FCE rendering iMovie clips

Is there a loss in quality when FCE renders an iMovie clip? I still have some of this footage on DV tape and could import directly to FCE, but I would rather not take the time if importing from iMovie maintains the same quality.
G4 Dual 867 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

There is probably no loss of quality but you can have other problems when using iMovie footage.
You would be safer capturing everything you possibly can straight into FCE.
Ian.

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Rendering imported iMovie clips in Final Cut Express

I'm learning FCExpress with a previous iMovie project as my footage. The clips/edited sequences dragged/dropped to the browser from an iMovie need to be rendered, but when I click "render all" a menu appears with a list of checkmarked and uncheckmarked options that I cannot find explained in either the Help window or the hardcopy manual. Maybe there somewhere, but haven't found it. Is it detailed somewhere? Or can you briefly explain the menu options and what the checks mean? Thanks. This has gotta be a dumb question, but I'm stuck there.
ibook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6) LaCie hard drive

Dear Tom,
I did the exact thing of importing iMovie Clips to FCE HD and I had to render the clips before I could add any effects to them.
1) I did this because I had problem with capturing clips from my DV camera using FCE. I had error message like "bad source tape". Any advice for this?
2) After importing and rendered from iMovie, FCE HD could not work Real time with my rendered clips. Every transition or video effects had to be rendered. Shucks, I'm perplexed.

Transferring IMovie clips into FCE

I have imported video clips using a CanonGL2 camera into IMovie6 and would like to drag some of the clips from the IMovie6 DV project into a FCE HDV project.
Is it that simple just to add and drop, or do I have to do any conversions? Or should I reimport the video clips into the FCE project over, I am trying to avoid having to reimport the video again, but not sure if I will lose any quality.

In FCE use File>Import>Files and navigate to the iMovie clips and import them.
You will have to render them to make them work properly.
Here is the manual's info:-
To open an iMovie project:
1 In Final Cut Express, choose File > Open.
2 In the dialog that appears, select the iMovie project you want to open.
The iMovie project opens in the Browser and contains the sequence and the clips as
they appeared in the iMovie Clips pane.
Important: Final Cut Express does not import iMovie sound effects, audio levels, or
transitions. All other applied effects are imported.
3 Double-click the sequence to open the iMovie project in the Timeline.
4 Render the sequence.
The imported clips are linked to the original media files captured in iMovie (found in
the iMovie project’s Media folder). These files are iMovie DV Stream files and are
encoded differently than the QuickTime files Final Cut Express captures. Keep the
following in mind: DV Stream files do not have timecode tracks, so media imported from iMovie
project files cannot be recaptured. All imported source media must be backed up
for future reediting.
Imported iMovie DV files might not play back or print to tape in real time without
being rendered first.
Message was edited by: Ian R. Brown

Backing up unedited family video: Should I capture using FCE or iMovie?

I have >50 hours of family video (kids) that I'm not ready to edit yet. I would like to capture the footage in order to back it up because it is priceless. My plan is to buy some large hard disks and save video there, and then when Blu-Ray comes out, I'll buy a Blu-Ray drive and burn Blu-Ray disks as an additional layer of safety.
The captured files will need to be in a format that lasts. As far as I can tell, both FCE and iMovie save captured clips as Quicktime files, which I'm guessing will be around for a while and compatible with future video editing apps. Both FCE and iMovie can import Quicktime clips. I'll be importing the entire hour of video from each tape, in a single capture.
My question is this:
If...
(a) rendering doesn't bother me (like importing clips using iMovie then editing using FCE)
(b) timecode isn't important to me (iMovie doesn't save timecode)
... is there any reason to capture the video using Final Cut instead of iMovie?
The only feature that FCE has that iMovie doesn't, is the ability to detect dropped frames during capture. Are there other reasons?
I like the fact that iMovie splits the capture into individual clips at each break and saves each clip as an individual file. If you're willing to do the work, FCE/FCP can do this to, using DV Start/Stop detect, making the segments into subclips, then exporting them as individual clips. FCP makes this a practical possibility using batch export, whereas FCE lacks that feature and exporting each clip one by one is impractical (I have maybe 200 individual clips per hour of tape). But this is a task I plan for later. Right now my concern is finding the "best way" to capture and save all this video for later editing.
I guess I could also ask, should timecode be important to me? My tapes contain a lot of timecode breaks, so recapturing video from tape automatically isn't likely to work well. I don't know any other reason timecode might be important for consumer-level family video.
PowerMac G5 Quad 2.5 GHz 3GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.7) NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT

