iMovie export hangs and never completes. Last successful export was September 3, 2024.

Question

Level 1

8 points

iMovie export hangs and never completes. Last successful export was September 3, 2024.

I am trying to export an iMovie project, and rendering/export never completes/finalizes. It will be stuck overnight.

Last successful export performed was on September 3rd. Reviewing my "Installations" list under "System Information", I see that related updates are as follows:

MacOS 14.6.1 update on 9/10/24 (previously on 14.5)

iMovie 10.4.2 update on 9/19/24

I have reviewed various threads across the web, and have checked/performed the following:

Ensure I have enough space
Reset iMovie preferences
Disconnected audio from clips that are in slow motion
Reset NVRAM
Reset SMC
Upgraded MacOS to 15.1

I am unable to roll back the iMovie version to test to further isolate this issue of being a bug related to iMovie, but I suspect it may be.

Additionally, I have recently upgraded my iPhone 12 Pro Max to iPhone 16 Pro Max. There are some videos recorded on the 16 in these problematic videos.

I am technical, so very open to further suggestions for me to try. TIA!

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Nov 1, 2024 10:39 AM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,730 points

Nov 1, 2024 11:05 AM in response to adreano17

You have tried, without success, the solutions that usually are recommended.

You might try putting your media into a newly created project to see if you can get a successful export from there.

If the export hangs up at the same point every time, try expanding out your timeline and scrolling around the timeline at the point where the export hangs up. Look for any signs of corruption, such as black frames or clips, artifacts, white flashes. Cut out any that you find and try exporting again.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

adreano17 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 1, 2024 12:05 PM in response to Rich839

Thanks Rich - I have seen your recommendation in the past. Might be worthwhile to go through carefully again for any flashes. It is also important to note, that this happens on a separate new project as well.

Regarding transferring the media into a new project, I tried that and wasn't able to get higher than 720P. Any suggestions on that one?

Thanks again.

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Answer 3

Rich839

Level 8

47,730 points

Nov 1, 2024 5:59 PM in response to adreano17

So, am I understanding correctly that in the new project you were able to get a full export, but limited to 720?

iMovie sets the resolution and frame rate of a project as that of the first clip added to the timeline of a newly created project. Even if you delete the first clip, the project will still remain at 1080.

Accordingly, if a 720 clip is the first clip added, then the export option will be 720. You might try creating a new project and adding a 1080 clip as the first clip. That will set the project at 1080. You then can delete the first clip and add your other clips. You should then get a 1080 export option.

-- Rich

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Answer 4

Nov 17, 2024 7:08 AM in response to Rich839

I have to pile on here. I am attempting to export a video downloaded from a Facebook livestream I did. The MP4 file was less than 400MB. I brought it into iMovie, added a title card, a text title briefly overlapping the video, and a logo bug on the screen. No transitions. TWO gigabytes and 14 hours later (with 11 to go), the video is only at about 66% exported. This is not normal. I used to be able to export these in less than an hour. I'm using a Mac Mini M1 with 16 gb of RAM, and I left the machine to do this overnight. Please point me to a solution.

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Answer 5

adreano17 Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 17, 2024 7:18 AM in response to roadsider

I forgot to mention this here, I reached out to Apple explaining the issue the day after this post and they acknowledged many have reported the issue.

It is with the engineering team for a resolution to be made via a MacOS hotfix. They told me a few weeks for a fix, but it has been a few weeks already. Last update is they are still working on it.

I am a firm believer that this iMovie version broke this export functionality.

Unfortunately, there is no way to roll back to an older version. I’ve tried my hardest on that.

I encourage you and everyone who is experiencing this issue to report it to Apple Support directly, so that report volume can grow. Thus, possible expedition of resolution.

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