Understanding iMovie Libraries and Events - An in-depth look at where your video files really are!

[@ericapytlovany]

This is so helpful. IMovie hurts my brain but I think I’m starting to figure it all out. Your explanations are magnificent.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so grateful to hear that @Erica Pytlovany! Thanks so much for the kind words and I'm so happy these are helpful! Thanks for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@gjonesii]

Joel I appreciate you shedding some light on the confusing file handling in iMovie. Thanks to your video, I am beginning to understand it.

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Gil! I hope this was helpful! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@thetouchpodcast]

Ah! This video is a LIFESAVER!!! Thank you for showing the tip about Render Files! I almost had to delete my whole project due to lack of space.

[@davidreadbikes]

Thanks Joel, - this was really helpful. Deleting my render files really helped speed up my editing.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy this was able to help @David Read! Happy editing! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@denniselliott442]

I wish I knew a few years ago what learned in the last 2 videos. I thank you and my computer thanks you. Rendered files are a killer, but not anymore.

[@optmusik2604]

Very helpful video. Great explanations.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm happy it was helpful for you @Optmusik! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@bobdelellis]

Awesome video. This was super helpful. Thank you, Joel. 👍

[@andrewcrossley2448]

Really useful and informative on 'how to'.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate your kind words @Andrew Crossley! Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@ChristineValesMinistries]

Hi Joel- thanks for your great content and teaching style! I have a question--- I am trying to move iMovie "projects" to a flash drive--- cant seem to figure it out. Perhaps you can shed some light on the subject :) thank you! Christine

[@theianmacleod4964]

NM! Figured it out... did the COMMAND+OPTION trick when clicking on iMovie app, RESET preferences and voila! It saw everything within the package. Thanks anyway (I knew you're busy... thought I'd try a few more things...). Have a great day.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Just saw your other comment @The Ian MacLeod! I'm happy the reset deleting and resetting the preferences of iMovie helped! I'm glad you're back up and running! Sorry didn't respond sooner...channel is growing and more comments are coming and I try to get to everyone! Thank you for the continued support! I’m glad this video was helpful! If you learned something new and want to support my channel, click SUPER THANKS! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@sheenaniedango4569]

Thank you! This is very helpful!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Sheena Nie Dela Peña! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@doraendesBudapest]

Thank you Joel, very helpful

[@Learnwithjoel]

Happy to help @Dora Endes! Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@malfairy2205]

Yeah I have an question i how do I llike maybe get my old iMovie clips because that would be really helpful right by accident I back up and deleted then redownload again when I went to iMovie I don’t not se my previous iMovie cilps I use for my doll film so can you help me with that please thanks have a great day.

[@mhalberg88]

Hey Joel, Love the video. Any idea why when I create a new library, it automatically creates a year under the library? When you do it, it just creates the library and then you can start adding event to it. I would like it this way, instead of having another layer between the library and then actual event.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi When you're creating a new iMovie Library, are you going to the following location: File > Open Library > New When you do that, it should be prompting you with a Finder window to name your new iMovie Library and then choose a place to save it on your Mac. Also keep in mind, if you have multiple Libraries open with multiple Events. You can drag Events from one library to another to move them and consolidate into any open iMovie Library that you have. Thank you for your continued support! I appreciate you more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@garyrogs50]

Joel: Thanks so much. Unfortunately for me, I didn't watch your tutorial all the way through first, jumping ahead to remove all my project files individually to a hard drive in order to get my new version of I movie open. Recently we upgraded operating systems at school and when we moved to BIG SUR, and then I had to upgrade my Imovie to a version from the APP Store, the install didn't work and now it just spins forever and says not responding. I figured it was from about 600+GB of I movie files so I was looking to move them to external drive. Did that and then I movie still didn't boot up even after a uninstall, restart and reinstall. Any suggestions? Also, my inference that I could take the project folders from this mac and just load them into another library on another mac here at school has proved futile (I should have copied the entire library per your video) but I did not. Is there any way in your experience to take the files at the project level, original media, render files etc (still in their original folders) and get those active on another mac in another version of I MOVIE or is the only way to access them if they are in a library? Can I create a new library and an event with a similar name and then copy those original files into those new folders? OR am I stuck with having my student rebuild his 8 minute documentary from scratch because I (his teacher) took the advice of our IT department and upgraded our MAC without first rendering out an I MOVIE FILE that I couldn't afford to lose. Any response would be appreciated: [e-mail]

[@JAW_73]

When you created the new library, the finder showed it under TV. What is TV? Is that the main library folder/heading?

[@GilliamFarms]

Hello, new subscriber here and I am a KZbin creator and I utilize iMovie to create my videos. I recently started getting some missing plug-in and related issues but I have more than 580 GB of content in my iMovie library on my iMac. I got a 4TB hard drive and I copied all the content to that but now am having a hard time getting the iMovie library to delete. I have tried dragging to the trash but that doesn’t work and I also have looked for a simple delete function but haven’t found it. How can I delete this to free up the storage?

