well produced high quality JPEGs the rendered version of my iMovie has degraded quality, with much noise in certain images, which are completely absent on the original JPEGs. I rendered at the Best Quality setting but still found this. I am just not sure what iMovie is doing to my high quality JPEGs to produce these low quality results. I wish to project the resulting iMovie on a big screen in which high quality output is essential. Any further suggestions gratefully received. Alan
Top quality still images in iMovie
