iMovie can't handle background tasks

Question

Level 1

8 points

iMovie can't handle background tasks

How long should iMovie take to import a 2m 40s .mov clip?

I'm running iMovie in Sonoma 14.5 on a MBP M2 Pro with 16 GB RAM. iMovie is paralyzed, complaining that it can't export the project to a file until the importing is finished. That's been going on for half an hour. iMovie can't even quit!

For an app that's been around for as long as iMovie, that's pathetic. When iMovie doesn't fall down, it's OK. I've gotten used to iMovie's idiosyncratic UI, which ignores all of the macOS conventions (and replaced the perfectly good macOS file interface with an inferior home-brew), but iMovie's bungling of background tasks is the last straw. I'm off to find a replacement, and you can bet it won't be FCP!

MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 2023)

Posted on May 28, 2024 2:29 PM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,742 points

May 28, 2024 3:35 PM in response to HRinAustin

Force quit iMovie (Apple Logo > Force Quit). Restart your computer. Open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. Then check your available internal disk space and make sure that you have at least 20 GB of free space so that iMovie can operate efficiently. Now see if your import speed improves.

If you are considering switching to a new video editor app, you might take a look at da Vinci Resolve.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve

Their website provides a free down load version, or you can buy it online for $295.

-- Rich

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Answer 2

HRinAustin Author

Level 1

8 points

May 28, 2024 3:48 PM in response to Rich839

Thanks, Rich. I may try deleting iMovie's preferences—if I ever go back to iMovie.

I've installed the free version of DaVinci Resolve. It has an order of magnitude more bells and whistles than iMovie—not to mention its 4,140-page manual!—but completing the project on which iMove had choked took me about 15 minutes.

—Ham

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Answer 3

HRinAustin Author

Level 1

8 points

May 31, 2024 8:28 AM in response to Rich839

Following your suggestion to delete its preferences, I got iMovie working again. Many thanks for that advice.

Then I successfully finished in iMovie the small project I had done in DaVinci. The two projects are indistinguishable in terms of video quality, but iMovie's audio is definitely better. The iMovie project's audio settings were auto volume, 50% background noise reduction, and voice enhancement. I rather suspect that when I can find the corresponding settings in DaVinci the two projects will have equivalent audio quality.

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Answer 4

Rich839

Level 8

47,742 points

May 28, 2024 6:47 PM in response to HRinAustin

Yes, da Vinci is more complex, with similar features as Final Cut Pro.

If you have time let us know what you think of da Vinci. Others on this forum have spoken favorably of it.

— Rich

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