[@dynamitestyle8678]

I was just trying to extract the raw image and video files. Thanks man! This really helped!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @dynamitestyle8678! I'm glad this was helpful for you! Thank you sincerely for your time and attention to this video. Your appreciation is greatly valued. If this video has been beneficial, I would be honored if you would consider sharing it with your social media network and expressing your gratitude for its assistance. Kindly subscribe if you have not already done so. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

[@KarinJoan]

This was SUCH a good tutorial!! You are an awesome teacher. Funny too😄😄👍 THANKS A LOT!! 🤗

[@Learnwithjoel]

Awe, thanks so much @Karin Joan! I really appreciate the kind words! Thanks so much for watching and I truly am grateful for your support!

[@sociallyheather]

Great video!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey again @She Knows KZbin! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@KazzaGullet]

Cant find an of this in finder. There's no movies in the left panel when I bring it up?.

[@theianmacleod4964]

Joel - quick question... I did exactly what you said NOT to do (but before I watched your video 🙄), I moved a project folder from within my iMovie Library ("Show Package Contents), I thought I could just drag it back, but it isn't recognized. Can I import it back, reset something? What's the solution? Great vidz BTW - thank you!!!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Just saw your other comment @The Ian MacLeod! Yeah...don't do that :-) I'm happy the reset deleting and resetting the preferences of iMovie helped! I'm glad you're back up and running! Sorry didn't respond sooner...channel is growing and more comments are coming and I try to get to everyone! Thank you for the continued support! I’m glad this video was helpful! If you learned something new and want to support my channel, click SUPER THANKS! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@steviefbeats9252]

bruhhh ... for the life of me. I just watched 35 min of your videos and still don't know how to do it. Let me ask you specifically. I know how to create a library, like how you have Arizona. What I'm wondering is: How did you get said files in the Arizona library? When I open my iMovie there is a 'Projects' and 'Media' tab. My 'Projects' tab is cluttered and shows every iMovie I've ever done. How do I organize this 'Projects' tab?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Great question @Stevie F Beats! Apple could for sure provide better ways to help organize the project and media. With that being said, the only options are when you're on the main page where you have the two tabs at the top; "Projects" and "Media". When you are there, select Projects and directly below there is a search window with a drop down option to the left. When you click on that, it should give you the option to sort and only show projects based off time and library of what you've selected. That is really the only thing I have found to help organize, which is why I like to have multiple libraries. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@beezee5314]

Great video.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks @bee zee! I appreciate the support!

[@leila4581]

Hello Joel, Thank you for the video. I moved my iMovie libraries to an external hard drive but now, if I want to open one event in those libraries I have an "?" and a message telling me that the iMovie libraries require password. What should I do? Thanks.

[@jyrop]

Thanks for the video, I was noticing why when editing a 10Gb video it was coming out to a usage of 200Gb (it varied). So as I add more effects or other items to the original video the render will increase by a lot?

[@Learnwithjoel]

You are correct @Jyro P! The more you edit and the more effects, titles, music and anything added, your computer will always create render files to playback the project in real time. Render files can always be deleted to free up space and the software will always then start to re-create them. You can safely delete render files within the iMovie Preferences to free up space. Just remember, the software will create them again. Thanks so much for watching! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@NipomoBeach]

Question: what is the size of your external hard drive? Oh, great video thank you very much. How do you get the videos from pictures into iMovie.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Nipomo Beach! Well I actually have many many external hard drives ranging from 500GB to 24TB of storage. I would suggest to get a size that will fit into your budget and also will give you room to grow for a few years of time. This all depends however on how much content you plan on creating and storing. So Apple Photos and iMovie do link to each other, but I find that the video and pictures are so slow in iMovie. I recommend to go into Apple Photos, find the videos you want and drag them to the Desktop or Movies folder. (Keep in mind this will make a copy of the video and it will still remain in Apple Photos). After you drag it out, open iMovie and drag/import it into the media browser. This will copy it into the iMovie Library. Once there, you can delete it from the location you imported from. I hope that helps! If you would like to support me and the content I’m creating, please feel free to SUBSCRIBE and use SUPER THANKS on the video if you haven’t already! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@barbclark69]

Joel, I hope you don't mind a question about this. I have just looked at my iMovie Library package files, and it looks like everything from every video is contained there. But I also have the raw footage in the Movies folder that went into making that video. Can I delete that original raw footage? I'm wanting to remove what I don't need in iMovie from my hard disk. -- thanks, Barbara

[@kimsw0rld]

hey joel, when i airdrop videos to my mac then put it into imovie, does it make copies of those videos or is the actual video? can i delete the ones in my finder for storage or are those video files the same?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Great question @kimswrld! Anytime you Airdrop a file from your iPhone/iPad to a Mac or vice versa, it always makes a copy to that device. So the workflow for iMovie would be to shoot video on iPhone > AirDrop to Mac > Import into iMovie Library. When you import into iMovie, it will make a duplicate of the video file. At anytime within iMovie, select a file in the browser and you can choose: File > Reveal in Finder. When you do this, it should show you this file that's technically hidden with the Library package contents folder. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@rmta5115]

Just what I was looking for but 1 question. When you explain the advanced iMovie file system in show package contents you say not to delete anything in there it could mess with your projects but then you show a way to delete rendering files. If I’m moving my libraries to an external should I leave the rendering files or delete them? Don’t I need the render files if I want to edit the project?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @rmta5115, Render files will always regenerate themselves. If you're moving the library to an external drive, I would always delete the render files first so you're moving less data. When you start using iMovie again it will generate more render files. Thank you so much for taking your time to watch this video. It is greatly appreciated! If this video has been beneficial, I would be honored if you would consider sharing it with your social media network and expressing your gratitude for its assistance. Kindly subscribe if you have not already done so. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

[@rmta5115]

Thanks for that clarification. I subscribed and look forward to learning more from your station. Thanks again.