Anthony,
while I fully agree with Al answer, let me add one note in favor of iMovie in answering your original specific question (note: I'm a quite happy user of FCE for all its advantages over iMovie, but for the point I'm going to make).
The basic difference between FCE and iMovie in scene detection (based on the same principle of using date/time breaks as dividers), is that iMovie creates as many media files as clips during capture itself, while FCE Subclips are created AFTER the capture of a unique media file, using DV Start/Stop Detect and Make Subclip, that does NOT splits files.
So you'd better consider now if recovering unused disk space, by trashing unused clips, will be a major issue for you in the future, when you'll be editing your movies. If so, keep in mind that this job is very simple if you captured with iMovie and then imported its clips to FCE (and if you confirm you don't mind about TC and audio rendering), while it is quite complex if you captured directly with FCE, and, I'd say, not recommended unless absolutely needed.
Piero

Using Imovie clip files on a pc

Hi
I used Imovie to log and capture from dvcam then i copied everything from the clips folder to dvd. the problem is my doesnt recognise the format.
Is there anyway i can use these on my pc?
I intend to use premier pro1.5 and i dont mind re-rendering them to a PC friendly format so any help would be appreicated.
Thanks

Your iMovie clips are probably in DV Stream format, which is basically raw data straight from the camcorder. Here's some info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV#Applicationsoftwaresupport
You should probably go back into iMovie and export them properly, either to DVD or to QuickTime. If possible, choose a pretty high bit rate so you don't lose quality.
AlBook 15

Widescreen from FCE to iMovie

How do I ensure that widescreen in FCE exports to widescreen in iMovie. The iMovie project is created as widescreen, but when I export from FCE which is also in widescreen it open in iMovie as a small rectangular box with a very large border of black.
Thanks

What are the sequence settings & clip settings in your FCE sequence? You can check these in the FCE Browser.
How are you exporting from FCE? To QuickTime Movie ... or to QuickTime Conversion?
What versions of FCE and iMovie are you using?

Reduce imovie clip size

Hi All
Does anyone know of a way to reduce the actual size of an imovie clip?
Even when a clip is split or trimmed the actual size of the clip on the hard drive remains the same. I need to gain some space on my hard drive.
Thanks
nelly_boy

I don't want to waste my time with this sort of workaround.That is not a workaround. What you try to accomplish is outside the concept of the software.........
Edit App:
import clips
manipulate them
export finished project.
delete raw-footage/material on computer
start new project...
internal process:
keep import clean "as is"/no need for re-importing=convenience
write a list, what to do with clips (=project file)
no need to save an in-between version of the project's raw footage.
if you don't need, why do you import it?
if you delete it, what is neccessary if you need it later?
and:
to delete a few Mb, because "harddrive too small"... hey, get serious , we're talking of video processing....
any software has a fundemental concept.... ok, some guys use Powerpoint to do drawings, some use Excel for painting colorful boxes, and some use their stillcamera for doing movies.... it can be done, it isn't meant so.
one reason for me to switch from iM to FCE was the non-distructive editing process of FCE!... I'm a hobbiest, I like to re-do/undo things...
And I own 750Gb of harddrives............
as mentioned above: if you need this feature, downgrade.......

