Use This Trick To Manage Your iMovie Projects

macmost.com/e-... By default every time you create a new iMovie Project it just adds on to your one and only iMovie Library. This makes it difficult to manage and archive your iMovie projects over the years. Instead, create a new Library each time you want to start a new project.
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00:00 Intro
00:52 The iMovie Library
01:38 One Project = One Library
02:10 Creating Libraries
03:25 Libraries Can Be Easily Archived
04:22 Can Easily Copy Clips
04:59 Closing Libraries
05:47 Moving Projects Between Libraries
#macmost #mactutorial

[@RadAlzyoud]

Gary, I think you can stop saying "If you find this video helpful". It's ALWAYS helpful :-) Thanks for sharing with us.

[@slingingsteve]

Another spot-on relevant topic for me ... going to clean up my "Library" file right now by moving a couple dozen "projects" to multiple Libraries. Never took the time to understood why Apple chose this organizing scheme, but whatever. After the first minute I started to get antsy, "will he cover how to move existing "projects" to new "library" but sure enough, he did. Another great job, Gary!

[@eschatonhemera654]

Thank you. The interface in iMovie is anything but intuitive. Apple needs to totally rethink this. It is a nightmare for people just trying to learn and understand the differences between Libraries, Projects, and Movies. It's very convoluted and confusing. Thanks for offering an easier way to operate.

[@vincebrashear]

Thank you for this! I have been greatly confused by the iMovie interface for a long time and rarely use it for that reason. I have clips in projects that don't belong there, projects with the wrong names, and several other problems all because I didn't understand the iMovie interface and library structure. It makes so much more sense to me to organize movies as you show in this video. Now I need to start organizing! Thanks again for a great video!

[@crichards7426]

Exactly! Me too. this was so helpful.

[@genekelly3961]

Yes Gary thanks for clarifying this concept!

[@HikinukiWorldTour-pk8dd]

You're a gem! Thanks for the clear, concise, helpful instructions for this and other way too complicated tasks on the Mac!! Really appreciated

[@dannhagstrom586]

Gary! My iMovie Library was 68 GB! Just now I created folders for each project and archived them to an external drive. THANKS SO MUCH!!!

[@ralesandro]

Thank you! I have always found the filing system of iMovie confusing! That’s why I most often use iMovie for IOS on my iPad. But it doesn’t have a lot of the features of the desktop version. Your video gives me a much clearer understanding of libraries and files. 😊

[@finallyeffinghappy]

This video has changed my life! Seriously! Thank you! I am not the most organized person on the best of days.... and this totally helps keep me and my projects organized! Thank you!

[@jimterrinoni6781]

Very useful! 1) I always appreciate your explaining the thought process behind “why” you do things a certain way. 2) I’m one of those people who (even if I have enough storage) want to be minimalistic and keep my drive slimmed down.

[@davidcking7]

Gary ... I've struggled with precisely this problem. I have this HUGE library. And I didn't know how to break it up - the way you've shown. 🙇‍♂ You da man!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

[@macjeffff]

Super helpful! I've been using iMovie for years, but I haven't dealt with libraries in the way you're suggesting. Great video. My old method of "archiving" was definitely inferior. I'm rethinking it all, starting now.

[@crichards7426]

Me too!!

[@motionattached]

You are meticulously helpful. Happy new year! 🎈🎆🎊

[@VickiBowers]

Unbelievably helpful! I wish I'd known this about a year before I found it, but by golly I have it now! Thank you. I've also just shared this very video with a new Mac owner/content creator. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us!

[@HumaneEmergencyAnimalRescue911]

Useful, what an understatement. This will transform how we use iMovie going forward. Thank you for saving us from massive headaches with our future videos!

[@1935Charm]

Revolutionary! Brilliantly explained and a real boon to those of us who can never delete anything! 🎉

[@GWillWin]

I have struggled with imovie libraries for a while. This opened my eyes to how to better organize my stuff and clear a lot of drive space! Thanks!!

[@ChangeTomorrow]

Thanks, Gary. I enjoy iMovie but you make it actually feasible for amateurs.

[@Patrick462]

Great stuff, I'm using this method now! One minor issue - I don't like having two things with the same name. This is a philosophical decision I made several decades ago as it forces me to think about what the "thing" really is. So I'll have an iMovie Library named "Vacation Summer 2022", then a project named "Short Video for Family" (for example). That allows me to keep those two separate things separate in my mind, and create a second project named "Vacation Giggles", and another named "Baby doing cute things", and another named "Long Video for Nostalgia". All in the Vacation Summer 2022 library.