[@RealJustinZiegler]

My Imovie library is not under favorites like yours. How do I find it? Thanks.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @JZ helps (a Florida injury law firm)! I'm assuming you're talking about the Favorites located in the Finder? It's most likely the setting within the preferences of the Finder. Check out the video below at the time marker 4:50 THE MOST IMPORTANT APP ON YOUR MAC! - Getting started with The Finder. Part 1 kzbin.info/www/bejne/imOwZJxsapd8i68 Hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching and if you'd like to support me by subscribing, I would greatly appreciate it!

[@RealJustinZiegler]

@@Learnwithjoel Yes, I'm referring to favorites in Macbook finder. I clicked your timestamp but that doesn't help me. :( I can find the "file" tilted Imovie library but I can't find the file titled "Movies" like is shown in your favorites folder on your Mac.

[@Learnwithjoel]

@@RealJustinZiegler Yeah that time stamp is for the Finder video that i linked...I don't have chapter markers yet on my older videos... Essentially while in the Finder, go to the top menu bar in the top left of your screen and choose: Finder > Preferences > Sidebar. This is the window that allows you to customize what shows up on the left side of your sidebar in the Finder.

[@meredithnz]

H Joel, I've tried to copy a new library of imported old DV mini tapes onto an external hard drive for the reasons you've stated. When this happens i get this message: "The Finder can’t complete the operation because some data in “T&T Old Videos” can’t be read or written (Error code -36). " I've tried using Terminal and dot_clean, which I've read is a solution. It isn't for me. I am dragging the icon of T&T Old Videos onto Terminal and then onto the hard drive. Any ideas? Your videos are clear and extremely useful. Thanks.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @meredithnz! Thank you for the kind words and I'm happy my content is helpful for you! The first thing that comes to mind is what is your external hard drive formatted as? I often find that users get external drives to use with their Mac, and they just start using them. I have a video that explains this more in depth that I will link below for reference if you haven't watched it already. Understanding how to FORMAT your NEW External Hard Drive for your MAC - A look at Apple Disk Utility kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZK8l42NrrNnebM I would stay away from Terminal if you're not familiar with the command line. That can get confusing pretty quickly. There should be no reason to drag anything into Terminal...I have a hunch that your external drive is formatted for both Mac and Windows and not strictly for Mac and that for sure could cause issues, especially when it comes to the file size of what's trying to be copied. Watch the video above to see if that helps with understanding what you're working with. And just keep in mind, if it is a format issue for the external drive, the only way to format specifically for Mac is to erase everything on it! So just plan ahead to move files off it first if you need to! Thanks for watching and supporting! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@meredithnz]

@@Learnwithjoel Thanks Joel, I will look at that. The strange thing is that i did drag a 35GB library onto the same hard drive, also made of of imported mini DV movies, without an issue. The one I am trying to move now is 78GB. Mark

[@meredithnz]

@@Learnwithjoel further to that, the LaCie hard drive is formatted to mac OS extended, my Mac is a late 2012, 27", 3.12 fusion drive intel with 24Gb RAM running OSX Catalina. Shouldn't that work? If I buy another hard drive should I format it AFPS? Otherwise I am waiting for a 27" or larger M1 or M2 iMac to come out. Hope it's soon.

[@FlowByJenny]

Hi, I have worked with iMovie for several years professionally and created hundreds of videos. I always work directly in projects. I have never used Events. I create a project and drag content straight into the project. I have never worked with events. I have created separate Libraries and are working with Libraries on external hard drives. My Libraries are organised chronologically. When I have between 0-100GB in a Library I create a new one. I often copy parts of videos from one project to another... over different Libraries... without knowing anything about the actual storage of all files. You can see were I am running into problems. I have two main problems: 1. I run out of storage all the time and need to move stuff off my computer 2. I end up with projects that can not run all parts because the original source files can not be found due to that they are copied from other Libraries. I end up having to open up all my Libraries to find where the source files are. With other words A Mess!!! I have two questions: How do I: 1. Make sure I clean up my files so that I can clear up space on my drives. I realize that I probably have the same video stored many times (my projects are usually built from 3-6 hours of source video) 2. How do I make sure that source files for my projects are stored in the correct Library. I am very willing to pay to get some 1-1 tutorial to improve my way of working!! Cheers, Jenny

[@porterp]

Another great video. 3:40 "The iMovie organization...could use improvement..." That's certainly an understatement lol.

