MacBook Air M1. iMovie not showing Videos

Question

Level 1

42 points

MacBook Air M1. iMovie not showing Videos

I just got this MacBook Air. I'm not a huge fan of iMovie but not ready to shell out another $300 for FCP. Tried few other apps but feeling that iMovie will work IF it works. All my video which I shoot from iPhone 11 Pro is in the Photos which gets backed up in the iCloud. I can see all the video at least thumbnails in Photos on my new MacBook Air and if I click on it it downloads but I'm not seeing them in iMovie to import. Other application show the preview icon and once you click they download from iCloud but iMovie is not even showing preview thumbnail so I can select it for it to download from the iCloud. Any ideas?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.0

Posted on Nov 18, 2020 9:59 PM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,700 points

Nov 18, 2020 10:14 PM in response to RashidT

iMovie does not recognize photos stored in the cloud. Once you download the photo into your Photos library, iMovie will recognize it, provided that your Photos library is designated as the system Photos library in the Photos app general preferences.

—Rich

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Answer 2

RashidT Author

Level 1

42 points

Nov 19, 2020 5:49 AM in response to Rich839

1. That’s terrible to begin with. Other apps shows you thumbnails and once you click them they download the file from iCloud.

2. I went to iPhoto and click on the file so it loads AND play in iPhoto even then it’s not showing in iMovie project.

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,700 points

Nov 19, 2020 8:20 AM in response to RashidT

Might be a corrupt preference associated with the download that is causing the photo not to be recognized. Try deleting preferences. It is a safe procedure that will not cause loss of data. To delete 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.

-- Rich

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Answer 4

W1M_Air

Level 1

4 points

Dec 23, 2020 1:59 PM in response to Rich839

Have the same problem. Deleting preferences didn't help. Albums are showing photos (even the photos that are in the cloud), but not all photos. It stays empty. When you make a new album in photos then you get to see the photos. On my iMac I can see all photos without a problem. Hope it is a bug that will be fixed soon?

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Answer 5

Rich839

Level 8

47,700 points

Dec 24, 2020 9:00 AM in response to W1M_Air

If you are using iCloud optimized storage then some photos would be in the cloud while the photos that you view more often would be on your Mac.

-- Rich

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MacBook Air M1. iMovie not showing Videos

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