What's the difference between iMovie Events folder and the iMovie Library file?

I'm doing a bit of data clean up in preparation for an upgrade to my Mac and I have 2 very large items that I see in Finder. I have a folder titled "iMovie Events" that is 472GB. I also have an "iMovie Library 1" file that is 442GB. When I look at the library file contents in iMovie it appears that all the events listed match the "iMovie Events" folder I see in Finder. Is this duplicate data or is the library file pointing to these events?


I would like to delete any duplicate data to recover space but I don't want to risk losing some of these events. I remember a long time ago some changes to the iMove file structure but I don't recall the details. Is it possible that the update in file structure created duplicate data?


Any thoughts? Thanks in advance for any help.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 7, 2022 9:35 AM

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Posted on Aug 7, 2022 10:58 AM

I am reluctant to advise you to delete anything, since I don't have access to your computer to verify what exactly is being deleted. The safer approach, that I recommend, would be simply to move your iMovie Events folder to an external drive to free up space on your internal drive. (It should be kept together with the iMovie Projects folder, if you have one.) The discussion below should be read in this light.


It would help if you would post a screen shot of what you are seeing regarding the iMovie Events folder and the iMovie Library 1 file. Also, could you describe your iMovie version history, and how the iMovie Events folder and iMovie Library 1 folder were created?


The iMovie Events folder likely pertains to the earlier iMovie 9 version, that I assume you once had on your computer. If so, it contains the media that is used in the iMovie 9 projects. There should also be an accompanying iMovie Projects folder, that contains the iMovie 9 projects. These are usually found together in the Movie folder on your Mac, but you may have moved them elsewhere. The iMovie 9 Projects folder references the media in the iMovie 9 Events Folder. You need both folders to play and edit an iMovie 9 project. The iMovie 10 architecture is different in that all of the Media, Events, and Projects are contained in one folder, the iMovie Library folder.


The iMovie Library 1 file would be an iMovie 10 library, rather than a file.


When you upgraded from iMovie 9 to iMovie 10, did you do an Edit/Update Projects and Events from within iMovie 10, to bring over your iMovie 9 projects and events into the iMovie 10 library? If so, you can delete the iMovie Events folder (assuming it is an iMovie 9 folder) as long as you don't intend to use iMovie 9 any longer. The iMovie 9 events would have been updated into iMovie 10, so you would still have those as long as you haven't deleted the iMovie 10 library in which you did the update. If you never did the update, you probably can still do so now. Otherwise, deleting the iMovie Events folder possibly could delete some media that is not contained elsewhere, either in the Finder or in iMovie 10.


You might find it helpful to contact Apple Support, as the techs there have the capability of remotely accessing your computer. To contact Apple Support click on the Get Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum's screen. Then navigate to a place where you can enter your phone number.


-- Rich





2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 7, 2022 10:58 AM in response to G-manji

I am reluctant to advise you to delete anything, since I don't have access to your computer to verify what exactly is being deleted. The safer approach, that I recommend, would be simply to move your iMovie Events folder to an external drive to free up space on your internal drive. (It should be kept together with the iMovie Projects folder, if you have one.) The discussion below should be read in this light.


It would help if you would post a screen shot of what you are seeing regarding the iMovie Events folder and the iMovie Library 1 file. Also, could you describe your iMovie version history, and how the iMovie Events folder and iMovie Library 1 folder were created?


The iMovie Events folder likely pertains to the earlier iMovie 9 version, that I assume you once had on your computer. If so, it contains the media that is used in the iMovie 9 projects. There should also be an accompanying iMovie Projects folder, that contains the iMovie 9 projects. These are usually found together in the Movie folder on your Mac, but you may have moved them elsewhere. The iMovie 9 Projects folder references the media in the iMovie 9 Events Folder. You need both folders to play and edit an iMovie 9 project. The iMovie 10 architecture is different in that all of the Media, Events, and Projects are contained in one folder, the iMovie Library folder.


The iMovie Library 1 file would be an iMovie 10 library, rather than a file.


When you upgraded from iMovie 9 to iMovie 10, did you do an Edit/Update Projects and Events from within iMovie 10, to bring over your iMovie 9 projects and events into the iMovie 10 library? If so, you can delete the iMovie Events folder (assuming it is an iMovie 9 folder) as long as you don't intend to use iMovie 9 any longer. The iMovie 9 events would have been updated into iMovie 10, so you would still have those as long as you haven't deleted the iMovie 10 library in which you did the update. If you never did the update, you probably can still do so now. Otherwise, deleting the iMovie Events folder possibly could delete some media that is not contained elsewhere, either in the Finder or in iMovie 10.


You might find it helpful to contact Apple Support, as the techs there have the capability of remotely accessing your computer. To contact Apple Support click on the Get Support item in the upper right hand corner of this forum's screen. Then navigate to a place where you can enter your phone number.


-- Rich





Aug 7, 2022 11:40 AM in response to Rich839

Thanks for the speedy reply Rich. I like your suggestion to contact Apple Support. Hopefully they can make some sense of the files.


I do see an "iMovie Projects" folder as well. It contains a handful of old projects as well as a file titled "UpdatedToiMovie10". Based on that, I think you're probably right about the conversion from iMove 9 to iMovie 10. I'm currently running iMovie 10.2.5 on Catalina. My use of iMovie has been pretty non-existent for quite some time. Most of the events are imported files from an old Sony Handycam. The last event created is almost 10 years old.

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What's the difference between iMovie Events folder and the iMovie Library file?

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