Safe way to split iMovie 08 project in two?

Help please. I have an iMovie 08 project 3:52:05 in duration. Multiple source video including converted Quick Time video footage from first generation digital camera. Still photos and iTunes soundtrack too. File size is 388.2 MB. I have had all the problems discussed with rendering. I know file size and length is problem. Have duplicated project within iMovie. Want to attempt to render 1/2 of project at a time but I don't know how to split in two. Do I have to delete second half of project one segment at a time? Or is there a way to select all of second half including audio? If so, please let me know what command option to use. Then I assume I would follow instructions to export as Quick Time and then drag into iDVD. I do have DL capability but see size limitation of 7.7 GB on DL DVD even though it says 8 GB capacity. Does anyone know if that size limitation would prevent me from burning both halves of project to one DL DVD? Thanks for helping.

Are you saying that you cannot export the full length of the video? Is it 3 hours and 52 minutes in length?

I'd say export using the QuickTime option and leave the Data Rate to Automatic. You can learn about some of that in my iMovie Export Guide. I'm not sure what codec to suggest for a 4 hour feature.

I think you have the right idea regarding splitting up your video. Duplicate the project twice. Remove half from each and export. There doesn't seem to be a 'export selection' option.

iDVD recompresses your video to the MPEG2 standard for burning to a DVD. There is a time limit. I've read elsewhere that iDVD can handle up to 2 hours for a single layer DVD and double that for a dual layer disc. You would have to use the "Professional" Encoding setting in the Project Info window which takes a very very long time to render.

For iDVD, review the "Getting Started" PDF under the help menu. There are limits you might be breaking. This may be true for iMovie, but I can't recall. There is a chapter limit of 99 but that may just be in iDVD.

As a side note, I recommend using the "Save as Disc Image..." option under the File menu rather than "Burn DVD...". Once that process is done, you can use Disk Utility to burn actual discs, and use DVD Player to test the result.

Thanks for responding. Yes, I am saying I cannot export entire movie due to length. I get the famous error message 2125. I had completed a previous project of just under 2 hours run time and did not have any issues. I am going to attempt export of 1/2 of project at a time and would like to know if you have any suggestions on how to expedite deleting the half I don't want to export. I have not been able to find a way to do that other than deleting each individual photo, transition, video segment and audio track at a time. If you know of another more efficient way to do that I would love to know. Also, on the last project I did, I exporting to desktop and then dragged into Visual Hub for conversion. I bypassed iDVD altogether and it went fine. Converted to DVD format using Visual Hub without a glitch. Thanks for the recommendation on saving as "Disc Image" . Sounds like a better way to the results I want. Do you know of any other mac applications that would allow me to export and burn large projects over 2 hours? This won't be the last one I do so it's worth it to me to make that investment if available.

Duplicate post. Sorry.

You can select multiple items to delete, at least in iM09. So to remove the last half, click on the first clip in the middle you want to delete and then shift click on the last clip and hit the delete key.

Googling for that error I found references saying that an iMovie export is limited to 2 hours. I don't know if that is a rough number.

As an experiment, you could try setting the Data Rate to a lower than expected value and see if the export completes.

I would look into Final Cut, both Express and Suite, and the Adobe counter part. I haven't got the experience to recommend anything that can handle 4 hours of material. You'll definitely have to ask around if anyone has done done such long exports.

By the way, 4 hours is pushing the limits of iDVD. You could end up getting the material out, just to find you need to use another DVD creation tool.

Out of curiosity, what is the project that is has to be so long?

I will try and let you know. The project is a graduation present for my son. It encompasses 18 years of his life. From birth to graduation. Hard to edit as you might expect. I have edited as much as I want to so I'd really like to find a way to burn this even if it means splitting the project. Will experiment with setting the Data Rate lower and see what happens. Thanks for the advice. Will let you know how this turns out. And if you know of anyone out there who has tried something similar, let me know. I will also check out Final Cut. I was considering it anyway. And since I have DL DVD capability, I will look into upgrading my DVD app. too. Thanks again. Give me a few days to experiment and I will advise of the outcome.

Help again. Please

I finally had time to cut my project into many pieces as iMovie 08 won't export anything longer than 1 hr. 15 min. I successfully exported part 1 to desktop and then used VisualHub to burn DVD. It worked fine. I bypassed iDVD because it won't burn in a format recognized by standard DVD players. Only burns for play on my macbook. When I tried to do the same thing with part 2, VisualHub did not burn in standard format either. Part 2 is 22 minutes longer than part 1(total run time 1 hr. 6 min.) so I don't get it. Tried to use iDVD for part 2 but same thing. Only plays on macbook. What I am doing wrong? I really want to get this project done and THEN I am upgrading to Final Cut Suite. This is far to frustrating. Thanks for any help.

