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I hate iMovie 09

taylorwilsdon

taylorwilsdon

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Nov 16, 2006
1,870
13
New York City
Maybe you guys like it, but what the hell. I'm used to using iMovie HD (maybe version 6 or 7? I'm not sure) and this is just absurd. My computer is very fast and has 8GB of RAM... yet iMovie can't track as I run my mouse along the movie clips. This is not high def footage, either. It doesn't even TRY to use my computer's resources... CPU usage is low and I have 6 gigs of RAM free.

http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture1q.png

Are there any tips for making it faster or smoother?
 
taylorwilsdon said:
Maybe you guys like it, but what the hell. I'm used to using iMovie HD (maybe version 6 or 7? I'm not sure) and this is just absurd. My computer is very fast and has 8GB of RAM... yet iMovie can't track as I run my mouse along the movie clips. This is not high def footage, either. It doesn't even TRY to use my computer's resources... CPU usage is low and I have 6 gigs of RAM free.

http://img401.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture1q.png

Are there any tips for making it faster or smoother?
Click to expand...

1) What format is your footage
2) What is your system specs
3) Are you using external harddrives? Are they USB2 or firewire, are they formated for Mac OS or Windows.

4) "can't track", are you saying you can't shuttle through a clip?
 
huntercr said:
1) What format is your footage
2) What is your system specs
3) Are you using external harddrives? Are they USB2 or firewire, are they formated for Mac OS or Windows.

4) "can't track", are you saying you can't shuttle through a clip?
Click to expand...

It is standard def footage from a "Flip" camcorder, not high def.
They're in my signature. Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 clocked at 4ghz, 8GB ram, nvidia 8800GT 512mb video card.
I am using internal hard drives, 7200rpm SATA drives.
Yes.

I just updated this for posterity sake, I did get the project finished and while things improved over time, it was an unpleasant experience. I also tried on my Macbook and the speed was even worse.
 
is the footage mp4?

mpeg4 video is not meant for editing and you should convert it to DV/NTSC with MPEGstreamclip or similar prior to importing into iMovie.
 
bigbossbmb said:
is the footage mp4?

mpeg4 video is not meant for editing and you should convert it to DV/NTSC with MPEGstreamclip or similar prior to importing into iMovie.
Click to expand...

ahhh you know I had a similar issue in imovie 06 HD with mpeg4 vid...transitions would render with a weird noise....I figured out that was the reason why b/c all my other .dv footage worked well
 
jayeskreezy said:
ahhh you know I had a similar issue in imovie 06 HD with mpeg4 vid...transitions would render with a weird noise....I figured out that was the reason why b/c all my other .dv footage worked well
Click to expand...

Wow that used to happen to me all the time too for various video editing projects. Knowing that .mp4 was the problem would have saved me a ton of time and stress. My transitions always would be screwy in iMovie HD. I'd get weird noise, odd coloring, etc.
:cool:
 
taylorwilsdon said:
It is standard def footage from a "Flip" camcorder, not high def.
They're in my signature. Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 clocked at 4ghz, 8GB ram, nvidia 8800GT 512mb video card.
I am using internal hard drives, 7200rpm SATA drives.
Yes.

I just updated this for posterity sake, I did get the project finished and while things improved over time, it was an unpleasant experience. I also tried on my Macbook and the speed was even worse.
Click to expand...

You still haven't told us what format the video is in. Merely stating standard definition footage from a "Flip" camcorder does not tell us anything. What codec is the video recorded in? iMovie, amongst other pro apps, does not run smoothly if the codec used isn't an "editing format".

For SD video, DV/DVCPRO is recommended for editing. For HD, the recommended format is the Apple Intermediate Codec (for iMovie), or ProRes for Final Cut Pro. Why? Because they simply don't spend too much processing time on "decoding", which the formats are developed for speed, but not filesize efficiency.

It's obvious that you're not working with a codec viable for editing. So instead of hating the program, hate yourself for your own mistakes. :rolleyes:
 
just tried out iMovie 09 on my whitebook[early 09] -feels really slow, even when rendering the Activity Monitor shows approx 60% usage of CPU and almos 1bRAM ....I've only got 2Gb in !

The footage I used was direct from the iSight capture feature in iM09
I have the stock hardddrive but shouldn't iMovie 09 be using more resources than it appears to be?
 
marbles said:
The footage I used was direct from the iSight capture feature in iM09
I have the stock hardddrive but shouldn't iMovie 09 be using more resources than it appears to be?
Click to expand...

If the footage is on your boot drive, it's going to be very slow. This is your bottleneck, not the CPU/RAM.
 
If someone has a camcorder that records, say, h.264, or some other format "not suited for editing" - does iMovie tell you there's a potential problem and convert the footage to e.g. AIC, or does it leave the user to figure out for his/herself why it's so slow?
 
bigbossbmb said:
If the footage is on your boot drive, it's going to be very slow. This is your bottleneck, not the CPU/RAM.
Click to expand...
ah ok, I get ya , thanks ..........so simple remedy i suppose is to use a faster bootdrive ie buy a 7200rpm internal OR use an external FW drive to store the media and have iMovie use that as the drive for working on.

Is there a tutorial or something to show me how to use my external for iMovie work......or will the FW400 be the bottleneck then?. hmm what to do?
 
I've never used iMovie (only FCP)... so just make sure all media in the project is stored on the external. I dont know how iMovie stores its media. I've heard its embedded into the project file.
 
yeah don't like 09 either....HD 06 is what i'm using now....plan to upgrade soon
 
When you import stuff from your camera, you get a dropdown box to select where you want to store the data. Choose your external drive. The 'project' files (as opposed to the data files) are small and can stay on your internal drive (have to fiddle in preferences to move them, if you really want to).
 
I HATE iMOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I HATE IMOVIE-WHAT A PIECE OF FRICKEN GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These people are damn lazy and don't know how to build anything. I think the guys over at windows built this garbage!!!! Did you know that windows is now selling crap to mac--OFFICE and what not. HOW THE HELL CAN MY MAC FREEZE USING IMOVIE!!! RUINED MY FRICKEN MORNING< WHAT A WASTE!!!!!!!!
I am so pissed that I registered just so I can say this. Don't waste your money on any computers, build your own!!! Seriously it's all garbage made by stupid dumb ass idiots. The people who built this definitely did not go to school or have high grades and they are not nerds-nerds would have produced an awesome computer-Mac is just as bad as windows!!!
 
bigbossbmb said:
I've never used iMovie (only FCP)... so just make sure all media in the project is stored on the external. I dont know how iMovie stores its media. I've heard its embedded into the project file.
Click to expand...

iMovie versions previous to iMovie 08 stored the video as part of the project file.

iMovie 08 and above stores the media in an events folder, either in your home folder in the iMovies folder or on an external drive. iMovie can also use video that is in iPhoto.
 
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