[@Joe-lb8qn]

Thats a good tip. I've sort of being doing this without thinking about it but I'll be more rigorous going forward. Every day is a learning day.

[@KazzaGullet]

Thank you so much, very helpful to decipher an extremely hard user interface.

[@shutterbug49]

Gary, Thanks again! Another spot on topic and JIT. Going on a Leaf Peeping Trip and wanted to start a video project of the trip. Your organizational skills are amazing.

[@Mudge07]

Although I’m not working on a project at the moment, the large amount of archived video I’ve created earlier this year with my new Mac, for that specific purpose, is precious. It is already in that stage of production whereby the storage scheme you’ve described can be applied with a few library folder filing additions. Planning ahead is often the pitfall of using sophisticated systems, so this is great way to stay smart and avoid storage bloating becoming a drain on resources, and reduces techno-angst.

[@martiro7]

Fantastic video - very informative and exactly what I've been looking for!

[@annebeaudoin2002]

Thanks a lot for this much useful video! I've found answers to my questions. Great!

[@pathardage1880]

That, sir, was brilliant. I've been dying for three days looking for storage. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[@rickmacarthur8622]

What a helpful video. Just what I was looking for. Thanks.

[@andrewiansummers]

Thank you Gary for this brilliant tutorial. I’m quite new to iMovie and couldn’t work out how to sort the projects. Thanks for taking the time to make this. You’ve reduced my stress levels!!!

[@RobinTFH]

Extremely useful. I have been using iMovie since I bought my G3 iMac in 2001 (I think!). Not having a good video camera, my use of iMovie was limited, so it really didn't matter about the size of the library. I have recently started recording and editing [almost] daily videos for KZbin and I wanted a way to tidy up my video storage, so, thanks, this is a timely nugget of information. P.S. I have just invested in Final Cut Pro, and I have discovered a similar file storage system, so double-thanks! I will still use iMovie for basic video editing, though.

[@TheChristophersShow]

SUPER FRICKEN HELPFUL! I have 4 episodes of my podcasts and 4 highlight reels in a project so it's up to 50 Gigs. Going to start doing it this way! You're awesome! I appreciate this video!

[@JaiSequoia]

This was so good and helpful thanks Gary!

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and informative video tutorial today! Very cool video! Thank you, Gary! 👏🏻❤️

[@jahnaviwen4434]

SUPER helpful. Thank you!

[@finguy8572]

I have been wondering about this topic for a long time. I am glad I found this clear and easy video. Great job!

[@jaygreer7430]

Thanks! I’ve been dabbling with iMovie on and off for years and never knew about this. I always just let the library sit in its default location and grow and grow, ultimately becoming a pain for me to deal with. Your video is extremely helpful!

[@Paglov]

Brilliant review. Thank you very much.

[@mrs.growdaddy4937]

Thank you Gary!!! So well-explained and this has been a pain-point for me, producing GrowDaddyTV episodes once a week and watching my library file get frighteningly big!!! I went and culled out a lot of unnecessary stuff a while ago, but now I know how to actually manage the libraries! Life-changer!!! 😀🤩👍

[@cogmovies]

Great work Gary - always precise, informative, comprehensive and extremely useful information. Almost exclusively, I now use Final Cut Pro, but similar principles apply - which I use for all Libraries/Projects in Final Cut Pro. When using iMovie again (perhaps for Trailers) I'll certainly follow your recommendations. Thank you!

[@encoreunefois1X]

They make it sooo complicated. Thank you.

[@thepadillafamilychannel8490]

Super useful! Thank you!

[@soloboardgames]

That is also going to save time and space on backups of drive. You can also move movie around from one project to another within iMovie.

[@TheSanchezOfficial]

Very helpful video. Thank you

[@BlackMarriageChronicle]

Wow that helped alot I never knew how all that worked before. I have been using an external drive to save my projects

[@royahuis7458]

Thanks for making this video!

[@nycsonic3738]

Very useful, thank you!

[@leticiabishop]

mind blowing! Ok I have a lot of work to short out, my iMovie library is 330gb, and so slow!

[@DObrandYOU]

Thank you. Very helpful!

[@CraftsmanontheLake]

Wow, that brings clarity to this. Thank you!

