How To Stop iMovie Corrupting my videos?

[Shireen]

I have been looking for an answer to this question for the last few months and I cannot find a proper answer for the life of me.

This started a few months ago: for some reason when I import my MP4 video files (that I record via my ScreenFlick screen recorder) into iMove, iMovie would corrupt my videos and I know that iMovie is doing it because when I watch the videos back in ScreenFlick or QuickTime Player the videos are fine.

Macbook 2011
Mac OS 10.9.5
8GB Ram
250GB Hard drive - 30GB free
iMovie version 10.0.5

Can someone please help me, I'm a YouTuber and I can't keep uploading corrupted video files.

 

[ferrarr]

Please provide specs of the Mac you are using?

Mac model and year?
Processor?
Ram amount?
HDD size and amount used/free space?
Mac OS X/OS X/macOS version?
Also, all software names and versions being used?

 

[Shireen]

Oh sorry.

Macbook 2011
Mac OS 10.9.5
8GB Ram
250GB Hard drive - 30GB free
iMovie version 10.0.5

 

[Rod]

My answer is don’t use iMovie. Just because an operating system has a native app for whatever purpose doesn’t mean you have to use it. There are many good apps for the macOS and especially video apps. Personally I think iMovie is a dog and despite many attempts at using it I consider it a piece of crap.

 

[Shireen]

It would've been better if you didn't post a reply tbh...

 

[MacInWin]

Well, with that attitude, you won't get many responses. Just sayin'

 

[Slydude]

If the videos are opening OK in QuickTime Player then they haven't actually been corrupted by iMovie yet. That may seem like a trivial distinction but it may turn out to be important. A few potential questions occur to me as things that need to be considered.

1. How large are the videos? 30 GB of disk space is not really a lot of work space when dealing with video files.
2. What level of editing is going to be done on the videos? Trimming unwanted footage can be done in QuickTime Player as fast /faster than in iMovie.
3. If you save a copy of one of these movies first using QuickTime Player does the copy of the movie that you save open in iMovie?

 

[Shireen]

1) My videos are usually 800MB to 1GB
2) I record multiple videos in my screen recorder and then edit them together to make on video in iMovie
3) Yes the clip works fine in iMovie, it's only when I start editing the video that I notice the distortion

 

[MightyGem]

Personally I think iMovie is a dog and despite many attempts at using it I consider it a piece of crap.

Nothing wrong with iMovie:
https://vimeo.com/241228641