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Import a video clip from Photos to iMovie

I have a video clip in Photos however when I import it to an iMovie I a creating it only seems to come in as a photo what am I doing incorrectly

Posted on Jan 1, 2021 6:06 PM

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Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Jan 1, 2021 8:41 PM

Hi,


I have seen the issue that you are experiencing brought up before on this forum.


If you are not already doing so, try importing the videos by clicking on the Photos item in the iMovie project sidebar. Your videos will be revealed in the browser and you can drag them from there into the timeline. They should come in as videos and not a photo. For this to work you Photos app library must be designated as the system photos library in the Photos app general preferences.


If you are trying to import per the above but with no success, try dragging the videos directly from the Photos app library into the timeline of an iMovie project.


If still no luck, then In case the issue is caused by a corrupt preference, 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.  Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project.


If the problem still persists, then try redownloading iMovie. To update/redownload iMovie 10, drag your

iMovie 10 app from the Applications folder into the trash, but do not empty the trash. Sign in to the app store and open your purchases folder by clicking on your name at the bottom of the app store side bar. (NOTE: For El Capitan and older, click on the Purchases tab at the top of the app store screen and then sign in. Click on Purchases again to reveal your purchases.)  You will see your purchases displayed, including iMovie 10. Redownload/update iMovie from there. If not successful, drag your present iMovie app out of the trash (if you moved it there) and return it to the Applications folder.


-- Rich

1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Jan 1, 2021 8:41 PM in response to Mac_fixes_required

Hi,


I have seen the issue that you are experiencing brought up before on this forum.


If you are not already doing so, try importing the videos by clicking on the Photos item in the iMovie project sidebar. Your videos will be revealed in the browser and you can drag them from there into the timeline. They should come in as videos and not a photo. For this to work you Photos app library must be designated as the system photos library in the Photos app general preferences.


If you are trying to import per the above but with no success, try dragging the videos directly from the Photos app library into the timeline of an iMovie project.


If still no luck, then In case the issue is caused by a corrupt preference, 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.  Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project.


If the problem still persists, then try redownloading iMovie. To update/redownload iMovie 10, drag your

iMovie 10 app from the Applications folder into the trash, but do not empty the trash. Sign in to the app store and open your purchases folder by clicking on your name at the bottom of the app store side bar. (NOTE: For El Capitan and older, click on the Purchases tab at the top of the app store screen and then sign in. Click on Purchases again to reveal your purchases.)  You will see your purchases displayed, including iMovie 10. Redownload/update iMovie from there. If not successful, drag your present iMovie app out of the trash (if you moved it there) and return it to the Applications folder.


-- Rich

Import a video clip from Photos to iMovie

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