iMovie edit/move separate timelines

Question

iMovie edit/move separate timelines

Feeling incredibly stupid and frustrated with iMovie:

-12 minute video

-Top timeline: me speaking into camera against green screen

-Bottom timeline, various photos changing every 1-2 minutes till end

-Select green/blue screen, works fine, me correctly laid over photos.

-Now want to delete/replace/interchange photos on bottom timeline. Select those portions ONLY, try to delete or move...and splits/movements/truncation happens on the TOP timeline! Even though it is not selected. Even if I deselect Green/blue screen and default to Cutaway.

AUGGHHH!

Why won't this ridiculously unergonomic program allow me to move things around on the bottom timeline without affecting the top line, when on Cutaway and with only one short clip at a time being selected/moved/deleted on the bottom line? ?

Mac Studio

Posted on Nov 15, 2022 4:41 PM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,700 points

Nov 16, 2022 11:54 AM in response to Rhythm Earthsong

Hmmmm. The only place that I see the upper timeline clip joined with the lower timeline is at the beginning of the upper clip where the little connector joins it to the bottom clip.

If you had your top clips broken up into several smaller segments, then you would have a connection point at the beginning of each segment. Then when you moved the clip below, the top segment would also move.

However, you can move the connection point out of the way, to another bottom clip, by holding down the Option and Command keys and clicking along the upper clip. The connector will be relocated to each place that you click. Then you can move the unconnected clip below without affecting the upper clip.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

Rich839

Level 8

47,700 points

Nov 15, 2022 6:58 PM in response to Rhythm Earthsong

Hi,

I can't seem to replicate your situation. When I have a video in the upper timeline, with photos in the lower timeline, I can remove, delete, or rearrange the photos without affecting the video in the upper timeline. In some instances the video may appear to shorten when photos are deleted, but actually it is not shortening. All of the video is still there.

To rule out that it might be some preference going awry, try deleting preferences. To delete preferences open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new empty library. Reopen iMovie in your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if the issue still exists.

Also, try putting your media into a newly created project and see if that cures it.

Another thing you can do is decide which photos that you want to move or delete, then select the upper timeline video and do Edit/Cut. Then adjust your photos and do an Edit/Paste to put back the video.

-- Rich

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Answer 3

Nov 16, 2022 10:27 AM in response to Rich839

Thanks Rich,

Deleting preferences didn't fix it.

I saved the top timeline (me speaking against green screen) as a separate export, then reimported it and started adding photos under it. As long as I added them in order and only lengthened or shortened their duration, without attempting any 'rearranging,' it worked OK. But the moment I grabbed any photo on the bottom timeline and moved it or exchanged it to a new spot in that bottom line, it grabbed the top line and through it out of whack.

The problem as I see it, with iMovie, is that whether you bring in the top (speaker) timeline or the bottom (background photos) line first, they get 'joined' together and you cannot unjoin them. To me, that's absurd, especially on an app that Apple has had 23 years to tweek. It seems the most logical thing in the world to add a simple command that allows the editor to separate top & bottom when needed, to avoid any 'rearranging' mess-ups, then rejoin them once done. Makes me want to go to Cupertino, find the thick-headed dude or team that works on iMovie, and say, "Seriously? You don't get how un-ergonomic this is? You can't add this critical command?"

And of course, several replies from the community will suggest moving to another video editing program like Final Cut, etc., but I don't need anything that fancy, and iMovie is sophisticated enough to add multiple video, audio and title timelines. They simply need to make them 'separatable' when needed, and it's so obvious, there's no excuse.

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