FCE HD & IMovie

Hi All,
If I have some clips in IMovie can I import them into FCE HD somehow?
Also I was using a DV camcorder with shake reduction, the footage looks good on the camcorder however when I import into FCE HD the footage is shakey (like the reduction has not worked), is this normal? Is there a setting or something I am missing?
Cheers,
Andrew

Yes you can, but you must keep in mind that there are some limitations. Maybe they are not relevant for you. But they are often addressed in this forum; see: imovie and final cut.
Use the Import Files command and select the iMovie clips that are recorded in the Media folder of the iMovie project. Or better, first copy them into a dedicated FCE Scratch folder, and import from there, so in the future if you trash the iMovie project you won't disconnect and lose the media files.
As noted in the referenced posts, you must render their audio before editing the imported clips.
Piero

FCE Vs iMovie. Quality Difference?

hello there.
i'm just wondering whether such emphasised phrases as "high quality effects/transitions/rendering/etc" in the FCE manual or general description mean that, for instance, iMovie's quality, as far as rendering, effects and transitions are concerned, is worse. am i correct in understanding so?..
the problem i am facing is that, although i'm in the middle of switching to FCE from iMovie for doing all/most of my video work, i still find that i've got much-much more effects and transitions in iMovie than in FCE, due to having 7 of the 10 Slick-GeeThree packages. so what i'm thinking is that i could share the work between the two applications, using the best features of each to the benefit of my projects.
however... the thought that suddenly occurred to me was - would the quality of my video footage suffer in iMovie? or has iMovie got the same quality parameters as FCE?

thanks for your replies.
i don't think i'll be having any problems with audio, as most of my projects are music videos, which means i won't be using the sound of the original footage: the soundtrack is added separately.
as for the quality of some effects. yes, that's exactly what i meant. the captured video looks great in iMovie. but as soon as i add such effects as colour correction, for instance, or saturation, the sharpness of the picture disappears and it starts to look edgy. for example, if it's a human face, the original oval curve of a cheek or a chin will look slightly saw-edged, i.e. i can spot square pixels...
which is why i thought that perhaps the "high quality" bit in the FCE official description meant that i won't be encountering similar problems in FInal Cut?

How do I import imovie clips from my iphone 6 to my mac running yosemite?

My iphone 6 screen is completely smashed leaving me unable to use the touchscreen. I know that you can just send the imovie project to itunes but I can't use my screen to do it. Also, when I go into imovie from my computer and click import and then go to my phone it says there are no clips. Is there a way I can get those imovie clips to my computer through another means? Thanks

God Bless You,
Its very simple, you can download pixelpipe to upload it straight from the phone, or just connect your iphone to your computer (if you have a mac, then go to iphoto, and the video should be there). I'm not sure how you would do it on a pc.

Follow-up question to FCE vs. iMovie

When I asked yesterday for a comparison of FCE to iMovie, and how they were different, I realized what I really I want to know is why FCE is considered better than iMovie. And what can FCE do that iMovie can't do? Thanks.

Please don't start another thread on the same topic when you have one that you haven't responded to.
The question is mostly answered in the thread that was linked in your original post. What about the discussion in that linked thread is not clear?
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13175828#13175828
x

Is there a way to force for rendering ALL clips in work area?

Is there a way to force for rendering ALL clips in work area? All clips: not only the ones with the red horizontal line indicating that they need rendering! I ask for this because the rendered clips preview very smoothly, but the unrendered ones do not! My source footage (and project) involves Full HD (1920*1080i 25fps).

If a Clip does not need Rendering, it will not be Rendered.
Basically, what Rendering does is to convert the Clips, that do require Rendering, to DV-AVI (SD Projects on a PC). This will yield AVI files in the Media Cache, Render Files, and for playback, PrE will rely on those. If you look in the Render File folder, you will see a bunch of abstractly named files, but those files are now Linked in the PREL (Project file), and will be used by the program for playback.
If one were to remove those Render files, and then Open that Project in PrE, they'd receive a message, "Where is file 04u434ip0ow.AVI?" [Note: that is just an example of the abstract Render file name, and is not the actual name, that one would see.]. One could Ignore those now missing Render files, and where they were used, there would then be red lines over those Clips.
As Steve mentions, the Render files are used only for smoothest playback. As I use DV-AVI files for SD Projects on my PC, I will not need to Render for smoothest playback, until I make changes to the Clips, like overlay Titles, PiP, Effects, etc.. I might never Render the Timeline, even with those additions, but sometimes, I will Render a small segment many times, especially with animated Effects, as I adjust the parameters.
If one is not getting the smoothest playback, then Rendering all files requiring Rendering will usually improve playback greatly.
Good luck, and hope that this makes sense.
Hunt

Can anyone help find lost iMovie clips please?

