christophkiel
Level 1 (4 points)
iLife

Q: Where does iMovie 10 save movie files?

Hi everybody,

since I updated to iMovie version 10.1.1. I am continuously wondering where all the iMovie files are being saved that I import.

Can anyone help? My harddrive is completely full and I wish I could copy all the imported movie files, event, projects etc. to an external hard drive. But where do I find all these files?

 

Thanks a lot in advance,

Christoph

MacBook Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Apr 6, 2016 6:32 AM

by Jim Wanamaker,Apple recommended
Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker
Level 4 (3,947 points)
iLife
A:

Type in Movies in the Spotlight search window. In the list of folders that appears you should see 'Movies - your user name". Double click that folder and look for iMovie Library.That is the package file that contains all the media you have imported into iMovie. You open it by right/control clicking and look for show package contents. Then you will see all your events etc.  In each event there is a folder called original media which holds your media files. I strongly advise you be careful and not change anything as you can mess up the database and lose your projects and events. You can manage all your events and projects from within iMovie. There is seldom any reason to go into the iMovie Library.

Posted on Apr 6, 2016 4:01 PM

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christophkiel

Q: Where does iMovie 10 save movie files?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by QuickTimeKirk,

    QuickTimeKirk QuickTimeKirk Apr 6, 2016 6:54 AM in response to christophkiel
    Level 9 (53,318 points)
    Apr 6, 2016 6:54 AM in response to christophkiel

    Your User Movies folder.

    iMovie Library is probably the largest folder.

  • by christophkiel,

    christophkiel christophkiel Apr 6, 2016 12:46 PM in response to QuickTimeKirk
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Apr 6, 2016 12:46 PM in response to QuickTimeKirk

    Hey Kirk,

    thanks for your quick response. Can you specify where this folder is located? If I use the finder search mask I don't find neither "User Movies" nor "iMovie Library" on my Macbook.

  • by Jim Wanamaker,Apple recommended

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker Apr 6, 2016 4:01 PM in response to christophkiel
    Level 4 (3,947 points)
    iLife
    Apr 6, 2016 4:01 PM in response to christophkiel

    Type in Movies in the Spotlight search window. In the list of folders that appears you should see 'Movies - your user name". Double click that folder and look for iMovie Library.That is the package file that contains all the media you have imported into iMovie. You open it by right/control clicking and look for show package contents. Then you will see all your events etc.  In each event there is a folder called original media which holds your media files. I strongly advise you be careful and not change anything as you can mess up the database and lose your projects and events. You can manage all your events and projects from within iMovie. There is seldom any reason to go into the iMovie Library.

  • by christophkiel,

    christophkiel christophkiel Apr 7, 2016 12:18 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Apr 7, 2016 12:18 AM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Hi Jim, thanks a lot for your precise answer. Basically, this is exactly what I am looking for. But... there is no "Movies" folder as such. I mean, there are lots of "Movie" folders (see picture), but they all contain different completed movies that I did with the older version of iMovie back in 2015.

     

    This is what confuses me. After updating to iMovie 10 at the end of 2015, there is not a single hint where all my imported files are being saved. Do you happen to know how iMovie names movie files after importing? Maybe I can at first search for single movie files to get on track. What do you think?

     

    I appeciate it, thanks a lot!

    Bildschirmfoto 2016-04-07 um 09.16.57.png

  • by christophkiel,

    christophkiel christophkiel Apr 7, 2016 12:41 AM in response to christophkiel
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iLife
    Apr 7, 2016 12:41 AM in response to christophkiel

    I found it!! Woohoo, thanks so much, Jim!!

  • by JustPlainSylviaW,

    JustPlainSylviaW JustPlainSylviaW May 21, 2016 4:34 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 21, 2016 4:34 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    Jim, thank you for your answer to christophkiel, it answered my question, too. It's odd not to have to save a work in progress; old habits die hard.

     

    Related question:

     

    Looking at a representative movie example, I see this folder structure:

    Screen Shot 2016-05-21 at 4.24.27 PM.png

     

    Are the .mov files in the Original Media folder copies, or are they merely "pointers" to the original .mov file, which lives in a different folder? I'm wondering what happens if I edit/move/delete one of the original .mov files -- does the version in the Original Media folder change? Or does it stay as it was when imported into iMovie 10? If it's just a "pointer," can iMovie find it if it's in a different folder?

     

    Thanks.

  • by Jim Wanamaker,

    Jim Wanamaker Jim Wanamaker May 21, 2016 4:52 PM in response to JustPlainSylviaW
    Level 4 (3,947 points)
    iLife
    May 21, 2016 4:52 PM in response to JustPlainSylviaW

    Generally speaking they are copies of the originals. If any are pointers you should see a small curved arrow on the icon. Some cases of pointers are media from Photos, iPhoto or where you have media used in more than one event. In iMovie media browser select a clip and in the main menu under file choose show in finder.

  • by lingvall,

    lingvall lingvall Aug 29, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Aug 29, 2016 4:24 PM in response to Jim Wanamaker

    THANK YOU! Just freed up 80gb of space!!