iMovie won't allow any importing

[aznxscorpion517]

I just decided to use iMovie one day and I can't seem to import ANY files at all.

The funny thing is it won't even import regular mpeg, mp3s or quicktime .mov files. It's ridiculous. These mov files are your standard sorenson 3 or animation codec files. They are greyed out when I tried to import them. Yes, I already created a new project before trying to import.

All the files play fine in Quicktime and I can import stuff easily in After Effects and Final Cut.

Anybody know how I can fix this?

 

[Satori]

Where are the files from?

 

[aznxscorpion517]

The .mov files were created by me in Shake or After Effects using Sorenson 3 or Animation codecs.

The mp3s are just music I've owned over the years. None of them are selectable in the iMovie import menu. All greyed out.

 

[Hawkeye411]

I don't think it works with mpg2 files.

 

[Satori]

I think it depends what version of imovie your are using but more recnt versions only seem to take sound files from itunes. The .mov files are a mystery to me. You could try reinstalling the imovie pkg from your disks... or could you try importing some of these files on someone else's mac to check whether the problem is restricted to you?

 

[aznxscorpion517]

I'm using Leopard with iMovie '08 v7.1.1

The music I choose to select from the iMovie import menu were from my iTunes music folder.

I guess I might try reinstalling iMovie. What is the easiest way I can do that without affecting other apps?

 

[aznxscorpion517]

Ok, I' discovered that h.264 mov files can be imported but nothing else. MP3s can only be imported with the Music & Sound Effects window. Weird.

Clicking and dragging does not work with mov files or mp3s.

 

[wildwizard99200]

try installing iMovie '06, it’s a download from Apple and its completely free because iMovie '08 was such a dissapointment

 

[mountweary]

possible solution

I was suffering through this issue for ages until I happened upon an unlikely solution: try CHANGING THE FILE NAME. This might sound ridiculously simple, but it worked for me after I went through countless attempts at working around what seemed like an impossible situation.

It turns out that the forward slashes (/) I had used to identify the .mov files I was trying to import was the problem all along. Nothing indicated this, which is why it took me forever to figure it out (no error message, except for a "-37" error that appeared when I tried to import the same files on my old mac, using an older version of iMovie).

This was immensely frustrating but I'm glad it's finally resolved. Hopefully sharing my experience here will be of use to someone out there!