How do I move a Project from old version of iMovie to current version?

Years ago I made a number of videos on my old Mac using iMovie 8.0.6. I still have that version on my Mac, and can see the Projects I created. Unfortunately, the Events used to create those Projects were on an external hard drive that died. So, I can watch the Projects, but am unable to upload them to Youtube -- keep getting an error message. I am trying to move the Projects to iMovie 10.1.9 but have not found a way to do it. When I try dragging, importing, or exporting to Quicktime or anything else, I get a message that the file is not supported, or it simply does not accept it. Any suggestions?

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.3)

Posted on Apr 25, 2018 7:12 AM

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9 replies

Apr 25, 2018 6:22 PM in response to Joey C 2

So these are not "projects", but shared out or independent movies that you can watch? What format are these files in? If they are independent movies they should be able to be dragged in to an iMovie 10 new project.


VLC is another free download that will convert vids.


You said that you can watch the projects. If you can play the vid on your screen you can also use Quicktime's "New Screen Recording" function to capture the video. You can access the function from the Quicktime Player file menu.


You mentioned that you had these movies on DVD. Although it is a bit laborious as you point out, You can easily rip the DVD (assuming it is not a commercial one) by clicking on its icon and copy-dragging (not moving) the files in the VIDEO_TS folder that have the .VOB extension, onto your desk top. Those files are the ones that comprise the movie, including all edits. Then you can convert the VOB files to Mp4, and drag them into iMovie. Might be a one or two weekend project.


I've had a couple of hard drives go south, too. They don't last more than 3-5 years. Now I keep several drives with duplicate backups. They'll probably all fail at the same time. 🙂


Best,

Rich

Apr 25, 2018 5:18 PM in response to Joey C 2

To make sure I understand you correctly, are these project files that you are dragging or copying from the iMovie 8 Projects folder located in your Mac's Movies folder? Or are these pre-finalized projects that you are viewing from within iMovie 8 that still are in the project stage? If the former, what format are the files in? Whatever format, try using the free download, Handbrake, to convert the files to Mp4/AAC, which Handbrake will do by default. Those should upload to You Tube.


-- Rich

Apr 25, 2018 8:28 PM in response to Joey C 2

Hi, Joey,


Yes, VLC plays most everything. The VOB files are in Mpeg-2 format. They need to be converted to .mov or Mp4 to play in iMovie. Not sure if iTunes will upload Mpeg-2. You can check its website for compatible formats. Or just try it to see.


Quicktime player should play the VOB files, and from there you can export them to a .mov file on your desktop and import them into iMovie or drag into the You Tube upload window (the recommended way of uploading to You Tube). If for some reason Quicktime Player won't play or export them, you can use VLC to do that.


Good news that your vids play. It's just a matter of converting to the correct format for your purposes.


-- Rich

Apr 25, 2018 4:51 PM in response to Rich839

Thanks, Rich, but neither option worked. When I tried the File Update Projects, I got a message saying there are no files to update. When I tried the YouTube upload window, it says the file is not an accepted format. I really hate the thought of recreating all these videos from dvd onto the computer into iMovie, etc. Too much effort as I have dozens of them. Any other ideas?


Joey

Apr 25, 2018 5:52 PM in response to Rich839

Aaarrrggghhh, everything is going berserk! One of my external hard drives just died. Now my Apple TV that I watched two hours ago will not come on. What the ****? LOL


To answer your question, the projects in iMovie 8 are completed projects. They are not in my Mac's Movies folder, but are stored on an external hard drive, and I moved a few to test onto my desktop. But after you asked, I dragged three of them into my Mac's Movies Folder, but to no avail.


I had an old version of Handbrake that I used at the time I converted these videos 9 years ago. I tried using it by dragging one of the videos into it, but got an error message saying "No Valid Source Found". When I tried updating Handbrake to the current version, it looked like it updated but then said: "An error occurred while extracting the update. Please try again later." I had tried to update Handbrake yesterday, prior to posting in here, but had the same message then.


Seems like I am striking out everywhere so far. Appreciate your efforts. If you have any other suggestions, I would welcome them. Thanks.


Joey

Apr 25, 2018 8:11 PM in response to Rich839

Rich, these movies were originally concert performances of friends taken with a camcorder then put onto DVD. I used Handbrake to take the entire concert and break it up into individual songs. I did that as you mentioned by using the Video_Ts folders. Those became the Projects I had in the old version of iMovie. For some reason, I could not successfully drag them into iMovie.


I tried the Quicktime player the other day to see if that would work. Problem there is it only records video, not the audio. I read there are other programs that can be used to complement Quicktime, but that option did not appeal to me.


Yes, this is the fourth hard drive that has failed on me after 5 years or so. I have two going at all times and have an extra I will install tomorrow. Also, I got my Apple TV working again. I just unplugged it and put it into a different plug in the power strip. Guess the plug it was in just went bad. But, you don't really care about all that, LOL.


OK, now for the good news. I had an old version of VLC that I trashed, and downloaded the current version. I opened it up, dragged the first song clip from My Movie folder into VLC and VOILA! It immediately started playing! Woo Hoo!


So, what are the next steps the to get the video into a format for YouTube? Do I need to use VLC to create a format, then put it into iMovie to create a Project, then upload to YouTube? Or, can I just create a format (which one?) acceptable to YouTube, save it to my Desktop, and then use the YouTube Upload window?


Really appreciate all your help on this!!!


Joey

Apr 26, 2018 11:38 AM in response to Rich839

Converting to the correct format appears to be a much larger challenge than anticipated. The formats acceptable to YouTube do not line up with those in VLC. I tried a few and found one that worked and I was able to upload one video. I tried again with two other clips using the same format, and YouTube then would not recognize them. Aaaaarrrrggghhh


The updated edition of VLC is nowhere near as user friendly as the old one. It also does not appear to work well with High Sierra. Very balky, and very difficult to change format conversion when one does not work. It just keeps it in the same format and keeps asking if I want to overwrite and I cannot close that window without Force Quitting the program. At any rate, you got me as far as it appears I can go via this route. Thanks again for your help. If VLC and Youtube would just play nicely as they did on the first video, all would be fine.


Joey

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How do I move a Project from old version of iMovie to current version?

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