iMovie 3 for Mac OS X (Visual QuickStart Guide)

iMovie 3 seems to prefer lots of memory and fast processors, but even on powerful Macs it can be sluggish. Try the following suggestions to improve performance.

Make iMovie Window Smaller

Use the resize handle on the bottom-right corner of the iMovie window to make it as small as it will go.

Quit Other Running Applications

This frees up more memory for iMovie to use. Although Mac OS X manages memory better, I've seen iMovie gain some pep if it's not competing with other processes.

Remove Third-Party Plug-ins

Try paring iMovie down to its essentials. Remove any third-party plug-ins, such as those from a version of iMovie 2 that you upgraded to iMovie 3, from [Home]/Library/iMovie/ (they may also be in a Plug-ins folder in that iMovie folder, too).

Trash iMovie Preferences

If the iMovie preferences have become corrupted, it places a load on the program's operation. iMovie re-creates the files it needs the next time you launch the program.

To trash iMovie preferences:

  1. Quit iMovie. (You may want to quit all running applications, too.)

  2. Go to your preferences folder at Users/[YourUserName]/Library/Preferences/iMovie/, and delete the following files (you may not have all three):

    • iMovie Preferences

    • com.apple.imovie.plist

    • com.apple.iMovie3.plist

Common Problems and Hope for the Future

Some people have run into problems in iMovie 3 when working with projects that were created in iMovie 2. Try creating a new iMovie 3 project from scratch, then import any footage from tape or from the old project's Media folder to see if performance improves.

Others have reported stability and slowness issues with long projects, typically 30 minutes or longer. If you're seeing the same things, try breaking up your movie into smaller projects when editing. (See Chapter 14 for steps on how to combine movie segments.)

Realize, too, that iMovie 3 has problems that aren't fixed by clever workarounds. I see dropped frames, stuttery playback, and audio popping that will most certainly require work by Apple to correct. Given that iMovie is one of the crowning components of iLife, it's just a matter of time before we see improvement.

Launch iApps in Order

Some people have reported success by launching the iLife applications in the following order: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD. I haven't noticed a difference on my system, but it's worth a try.

Repair Mac OS X Permissions

For whatever reason, some of the thousands of files that Mac OS X relies on wind up with improper permissions. I've found that fixing permissions is often a good general cure-all for when my Mac starts getting flaky.

To repair Mac OS X permissions:

  1. Open Disk Utility, which is located within the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.

  2. Select your main hard disk (your "boot drive") from the list at left.

  3. Switch to the First Aid tab.

  4. Click the Repair Disk Permissions button (Figure A.1). The process can take several minutes.

    Figure A.1. Repair disk permissions using the Disk Utility tool to help improve performance.

Fix Mac OS X Prebindings

Mac OS X employs a system of "prebindings" to help speed up tasks like application launching. As a last resort, try the following.

To fix Mac OS X Prebindings:

  1. Launch Terminal (located in the Utilities folder).

  2. Type sudo update_prebinding -root /, and press Return.

  3. Enter your administrator password, then press Return. The task can take between 10 and 20 minutes.

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