[@timrhind]

I was and still am a Final Cut Pro editor. However, I got tired of every video I was making was becoming too complex as I was using the many tools in FCP. I wanted to just keep life a bit simple for everyday videos on my youtube channel (Which is a different channel than I am am writing this under, this being my watching account). But I was concerned about how iMovie manages files, but no longer. I am enjoying makeing light quick, but still very good edits with iMovie, especially when on the go on a Macbook. I save the FCP edits for my iMac. Using iMovie I get my travel edits out quick and easy. Thanks for the explanation.

[@KatyInNH]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I have really been struggling with this and your video helps so much!!!!♥

[@2allanator]

Thank you so much Gary. Just what I needed to know

[@knowwattscooking]

Incredibly helpful - thanks so much!

[@johnphillips519]

Most Apple programs are very easy to grasp, But iMovie has been a problem for me for many years, Its why i just dont use it, As it gives me a headache, I am going to have to watch this a few times i think to try and grasp it, Thanks Gary

[@migrainenaturalsolution]

That's what I was missing, thanks a lot...finally it make sense!

[@aricar325]

Thank you! Just the information I needed :)

[@drjoannenarae]

Thanks for this video! I'm currently changing Macbooks and I was wondering how to import the libraries into my new Macbook so I can access the files.

[@ramise5932]

Thanks that was helpful. ❤

[@EKP456]

Super helpful

[@moogoogaipan1367]

Thank you! So to be clear, it seems imovie will only work from your computers memory? Not an external hard drive (unless archiving to an external hard drive)? Does this differ from Final Cut Pro?

[@PropheticSoakingwithSarahJER]

Ugh, wish I knew this years ago. iMovies brought my iMac to its knees, and doesn’t want to delete the largest files… I’m trying moving them to unique Libraries, saying a prayer.

[@JakeNolen]

Thank you!!!

[@davidsuper5881]

Thanks for the info Gary! Very useful! Quick question though... if you create two projects in two libraries with the same clip, and you eventually delete one of the projects (because you no longer need it), does a clip in the deleted project get removed in the non-deleted project?

[@macmost]

If you mean these are in completely separate libraries, then no. Try it with a sample and see.

[@anthonydauer]

Thanks! Very useful advice.

[@Longwing70]

This should be the absolute first video to view before ever opening iMovie in the first place. Apple, a trillion dollar "think different" company, thought "hey why not make this as confusing as possible by leaving out a simple glossary of terms from the Help." That way no one will ever figure out the Venn diagram hierarchy from Libraries to Projects to Movies to Events to Media to Videos to Clips.

[@rustynails68]

Awesome! Just what I needed.

[@audreykok1]

Hi Gary thank you for the informative videos really helps a lot but my move iMovie library is greyed out so do you know why this is happening.

[@desertpatient]

Thanks bunches

[@melindacootsonastudios]

Great video! Super helpful! Thank you!!! I wish you would have added how to move the library to the external hard drive. Or is there another video with that info?

[@macmost]

Just move it like any other file.

[@kevinhawkins82]

I have a MacMini M2 with an External SSD. My question is if my library is on my External SSD, where should my export location be? Should I export to the same SSD, or should I export it to the faster internal SSD inside the MacMini?

[@macmost]

That is up to you. Export to wherever you need the file to be. Your internal SSD is always faster for everything. If it is speed you want, you should have your current iMovie Library on your internal drive.

[@RadAlzyoud]

Also, this applies to Final Cut Pro.

[@Turtlpwr]

Oh my god THANK YOU!!!!

[@garyjames365]

I think I followed. My iMovie is a nightmare going back to 2002. I have multiple libraries ie archived, move, the original, etc. I have at least 15 projects an dozens of events. Originally, when I did these I didn't understand Projects and Events. I saved everything (I think) into events. So, if I go to 2014, for example, which has numerous clips in the events, 2 dozen from a TRIP to NYC. I can create a new library called TRIP to NYC, then move those clips from the 2014 EVENT into that library. So far so good? I make my movie, save the file, and now I can delete the library if I no longer want those clips. Or, move the library to an ext hd. Right? And my final question: If I have made a movie from a project already and it is saved as a .mov, and I no longer want those clips, since the movie is done, I can simply delete the events and the project, correct? (Though, I have gotten the message that if I delete a project the events associated with that project will be saved as "new event" and I have to go back and find that particular one to delete). So, best thing at this point would be to create new libraries, create a project within that library, move the events that I want from the iMovie.library, make the file, then delete the library? Did I get this? :-) Your videos are great PS And one of the reasons I'm doing all this is my iMovie Library still on the HD is 300gb and I need to get a new macmini2 that is only 512gb in size. So something's gotta give.

