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"The Cinematic effect can’t be enabled" message on iMovie

I recently got a iPhone 14 pro max..

I shoot a video using cinematic effect which can be edited on photos in the iPhone. however importing the video to iMovie on Mac (from the photo library panel on the left) any attempt to edit the Depth of Field will result in an error message saying "The Cinematic effect can’t be enabled."


iMovie version:

10.3.4 / build 405402


iOS version:

16.0.1 (20A371)


iOS can edit with no issues the cinematic effect in photos an iMovie iOS

Posted on Sep 20, 2022 4:04 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 20, 2022 5:07 PM

Read through this Apple Support link and see if anything in there helps you:


Edit Cinematic mode video in Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and Motion on Mac - Apple Support


Here's a quote from the above link:

"If no on-screen Cinematic controls appear on Cinematic mode clips, you might have imported the clips with iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage selected in Photos preferences. Try these options to access Cinematic controls:


  • Delete all copies of the clips in the library and in any project,
  • then import directly by connecting your device to your Mac using a USB
  • cable.
  • Import the Cinematic mode clips again from your Phone or from your Photos library.


If Cinematic controls still aren't available, you might have to update to macOS Monterey."

-- Rich

6 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 20, 2022 5:07 PM in response to CarlosJunod

Read through this Apple Support link and see if anything in there helps you:


Edit Cinematic mode video in Final Cut Pro, iMovie, and Motion on Mac - Apple Support


Here's a quote from the above link:

"If no on-screen Cinematic controls appear on Cinematic mode clips, you might have imported the clips with iCloud Photos and Optimize Mac Storage selected in Photos preferences. Try these options to access Cinematic controls:


  • Delete all copies of the clips in the library and in any project,
  • then import directly by connecting your device to your Mac using a USB
  • cable.
  • Import the Cinematic mode clips again from your Phone or from your Photos library.


If Cinematic controls still aren't available, you might have to update to macOS Monterey."

-- Rich

Sep 21, 2022 5:15 PM in response to Rich839

Hi Rich,


thank you for taking the time to share this detailed steps.

I followed all of them

  • I checked the clips were processed in Photos app
  • I deleted all the clips previously imported. (in all the projects)
  • I Imported using different options. (I airdrop the videos, used usb cable, sync again from photos)
    • every time I imported the clips I deleted the media library.


But I still having same result.

I'm currently running macOS Monterey v12.6 (21G115) on a MacBook Pro M1


I appreciate any other suggestion.

Oct 17, 2022 9:49 PM in response to CarlosJunod

This works:

Select the cinematic mode files on your phones to AirDrop to your Mac.



At the AirDrop menu on your iPhone, select 'Options'.


Next, select 'All Photos Data'.

Hit 'Done', then initiate AirDrop to your Mac.

Your Mac will create a discrete folder for each video clip containing 4 files: an AAE file, the cinematic mode file (e.g., IMG_1234), a non-cinematic version of the file (e.g. IMG_E1234), and a 4th file I can't remember now because I am typing this on my PC. :)

That's it.

Select the cinematic mode file, and you're all good.

Cheers,

-AbsoluteVista



Sep 21, 2022 5:40 PM in response to CarlosJunod

Hmmmm. I don't know what is going on there. You might benefit from talking with the techs at Apple Support. They have the

capability of remotely accessing your computer, that we do not have here. To contact support, click on the Get Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum's screen, and navigate to the appropriate place where you can enter you phone number. The techs here are pretty savvy and might be able to solve this.


-- Rich

"The Cinematic effect can’t be enabled" message on iMovie

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