Hello,
I've lost several iMovie clips from my iMovie, The Library list on the left on the screen still displays the titles, but when I click on them the window displays the title with "empty" next to it.
I've tried restoring from my Time Machine back-up external disk but the results remain the same.
I've tried looking at my iCloud account and can't see any movies there at all, including in iCloud Drive.
I upgraded to iMovie 10.0.6 and it seems to have happened since then.
Unfortunately the missing movies have been deleted from my camera so I can't reload them.
I have uploaded some movie clips recently and they've worked fine.
Is there any other way I might be able to recover these missing files?

I've now recovered the missing files, however I have a further problem which I'm hoping someone can help with.
I have just recovered some video clips which I had accidentally deleted. For some reason the recovered files couldn't be read by iMovie but when I tried iPhoto they did transfer into that. It took hours though.
Now the movies are there they are showing as "clip" type with a unique number allocated to each clip.
I want to bring them into iMovie so that I can include them with iMovie clips which are already there.
I can't find a way to either send them to iMovie or import them into iMovie from iPhoto.
If I want to use clips from both iMovie and iPhoto am I able to import them so I can compile a movie?

This happens when I rendered a clip and switched to QT player (leaving AE running). After closing Q

Hi
There are a few issues with the latest update of After Effects CC (I upated yesterday).
One which I never had before is the following error message:
After Effects error: Error (4) reading frame from file "Volume/MAC_DATA/sterne/Test.mov". ( 86 ::2 )
Of course I tried different drives, copied the file etc.
This happens when I rendered a clip and switched to QT player (leaving AE running).
After closing QT player I have the error in AE.
Anybody experiancing similiar problems?
Regards,
Uli

Hi Todd
The problem is back!
Today I have been working for about 8 hours on stabilization using mocha AE.
The problem came back when I wanted to render a layer. The same error message as described above.
On the ohter hand when I am switiching to mocha AE I am loosing my AJA preview in AE.
The preview was set up correctly in "preview-settings" and was working perfectly fine.
When I switch back to AE I see in the settings that "computer only" is the only available choice. Nothing else anymore.
Restarting AE gives all "preview-settings" back.
I already worked a lot like this with AE CS6 and never had these kinds of trouble.
About loosing connections. E.g. the first time I started AE CC there was no audio at all. Even the meteres did not show anything.
In the audio hardware settings I had to swicht to anything and back to "system". Only then the sound was available.
Everytime you delete the AE preferences you have to do that again.
And now after I restarted AE it wom't even read my files anymore:
After Effects error: File"593_0128.mov" cannot be opened, it may be in an unsupported format (86 ::1).
The movie is a DNxHD 185x from Avid and opened without any problems before.
It looks to me similar to the other problem I have.
Regards,
Uli

Possible to insert a countdown timer into an iMovie clip?

I'm making an exercise video, and I want to insert an occasional small clip with a countdown timer. Ideally, it would be some beautiful nature footage (like waterfalls or wildlife), with a countdown timer in the corner.
Does anydbody know how to insert a countdown timer into an iMovie clip?
For that matter, does anybody know where I could find/purchase 2 minutes of nature footage?

Sure you can. What you need to do is add the initial image to the topic then create an image map. This allows you to define shapes that when the user's mouse hovers over it indicates that there is a hyperlinkto another topic. Just right click on the image, select Insert Image Map and go from there.
The RoboColum(n)
@robocolumn
Colum McAndrew

FCE rendering iMovie clips

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