Well, iDVD does burn the proper formats for DVD players. Not all players are created equal. My older one wasn't designed to read self made DVD discs.

When you use iDVD, what option are you using in the file menu to create the DVD?

finally finished project

Thanks for all the guidance on this issue. I have finished the project. Ended up cutting it into 7 small "bites" and like the end product alot. Created chapters and title pages along with final credits on the last dvd in the "set". iMovie does not like anything longer than an hour as far as exporting. I found that 1/2 hour to 45 min. is best. Export does not take too long (around an hour or so). I bypassed iDVD as I found it more cumbersome to use than Visual Hub which I have worked with for about a year. Too bad it is no longer available. Audial Hub is great too for audio projects. I exported to desktop and then just dragged and converted in Visual Hub. For anyone else attempting to create a DVD longer than an hour, considering upgrading, but more importantly, edit and empty your trash as you go. Make sure you don't just delete unwanted footage or pix from iMovie but truly delete it from HD. It eats up gobs of space and your mac will run much more efficiently with the trash emptied. I also highly recommend backing up your project to external drive each step of the way so if you have a problem, your project is not forever lost. Had some bugs along the way with footage "graying out" after import and edit but I do have a fix for it. It worked each time. So thanks again for the help and happy editing.

Hi there

I envy you for finally making it

I'm new to macs and very glad that I did this step because windows ain't really the best for editing movies....

So... I have a similar problem as rebel1. Maybe the only difference is that I did my vids with a sony hd camera and my father wants all of our trips we filmed with it, to be in HD and burned on a Blue Ray (would be the best solution for storage and not having a million dvds).

I was googeling for over 4 months now to find a way how to export my finished projects in the best quality available.

One project is 1h and 6 min, the other one is 3h and 22min.
I'm editing with the newest iMovie (think its called the iMovie '09... the star thingy ) on my iMac (snow leopard) and tried like almost everything.

When I export it I do it like this:

Export>Export using Quicktime> I take the .mp4 and click the preferences (or options to get to the data rate etc.) I've got a regular dvd reader and a blue ray reader, so I have to choose the right format.

it is said that when higher the data rate is, the much bigger the file is gonna be.
I took like 20sec samples from each project and was experimenting with the data rate. For a nice picture I took 15 000 data rate. on those samples it looked great, but I was also aware of the size.
So of corse I made this on the original, that took me about 14h of processing (did it over night) and got in the end (no surprise) the error -2125 for a too big file.
----------------
here the option details I did:
H.264
15000 Data rate (thought it would be the best for the HD quality)
x1080
set to current
Audio: 320kbps

here the video I took the information from:
YouTube - Best iMovie Render Settings
---------------

I also tried to burn it on iDVD but the quality was a mess.

So, as a newbie on macs I would appreciate a detailed answer on how to solve it.
Maybe the "doing it in parts" solution would also work, BUT please tell me how to save it, what exactly to look for etc.

tnx in advance


P.S.
I read some threads here and think that this thread suits my problem the best :Blushing:

rebel1 said:

iMovie does not like anything longer than an hour as far as exporting. I found that 1/2 hour to 45 min. is best. Export does not take too long (around an hour or so).

Click to expand...

This isn't actually true. What's much more likely the culprit is that you don't have enough free space on your drive for all the temp files iMovie and iDVD need to do their thing. They need HUGE amounts of free space when working on video. Tens of GBs of free space at a minimum.

I've done 2-hour projects in iMovie without issue, but the key I've found is to have lots of free space on the *boot drive* regardless of where the project etc is actually stored.

Glad you got the project finished!

wazzup said:

So... I have a similar problem as rebel1. Maybe the only difference is that I did my vids with a sony hd camera and my father wants all of our trips we filmed with it, to be in HD and burned on a Blue Ray (would be the best solution for storage and not having a million dvds).

Click to expand...

The bottom line is that unless you have Toast, this just isn't going to happen.

Edit the footage and export the movie in HD as you have already done, then buy a BR-writer and Toast Titanium with the BR add-on. That's your only option, at least on a Mac, that I know of (and I've never tried it myself).

To write to a Blu-Ray disc you require a Blu-Ray disc writer. It is possible to write HD material to a DVD, but note that you will still require a Blu-Ray player that can understand those. Most if not all current models should have that capability as the DVD HD disc is part of the specs.

The least expensive Blu-Ray option for OS X maybe Toast with the BR add-on. Although the new Adobe Premier Elements 9 claims to be able to create Blu-Ray discs too.

Other options are Apple's Compressor which comes with Final Cut Studio, Adobe Premier Pro I believe has an BR write option. Also, I've heard of a professional software package designed to allow you to create true Blu-Ray masters, but I can't recall the name.