Relinking Movies in Different Format

I have returned to a project I edited a couple of years ago. The majority of the clips are .avi files and everything is fine. However, one of the .avi files is showing as being a missing plugin despite the .avi file being in the folder.


I'm guessing that its because the underlying codec in the avi file is no longer supported. I have converted the old avi file to mp4 - is there a way of tricking iMovie to accept the newly converted file as being the old file? I guess I could just manually re-import it and re-edit it but its around 30 mins long and I used lots of short 30 second clips from it so it would be a bit of a hassle.


Many thanks.

iMac, OS X 10.11

Posted on Feb 2, 2021 2:22 AM

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Posted on Feb 2, 2021 9:18 AM


Hi, Russ,


It is either a broken link or the clip has been somehow been corrupted or deleted from the iMovie Original Media folder. See if you can restore the link by dragging the original clip from the media browser that displays when you click on the project's name under the Project Media item at the top of the iMovie media sidebar. Just drag the clip from the media browser onto the project's name under Project Media. If it is a broken link you would not need to convert it to Mp4, as I doubt that .avi is the problem unless you are running Catalina or Big Sur. If you have the original source .avi file you might try reimporting that one.


The notation on your post shows that you are using Mac OS 10.11, El Capitan. Is the notation outdated or are you in fact using El Capitan? If using El Capitan then .avi would still be supported on your Mac. It would not be supported if you were running Catalina or Big Sur. Since, in your case, other .avi files are being recognized, it is unlikely that your problem is a legacy format compatibility issue. It looks more like the link to the file has been broken or the file has been deleted. When you select the clip and do a File/Reveal in Finder is the clip displayed in the Finder Original Media folder that pops up? If the clip is there then that would indicate a broken link. If the clip is not there then it has been deleted from the library and is gone.


With Mojave, you could do a File/Check Media for Compatibility and then, assuming that the clip is still in the Original Media folder, convert it in the pop up window to preserve its edits. So if you can upgrade to Mojave you 10.14.6 you could try that route. Otherwise, as you mention, if you convert a clip separately the edits will not be preserved.


I don't know of any way of "tricking" iMovie to recognize your Mp4 conversion as the original .avi clip so as to preserve the edits. The Mp4 clip has a different extension and thus iMovie would recognize it as a different clip. So the edits would be gone unless you had a Time Machine backup or other backup where you could export the edited clip and reimport it into your current project.


For an experiment, try looking in the iMovie backups folder to see if you can find a previously saved backup of your iMovie library that contains your current project. To get to the iMovie Backups folder, follow this file path from the Finder menu:


Go/Home/Library/Containers/com.apple.iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovieBackups


When you get there you will see a list of previous backups of your iMovie library.  Click on one dated just before your issue started.  iMovie will open in that library.   Navigate to your projects browser (where your projects are displayed as icons) and see if your project is intact and if the .avi file is recognized.


-- Rich









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Feb 2, 2021 9:18 AM in response to Russ New Boy


Hi, Russ,


It is either a broken link or the clip has been somehow been corrupted or deleted from the iMovie Original Media folder. See if you can restore the link by dragging the original clip from the media browser that displays when you click on the project's name under the Project Media item at the top of the iMovie media sidebar. Just drag the clip from the media browser onto the project's name under Project Media. If it is a broken link you would not need to convert it to Mp4, as I doubt that .avi is the problem unless you are running Catalina or Big Sur. If you have the original source .avi file you might try reimporting that one.


The notation on your post shows that you are using Mac OS 10.11, El Capitan. Is the notation outdated or are you in fact using El Capitan? If using El Capitan then .avi would still be supported on your Mac. It would not be supported if you were running Catalina or Big Sur. Since, in your case, other .avi files are being recognized, it is unlikely that your problem is a legacy format compatibility issue. It looks more like the link to the file has been broken or the file has been deleted. When you select the clip and do a File/Reveal in Finder is the clip displayed in the Finder Original Media folder that pops up? If the clip is there then that would indicate a broken link. If the clip is not there then it has been deleted from the library and is gone.


