iMovie is the video editing tool for Apple users. It works best for video editing on Mac, iPhone and iPad. However, Apple haven't made it a opensource for users to use. Here I will show you tips on how to download iMovie for mac for free. And I want to recommend you the best alternative to iMovie in case that you also meet issues when using iMovie (including the situation that you are actually a Windows user). Check out the details below.
Part 1. The Best Alternative to iMovie: Filmora Video Editor
- Sierra - OS 10.12 High Sierra - OS 10.13 Third, you need to be concerned about any third party software you are using, and most likely, will need either to upgrade some/most/all of them to be compatible with the OS you want to move to, or possibly some of them might not work at all.
- Prior the launch of Mojave the most recent version of macOS was the macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra update. IMovie 10.1.10 works perfectly on macOS 10.14 Mojave and 10.13 High Sierra. Download iMovie for Mac 10.4 Mojave for completely free.
- How To Fix iMovie 10.1.17 Keep Crashing On macOS High Sierra 10.13 October 12, 2017 / 3,007 views So, I upgraded to macOS High Sierra 10.13 and enjoy every bit of it, suddenly the iMovie.
- MacOS Sierra (version 10.12) is the thirteenth major release of macOS (previously known as OS X and Mac OS X), Apple Inc.' S desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name 'macOS' stems from the intention to uniform the operating system's name with that of iOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada.
According to Apple's web page which indicates the apps included with Sierra (macOS Sierra: All apps included on your Mac), iMovie is included. Some of the programs are not installed by default. You will need to download and install them from the App Store. However, all the programs in the list can be found for free.
iMovie might be complex and there might be issues when using this Apply application to editing video. So if you want to edit video in an easy way and enjoy a tool that is as easy-to-use, with a great interface and has all the main features that iMovie has, you can take a look at Filmora Video Editor for Mac (or Filmora Video Editor for Windows). This iMovie for Mac (10.14 macOS Mojave) alternative offers everything as what iMovie can do for you but with a clean interface, with all the tools and effects displayed in the main window. While editing videos, there is no need to look for tools in hidden menus. And Filmora Video Editor has separate version for Windpws PC and Mac (macOS High Sierra included).
What make this iMovie alternative video editor outstanding:
- Contains all the basic video editing features: trim, crop, split, combine, add music, add text, etc.
- Supports various video & audio files and pictures from multiple cameras and smartphones.
- Hand-picked filters, overlays, motion graphics, titles, and transitions.
- Includes 300+ special effects, like mosaic blur, tilt-shift, and face-off.
By the way, if you want to get more alternatives to iMovie, please check this page to learn more.
What Makes Filmora Video Editor to Be the Best iMovie Alternative?
The faceoff feature helps to make a video funny enough, PIP effect helps to overlay more than one video together, tilt shift is good for coming up with an overwhelming diminutive scene while scene detection helps to sense any changes to a scene. Some of the editing functions of Filmora Video Editor include timeline editing where files are dragged right to the timeline for editing and the actual editing which involves double-clicking on the files right from the timeline.
There is transition which is available from the collections as well as export which comes up after you are through with editing. The edited files are exported using a compatible file format to any platform supported by Mac.
Part 2. How to Free Download iMovie for Mac
If you know Apple, you may have an idea of how protective they get about their experience, including the applications from different developers. So it is very common to find out you have to pay for most of the great applications you can enjoy on your Mac or iDevice.
This also applies for iMovie. If you try to download iMovie as a stand-alone application, it will be $14.99 coming out of your pocket. The same happens with the mobile apps, in which case they cost $4.99. Luckily for new Apple users, if you purchased your brand new Mac, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch after September 1 of 2013 you will get access to iMovie and so many other useful applications by Apple with no extra charge. Another requirement is that you need to have Mac OS X Mavericks on your computer or iOS 7 on your mobile device.
Question is: What happens if your device does not meet the requirements set by Apple? If you do not want to upgrade your device to the required OS versions, we do not encourage you to perform any operation on your device as a jailbreak on mobile or downloading tools from sources you do not trust. Instead, you can go ahead and use other programs that offer a similar experience to iMovie and even some extra enhacements. You just have to look for the one that suits you better.
Part 3. iMovie for Mac Review
Do not let yourself be fooled by the simple looks of iMovie. It may look small, but there is plenty of power you can count on to make amazing productions. Some of the highlights on the iMovie features include:
1. Instantly share your creations thanks to social integration
While in other programs you have to wait until your creation is completely ready to share even a slice of it with anyone, iMovie makes it all easier. Just select the section of your video you will be showing the world, click on Share at the top of the application and that's it. You can share it straight to Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, via email, or just create a small file for it for you to send.
2. Syncing across devices with iCloud
One of the advantages about the Apple ecosystem is iCloud. With it, you can make sure everything you need is synced between every single device and even apps. iMovie is not the exception, once you are done working on your video on iMovie, it will be available for you to watch on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch or even Apple TV in your living room.
3. Also use iMovie on the go on your mobile device
Sure, with iCloud you can watch your videos on any iOS device, but Apple also has available a mobile version of iMovie that you can use in your iPhone and iPad to quickly make your videos even better, without even touching the computer.
4. Add video and audio effects easily
iMovie is much more than cropping and moving things around. But as far as possibilities are open, they will not become a drag. With iMovie you can add video effects like a pro and also make sure your videos have their very own soundtrack, by adding predefined tracks and editing them or just creating your own from scratch.
5. It is all about quality
With HD recording-capable devices everywhere from phones professional cameras, not leaving behind the compact ones, you will need a tool that is capable of handling HD video quickly and efficiently. iMovie is capable of handling HD formats and is optimized to make the best out of your Mac's power into your HD TV.
