iMovie Project won't fully export

Question

iMovie Project won't fully export

I have edited a project that is a total of 30 minutes long and when I go to export it, iMovie will download it but stop halfway. I even left it overnight and it did not change. I sat with it for hours to make sure it didn't fall asleep and it would only go up to halfway. I have almost 100 GB on my Macbook open so I don't think storage is the issue. I've restarted my computer, forced iMovie to quit, and tried again. The same thing keeps happening. How can I fix this?

The very first time I tried exporting it, it got to be almost done and then iMovie randomly quit. Since then, it will only download to halfway.

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.6

Posted on Aug 3, 2024 9:22 AM

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Answer 1

Rich839

Level 8

47,730 points

Aug 3, 2024 9:50 AM in response to ClaudiaCampbell

Hi,

Sometimes a preference can go awry that causes iMovie not to function properly. Try deleting/resetting preferences. Close iMovie and then open it while holding down the Option and Command keys and select to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new empty library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. See if you can get a full export. Possibly you may need to reboot to set the changes. Deleting preferences is a safe procedure that will not cause data loss or disruption to your project.

Also, there might be some glitch or corruption in a clip at the halfway point. Open your project and use the slider located above and to the right of the timeline to expand out the display of the clips in the timeline. Then scroll around the halfway point looking for signs of corruption, like black frames, white flashes, artifacts, etc. Cut out any that you find and see if you can get a successful export.

Another thing is to confirm that you have sufficient free space on your application drive and destination drive for the export to be completed.

If still no success you can try creating a new blank project. Then open the original project and do an Edit/Select All, Edit/Copy, and then, in the newly created project, do an Edit/Paste. Now see if you can fully export from the newly created project.

-- Rich

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