IMovie 09 export fails - exported movie stalls, parts missing

Question

Hi there fellow mac users,
I've got a problem here, and it seems like I am the only one (I've searched extensively for a solution). I'm working on an iM project using 1080i AIC imported video, shot using a JVC HD7. The .TOD files the HD7 produces were converted to AIC, and then imported as 'Large - 960x540' in iM '09. So far so good, the .mov files ie the footage is all very playable and of wonderful quality. iM '09 has a really easy interface and offers anything I need to edit a movie. So now I was ready to export. The first attempt I made was to export a Large movie via the Share menu.
Here the problem started. The export took about 2 hours, which isn't too long considering the length of the movie (about 1:20 hrs). But the .m4v file does not play as expected. The movie stalls at the points where clips meet (without any effects or transitions, so just hard cuts). I have been trying different export formats, and somehow there's allways something wrong with them. Also very strange is that an .m4v export was only 1.26 hrs in duration and a .mov export was 1.11 hrs, so it even has some footage missing. Is anyone else having this problem? Or does anyone have any suggestions in how to solve this issue? All the software on my 2.4 GHz MacBook Pro is up to date, permissions have been repaired etc.
thanks,
Koen

Answer 1

I normally use the "no transition" transition for about 90% of my clips, and iMovie handles it great.
If I had to guess, the problem is related to the length of your movie. But it could also be related to export settings.
First, reboot your Mac. Then...
1)
I would first right-click on the title of your movie, and select DUPLICATE. This will give you a way to test without hurting your current file.
Then, in the duplicate copy, delete every thing except the first 15 minutes of the movie. Share that in Large, and see how it looks. If it looks good, it is probably the length of the movie that is an issue.
2) If you are using the SHARE/iTUNES or SHARE/TO WEB GALLERY using the large preset, you should be fine. If you are using SHARE/EXPORT TO QUICKTIME and changing the settings, that could be an issue. Check your settings for Keyframe. It should probably be automatic or every 24 frames. Also check data rate. It should be 5000 to 8000 kbps, but could go higher to get better quality. If it is too low, it could cause this issue.
There is nothing in the iMovie architecture that would say it cannot make a theatrical length movie, but in practice, many people report having issues when movies get much longer than 30 minutes. My guess would be that somewhere over 30 minutes you create so many swapfiles and there is so much swapping that iMovie starts behaving unpredictably. For example, iMovie might require that more pages are swapped in than there is real memory available. (But I'm no programmer - so discount that by 80%). There is a difference in the iMovie 09 architecture from iMovie 6. iMovie 6 would render all effects, titles, transitions, audio, etc as you were editing, so you are always waiting for something to finish rendering, iMovie 9 allows you to edit fast and apply all the choices at rendering time.
Probably 95% of the people who use iMovie are making home videos of 5 to 10 minutes, or exporting multiple short movies (say up to 20 minutes) to iDVD which will be accessed in a menu structure. It is rare for someone to want to make a theatrical length movie. When people do, they are probably combining multiple logical movies in order to "fill" a DVD.
My first advice would be to divide this movie up unto chunks of up to 30 minutes. If you need them in one movie, stitch them back together later using QuickTime PRo by putting the in a .mov container.
A third thing to try would be to SHARE/to IDVD and see if you get any better results.
If you are making a real theatrical movie, invest in FInal Cut Express or Final Cut Studio, which handles large movies and has tools to process them in chunks.
Message was edited by: AppleMan1958