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How to combine audio from one video and video from another video in iMovie

I have two videos, one taken outdoors with natural sound, and the other of a narrator speaking about the scenes. I want to combine the audio from the narrator video with the video from the outdoor scenes. How do I do this in iMovie? Also, the client wants me to leave some of the outdoor video running without narration. I have not been able to accomplish this, by detaching audio from one or both, or any other way.

Posted on Dec 10, 2020 9:27 PM

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Posted on Dec 11, 2020 4:38 PM

The audio clip got deleted when you deleted the video clip because the audio clip was connected to the video with a little connector handle that you can see. Usually it is located on the left side of the audio clip. Put your cursor on the audio clip and, while pressing down, drag the audio clip straight downward until the connector handle pulls off from the video clip. Then you can delete the video clip without also deleting the audio clip.


-- Rich

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 11, 2020 4:38 PM in response to peggywrites

The audio clip got deleted when you deleted the video clip because the audio clip was connected to the video with a little connector handle that you can see. Usually it is located on the left side of the audio clip. Put your cursor on the audio clip and, while pressing down, drag the audio clip straight downward until the connector handle pulls off from the video clip. Then you can delete the video clip without also deleting the audio clip.


-- Rich

Dec 11, 2020 3:03 PM in response to peggywrites

The crashing issue is separate, and has nothing to do with the procedure. You should be able to place as many clips as you want in a project without the app crashing.


You should also be able to put the audio clips wherever you want them in the timeline, as shown below.



Possibly there is a corrupt preference in the iMovie app that is causing it to misbehave. Try deleting preferences. To delete preferences, open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project. Now see if everything works properly.


Also, to rule out an issue that might be confined to one specific project, you could try creating a new project and trying the procedures there.


-- Rich

Dec 10, 2020 9:48 PM in response to peggywrites

Put both clips into the project. Mute the audio in the outdoor clip. Detach the audio from the narrator clip. Slide the detached audio under the outdoor clip. Delete the remaining video portion of the narrator clip. Then you can split and trim, or mute, parts of the audio clip in the places where you want to leave parts of the outdoor video running without narration.


— Rich

Dec 11, 2020 2:01 PM in response to Rich839

Thank you, Rich for your suggestions! I have tried this, with no success. Here is what I have tried:

I have brought both clips into the project, (once, then the app crashed, and I could never recover that project, or any other), muted the outdoor audio, and detached the audio from the narrator clip. When I try to move the detached audio under the outdoor clip, I can do it for the first clip only. When I try to put the next detached audio clip under the outdoor clip, it forces me to put it directly next to the first clip, instead of allowing me to put it where I want it.


Bottom line, the outdoor video is significantly longer (16 min.) than the narrator video/audio (2 min.). Maybe this is the issue? Do I need to import the short narrator clip multiple times, until it is as long as the outdoor video clip, then clip and trim and mute the narrator audio below the outdoor video?


How to combine audio from one video and video from another video in iMovie

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