[@ssd23ssd]

Thanks so much for this. Just wanted to clarify one thing (because I'm paranoid about losing my footage). If I have the videos/photos in the Photos app, can I safely delete the events from iMovie without losing any of the original files?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Great question @Shumita Sharma Deveshwar! So anytime you're using photos or videos located in Apple Photos, it will always make a copy of that file into iMovie or even if you were to drag it out of Apple Photos to the desktop or someplace. So yes, you can safely delete events from iMovie if the files you added were from the Photos Library within iMovie. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@TheYorkshireBikeMechanic]

Hi Joel, Great video. I need your advise pls, I run imovie on a 2017 macbook pro, I also have a 2019 mac pro which I use to store files mainly, It would be great if I could create a new imovie library on a drive in the mac pro and use it as a working library but from my macbook pro, I can see and share the mac pro from my macbook. Many Thanks

[@Learnwithjoel]

Great question @The Yorkshire Bike Mechanic! So a few things come to mind...not sure if it would work or not, but seeing how Apple doesn't like having iMovie libraries shared on a network shared drives, this first choice may or may not work... You could put the iMovie Library into a shared folder on the Mac Pro and share it on your local network and then have your MacBook Pro connect to that folder and see if you can open the library. My guess is you would have issues and honestly this would be my last resort and I probably shouldn't even put the thought in your head. A better option that I actually do that has proven very successful is to use Screen Sharing on your Mac. I too have multiple Macs in my house. Some are portable and some are not, and I use Screen Sharing to remotely control the others while locally on the network in my home. This may be a good option for you. If you've never use Screen Sharing before, you'll need to turn it on within System Preferences > Sharing > Screen Sharing. I'll link an Apple Support article that explains in more detail. Turn Mac screen sharing on or off support.apple.com/en-ie/guide/mac-help/mh11848/12.0/mac/12.0 Share the screen of another Mac support.apple.com/en-ie/guide/mac-help/mh14066/12.0/mac/12.0 I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@TheYorkshireBikeMechanic]

@@Learnwithjoel Hi Joel, Thanks for the reply. The first option you mentioned is not successful, I did try creating an image and moving the library to that but again it wasn't happy when saving. The screen share is a really good idea and works well, it's a great work around. I wonder if the same limitations apply to final cut pro. Thanks again.

[@JayDubCustoms]

Joel, when I open finder, I don't have a Movies folder on the left under Favorites. Can I add that somehow?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @Jay Dub Customs! You may not have the preferences set to show it... I have a video on using Finder and some very helpful tips in there that you may find worth while. I'll link below! THE MOST IMPORTANT APP ON YOUR MAC! - Getting started with The Finder! kzbin.info/www/bejne/imOwZJxsapd8i68 But in the mean time, open up Finder and navigate to the top left of the screen and click on: Finder > Preferences > Sidebar Here you should see a bunch of checkboxes to toggle what you see on the left side of each finder window. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@JayDubCustoms]

@@Learnwithjoel Thanks Joel, found the folder and added it... and subscribed. I want to upgrade to Monterey and just wanna make sure I can find my movies. I jumped from El Capitan to Mojave and some movies I can't find in iMovie.

[@francescanning23]

Thanks for a brilliant video. Can you create dozens of libraries to use instead of folders? And if you do, does this duplicate the videos on your hard drive when you import them? I attempted to use events as folders, naming them 2021, 2020 etc. but I found only some square icons were created labelled like this, and within them, in no apparent order, many of the other years I created as events. Is there a way of sorting these out? Thanks so much.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Frances Canning! You should for sure be able to create a bunch of iMovie Libraries for your organization if that works better for you. I don't believe there's a wrong or right way. When you import videos, you choose the library it goes into and it will copy into that library. You can always move raw video files from one library to another, but keep in mind it probably won't warn you if you try to import the same video into different libraries. So there for sure is possibilities for having duplicates. When you say square icons, are you referring to the events under "All Events"? The organization can be limited with iMovie. My best advice would be to select the event or library and look under the "View" options in the Menu bar at the top of the screen and go to: View > "Sort clips by" or "Sort events by" and also maybe turn on the option for "Show separate days in events" I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Jamesgangcreative]

@@Learnwithjoel Hi. I found an event folder in the package, but I don't see it in events. Any ideas as to why?

[@lizbiancoismydesignsherpa]

Awesome

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thank you so much @Liz Bianco is My Design Sherpa! I'm happy this was helpful! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@RobertViani]

Hey Joel, Another great vid. I just deleted my render files 11:49 & came up with an additional 105 GB storage. big help considering I have 8 GiG memory and 256 GB total storage on my 2015 Macbook Pro.

[@ronsom1976]

So helpful- thanks a lot. May I ask - if I open a filmproject a „project library“ opens too - are these clips just alias of the clips in the events or is it double data? - are you doing a timemachine backup including the (external) libraries? - I storage my clips in the fotos app - so I double data by bringing (but only some of) them into iMovie too. If I use to store all clips in iMovie only, am I able to import them back into fotos app later on? Thanks for help.

