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How do I capture video on iMovie to an external hard drive?

I am trying to import video to iMovie using my external hard drive for storage. How do I change the storage location for iMovie imports?

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), iOS 10.2

Posted on Apr 13, 2018 1:59 PM

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Posted on Apr 13, 2018 2:21 PM

iMovie imports will go into the iMovie library in which the iMovie app has been opened, on whatever drive the library is stored. So, if you put your iMovie library on an external drive, formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), all media imported directly into iMovie will be stored in that library as long as iMovie has been opened in that library. NOTE: If you reformat your external drive you must first back it up because reformatting will erase all data on the drive.


Another way is to import the media directly to a folder on your external drive, using the Image Capture app on your Mac. From there you can drag the media into iMovie as needed.


-- Rich

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Question marked as Best reply

Apr 13, 2018 2:21 PM in response to mld34

iMovie imports will go into the iMovie library in which the iMovie app has been opened, on whatever drive the library is stored. So, if you put your iMovie library on an external drive, formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), all media imported directly into iMovie will be stored in that library as long as iMovie has been opened in that library. NOTE: If you reformat your external drive you must first back it up because reformatting will erase all data on the drive.


Another way is to import the media directly to a folder on your external drive, using the Image Capture app on your Mac. From there you can drag the media into iMovie as needed.


-- Rich

Apr 13, 2018 3:01 PM in response to Rich839

Thanks Rich,


I tried using Image Capture and it's not recognizing the 8mm video camera I am importing or capturing from. iMovie would recognize it and capture the video. I am just running out of storage on my Mac. My Mac has 90 gb available but it won't let me capture any more video. That is why I am trying to store the rest on an external hard drive.

How do I capture video on iMovie to an external hard drive?

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