[@seacloudmusic5364]

Helpful! So if I want to move one of the libraries (with a bunch of projects in it) to an external drive, how can I do that? Will it cause complications when I want to create a new project not in that library?

[@macmost]

It is just a file. Just move it like any other file. You can still open it from the external drive, but it would probably be much slower from there. You can always move it back again to work with it on your faster internal drive if you need to.

[@seacloudmusic5364]

@@macmost Awesome, that makes sense. Thanks so much!!

[@JayanthSahasranamamula]

This might seem like a weird question, but it’s just one of those things I think about when I can’t sleep. I noticed that you use a second user account on your Mac for demo purposes. Do you also edit and upload your videos from the demo account, or do you switch back to the main account for that?

[@stevenkay5441]

So far, I've only made one Project in the default iMovie Library on my new Mac. Probably a dumb question, but just to clarify, in order to keep future projects in separate libraries, is it okay to rename the default iMovie Library to match my first Project? Or does Apple require the default iMovie Library to remain?

[@Monarch15w]

This was very helpful. OMG why didn't I look for something like this before. I had stuff what I thought in different folders in the same library, man was it a pain with all the clips, was never sure how to remove some things to make working easier or archive to a new drive. this is was easier. Can your or did you cover in a different video what the Consolidate Library Media does?

[@macmost]

support.apple.com/guide/imovie/consolidate-projects-and-events-mov882dee351/

[@walterreil4001]

Thank you for such valuable information. Here is a subject to consider doing a video on --- How to copy a web page / website locally to your Mac for using off-line (being able to operate a web page without going to the website that is on-line). Thank you.

[@macmost]

What is your goal? What is the reason you want to save the page for offline viewing?

[@walterreil4001]

@@macmost It is actually a free web page I use (I populated) as a directory of my favorite / most used websites for quick access. I want to have a copy on my Mac in case the free service was to be discontinued.

[@MegaMacReal]

Q: Is there a quick way to swap a different version (i.e. different resolution) of a long clip that was used extensively in a movie (e.g. lots of edits like splitting and detaching audio) with the existing version of the clip while maintaining all the edits? Thx in advance

[@macmost]

I don't think so.

[@bobmetzger51]

Thank you. Your video’s are always very helpful. Could you produce a video on capturing a poster frame in iMovie? I believe there used to be a way to create a poster frame in previous iMovie versions but Apple discontinued the poster frame ability in newer iMovie versions. Now it seems the project poster frame is just a random still from somewhere in the middle of the video.

[@macmost]

You mean the frame that is shows in the Projects screen? I don't think you can customize that.

[@MrRapenaki]

Hay there, Macmost!. Many thanx for this great & easy to follow video tutorial for imovie on mac, it has helped me out alot with learning some new unkown tips and tricks to making imoive videos. um, one question on the imovie liberies: if you move a project to another library, why doesn't it's related event folder with all the tools for that project move also into the new library?. i moved a couple of my projects from one library to another, but their said events folders satyed on the orginal library, how can they be moved over to that new library with the same project? thanx and keep making great tutorials like these. i've bookmarked some of them for reference when i need them to look up a tip to use in one of my youtube videos im making in imove.

[@macmost]

It doesn't know you want to move them too, so you have to do both. You may know the event library needs to go with it, but it won't assume that.

[@MrRapenaki]

@@macmost yeah, i thought that moving the project file over to the new library would also move it's event folder aswell, but it didn't, well, but the fix for moving the event folder over to the new library was super easy, just by dragging the event folder along while holding down the option key, :) . & it works with moving multiple event folders over. this tip is great for saving space or for organization purposes, many thanx again for this great tut :) .

[@user-ff3ee4gg8e]

Once videos and images and audio files are in your project, is there a way to filter them to say, only see images or only see videos, for example? Thanks!

[@macmost]

I don't think so.

[@rjaparidze]

Cany you explain me please how you make the background behind you with red black screen. Many thanks in advance

[@macmost]

MY video background? I just played around with graphics and ideas in Apple Motion.

[@rjaparidze]

@@macmost many thanks for answer. do you have a video on that by any chance?

[@macmost]

@@rjaparidze Not really. Motion is a big topic, but only a few would be interested.

