iMovie library not showing videos

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zubinm2000 Author

Level 1

13 points

iMovie library not showing videos

Hi there,

I've been trying to make videos for my YouTube channel using iMovie. However, when using the photo library from my iCloud photos, my videos are not showing up for some reason, just photos. I've tried importing from my iPhone but only a select few videos come up and not the ones I'm looking for. Any idea why this is, and how I would go about fixing it?

I recently upgraded my iCloud storage to 2TB so videos not backing up to iCloud doesn't seem to be the cause (unless there's a setting I may have disabled).

Thanks in advance!

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Dec 21, 2021 4:06 AM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,712 points

Dec 21, 2021 8:19 AM in response to zubinm2000

You probably need to download the videos before iMovie will recognize them.

Try downloading your videos to your physical Photos app library. Then access them in iMovie from the Photos item in the iMovie project media sidebar. For that to work, your Photos app library must be designated as the system photos library in the Photos app General preferences.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

zubinm2000 Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 24, 2021 6:10 AM in response to Rich839

Assuming you meant downloading the videos from iCloud, unfortunately this didn't solve the issue. Currently the only way around the issue is exporting them from my photos library on my Mac, which is an inconvenience considering I was previously able to drag and drop them from the iMovie library itself regardless of whether the video had been downloaded from iCloud or not.

I have also noticed there is a gap in my iMovie photo library between certain dates, before I had upgraded my iCloud storage. These photos appear on my Mac photos app so surely these have been backed up by iCloud?

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,712 points

Dec 24, 2021 8:08 AM in response to zubinm2000

With iCloud photos there will be some videos and photos that are stored in the cloud with only thumbnails in the Photos app library. Other files will remain on the hard drive. The ones in the cloud won't be recognized by iMovie and would need first to be downloaded from the Cloud to the Photos library. Possibly that explains why some of your videos do not show up. Also, with the Monterey OS and Photos 7, it seems that the option to drag directly from the Photos app into iMovie is gone, and only a photo clip of a video will appear. Up to now at least, the solution has been to drag the videos from the Photos item in the iMovie project sidebar.

So, not sure what is going on in your situation. You might try contacting Apple Support. The techs there have the capability of remotely accessing your computer that we cannot do here. To contact apple support click on the Get Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum’s screen. Navigate to a place where you can enter your phone number.

-- Rich

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Answer 4

Jan 22, 2022 8:23 AM in response to zubinm2000

I have the same problem. I have a 2021 M1 iMac and iMovie will not see most of the videos I have in Photos. I have updated all software. As a workaround, I exported videos to my Desktop and then iMovie can import them from there. I don't recall having this issue in the past on other Macs. I got it to work but there must be a better way.

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Answer 5

Rich839

Level 8

47,712 points

Jan 22, 2022 11:27 AM in response to Kaeferpaul

Others have reported the same issue as well. It might be something that Apple will need to address. Meanwhile, importing from the desktop is a viable workaround, although a tad inconvenient.

-- Rich

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Answer 6

Dec 21, 2021 5:58 AM in response to zubinm2000

The same thing is happening to me. Even when I drag and drop a video from the photo app into my timeline it transforms into a still.

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iMovie library not showing videos

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