With Mojave, you could do a File/Check Media for Compatibility and then, assuming that the clip is still in the Original Media folder, convert it in the pop up window to preserve its edits. So if you can upgrade to Mojave you 10.14.6 you could try that route. Otherwise, as you mention, if you convert a clip separately the edits will not be preserved.


I don't know of any way of "tricking" iMovie to recognize your Mp4 conversion as the original .avi clip so as to preserve the edits. The Mp4 clip has a different extension and thus iMovie would recognize it as a different clip. So the edits would be gone unless you had a Time Machine backup or other backup where you could export the edited clip and reimport it into your current project.


For an experiment, try looking in the iMovie backups folder to see if you can find a previously saved backup of your iMovie library that contains your current project. To get to the iMovie Backups folder, follow this file path from the Finder menu:


Go/Home/Library/Containers/com.apple.iMovieApp/Data/Library/Caches/iMovieBackups


When you get there you will see a list of previous backups of your iMovie library.  Click on one dated just before your issue started.  iMovie will open in that library.   Navigate to your projects browser (where your projects are displayed as icons) and see if your project is intact and if the .avi file is recognized.


-- Rich









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Feb 2, 2021 12:55 PM in response to Rich839

Rich, Many thanks for taking the time to write such a comprehensive reply.


Sorry my annotation is out of date, I am running Catalina (iMac 2013).


When I highlight the clip and click on Reveal in Finder then the file is still available in the Event folder. This particular project has five .avi files; 4 of which were created at the same time (conversion from a VHS tape) and the one that doesn't work was created by a different firm a few years before. If I open it with MPlayerX it says that it is DFDS video file. Since the Reveal in Finder works, does this mean that the link is OK? I do have another project that has a 90 min clip from which I have created the project and that also shows 'Missing plug-in' although the file is available.


I will try the other things you mention.


As well as the iMovie package, I do also have an iMovie Events and iMovie Projects folder, when I open them there is a text doc at the end called UpdatedtoiMovie10, are these redundant legacy folders from an earlier version of iMovie that I can delete?


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Feb 3, 2021 10:52 AM in response to Russ New Boy

That's good news that the clip is still in the iMovie library. Since it shows as missing, the link probably is not O.K.


The iMovie Events and iMovie Projects folders are from iMovie 8 or 9. The "UpdatedtoiMovie 10" marker in the iMovie Projects folder indicates that the projects have been updated into iMovie 10. Therefore, the media and projects from those two folders are now in the iMovie 10 library into which they were updated and should be playable and editable in iMovie 10. (Sometimes glitches happen, however, and the projects don't properly update). So, as long as iMovie 10 can play and edit the updated older projects, the folders can be deleted (or kept if you wish) assuming that you do not want to use iMovie 9 again. Personally, I would keep both folders. You can move them to an external drive if you want. They contain Projects and Events (media) that you may need someday to recover things or rebuild projects, or to do another update procedure in case your iMovie 10 library gets corrupted. If you do delete them, make sure that you still keep the same fully functioning iMovie 10 library into which you updated the projects and events, and that you can access and edit them from the iMovie 10 app. With storage as inexpensive as it is today, I don't throw anything away. But that's your call, of course.


-- Rich

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Feb 7, 2021 2:54 PM in response to Rich839

Hi Rich,


I finally had time to try the things you suggested.


Unfortunately, the oldest backup had the same problem.


I tried to reimport the .avi file but when I try to do this the file is greyed out, so I guess its not compatible with Catalina? In the media browser the thumbnail states 'File Modified'. So I can only guess that at some point the file did or didn't get converted when it should have done when upgrading versions or the upgraded version got deleted. Even if I could fix the link I guess the file is not compatible anyway. Thankfully I still have the file so nothing serious has been lost, I can convert it, reimport it. It just means I have to recreate the project.


Thanks

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Relinking Movies in Different Format

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