Can't insert photos

Question

Level 2

176 points

Can't insert photos

I've tired to follow iPhoto's Help for inserting still images over a video clip (and retaining the audio) but for the life of me I can't get it to work. Here's what I'm doing, and yes I have the Paste over video and preserve audio preference checked, or what ever it's called (I'm at work):

1. I place the playhead at the spot where I want to insert the still.

2. Select the photo from the media browser

3. I try, as Help states, to Command C but as the image has opened up in preview mode when I selected it, my Mac just beeps at me. Of course Copy is also grayed out in the Edit menu.

4. I get rid of the preview by X-ing out of it. The photo is still selected in the media browser, but Copy is also still grayed out in the Edit Menu and I get a beep while trying to Command C. The Paste over...... is also grayed out in the Advanced menu as well.

Sorry for the incorrect terminology. I'm at work on a Windows machine and can't remember everything exactly. I searched here and did find a couple instances where it sounded like whats happening with me, but I didn't see any resolution.

Thanks.

G5 2Ghz iMac, G4/533 upgraded to 1.33GHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on May 30, 2006 10:03 PM

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Answer 1

May 31, 2006 4:02 AM in response to Jailer Joe

Jailer Joe,

To add a photo to the timeline while in the Preview mood, just click the "√" mark on the right side of the Preview timeline.

Alternatively, you can just drag a photo or group of photos from the media browser to the timeline.

Matt

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Answer 2

May 31, 2006 6:32 AM in response to Jailer Joe

The preview shows you the image that is about to be imported. But until you import it, there's nothing there to Copy/Cut, then Paste.

Import the photo, then Copy/Cup that clip.

Karl

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Answer 3

May 31, 2006 8:36 AM in response to Jailer Joe

Jailer Joe,

If there are photos you want to paste over portions of video here's a technique you can use.

First drag all the photos to your timeline. Then switch from the Media viewer to the Clip viewer and drag the photos there. You can use shift-select to drag several photos at once. Even if a Ken Burns effect is rendering you can still move them. The rendering will complete while the photos are in the clip viewer.

With the photos now in the Clip viewer you can use Copy and Paste Over at Playhead to place the photos exactly where you want them in the timeline.

Matt

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Answer 4

Jailer Joe Author

Level 2

176 points

May 31, 2006 3:17 PM in response to Matthew Morgan

Thanks Matt, that worked. It's kind of annoying, however, because that's not the way Help explains it...

"You can paste a new video clip or photo over an existing clip while retaining the audio from the original clip. The video cuts away to a new picture, but you continue to hear the sound from the original clip.

To replace images in a clip while maintaining running audio:
Choose iMovie HD > Preferences, and then click General.
Select the "Extract audio when using Paste Over at Playhead" checkbox.
Select the video or photo that you want to insert.
Choose Edit > Cut or Copy.
Do one of the following:
To paste the entire video you selected in step 3, position the playhead at the first frame to be replaced. When you paste the clip, it will replace a portion of video equal to its length.
To paste over a specific segment of your movie, select the part of the video clip you want to paste over. (To learn more about selecting part of a video clip, see Related Topics below.)
If the video you're pasting is longer than the selected frame range, the excess video will not be pasted. If the video you're pasting is shorter than the selected frame range, the extra space will be filled with a color clip (or the still image, if you paste a still image).

Choose Advanced > "Paste Over at Playhead."
The audio track of the original video is retained and appears in audio track 1 of the timeline viewer."

Anyway, thanks again. I'm going to feedback Apple about this.

Joe

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Answer 5

May 31, 2006 3:41 PM in response to Jailer Joe

Jailer Joe,

You're right. Those instructions are a bit misleading.

The photos first have to be in your clip viewer.

See my other post in this thread for more on this.

Matt

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