Common iMovie Problems and Their Solutions

One thing the iMovie user guide won’t point out is the program’s shortcomings. There may be the occasional note of a bug being fixed in the updates, but the gremlins that continue to plague users don’t get a mention, and this leads to us iMovie editors continuing to experience these problems.

In earlier chapters, as part of the extra tip boxes, we briefly touched on some areas that can catch you out when using iMovie. But this chapter aims to compile all the issues I’ve seen pop up repeatedly for people using this NLE. It won’t be exhaustive, but it will hopefully help you to avoid some of the most common pitfalls.

There is, of course, a difference between a problem or bug in iMovie, and coming up against the way the app is designed. I’ve seen people struggle with the magnetic timeline and clip connections, and that is perfectly valid, but it’s not something that can be avoided. If you...