[@kathleenmccann2903]

I have a new (second hand) iMac 2017 running Monterey. I copied my entire iMovie folder from the 2012 iMac to an external h/d. Will I be able to open it on my 2017 machine in the IMovie app? I’ll keep it on my external. I was going to make a new library titled external IMac 2012 and copy this folder there Any advice? Will it work ?

[@flyguywithacamera]

Fantastic video Joel, but as I was creating Events to start organizing my files and projects, I started getting a number appending some of the newly created Events. I see in the Package Contents Container, that I have duplicates of events. I've hit a wall trying to delete them. I won't mess with the container but I can't find how to delete these random events that's aren't showing up in iMovie... Help! 😬

[@JAW_73]

If I use MP4 files from photos Imovie leaves them as MP4. If I import media to a library it comes them to .mov. why is that? Also when I use from photos and add to a movie project the mp4 is on a different library under the minute project, while the mov contest is in the original library

[@davet3530]

Joel, thank you so much. Your explanations are clear and precise, and I now have some understanding of how IMovie works with the video clips. Your explanation has also given me good information of how I can move video files to an external hard drive for using with a different computer - so useful to know. And finally, learning that I can delete render files from the hard drive is a god send for saving space both now and in the future. Have I got this right. The render folder under each project is essential to keep, and using the method to free space as you demonstrate just deletes the content within that folder.? Thanks

[@rossdowning952]

Great video Joel, thanks! I do things a little differently to keep things organized and save on hard drive space - but I'm curious what you think about it. Basically I keep all pictures and videos organized in albums in Photos. When I choose to make a movie, I import videos and pictures from Photos - and after the movie is done, I export it to an external hard drive, and delete any libraries/events created by iMovie in the process. Before I understood what iMovie was doing - or watched you video - I just did it this way - any thoughts? Seems to work ok.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Ross Downing! I firmly believe there is no right or wrong way to any workflow. As long it makes sense to the user and they understand where files actually are stored, than I'm all for it! I'm intrigued by your workflow. Storing everything in Apple Photos and then accessing it in iMovie for sure could work, however here's where for someone like me I couldn't do that. A lot of the video I take is really large files and usually from a DSLR camera. I don't want them syncing into iCloud Photos and taking up space and mixed in with everything else. So I think it depends on the user. I think your way for sure would work for someone like my Mom who just takes pictures and videos with her iPhone. This is actually a really great workflow. Great food for thought Ross! I appreciate your input! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Jamesgangcreative]

@@Learnwithjoel So, if I am happy with a finished "Project," I can delete the project/events/clips to save space correct? As long as I finished by creating the .mov, .mp4 or created the final file.

[@inklipMedia]

How do I move a clip that was imported into a Project, into a library where I can access it from other Projects?

[@macjonte]

Good ways to keep a continued backup of iMovie projects to a cloud service?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @John Eriksson! Are you looking for ways to store an iMovie Library in a cloud service? Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t subscribed already and would like to support me and my content, please SUBSCRIBE and click THANKS below on the video! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, please share it along!

[@macjonte]

@@Learnwithjoel Yes. Well at least use a cloud service for backup of the iMovie databases. OneDrive can’t do the backup part.

[@ciderfeks]

Really helpful, thanks! Now sub’d!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much @ciderfeks! I'm happy this was helpful and appreciative of your support! Thanks for watching!

Ik this video is old but it is very helpful. Is there a way to edit videos while it is on the external hard drive. I've seen people do it with final cut but I would love to know if it is possible with iMovie.

[@fortuitousrick5736]

By any chance do you know why when I export my iMovie to a external hard drive when I go to see my work it says it’s damaged

[@JohannesJunkJournalLife]

I don't have a movies in finder!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @JohannesJunkJournalLife! You need to change your settings within Finder to see "Movies" on the left side. While in the Finder, click on File > Settings Then go the third tab called "Sidebar" Check all the boxes so you can see them on the left side of Finder. Thank you sincerely for your time and attention to this video. Your appreciation is greatly valued. If this video has been beneficial, I would be honored if you would consider sharing it with your social media network and expressing your gratitude for its assistance. Kindly subscribe if you have not already done so. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

[@billmelater6820]

You mention, "Right Click." I'm using a Magic Mouse and "I ain't got no Right Click!

[@aa-au]

Thank you so much for this video, and explaining the render files bit. I was running out of space on my hard drive, and my iMovie library was 972Gb in size. After deleting the render files through the Preferences in iMovie, I freed up 789Gb on my hard drive, and my iMovie library is now only 183Gb!! Now I just have to work out how to move my projects into different libraries... or events.. I don't know...

