iMovie 10.1.13 upgraded uninstalled 2x. Start to edit movie, then tools break into colored blocks on screen and not responsive.
Yes, the only solution that appears to work (as described in several replies above):
Go to System Preferences->Accessibility->Display and turn off both reduce transparency and increase contrast.
Crazy that Apple does not have this tip in their support site for resolving iMovie issues.
YES! That seems to resolve the problem when using VLC for playback of videos. Switching either back on makes the problem return. Not going to risk trying to run iMovie though as too many projects could be lost again, but seems to be the answer.
Guess you can/could turn this off when wanting to use any program affected by this bug.
This all makes sense now with the colors flashing on MENUS which the 'Preferences->Accessibility->Display' setting affects, of course.
Just reporting that I had the same problem as other users. Fortunately I have Time Machine so I was able to revert to version 10.1.12 and restore my previous library. It seems unfortunately common these days that "updates" create more problems than they fix.
Using late 2012 iMac, Mojave 10.14.6. Tried Cmd+Opt (as above); tried Opt only; tried Safe Mode and restart - Still same problem. (Have not tried different user). CAN Import .mov, qt, etc., files. When select an import for new Project and attempt to edit in Project mode, or attempt to edit Project already "stored" in previous version of iMovie is when attempting to edit results in Tools, etc., menus to go to colored blocks and not be responsive. NO (apparent) problem with editing imported .mov or .qt files PRIOR to adding to Projects. Trying to edit Projects is when all blocks break loose! Have not tried to report to Apple Support. Hoping someone else will do better job and include additional info reported. Thanks so far!
Chris Torrence,
Apparently disabling checked accessibility options only works in some cases. I wonder if a graphics card upgrade is necessary with iMovie 10.1.13 and Catalina, in view of the several reports that have been posted about graphics issues. We'll just have to wait and see if Apple fixes it with future updates. At least you were able to downgrade and get it working.
-- Rich
I think it may be related to the graphics system? I have the same problem on this machine with both Mojave and Catalina:
iMac (27-inch, Late 2013), 3,5 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 32 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2 GB
Tried to reinstall Imovie, tried new library, tried library with only one project, tried deleting prefs etc. No difference.
Tried the same library with only one project on this with Mojave: Macbook Air (13-inch, Mid 2012), 2 GHz Intel Core i7, 8 GB, Intel Graphics 4000. No problem!
Apple support in Denmark? Not really...
Tried 3x. When I went to previous Mac Video Library, file names were grayed out. Outside of iMovie app, clicking on MPEG-4 movie(s) opened in QT. Opening w/in iMovie app same problem as before, had to force quit as before. Over.
I get these colored blocks (they're actually pink on my screen, but appear to be green in the screenshots I took) when I want to use the menu bar inside a project in iMovie 10.1.13. I then updated to Catalina, but the problem remained. It only happens when editing a project, not in the overview screen. In this state, the software is not usable any more. Any ideas? Don't think it is possible to downgrade to the last working version.
I see the same behavior. iMovie 10.1.13 on a MacBook Pro (15 inch), macOS 10.14.6. iMovie worked fine before the upgrade. Now the screen is filled with graphics tearing and large blocks. iMovie is completely unusable. Closing the app makes the problem go away. Tried rebooting, tried using a different/new iMovie library. Nothing helped.
I know, annmou. Now Apple Support Denmark know too :-) But as suspected they can't tell how or when they (or even I) will be able to solve it. Does anybody know, if the previous version of Imovie works under Catalina?
I've been working a lot in my libraries "avoiding" the issue until I find impossible to continue. Now I downgrade to 10.1.12 using Time Machine and my older iMovie libraries are no longer compatible! WTF!!! Hope the update with the solution comes fast.
What's happening with Apple?!!!
Ten days since postings that iMovie 10.1.13 seems to be a significant problem. One would hope that Apple would at least pull the 10.1.13 update – not leave it sitting out there – until it works like an Apple application is supposed to work.
NO, con la versión anterior de Imovie a 10.1.13 tampoco funciona, lo intenté y los menus siguen apareciendo distorsionados.
Lo que no he probado porque me d miedo es ir a una version anterior a mac os catalina, he actualizado a mac os catalina y ahí me quedo ,espero que se solucione pronto lo de imovie 10.1.13
Nice to know I not the only one having problems..How do I reverted to iMovie 10.1.12?
Hopefully, you have TIME MACHINE running?
That's great! :) Glad you got it working again.
-- Rich
iMovie 10.1.13 upgraded uninstalled 2x. Start to edit movie, then tools break into colored blocks on screen and not responsive,
