iMovie to Final Cut Pro

Question

Level 1

4 points

iMovie to Final Cut Pro

I would like to copy my iMovie library/project to Final Cut Pro and finalize the editing there.

Questions:

1) Will I be able to change/delete video and audio effects applied in iMovie when editing the project in FCP?

2) My iMovie library is on an external hard drive. When I make the copy, will the new FCP library automatically go to the external drive, or will it go to the iMac drive and will I then have to copy it to the external drive?

3) Will I be able to enter project settings (resolution, frame rate) in the new FCP library, or will it revert to the iMovie settings?

All feedback is greatly appreciated.

iMac Line (2012 and Later)

Posted on Feb 28, 2022 7:31 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Luis Sequeira1

Level 9

67,606 points

Mar 1, 2022 3:04 AM in response to larenzod

1) Yes

2) When you do File->Send Movie to Final Cut Pro, a new FCP library called "iMovie Library" will be created in the same location where your current iMovie library is; or, if one already exists, content is added to it. That library will then be opened in FCP.

3) In FCP, you can always change the frame size of a project, at any time. Changing the frame rate is also possible, with a little caveat, but one that is easily surpassed. You cannot up and change the frame rate on a project that is nonempty. Two ways to deal with it: a) Select All, Cut, change frame rate, Paste; b) Make a new project with the desired frame rate, select all from the old, paste into the new

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Answer 2

Mar 1, 2022 3:45 AM in response to Ian R. Brown

Ian R. Brown wrote:

Glad you were able to answer Larenzod's questions accurately.

He posted the same on the iMovie forum and I (incorrectly) said that the iMovie project was simply converted to a minuscule XML file referencing the original iMovie Library.

Having checked in my Movies folder I can see that there is indeed a new FCP Library.

Does this mean that XML doesn't come into the equation?

XML does indeed come into the equation. I don't know the details, but I (think) KNOW the process behind the curtains involves iMovie creating XML and having FCP import it. How do I know? I just tried resending the same project to FCP and here is what I got:

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Answer 3

Mar 1, 2022 3:24 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

Glad you were able to answer Larenzod's questions accurately.

He posted the same on the iMovie forum and I (incorrectly) said that the iMovie project was simply converted to a minuscule XML file referencing the original iMovie Library.

Having checked in my Movies folder I can see that there is indeed a new FCP Library.

Does this mean that XML doesn't come into the equation?

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Answer 4

larenzod Author

Level 1

4 points

Mar 1, 2022 9:31 AM in response to larenzod

To my understanding, the media (clips) from my iMovie project (movie being edited) will not be copied to the new FCP library. If that's the case, how can I copy the iMovie media to the new FCP library?

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