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Apples Anonymous! I glad it was helpful and it's always nice getting hard drive space back! Projects, libraries and events will come with time! Check my video below for reference if you haven't seen it already! Understanding HOW TO ORGANIZE and FIND VIDEOS in your iMOVIE EVENTS and LIBRARIES! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGfGp5WuYtiBsK8 I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@elizabetharagonletsgetintoit]

Once you create a new iMovie folder can you then move previous made movies into your new iMovie folder to help organize the original iMovie library?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @Elizabeth Aragon, are you talking about actual folders of the Events within iMovie? I'll take a guess at your main goal...You're creating content and after you're all done, you want to save your final video, but free up space by getting rid of the files use to create the final project? If that's the case, I would just create a folder anywhere you'd like. It could be in the Movies folder, it could be in iCloud and then just export and keep all of your final videos there, and then you could delete the event and such out of iMovie to free up that space. If that's not your main goal, let me know what you're trying to accomplish and i'll help best I can! I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@elizabetharagonletsgetintoit]

Great guess yes that's what I was trying to do. I'm just scared to delete it off my computer but that is what I want to do. thank you for taking the time to reply so quickly!

[@Jamesgangcreative]

@@Learnwithjoel So, as I understand, save the final video (.mp4, .mov, etc) and then go in and delete events and projects, correct?

[@souzamotasacul]

11:50 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 amazing video!!! Thanks a lot!!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much for watching @Lukkas Motta! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@gazzerbot385]

Can you move the default iMovie Library to an external? Mine's up to 300gb.

[@FlowByJenny]

Wow, been working with iMovie for many years and never new about the delete render file possibility!!! Cleaned out 12 GB just in 3 libraries... I have 20 libraries over several external harddrives... I guess there is some space I can free up :)) THANK YOU!!!

[@Sophie_theesthetician]

Thank you! I hate how I can never tell where my files are with Apple :(

[@Learnwithjoel]

I hear ya @Sophie Marcs Beauty! It takes some time to get used to the way the Mac thinks! iMovie, Apple Photos, Final Cut Pro all pretty much have an option to keep your media files and projects saved and nested inside a library that is designed to keep all information so you're able to easily move it around. Everything else on your Mac, the Finder will be your BEST FRIEND! I have another video talking about the finder. It's an older video but still very much relevant to the use of Finder. Check it out and it may help with other questions and frustrations of file management on a Mac! THE MOST IMPORTANT APP ON YOUR MAC! - Getting started with The Finder! kzbin.info/www/bejne/imOwZJxsapd8i68 I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@RoxyHeartt]

I take back previous comment! Restarted my Mac and all the projects are working and intact! Best video ever THANK YOU 🤩

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @RoxyDavison! I was just about to respond to your other comment and then saw this one! I'm glad a reboot helped fix the issue. It's all about knowing where the files and the libraries live for your content. I will say that iMovie does get a little harder to manage as you scale and grow you content, so I would for sure recommend Final Cut Pro in the future. Tons of advantages over iMovie! Either way, your channel is looking good! Best of luck and keep creating content! THANK YOU so much for watching! It is appreciated more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@AncestryAimee]

Thanks for a clear explanation and help!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy it helped you @Aimee Cross - Genealogy Hints! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@jia-fk2fe]

amazing video🤩 I'm having a problem with my iMovie library. I've accidentally moved all my videos to a new folder(not a new library) and I couldn't bring them back to the library. Is there anyway to fix this? I appreciate a lot.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @jia, thanks for the kind words! So when you say you moved your videos to a new folder, where were they before? Have you tried using the consolidate option? File > Consolidate Project Media? Have you tried the import process rather than dragging them back in? I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Simonjose7258]

Very useful

[@Learnwithjoel]

Happy to hear @SimonSozzi7258! THANK YOU so much for watching! It is appreciated more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@luxmaster]

excellent video.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much for watching @Luxmaster! If this video was helpful and you learned something new, please SUBSCRIBE to my channel if you haven’t already! If you want to support my content click THANKS below or better yet, SHARE it with a friend on social media and say how it helped you! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated!

[@christtemple179]

Hey Joel you really do a great job with your training videos everything is detailed and complete in all of them. Just wanted you to know that you have my support dude keep up the great work!

[@joehopper2274]

Excellent. Great overview of iMovie files and how best to handle them when moving to a remote SSD and cleaning up your hard drive.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks so much for watching @Joe Hopper! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@shawest7347]

Thank you 😊

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Sha West! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@jenbruni5617]

Thanks!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @jenbruni5617! Your CONTRIBUTION is so helpful and gives me the opportunity to create more content! Thank you for your continued support! I appreciate you more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you!

[@greywolftraveler8918]

Joel, I wish Apple software engineers provide the means to delete from the hard drive any and all projects that you are no longer using. Just click on "File">then click "Delete Project" and the software will go to all the locations that iMovie uses and deletes everything, all libraries and events, that is related to the project. What do you think?

[@keiying419]

If I have exported a video of mine, and accidentally deleed that video on my Mac, and also deleted the video files on iMovie, is it possible tp find that exported video anywhere in iMovie?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @keiying419! Did you empty the trash after you deleted the exported video? If you did empty the trash, and you deleted the exported video, original project and library from iMovie, your last resort may be some recovery software to attempt to get those files back. I've had great success with a recovery software from @EaseUS Software www.easeus.com I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@keiying419]

@@Learnwithjoel did you have to pay for the software?

