my imovie video is black

That's curious. What format is your FaceTime clip?

Alternatively, try control-clicking on the clip and then click on Encode Selected Video files. See if the re-encoded clip will work in iMovie.

Or, you can open the clip in QuickTimePlayer and export it out to re-encode it.

-- Rich

Since the clip doesn't play anywhere and won't convert, it looks to me that the clip is corrupt. That happens sometimes, for no explicable reason. Did you try the Control-click/Encode Selected Clips procedure? All else failing, is it possible to re-record your video, as that may be your only option?

It probably isn't a format issue because it plays fine for 58 seconds.

There is a free download called VLC that plays pretty much anything. You could try playing the clip with that app. However, I suspect that the result will be the same. But . . . you never can tell.

-- Rich

You are welcome. Sorry we couldn't solve it.

As a last resort, you might call Apple Support and see if the savvy techs there have any suggestions. Click on the Contact Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum's screen and navigate to a place where you can input your phone number.

Best of luck with this.

-- Rich

It is possible that there is some corruption at the 58 second point, or maybe an iMovie preference is corrupted, or the problem is confined to just this one project.

First try deleting preferences. Open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and select 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. Now see if the video plays properly.

If no success, try creating a new project and putting your clips into it. See if the black screen issue is cured.

If still no luck, try duplicating the project and, working with the duplicate, expand out your timeline with the slider located above the timeline to the right. Scroll slowly through the area at the point where the clip turns black and see if you can see any white flashes, artifacts, or any other signs of corruption. Cut out any that you find and see if that cures the problem.

Finally, all else failing, try using the free download, Handbrake, to convert the troublesome clips to Mp4/AAC. Do that even if the codec already is indicated to be Mp4/AAC. Re-rendering often cures the issue.

You can get Handbrake here:

https://handbrake.fr/

A simple way to do it is to open Handbrake and do a File/Open Source. Navigate to your video and choose it as the source from the resulting screen. Then do File/Start Encoding. Wait a couple of minutes for the conversion to complete. Then save and import the converted clip into iMovie. See if the black screen is gone.

-- Rich

You want to get the movie clip to your desktop. As I understand it, you have the clip in iMovie but cannot get it out to open it in Handbrake. Correct?

If so, select the clip in iMovie and do a File/Reveal in Finder. A folder will pop up with the clip you selected highlighted. Copy-Drag it (Copy, not move) by holding down the Option key as you drag to your desktop. Then open it in Handbrake and convert it as described in my previous response.

-- Rich