Q: iMovie '13 "dumbed down" compared to iMovie '11

In terms of workflow, please tell me how I can get back to the Aperture library interface from iMovie version 9. In this latest release, the only way I can view Aperture libraries is by viewing big icons of each project, and I have to start from the earliest project, way back in 2000, and there is no way to sort how I view the projects.

In the previous iMovie release I could select projects in a window similar to the actual window in Aperture.

This is a backwards step in terms of workflow.

You can change all of the transitions at once:

1. Choose Edit->Select in iMovie->Transitions.

2. Click Adjust in the tool bar to make the Adjustments Bar appear.

3. Click the little "i" icon.

4. The transition selector appears on the left, underneath the Adjustments Bar. The transition library shows up.

5. Double-click the transition style you want from the transitions library.

I realize this doesn't address all of your complaints—some of which I share—but hopefully it helps.

Well, the new iMovie is an epic fail because it has a near useless Library system. It has no heuristic cataloguing. It sort of assumes that all video will be in a Project, then online lickety-split, and no one will look at the Library again.

This version ignores most metadata protocols, most archival protocols, and most file protocols for media storage and organization.

This is what happens when engineers figure out how to manipulate information but have no idea of persistent storage and retrieval requirements.

I tried iMovie 2013 for a quick project and initially I was baffled at the differences, but I could quickly put together something.

I now do like how you can split clips rather than select to edit. It makes it faster and easier to be accurate in the cut.

I also was amazed about the speed iMovie exported the final clip. It makes sending 10 min clips to a news website a lot faster.

What was cumbersome was the limited options of exporting to a file. I would get either sizes that were too large or a movie too small.

I ended up doing an export to Mail, and then saving the movie. That produced a decent sized movie, compressed enough to be sent to my client quickly.

The issue I do not use Mail (I use Thunderbird that with colored lables allows me a better orgaization of my messages and better integration with Google calendar), and exporting to Mail makes Mail download all these old messages from my account. That is a cumbersome pain. Or I could export to iTunes, but it is again cumbersome when I want just a file to be exported to my dropbox folder,

I just wish iMovie allowed direct export as a file at different file sizes/ qualiity.

I have not checked yet the limitations of the file management. I have an iMac and a MBA and I like to import to the computer I am working on, do an edit and then move the event and project to a portable USB3 drive that holds photos and video and I share between the 2 computers.

I am just worried that the new iMovie will not let me do this easily, reading these posts.

The new iMovie is so dumbed down, I cannot even figure out how to use it.. I've been editing video since 1999, using Adobe Premiere, Final cut, and the various versions of iMovie.. Maybe I have too much knowledge of how it used to be to figure this out.

The last version of iMovie was a huge learning curve but this new versions makes me just want to stop.. Add on the awful versions of iWork.

I USED to look forward to Apple software updates.. now i fear them.

This seems true for apple products period. Do you know of a better movie editing system?

I'm glad I'm not the only one experiencing problems with iMovie. 90% of my movie files have lost their audio after I imported them one-by-one into the new iMovie. I had to import them one-by-one, because otherwise iMovie imports them all as a single event.

Also, I had several projects on the older iMovie, but none of them appear to have imported.

Has anyone else had this sound problem, and is there a way to get around it?

Is there a way to import the old projects also?

I may have to go back to using the older version.

What really burns me up, is the Export features are GONE!

Really? Apple?!  Not even an option like iMovie11 has?  The only thing good I found is the performane when editing.  It is fast... but I'm guessing that is cause the movie files got "optimized" or converted so badly, that it doesn't take much to play with the 60p avchd I throw at it... These videos are really noisy!!! 

And to make things worst, now we can't export at 60p anymore! only exports 1080p at 30FPS!!! 

I'm soooo Glad I kept the 9.0 version! 

Like Brian Tong in Cnet's "AppleByte" ... Apple really deserves a Bad Apple!

May I add that I can't extend the viewer window to an external monitor... Does anyone know if crapple took that off iMovie 11???  In iMovie 11 you can easily use 2 monitors by checking the option "view on other display"... well, now I can't see that option anywhere.

Where did it go? 

I agree. Come on Apple. You never take features away...you make them better. I'm calling this version 1.0....sorry I upgraded.

I am not a power user by any means, but there are some simple features missing that i used alot in 11 that are missing (or unseen).

PiP had alot more options for how to transition out of it.....maybe i wanted the 2nd clip to eventually expand to cover the whole screen! Now it seems i have to line up every clip i want to do that with and add a staggered transition to the clips.

and titling, I recall when i can drop a title in-between or at the start of clips. i would be presented with what kind of backdrop i wanted, and the text would be an "editable" overlay to which i can edit, or drag over into the next clip that were to follow.........now i have to make a blank title, and drag another one onto it......for the overlay and drag it into the Next Clip!

just found another downgraded feature in iMovie '13.  We can't adjust the sound with an equalizer like we use to in iMovie 11.  We just got automatic settings to choose from, but in imovie 11 I always had to fine tune the sound.

Every day I find something that is missing or removed.

What exactly did iMovie 13 bring again???  Besides a few more templates, 64bit and a new look, what improvements does it have over imovie 11???

I am still speechless as to how much Apple decided to cut off from this update.  I can't even call it an upgrade or even an update! ... This is a total different program on its own!

I absolutely hate the new version of iMovie. I can't import my videos anymore from my sony handi cam. Can someone please tell me how to go back to my old version of iMovie? Apple dropped the ball on this update. The only reason I upgraded was because when I made a imovie and tried to share to iDVD to burn it kept on crash on me.

Thanks!

The old version of iMovie is in your Applications folder, inside a folder called "iMovie 9.0.9".