Part 4. Troubleshooting Tips of Using iMovie on Mac
Troubleshooting when using iMovie on Mac (10.12 Yosemite to 10.14 macOS Mojave) is not a hard task as many people might take it to be. The biggest problem occurs when launching the program which mostly never happens by default. It can become a very serious issue when not attended to on time but there is always a way of getting past that. In case you experience such a problem or any other when using iMovie on Mac, follow the following steps and a solution will be found.
Locate the 'Applications' folder on the Finder and then right click on the icon indicated 'iMovie'. While there, select 'Show Package Contents' and then proceed straight to the 'contents' folder and then 'Mac OS' folder. There, you will find an apps icon named 'iMovie' which you will click twice to have the terminal app launched. Launching of the video editor will then follow and you will be good to go. It is good to note that this is not the right solution that you will have for troubleshooting when using iMovie on Yosemite and other operation system version but it is a workable option.
Bottom Line on iMovie for Mac
Hope the iMovie reviews and troubleshooting tips in this article could help you to solve your problems, and have you determine to continue using iMovie, or choose its best alternative Filmora Video Editor for Mac (or Filmora Video Editor) as your right video editor tool?
No matter which choice you make, I think the best result is you have created your favorite and stylish videos with one of the tools mentioned here. The reason why I recoommend Filmora Video Editor to you is this video editor software provides more cool effects than iMovie, it has a big effect store. At the same time, compared to iMovie, Filmora Video Editor is also designed to beginners or semi-professionals it is so easy that you'll think the tutorial isn't a need.
Okay, enough of the reviews, maybe it is time for you to have a free trial.
Download Imovie 10 For Mac
As part of the transition to 64-bit technology in macOS, you may see an alert in iMovie about media files that won't be compatible with macOS Catalina.
Before you upgrade to macOS Catalina, you can use iMovie to detect and convert all incompatible media files so they'll be compatible with future versions of macOS. After you upgrade to macOS Catalina, the option to convert the incompatible files will no longer be available.
To make sure new media you create is compatible with macOS Catalina, use cameras and media formats supported by iMovie.
In macOS Catalina, you might see an incompatible media message in the viewer when trying to play incompatible media if you haven't converted it before upgrading to macOS Catalina.
Imovie For Mac 10.11.6
Detect and convert incompatible media files in iMovie on macOS Mojave
When you import media or open a library in iMovie 10.1.11 or later on a Mac with macOS Mojave, a window appears that lists incompatible media files in your library.
To convert incompatible media files immediately, click Convert in the window. iMovie creates copies of the media files in the H.264 format. The original files are moved to an iMovie Incompatible Media folder, located in the same folder as the library. Your original media is not modified.
If you want to convert them later, you can use iMovie to scan the library and convert the incompatible files:
- In iMovie choose File > Check Media for Compatibility.
- In the window listing incompatible media files, click Convert.
Learn more about how iMovie detects and converts incompatible media files.
Formats compatible with macOS Catalina
These video, audio, still-image, and container formats are compatible with iMovie on Mac computers with macOS Catalina:
Video formats
- Apple Animation Codec
- Apple Intermediate Codec
- Apple ProRes
- AVCHD (including AVCCAM, AVCHD Lite, and NXCAM)
- DV (including DVCAM, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50)
- H.264
- HDV
- HEVC
- iFrame
- Motion JPEG (OpenDML only)
- MPEG-4 SP
- Photo JPEG
- XAVC-S
Still-image formats
Audio formats
Container formats
Media formats affected by the transition to 64-bit technology
Examples of media that will be affected by the transition to 64-bit technology include video files from early Flip Video cameras that use the 3ivx codec, early web videos encoded with the Sorenson codec, and media converted from DVD to the DivX format.
Third-party developers may continue to offer compatibility with some formats by building support directly into their apps. Contact developers of third-party apps for more information about media formats supported in their apps.
Here are some examples of media formats affected by this transition:
- 3ivx MPEG-4
- AV1 / VP9
- AVC0 Media AVA0 Media
- BitJazz SheerVideo
- CineForm
- Cinepak
- DivX
- Flash Video
- FlashPix
- FLC
- H.261
- Implode
- Indeo video 5.1
- Intel Video 4:3
- JPEG 2000
- Microsoft Video 1
- Motion JPEG A
- Motion JPEG B
- On2 VP3, VP5, VP6, VP6-E, VP6-S, VP7, VP8, VP9
- Perian collection of codecs (Microsoft MPEG-4, DivX, 3ivx, VP6, VP3, and others)
- Pixlet
- Planar RGB
- QuickTime files encoded using still image formats (SGI, TGA, PNG, and others)
- RealVideo
- Sorenson 3
- Sorenson Sparc
- Sorenson Video / Video 3 / YUV9
- Streambox ACT-L2
- Windows Media Video 7, 8, 9
- Xiph.org's Theora Video
- ZyGoVideo
Convert incompatible media not contained in an iMovie library
To convert an incompatible media file, open it with QuickTime Player (version 10.0 and later) in macOS Mojave or earlier, then save a copy with a new name. This method isn't supported in macOS Catalina.
You can also use Compressor to transcode one or more media files into a format such as H.264, HEVC, or Apple ProRes. These formats will be supported in versions of macOS after macOS Mojave. H.264 and HEVC preserve image quality with the smallest file size. ProRes preserves the best image quality and provides better performance when editing in iMovie, but creates much larger files that use more storage space than H.264 and HEVC files use.
