how do save imovie video to a thumb drive

I'm assuming that you wish to view the completed movie on another device that accepts USB drives, such as a media player or Smart TV, or for passing on to someone else in a convenient package perhaps. You will need to export the project first. This action will encode the movie in a suitable format for viewing outside of iMovie.

So, firstly export the completed movie project using "Share > Export Movie" (from iMovie's Menu). Choose an appropriate size (dimension) from the presets, such as Large, HD 720p or HD 1080p. Give the file a name and select a location where it will be saved after export, for example, the Desktop. Depending on the duration of the movie, it will take some time for the export to complete.

Insert the thumb drive into one of the Mac's USB ports. Finally, drag the exported movie file from the saved location (say the Desktop) and drop it onto the thumb drive's icon (which should be on the Desktop). This process will copy the movie file to the thumb drive. The original exported file will remain on the Desktop. You can move this file to another location if desired (or Trash it if no longer required).

The file exported from iMovie will be in the widely used H.264 format and will have the extension .m4v or .mov depending on what size you exported as. If you wish to export in a different format, you should choose "Share > Export using QuickTime" from iMovie's Menu, then pick an appropriate format and settings. If you need help with this type of export, please come back.

I trust that I haven't misunderstood what you are wishing to do (you haven't given us much information to work from).

John

Ha ha - good one Karsten 😁

I know I'm long winded, but I've been told I would have made a good teacher (perhaps in another life)!

I didn't quite understand what smoothsailor really wanted to do. Possibly, he wanted to save an un-exported iMovie file for use on another Mac. Now that's a lot trickier, because it involves moving both the Event and Project from within iMovie - and in any case that won't work using a USB stick.

See, it's complicated - that's why I took the long route (just as I'm doing now). Besides, I'm still learning and am a long way behind you more experienced Level 7's. 😉 😊

By the way, I know what SCNR means (Sorry, could not resist)! But I had to Google it, not being of the younger generation, sadly!

Regards

John

PS No offence taken, it just gave me a laugh 😁

John Cogdell wrote:

… I didn't quite understand what smoothsailor really wanted to do. …

you gave excellent advice, John! not meant as an offence!

the joke is on smoothsailor, who expects 'psychic' experts, using an internet-connected crystal ball for profound diagnosis ....

yepp, those abrv. ....

I lately had to explain

tl;dr

(that's a good one!)

..... I get taught to those stuff by my lil' son ..... 😀

he usually signs his post with

XD

which needs some time to be decyphred .........

Thanks Karsten. I knew what you meant straight away with the drag'n' drop comment (directed to smoothsailor, of course, not me), but was just having a bit of a joke on myself (between friends, so to speak).

Friends and family here (particularly my wife and mother-in-law) sometimes remark that I go into lots of detail when answering a supposedly simple question about technical things. But I always think that I am keeping it simple! So, being aware that I had given a lengthy, detailed answer to smoothsailor's question, and seeing your response, I thought I would turn the joke on myself (sort of self deprecation).

Anyway, it's all in good fun and made me smile (as it would have for smoothsailor too, I'm sure). I always enjoy your little jokes and asides - you have a great sense of humour and no-one takes offence. So, keep 'em coming! 🙂

Now, I must start boning up on all those cryptic abbreviations! Perhaps I could learn to use them in my replies in order to keep my answers more concise! But look, I'm getting carried away again! 😊

Cheers Karsten

John

drag 'n drop it.

@John

SCNR 😁

Karsten Schlüter wrote:

… you gave excellent advice, John!

… and it solved the OP's question - perfect! 🙂

■ karsten

Thanks for letting us know that we gave the correct advice smoothsailor. And thanks for the kind comments! Hope Karsten and I didn't disturb your thread too much with our joking around. 😎

John