Comprehensive iMovie Manual: Essential Tips & Lessons for Aspiring Video Editors

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iMovie Guide - All Tips You Need to Know about iMovie

Here is everything you may want to know about iMovie, including the best video formats supported by iMovie, possible errors when you’re using iMovie and effective fixes, and more.

By Abby Poole ｜Last updated on Apr 14, 2021

iMovie is an amazing video editing program that puts everything you need to tell your story all at your fingertips. Its clutter-free interface makes the creation of stunning HD/4K movies and trailers as easy as a few taps on your smartphone. If you’re a filmmaking lover and are looking for a complete iMovie guide, stay on the page and get the detailed information about the video production app, covering its version history, supported video formats, problems and solutions, etc.

iMovie

Part 1: What Is iMovie

iMovie is a proprietary film making software application sold by Apple Inc. only available for Mac and iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini and iPod Touch). Originally released in 1999 as a Mac OS 8 app incorporated with the initial FireWire-enabled consumer Mac module (iMac DV), the video editing software gets users right into the action, letting users edit photos and video clips, add titles, music and effects, etc. You may also interested: How to compress video with iMovie .

Part 2: Version History about iMovie

1. iMovie for Mac

Version	Release Date	Availability	Supported OS	Notes
iMovie	Oct 5, 1999	Come with iMac DV, later issued as a free download.	Mac OS 8.6 and OS 9
iMovie 2	July 19, 2000	Come with FireWire-enabled Macs, also a separate purchase and later bundled as part of Mac OS X.	Mac OS 9 and OS X	Added new sound effects (including some from Skywalker Sound), but removed older ones; also removed the Water Ripple effect.
iMovie 3	Jan 7, 2003	Come with all new Macs, also a separate purchase (iLife), later as a free download.	Mac OS X	Comes as part of the iLife.
iMovie 4	Jan 6, 2004	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘04)	Mac OS X	Comes as part of the iLife ‘04 package.
iMovie HD 5	Jan 6, 2005	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘05)	Mac OS X	Comes as part of the iLife ‘05 package
iMovie HD 6	Jan 10, 2006	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘06)	Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger), Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)	Comes as part of the iLife ‘06 package.
iMovie 08	Aug 7, 2007	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘08)	Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard)	Comes as part of the iLife ‘08 package. Redesigned.
iMovie 09	Jan 27, 2009	Comes with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘09)	Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)	Comes as part of the iLife ‘09 package.
iMovie 11	Oct 20, 2010	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase (iLife ‘11)	Mac OS X Lion (10.7.4 and later)	Comes as part of the iLife ‘11 package. Available for purchase in the Mac App Store
iMovie 10.0	Oct 22, 2013	Come with all new Macs and for separate purchase from the Mac App Store	Mac OS X Mavericks (10.9 and later)

2. iMovie for iOS

Version	Release Date	Availability	Supported OS	Notes
iMovie for iOS 1.0	June 24, 2010	App Store	iOS 4.0 or later	Initial release for iPhone 4
iMovie for iOS 1.1	Sep 8, 2010	App Store	iOS 4.1 or later	Added support for iPod Touch (4th generation)
iMovie for iOS 1.2	March 10, 2011	App Store	iOS 4.3 or later	Added support for iPad 2 and later iPhone 4S
iMovie for iOS 1.3	March 7, 2012	App Store	iOS 5.1 or later	Added support for iPad (3rd generation)
iMovie for iOS 1.4	Sep 19, 2012	App Store	iOS 6.0 or later	Added support for iPhone 5 and iPod Touch (5th generation)
iMovie for iOS 2.0	Oct 22, 2013	App Store	iOS 7.0 or later	Added support for iPhone 5S/5C, iPad Air and iPad Mini

Part 3: iMovie Supported Video/Audio Formats

Not all video files can be recognized by iMovie, that’s why there are constant video format incompatibility issues with the Mac’s built-in app. So if you want a smooth video edition with iMovie, knowing the video and audio formats iMovie supports is deemed as indispensible. Check the following list below and then edit any video file at liberty.

DV Widescreen
DV
HDV
MPEG-4

Click for more detailed iMovie video/audio formats

Tips: As for MKV, MTS, WMV, AVI, etc, you have to convert them to iMovie compatible formats before importing. Here an all-in-one video converter: MacX Video Converter Pro is highly recommended. It easily converts more than 370 audio/video formats to iMovie with no quality loss.

Part 4: Typical iMovie Problems and Solutions

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#1. iMovie Keeps Crashing

Generally, there might be about 3 major reasons causing the “iMovie keeps crashing “ issue.

File codec problem: Convert the source video files to an iMovie compatible format mentioned above. And MacX Video Converter Pro handles the format incompatibility issue easily, enabling you to convert any video to iMovie format like MOV, MP4, etc with fast speed.
iMovie Cache folder issue: Trash Cache.mov and Cache.plist. Create a new User-Account and log into this. Then iMovie will create all pref. and cache files new and error free.
iMovie project files get corrupted: Trash corrupted files and add the right ones.

Imovie Crashes

#2. iMovie No Sound Issue

Similar to the issue of “iMove keeps crashing”, “iMovie no sound” error is also caused due to different reasons. Make sure the Project files aren’t corrupted and the preferences are right. If both are right, there might be the file codec problem. In this case, you need a video converter software to convert video files to MOV, MP4 or M4V beforehand.

Imovie No Sound

#3. iMovie audio is out of sync

For the best audio/video synchronization in iMovie, the 16-bit sound is recommended with iMovie. In case you import sound with 12-bit audio, please change the settings on your camera before importing your footage. Extract the audio from your footage. Go to the “Edit” menu and click “Select All”. Right click to open the dropdown menu, and select “detach audio”. After that, you can sync them up manually.

Imovie Out Sync

Part 5: Convert Video & DVD to iMovie

As an amazing editing tool for Mac, iMovie gives you the controls you need to smooth out the rough parts. Since it has a large user base among filmmaking lovers, there is still a rising demand to make the most out of it. Below are the best software that will help you improve your digital entertainment greatly.

MacX Video Converter Pro : Best all-in-one YouTube downloader and video converter. Built-in 320+ video and 50+ audio codecs, it helps to convert any video including HD/4K camcorder videos like MTS, M2TS AVCHD, etc to iMovie compatible formats like MOV, MP4, etc with lossless quality. You can also download videos from YouTube. What’s more, it is bundled with amazing slideshow maker and video editor, letting you make funny slideshow with background music, cut, crop, trim video, add watermark and subtitle to suit your diversified needs.

MacX Video Converter Pro

MacX DVD Ripper Pro : Ultimate DVD ripper for Mac users to rip both homemade and commercial DVDs to iMovie, iPhone, iPad, Android and other mobiles and tablets, regardless of copy protection measures like CSS, Region Code, Sony ARccOS, Disney X-project protection, etc. The excellent movie editing feature also lets you cut off the video clips, crop frame size, merge movie titles and even attach your preferred language subtitle to movie.

MacX DVD Ripper Pro

[Fixed] iMovie Export File not Compatible with QuickTime Player

TubeDigger - online video downloader from mostly any site

How to Convert MKV video to iMovie with High Quality

Greeting Card Builder

How to Import Large MTS Videos to iMovie

How to Effortlessly Import AVI to iMovie

iMovie Alternatives to Edit 4K Videos Faster and More Stable than iMovie

iMovie VS Final Cut Pro: Which is the Better Video Editor

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Comprehensive iMovie Manual: Essential Tips & Lessons for Aspiring Video Editors