[@annebeaudoin2002]

This is great! What a clear and practical video! I haven't started yet with iMovie (I'm about to buy my new iMac) and this video makes things a lot clearer to me. Thank you very much!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy it was helpful for you @Anne Beaudoin! The new iMac's are great! I just helped my Mom upgrade hers! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@carvinglife]

Thank you so much. Defiantly subscribed.

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Carving Life! Happy to help! Sweet videos of sledding! You look like you're having one hell of a time! And the beautiful scenery! I'm a little jealous! Thanks so much for watching! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@rockinrodlittle]

I deleted the render files and it freed up 45 Gigs. Always learning something new. Not intuitive. Thanks

[@AlongwithAlana]

omg deleting render files just saved my life!! thank you!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Along with Alana 💕 Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Tegzee]

Thanks for this. Would you happen to have any videos covering grayed out files. As I just don’t understand when I try to import into iMovie the media or file, or bottom third created in keynote is grayed out. So frustrating and not sure why this happens? Thanks for your content.

[@VictorAsencio]

Fantastic educational video on the matter. I truly appreciate the way you teach.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so grateful for your kind words @Victor J. Asencio! It means a lot! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@kathleenmccann2903]

Hi Joel. Love your videos. Just subscribed. I have a 2012 iMac with iMovie and IDVD. I have video imported from 1989 and 1990 to which I made iMovie events and some iDVD projects

[@VaibhavSaran]

how to merge two libraries?

[@hoangyento3154]

You are my lifesaver🙃 My render files took 400s GB of space but i could not figure how to free up space. Thank you for showing this!!! Very helpful!!!!

[@robcoutts685]

Excellent tutorial! Exactly what I was looking for!

[@Learnwithjoel]

I'm so happy this was helpful @Rob Coutts! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@DannerPlace]

Very helpful, thanks for posting.

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @DannerPlace! THANK YOU so much for watching! It is appreciated more than you know! If this video was useful, I’d love for you to SHARE it with on social media and say how it helped you! Please SUBSCRIBE if you haven’t already, and if you have, THANK YOU for your continued support!

[@carlosprovyrivera8522]

Joel thx for this overview on libraries! Very useful. To be honest I have not yet looked at your detailed iMovie tutorial but do you cover the differences between projects and events? I’m never clear of deleting a project delete events associated with it or conversely does deleting an event impact a project that used the event. To reduce space can you delete unused videos in events? Thx and keep up the excellent work.

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi again @Carlos & Provy Rivera! Fantastic question, and I'll be honest, I haven't answered that specific question yet about events vs projects! I just uploaded another one about event organization, but I can quick answer your question above... What's interesting about iMovie is lets say you have an event called Arizona that has all sorts of videos/pictures that you took in Arizona. Currently all of that original content lives and is stored in that event and that event is in the associated library. Now let's say you create a project to use that Arizona video/pictures and call it "Arizona Vacation". When you drag content from the Arizona Event into the project, the video files are referenced behind the scenes and they still live in the event. BUT, let's say that the video files you've dragged into the project you now delete from the Event, iMovie actually moves the file into the project so it's only stored there and you only see it there in the project. You no longer see it within the event. To confuse things even more, lets say you now delete the Project with the video clips, iMovie then creates an event with the Project name with the original files again. I will certainly do a video on this as I believe it's really important to understand how they're correlated with one another! Until then, stay tuned and thanks for the continued support! Understanding HOW TO ORGANIZE and FIND VIDEOS in your iMOVIE EVENTS and LIBRARIES! kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGfGp5WuYtiBsK8

[@AMY7219]

@@Learnwithjoel I would love a video where you explain this .... I've watched your two videos about organizing in iMovie and where stuff lives, but I'm still confused about how my events and projects still show up in Library separately but with the same content. If I'm done editing a project, and don't need all the original video any more, can I just delete the event to free up space? I have events and projects with similar names and it's cofusing.

[@GeorgeAmodei21]

Thank you for this Video 🙏☺️.

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @George Amodei! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@MaisonMasala]

Bravo !

[@davidreadbikes]

One more question - how often should the render files be deleted and other than noticing the Mac is running slowly, how can you tell that it's time to delete the render files?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hey @David Read! Great question. I think it really depends on your available storage and the projects that you have going on. Render files will always be re-created by the computer if they've been deleted. The whole purpose of video render files is to create a better smooth playback of your project on the computer. So really it comes down to the speed of your machine and available space, as it does add up quickly. I personally only delete render files after i've exported my final project out. That way I can still preserve the original RAW video footage, but I don't need to keep render files. I hope that helps! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@Jamesgangcreative]

@@Learnwithjoel So, you can delete rendered files on individual iMovie libraries? It's not an all or nothing thing?

[@isaijimenez5639]

Seriously, your videos are always SO helpful! Thank you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thanks @Isaí Jiménez! I really appreciate that! Thank you so much for watching! It means a lot!

[@tyty3311]

Thank you for this video. Very well explanation. Very useful. Thank you.

[@stevensifa7641]

Awesome video! Very informative and helpful for me because my Mac is running slow and lagging so I need to move my library onto an external hard drive.

