How can I backup my Events and Projects in iMovie '11 to clear up hard drive space?

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Level 1

10 points

How can I backup my Events and Projects in iMovie '11 to clear up hard drive space?

I am using a MacBook Pro with a 500GB hard drive and iMovie from the iLife '11 application suite. I have 5GB left on my hard drive so I need to free up space. About 450GB or so of that space is taken up by my iMovie data files. Is there some way for me to export or backup my Projects and especially my Events so I can store them off the computer but still easily put them back into iMovie if I need to work with them in the future?

Thanks!

17" MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.4)

Posted on Jun 3, 2011 12:13 PM

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Answer 1

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Jun 3, 2011 12:18 PM in response to natlee75

Connect an external and use time machine. You can specify what you want to backup

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Answer 2

natlee75 Author

Level 1

10 points

Jun 3, 2011 2:38 PM in response to vazandrew

I have never used Time Machine. I was under the impression - perhaps wrong - that it was a general backup application rather than a way to export entities from other applications.

If all I need to do is back up specific files then it stands to reason that I could just find those files and copy them to an external hard drive on my own. My main concern, though, is whether iMovie will even recognize them if I retrieve a back up or paste files back into my file system.

It's possible I'm stuck thinking in a "Windows" mindset, but wouldn't pulling the files out through the file system or use of Time Machine "break" the "link" that iMovie has with those files to know what Projects they are, what settings those Projects have, what the Event meta data is, etc.?

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Answer 3

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,034 points

Jun 3, 2011 2:51 PM in response to natlee75

Try File>Consolidate Media.

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Answer 4

vazandrew

Level 8

40,348 points

Jun 3, 2011 5:31 PM in response to natlee75

Yes you can, the other is just easier and it also backs up your system (which you should be doing, even if it's not with that app)

Yes, imovie would recognize them

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Answer 5

Aug 11, 2011 3:00 PM in response to natlee75

I'm in a similar situation, and want to make a permanent archive of the project and its associated video, stills, music, etc. The iMovie Help age "Copy or move a project to an external hard disk" says "To copy the project, drag it to the icon of the hard disk (in the Event Library)..." but I cannot get it to "stick". I dragged a project icon from the Project Library list to the blue disk icon at the upper-right of the Event Library list, but it snapped back and nothing happened. Then I dragged it to the disk name at the bottom of the Event Library list, with the same lack of effect. What must I do to enable this copying? (OS 10.6.8, iMovie 9.0.4)

The Time Machine answer is too impermanent, and would not gather a project's resources into one storable package.

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Answer 6

natlee75 Author

Level 1

10 points

Aug 12, 2011 7:11 AM in response to goaliegeewhiz

I have since been able to do what I set out to do. I purchased an external hard drive and formatted it using the Mac OS Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility). In order to be able to save the Projects and Events AND be able to work with them from within iMovie, you have to format it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled). This marks it as a Mac-only hard drive so you won't be able to use it with a Windows or Unix/Linux machine.

Once that's complete you can save Projects and Events to it within the iMovie application by dragging them down to the icon that represents the hard drive as the previous poster described. I'd suggest choosing the option to move/copy the associated Events with any Projects or you could end up with missing parts of the Project since it's looking for a reference to a particular Event or set of Events.

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Answer 7

Nov 7, 2011 6:59 AM in response to natlee75

I've been beating my head against this particular wall for a week or so before consulting the Forum. Thank you! My obstacle was that I was using an external hard drive from an old Windows system and that's why I couldn't drag and drop the movie. Tried it on a hard drive I've only used with the iMac and all is fine. I will now have to empty and reformat the old external hard drive.

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