Problem recording audio for iMovie

[Claire Warren]

Hi folks,

I've recently bought a digital audio recorder which I hoped I could use in conjunction with my camera when recording interviews for a promo video I'm creating using iMovie.

I've done this lots of times before in my previous career as a broadcast journalist, using a Marantz recorder. I simply uploaded the file to iMovie and overlaid it over the video footage to get much better quality audio.

However, with this recorder I've purchased, the file just appears as "Duration 0" when I try to import it to iMovie, even though I can play it on the device itself and using VLC on my MacBook Air.

(See attached pics)

The device is from a company called "Go Happy Buy" and I got it from Amazon. It was only a cheap one, so I can't say I'm shocked it hasn't worked properly. It's just frustrating because the audio is clearly there (and decent quality too) but I can't get it into iMovie.

So...

a) Does anyone know how I can fix this issue? I've tried exporting the file as an mp3 using VLC but it just appears as a text edit file on my desktop.

Or b) can anyone recommend a good audio recorder with tie-clip mic that will be compatible with iMovie? I can't afford a Marantz myself, otherwise I'd just get one of those! Ideally it needs to be really lightweight and fit in your pocket or slot onto your belt as I'll be using it to record speakers at seminars etc.

Many thanks in advance,

Claire

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

I believe it i because that audio device saves files a WAV format. That isn't compatible with iMovie. You were on the right track with converting them, but try AIFF as the file format, not MP3. It should then import properly. VLC isn't the best converter/exporter. You could try using Audacity.

Let us know if that works,

C