Source clip is missing in iMovie fix. files were deleted.

[jetlagged]

I exported my movie files from iPhoto to a folder, then created an event in iMovie and imported those movie files to iMovie. Then I deleted all those movie files in iPhoto thinking the files has been moved.

Now when I go to iMovie to work on a clip, it says source clip is missing.
Is there anyway to fix it? When i run the cursor on the movie clip or play it in iMovie, all I can hear are the audio sounds. But the clip itself is just black.

i don't know why I exported instead of copy and paste like I usually do. I'm hoping there's a fix to this. But I doubt there will be since I already emptied the trash bin after deleting the files in iPhoto. It was fine before I deleted all the files in iPhoto. But as soon as I did it, and went to work on iMovie, it says source clip is missing.

Just really disappointed since I went on an Alaskan cruise, first cruise ever, and shot some great video footage. And I don't have any time machine backup at all.

But I figure I'd post a topic here and maybe somebody can help.

 

[gr8tfly]

If you haven't done anything else after deleting the files, you might be able to get a file recovery program to rescue them.

The odd thing is having anything from the clip work in iMovie. If a clip is gone, the audio should have disappeared too.

Since someone else is likely to say it, I might as well too: backup backup backup. Three separate physical devices at a minimum for irreplaceable media like that. While working on the media, the working plus two other devices – on top of normal, daily backup routines such as Time Machine.

As an example, I did a memorial video for a family member who had passed, and aside from the huge amount of work on the set of stills, audio, and video I had did with in Aperture, then FCP, and web, they were not something I wanted to retrieve again. That full set of data included stills from family and friends, 100s of photo scans, and slideshow video from those stills, audio clips, plus the Aperture library, FCP project, and its output). All of this is currently on multiple hard drives, plus two sets of optical discs (Blu-ray, DVDs, for both data and video (playable video, i.e.)). I only go into such detail as an example of what I feel is safe backup of both the originals and saving the hard work editing and producing the end result.

My daily backup routine is Time Machine, plus periodic complete images of my internal SSD. On top of those two: pictures, video, and audio, and docs, get their own backups on both bare HDDs and optical.

There are obviously many different backup methods, but I would say that an excellent place to start is with Time Machine. I've used it since its introduction and when I've needed it, it's always come through. I've also used it for machine migrations. I'm sure there are those who have had differing experiences with TM, but for me, it's just so easy and automatic – there's no downside. Then, I can do additional backups as needed, depending on what I'm doing.

Hope you're able to recover your files – I know how hard losing data can be. (Even when habitual Saves were the norm, there was still the rare occasion where I'd lose some work to the "bomb" (Classic Mac OS) or BSOD.)