[@egilguten]

Thanks for a great video! Easy to understand and organized presentation without being to long! Helped me a lot!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Thank you so much @Egil! I appreciate the kind words! Thanks so much for watching! I appreciate the support!

[@kojwolfe]

Oh my goodness thank you thank you thank you!

[@Learnwithjoel]

Happy to help @Kira W. Thanks so much for watching! I appreciate your support!

[@alwysrite]

Great info !!

[@peaceshanty]

You're a great teacher. I am not a tech person, and you make this understandable. Thank you.

[@Learnwithjoel]

I appreciate the kind words @Krista at the Om Shanty: Life in Alignment, and I'm so happy my content is easy to understand! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@peaceshanty]

@@Learnwithjoel I subscribed. I understand how it works and two of your videos in one day solved problems I was having very easily. Best tech support I have seen anywhere. I will share as it comes to mind. All my best.

[@Learnwithjoel]

@@peaceshanty Happy to help!

[@MuddyDuck...]

Thanks for this really helpful video Joel 👍 It looks like iMovie has improved file management a lot from the early days, when I last tried it out. Anyway I now have a few videos to create from a number of recent hikes. From what you say I am probably best off creating a Library for the whole trail, then creating an Event for each section hike? I have already seen your helpful video on Managing Clips. But the missing bit of the jigsaw now is to do with additional content - photos, graphics, music, voice etc. Can these be copied off the same external SSD into the Library file? Hope that question makes sense... Many thanks

[@lowlowseesee]

damn that rendering explanation makes much sense. thanks

[@mikemitchelson]

i have 70gigs of space but i still get not enough space notice

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @Mike Mitchelson! You have 70GB of free space left on your Mac hard drive? What are you doing that you're getting prompted with that message? Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@mikemitchelson]

@@Learnwithjoel thanks i figured it out i just had to reinstall imovie all good now

[@farihakhan246]

Hi, so I tried doing this and accidentally forgot to exit out of iMovie before copying my iMovie library over to my hard drive. It successfully copied and I deleted the iMovie off my Mac and tried opening the iMovie from my hard drive. It opens but all my media files (videos and music) are black and say missing plug in even though when I click show package content on the hard drive, all my media files are present. Do you know if this can be fixed?

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @farihakhan246! I have seen weird issues like this before, but usually there is not simple fix for all. Most importantly, when you say it says "Missing Plug In"...do you have additional software that you've added for iMovie? Extra titles, effects or anything like that? If you do, often those live in a different spot on the computer. There could multiple reasons why, but it's kinda unknown without actually looking at your machine. Here is what I would do. The most important thing is obviously the original video files. It looks like you have that and can see that when you view the "show package contents". If you spend hours and still can't find a solution on why it's black or can't fix, I would create a brand new iMovie Library and just re-import all of those original files into it. Yes you would most likely lose the progress on projects and such, but at least you have the original files. Probably not the best answer, but that's where I would start. We've all been in your shoes with files that sometimes don't go as planned! Don't hesitate to reach out! Hope that helps a little! Thanks so much for watching and I appreciate the support!

[@maddance8557]

Hi Joel - THANKS for helpful iMovie videos! Quick question: I've created 4 libraries - 1 is on an external hard drive. I did a 'test' movie to see if I could drag footage from different events and different libraries into a project. And I see you can. But when I try to move the Test Movie to another library, it might work once, but then it won't do it again. Is that because I've used clips from different libraries? Trying to get organized for a large project I'm about to undertake. Thanks!

[@Jamesgangcreative]

I have this same question (among others)... :-)

[@singmysong4444]

Now I've already filled up my hard drive with an I movie Library.... how do I break it up after its already been created.... yes I-movie could have mad this easier from the beginning.... but we trust them too much... ha...

[@Learnwithjoel]

LOL...yeah we sure do trust them too much don't we @Joseph Miller! Thanks for watching, I appreciate the support! Remember to delete your render files every now and then if you haven't before as that will free up a ton of hard drive space for you! When you say "break it up after it's been created" are you talking about separating content and projects that have already been edited and exported from content that hasn't been yet? If this is the case, and you want to keep and archive it, I would create a new Library and then copy the finished files and projects there. Let me know if that's what you're thinking! Thanks for the continued support!

[@itsjurassicjr4634]

What about an iPhone? I’m having struggles here

[@Learnwithjoel]

Hi @It’sJurassicJR! This video is only geared towards using iMovie on the Mac. It won't be much help on the iPhone or iPad. It is on my list of topics to create video for iMovie on those devices! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t subscribed already and would like to support me and my content, please SUBSCRIBE and use the THANKS button! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! If you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along!

[@itsjurassicjr4634]

@@Learnwithjoel oh Otay

[@katmamajams]

Thank you!!

[@Learnwithjoel]

You're very welcome @Kathy Covert Jensen! Thanks so much for watching! If you haven’t already, please support me by subscribing! It helps more than you know and is greatly appreciated! Also if you know someone who may benefit from this video, feel free to share it along! PS: Nice channel. I can appreciate what it takes to have the ability to play multiple instruments and master the ability to harmonize with yourself! Keep it up!