iMovie If your digital still camera or digital single-lens reflex camera (DSLR) is compatible with iMovie ‘11, you can import video into iMovie and then use the footage just as you would any other video footage you import.
If your digital still camera isn’t compatible with iMovie '11, you may be able to import video into iPhoto. After it’s imported into iPhoto, footage on your computer that’s in a video format compatible with iMovie automatically appears in your iMovie Event Library after iMovie generates thumbnails of the video. To learn about importing video into iPhoto, open iPhoto and choose Help > iPhoto Help.
To check whether your camera is compatible with iMovie, click the link below:
To import video from a compatible digital still camera:
Turn on your camera and set it to import mode.
Connect the camera to your computer.
If iPhoto opens, close it.
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In iMovie, if the Import window doesn’t open, click the Import button in the iMovie toolbar.
The Import window displays all the video clips on the device. You can use the playback controls below the window to review selected clips.
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To select which video clips you want to import, do one of the following:
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To import all clips, make sure the Automatic/Manual switch is set to Automatic, and then click Import All. iMovie remembers which clips you’ve already imported and won’t reimport these clips.
To import most of the clips, set the Automatic/Manual switch to Manual. Deselect the clips you don’t want to import, and then click Import Checked.
To import only a few of the clips, set the Automatic/Manual switch to Manual, and then click Uncheck All. Select the clips you want, and then click Import Checked.
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Choose the disk where you want to store the video from the “Save to” pop-up menu.
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Choose how you want to organize the imported video in your Event Library:
To add the imported video to an existing Event, select “Add to Existing Event,” and then choose its name from the pop-up menu.
To create a new Event, type a name for it (for example, “Birthday Party”) in the “Create new Event” field. If you want to create a new Event for each day on which the video was recorded, select “Split days into new Events.”
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To have iMovie analyze your video for stabilization, or to analyze it for the presence of people, select “Analyze for stabilization after import” and then choose an option from the pop-up menu:
Stabilization: Analyzes the camera motion in your video so that any shaky parts can be played back more smoothly. It can be time consuming, so if you have over an hour’s worth of video to analyze, you might want to let iMovie do it overnight or while you’re going to be away from your computer.
Stabilization and People: Analyzes the camera motion in your video so that any shaky parts can be played back more smoothly; also analyzes video for people so that you can later sort your video to see just the footage that contains people.
People: Analyzes video for the presence of people so that you can later sort your video to see just the footage that contains people.
If you don’t set iMovie to analyze video for stabilization at this point, you can always do it later. You can also analyze it for people later as well. Refer to the “See also” topics below for more information.
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Click Import.
iMovie can take a while to import the video and generate thumbnail images of each clip, depending on how much video you have. The progress indicator in the Import From window shows you how long it might take.
To import video from a compatible DSLR:
Turn on your camera and set it to import mode.
Connect the camera to your computer.
If iPhoto opens, close it.
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In iMovie, choose File > Import > Movies.
The File menu appears in a light gray bar across the top of your computer screen.
In the window that opens, click the name of your device on the left side of the window below the Devices heading, and then click the appropriate folders to navigate to the movies located on your camera.
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Select the movies you want to import
Note: Movie file names have a .MOV extension. Each type of camera has a different file structure and naming convention. Check your camera’s documentation if you’re unsure of where your movie files are stored.
Choose the disk where you want to store the video from the “Save to” pop-up menu.
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Choose how you want to organize the imported video in your Event Library:
To add the imported video to an existing Event, select “Add to Existing Event,” and then choose its name from the pop-up menu.
To create a new Event, type a name for it (for example, “Birthday Party”) in the “Create new Event” field. If you want to create a new Event for each day on which the video was recorded, select “Split days into new Events.”
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Click Import.
iMovie can take a while to import the video and generate thumbnail images of each clip, depending on how much video you have. The progress indicator in the Import From window shows you how long it might take.
To access iPhoto video in iMovie:
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In iMovie, click the Event Library button in the lower-left corner of the iMovie window, or choose Window > Show Event Library.
The Window menu appears in a light gray bar across the top of your computer screen.
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Click the iPhoto Videos subhead in the Event Library.
All of your iPhoto video appears in the Event browser on the right.