Import video from iMovie HD projects

You can import video from existing iMovie HD projects to create new Events and projects. Only the original source video is imported; any changes you’ve made to the video and anything you’ve added to it—such as music, titles, and special effects—aren’t imported.

When you import video from iMovie HD projects:

  • All clips from the clip viewer in iMovie HD are added to a new Event in iMovie.

  • All clips from the timeline in iMovie HD are added to a new project in iMovie.

  • Any clip that was dragged into the project from the Finder isn’t imported; only video clips that were imported from a camcorder into the original iMovie HD project are imported into the new project.

  • All transitions are replaced by cross-dissolve transitions.

  • No titles or effects that were applied to the video are transferred to the new project.

  • No music is transferred to the new project.

To import video from a project made in iMovie HD:

  1. In iMovie, choose File > Import > Import iMovie HD Project, and then locate your existing iMovie HD project, typically found in the Movies folder on your hard disk.

    The File menu appears in a light gray bar across the top of your computer screen.

  2. If the HD Import Setting dialog appears, select Large or Full, even if you aren’t importing high-definition (HD) video now, and then click OK.

  3. Choose a disk where you want to save the project from the “Save to” pop-up menu.

    You can choose any supported hard disk that’s connected to your computer. It takes about 13 GB to store an hour of standard (DV) video and 40 GB to store an hour of HD video, so make sure you have enough space on the disk you choose. The amount of free space on each available disk is shown in parentheses next to the disk’s name in the pop-up menu.

  4. If you’re importing HD video, choose a size from the “Optimize video” pop-up menu.

    The option you choose overrides what you chose in the HD Import Setting dialog in step 2.

  5. Click Import.

    iMovie can take several minutes to more than an hour to import the video and generate thumbnail images of each clip, depending on how much video you have. The progress indicator in the Import window shows you how long it might take.