When I import videos from the IPhone 12 Imovie makes the clips a lot brighter. How do I fix this?

I got a workaround for this issue. Looks like Photos on Mac is able to show the HDR videos and Photos from iPhone 12 with correct brightness. This is what I did to use the videos from my iPhone 12 mini inside iMovie:

1. Import the HDR videos from iPhone 12 to Photos on Mac
2. Export the HDR videos in 4K quality from Photos to a location on the Mac
3. Import these exported videos to iMovie

HTH.

Same. I'm trying to upload videos, but the color keeps changing. Were you able to figure something out?

Hi, JrL209,

The brightness is happening because iMovie for Mac does not yet support the HDR video format that you are exporting from your iPhone 12. It causes it to be very bright. To fix the problem, go to your iPhone video settings and switch out of HDR.

-- Rich

I found this article that might be helpful: https://www.cnet.com/how-to/iphone-12-change-these-14-settings-on-your-new-phone-right-away/

• You can turn off HDR video by going to Settings > Camera > Record video and turn the switch next to HDR Video to the Off position. Going forward, all videos will be captured in standard dynamic range, and you won't have any issues sharing or editing it.
• Leave HDR Video turned on, but when you want to share the video with, say, Facebook, use the Photos app instead of going into the Facebook app and uploading it there. By using the Photos app, your iPhone will automatically convert the video to SDR and upload it. When you send the video to another iPhone user, Apple will detect if their iPhone, iPad or Mac is compatible with HDR Dolby Vision. If it's not, Apple will convert the video automatically.
• If you leave HDR Video on and need to edit your video, you can use Apple's iMovie app or the Photos app that's built into your iPhone. You can even use iMovie to export the video as SDR if needed. 

On my end, if I turn ON the LOW POWER MODE (Settings > Battery > Low Power Mode) the video brightness do not adjust.

I don't know when Apple will update the Mac iMovie version to accept HDR. They have updated Mac iMovie for iOS, so I would think that iMovie for Mac would follow. But I'm just a consumer user of the software just like you, so I can't really speculate on what Apple will do.

-- Rich

I am not 100% sure how to work with HDR photos. An HDR photo is not a normally exposed photo. So, I am thinking that unless you have selected "Keep normal Photo" in your iPhone camera settings then turning off the HDR would just affect future photos. I don't think that exporting it in a different format would undo the HDR, since it has been exposed in a certain way. At least, that's the way I believe it works. You could try it and see. As an experiment, put the HDR photo into the Photos for Mac app and export it as a JPEG and then import it into iMovie. See if that cures the problem.

Another experiment you could try in order to remove the HDR would be to change the photo into a video. You could do that by putting it into the Photos for Mac app and then placing the photo into a one-photo slide show that you could export as a video file to your desktop. Then import the slideshow into iMovie. It will display as a photo. You can change the duration by changing the speed like you would for any video.

If you try the above procedures, would you report back as to your findings? It may help others who are dealing with the HDR issue.

-- Rich

Another way to resolve this until an update comes out is to open the video in iMovie on the phone. Export it as 4K without HDR and then import that file into iMovie on your Mac. If you use this method you can continue to record your originals with HDR for when they update iMovie on Mac.

Thanks for the input. At the moment I don't have any more suggestions. You might consider calling Apple Support and discussing it with the techs there. They have the capability of remotely accessing your computer that we don't have here. If you want to go that route, click on the Contact Support item in the upper right of this forum's screen and navigate to a place where you can input your phone number.

-- Richg

With existing HDR video shot on your iphone: When you send/export the video to your mac using airdrop, there is an 'OPTIONS' that pops up next to the video title on your iphone. Click this and you'll see HDR switch is at the bottom. Slide it from green to off. Then airdrop your video and it will work fine in finalcut pro, imovie etc.

My issue is I turned off HDR on my phone in photo section, so when I record I hope I don't always have to switch off HDR when I export to my mac. Not sure if anyone has tested the primary solution offered.

This worked for me, uploading it into iMovie on the phone, then Airdropping it to my Mac.

Thanks for the tip!

It’s weird bc I’ve uploaded several HDR videos with no issues. Just one in particular was causing trouble and looked strange

Hi. Do you know if this will work for the videos I already have? Or does turning off the HDR is just for future videos?

You are welcome. 😊

— Rich

Mine doesn't work for iMovie on my Mac. hmm..