[@marksebastian9416]

Need help. Trying to move project to external drive that will not copy or duplicate. No error messages just will not move.Apple has been no help. I can move projects created before and after the project I’m trying to move without difficulty. Any ideas? All typical things have been done like restart app updates new libraries etc.

[@macmost]

Hard to say without seeing it. You might need someone to have a firsthand look.

[@JimCim]

Thanks Gary ... But there is something about the way iMovie and my M1 iMac is creating files I do not understand and hope you can help explain. Because I have a small internal hard drive I am protective of what space I use, and what I can keep free. I do not keep any projects, or events, of resource files in iMovie after I have generated the video I may be working on. The video is generated to an external hard drive for the same reason. The iMovie library is driven back down to around 100k when I clean out the files. There are no files on my internal that were not there before I started the video project. But if the video and project was 21GB when I was working on them, the 21GB remains missing from my free space on my internal. I can not find any files that reflect that used 21GB, and it takes about three days before the free space slowly starts to return. Do you know of any reason this happens? One night I quit working with 128GB free, and when I went back to the computer having been working on nothing there was only 90GB free. ???????????????

[@macmost]

It gets complex, but that is how drives work. Most likely the files you deleted are still there and linked to as local snapshots for backup. Are you running Time Machine on a regular (hourly) basis?

[@JimCim]

@@macmost I run it twice a day manually. Thank you for the reply.

[@macmost]

@@JimCim Why? Why not let It do its job and run hourly automatically? Why risk losing half a day's worth of work instead of 1 hour?

[@JimCim]

@@macmost Partially because it is an older, noisy mechanical hard drive I do not want to listen to running all day and night, and mostly because at 72 years old I don't really have any "work" worth worrying about. When Apple runs system updates all of a sudden I have more free internal drive space, so I assume much of the lost drive space is "purgeable" data Apple gets rid of.

[@user-ff3ee4gg8e]

Thanks for your excellent videos. Is there any way to see the name of a file once it's been imported?

[@macmost]

Not sure what you mean. Like the name of an image or video file once it is in a library?

[@user-ff3ee4gg8e]

​@@macmost Once a video or image file is imported into an iMovie library and you can see them in the project, I am unable to see their filenames. I only see thumbnails. I am unable to say hover over the thumbnail and see the filename in a tooltip nor use a secondary (right) click to get properties and see the filename there. So, other than being able to scrub through imported videos to see what they are, I am unable to know exact which file they are, as I have named them with particular filenames for easy use. Does this make more sense?

[@macmost]

@@user-ff3ee4gg8e You can also see them in you select a piece of media and click the "i" button at the top right over the preview window.

[@user-ff3ee4gg8e]

@@macmost thanks!

[@DS9Sisko]

Following these shortcuts, I lost a ton of files and broke several critical iMovie projects with missing data and clips. Thanks.

[@DS9Sisko]

@seasidesimplify Thanks for acknowledging my post and actually responding. I hope it helps someone else. But here's the rub: I actually did consolidate media (for some reason something told me I should) and then followed these tips. Whenever I simply copied a project library from one hard drive to another, I never lost anything. But I thought I would try to "simply" my output by following these tips and wound up losing a lot of material anyway. But thank you for responding. Hopefully that tip - critically left out of the advice here - will help someone in the future.

[@walkingtheearthin4k]

Is this the same way Final Cut Pro works?

[@macmost]

It is similar, yes.

[@Larry77777]

Hey Gary: Maybe I'm imagining things, but it appears that your iMovie Library stayed the same size (449.2MB) despite moving iMovie 3 out of it.

[@macmost]

Probably hasn't had time to update the file sizes yet.

[@karinmuff161]

Wow! This was so helpful...I have struggled with this for years! Thank you! Yikes though a little concerned with Ds9Sisko's comment...so maybe should I just do this for projects going forward ? Thanks Gary for your helpful video!

[@MC91B]

Bravo!!!!

[@SECRETCREEKPROSPECTING1776]

I deleted so much great content and will never ever get them back. Wished you were my neighbor. 😭

[@eddiemcg]

No audio!

[@macmost]

Do you mean you can't hear the audio on this video? It is there and working fine. Maybe you muted the audio in the controls.

[@witoldssoundauberge]

I absolutely agree, iMovie is a cool tool, but so badly designed that I suspect it might have been designed by the Competitors...🤣

[@holelabsllc668]

Great info! Thanks.

[@trommater]

So helpful! Thanks!