How to save iMovie projects on Mac IMovie is the most powerful video editing program for Mac computers. It is easy to use and it has a lot of options. Even some professionals use iMovie because of these options. However, if you are a beginner, you need to know certain things, before start using IMovie.
In general, you will need a couple of hours to ‘’discover’’ all possibilities of iMovie. After that, you will be a professional. As you may believe, the most important part is to save a project.
On Mac computers, this is a bit more complicated than on Windows computers. This is even harder if you used a PC and now you are using a Mac computer for the first time. Some options have completely different names on a Mac computer than on a PC. What are iMovie export formats? IMovie can save a project in many different formats. You should save it in a format that suits you the best.
Rotate any video in Mac X. Once you change the orientation, you can quickly save the video in the same format.
For example, if you want to play that movie on your iPhone, you should save it in the H.264/MPEG-4 format. Remember that some devices won’t open your project if it has been saved in an unsupported format. Other, supported formats in the IMovie are: DVCPRO50-PAL; H.264 SD/HD B-Frame;; DV/DVCPRO-NTSC; Planar RGB; DVCPRO50-NTSC; H.264/MPEG-4; Uncompressed; Photo-JPEG;; Sorenson Video 3; H.261; H.263; Animation; AIC and H.261.
How to save finished iMovie projects When you have finished editing your video, you must save it. If you exit from the iMovie, without saving a file, your progress will be lost.
On a Mac computer, you must export your projects, so you can access it in any Finder folder. Export means that you will move your file from the program to the computer. This is a similar option as ‘’Save’’ on computers and other devices. In order to do this, you must follow these steps. When you open the IMovie, open your project or create a new one. When you are done, click on Share and then on Export Movie. You will see the menu at the top of your screen.
Type the name of your project and choose where you want to save it. You will see a pop-up menu.
You can also click on an arrow and navigate where you want to save your project. Now, you can choose the size of the movie. The table will show you the best size for a specific device.
You should know that the aspect ratio affects on the size of your movie. For example, widescreen aspect ratio will increase the size of your project. You can hold your pointer on ‘’I’’ icon. After 2 seconds, you will see the video compression, the frame rate, the data rate and the size of the movie (in megabytes).
Click export and you are done. Now, when you want to find your project, all you need to do is to navigate to the folder you choose from the pop-up menu. Every user wants to save unfinished projects at some point.
When you do this, you can edit the project on another computer, or continue editing on your Mac computer when you want. However, if you need help, you must save unfinished project and continue editing it on another computer, where a friend can help you. This is a useful feature that a lot of users use it. On the other side, professionals use it all the time. They cannot complete a project on just one computer. If you must continue editing your project on another computer, you should follow those steps.
Remember that an unfinished project is made for Mac computers. How to save unfinished iMovie projects If you want to save the unfinished IMovie project, you will have to follow these steps. You must know that the procedure is different than you want to save a finished project. Go to the menu File-Open Library-New. Give a name to the new library and choose a saving location from the drop menu.
It is recommended to choose your removable drive. Choose the destination folder. It can be a removable drive, or it can be some other folder.
When you are done, click Save, and your project will be saved. Now, you have two libraries in your navigation panel.
Drag and drop your project to the library, you just created. This means that your project has been saved. When you want to open your unfinished project, on another computer, you must follow these steps. Luckily, the procedure is very simple and it doesn’t require a lot of time. You should know that both versions of IMovie, should be the same or similar versions.
For example, if an IMovie on one Mac computer is latest, and on another is very old, there are some problems with opening your project. Launch IMovie and plug your removable drive in the computer. You can even use a memory card or an external HDD to transfer your files. Go to the menu File-Open Library-Other. Click on Locate button. You must do this in order to find your removable drive and open the project. Click on your removable drive.
It is located in the left corner. Then, locate the file you want to open. If you have several files on your removable drive, find one you want to open. Now, your project is open on another computer.
You have the same options as on your own Mac computer. When you are done editing, save it as a finished project.
You can use the same removable drive to transfer the file back, to your computer. You should know that IMovie projects usually have big size. This means that you are going to need a removable drive with high capacity. Some IMovie projects require a couple of gigabytes of space. Also, the transferring process is slow and it takes a couple of minutes or much longer, if a file is too large.
Skylum ® is a registered trademark in USA and other countries. Apple, the Apple logo, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and iMac are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. And other countries. Mac App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.
Adobe®, the Adobe® logo, Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe® Lightroom® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft incorporated in US and other countries.