IMovie HD to FCP HD

iMovie HD imports my HDV footage from my new Sony HDR-HC7camera, whereas my current version of FCP HD does not.
(I hear rumours that FCP 6 is about to be released, so I'm waiting to upgrade my FCP HD software from 4.5 to 6)
In the mean time I am searching for a way to use my footage imported into iMovie in FCP HD.
FCP HD won't open my iMovie projects, but it will import iMovie clips.
However: when I import the clips from my iMovie project into FCP HD the "Media Performance Warning" window pops up telling me that "the following media are not optimised for FCP HD"...
The clips do appear in the Browser, and do play back OK. They also render OK.
But before I spend hours editing a FCP HD project with these clips: does anyone have any experience with this? What are the implications of the "Media Performance Warning" message? Is there anything I should be doing now to avoid problems with editing or output later?
The other thing I haven't been able to work out: where exactly does iMovie store its clips?? There doesn't seem to be a designated folder for iMovie media (ie no "Capture Scratch" like in FCP). They just seem to be in the iMovie Project but you can't get at them other than by dragging them out of the Clip Pane in the iMovie project. Am I missing something here?

Sorry, I didn't look to see that you were using 4.4, even though you probably posted it. Sometimes I read too fast and don;t register everything. I think that 4.5 to 5.1 was about the same here as well. the $49 deal was only for people crossgrading from 5.0 to 5.1.
I haven't had any problems with 5.1 yet... but that probably because I haven't installed the disks yet... I guess...
I have too many projects working right now with 5.0 and other people not upgrading, and so far I have no limitations with 5.0. But I am getting to it...
Hope 6 is affordable for us semi-pros...
Glad you found your answers.
Matt

Similar Messages

  • Newbie Question: Why can't I open my iMovie project in FCP?

    Hello all--
    I'm sure some variation of this question has been posted a bajillion times but I can't seem to find the answer. At this point I feel like a damsel in distress. Rescue me?
    I've been working with iMovie for about two years now and I've recently been learning Final Cut Pro to up the ante on my videos. However, when I tried to import an iMovie project into FCP yesterday, it didn't quite work. Let me explain what I did and what happened:
    1) I exported my (edited but previously unpublished) iMovie project by clicking Share>Export Final Cut XML
    2) I opened FCP and clicked File>Import>XML and then selected the XML, leaving all the boxes checked
    3) FCP imported the project as a sequence; however, the entire sequence reads "Media Offline" in the Canvas.
    4) I clicked File>Reconnect Media and the list of offline files is overwhelming. I tried my luck by clicking "locate" and going to my imovie folders to find the clips, but even when the browser allowed me to select a clip, when I double clicked it, nothing in the sequence changed - it's all still "offline."
    I really don't know much about media management, I'll admit - I'm wondering if maybe iMovie saves edited clips in a folder other than the events or originals folder - maybe the edited clips become "temporary items"? I know I have a ridiculous amount of imovie cache and temporary items and I never touch them because there are just so many of them and I don't want to mess anything up. But could the files that FCP claims to be "offline" in fact be located in these "temporary" folders? I mean, I've looked everywhere else on my hard drive and nothing is working! Sorry, I am probably just confusing myself MORE (and you), but maybe SOMEONE will know what in the world I should do
    Thanks in advance.

    Welcome to the family. I don't think many of us have ever used iMovie so your post might be more quickly answered in that forum.
    My suggestion is to forget trying to move the project. Rebuild it in FCP. The exercise will teach you much more about your new software than fighting XML.
    If you don't feel like doing that, try a smaller iMovie project, something with only two or three clips and one dissolve.
    The larger issue is probably how iMovie stores its captured media which is completely different from how FCP does it. And the format is different. FCP does not, IIRC, view iMovie's default dvstream codec. You will want to export your movie clips as DV.
    bogiesan
    Message was edited by: David Bogie Chq-1 correct fifth grade typos

  • Is iMovie's AIC = FCP's AIC?

    Can I import my AVCHD footage into iMovie, and then used by FCP in the future? I am pretty sure iMovie use AIC when importing AVCHD.
    Is there anyone know how big file size if transcoding a 2-minutes AVCHD to AIC or Apple ProRes 422 (LT)?
    Quote from the FCP manual:
    About Transcoded AVCHD Files and Disk Space
    When you ingest AVCHD files using the *Log and Transfer* window, video is transcoded to either an Apple ProRes codec or the *Apple Intermediate Codec*. AVCHD has a much higher compression ratio than Apple ProRes, so the ingested files are significantly larger than the original files. For example, a _2-minute native AVCHD file is about 200–300 MB. After transcoding to the Apple ProRes 422 codec, the file size can be as large as 2 GB._
    To create smaller files during transfer, transcode AVCHD files to *Apple ProRes 422 (LT)*. For more information about the relative data rates and file sizes for these formats, see Working with Apple ProRes.

    Thanks, X, that info does help me understand the transcode file size. But on the other side of my question, can I borrow my iMovie's import file to FCP? Coz both of iMovie and FCP use AIC as intermediate file format for editing, are they?
    The reason I want get this done is that I am using iMovie for the family vedio editing with many of great footages I could use in my business projects. I am just feeling lazy and to save hard drive space if I could have FCP reuse iMovie's AIC imported file, rather then log and transfer those AIC footages already imported by iMovie. Of course, if all of these under the assumption of iMovie's AIC = FCP's AIC and could be resued are correct.
    Thanks.

  • Can i merge iMovie library to FCP ?

    i have imac not so much hard drive space
    is it possible i can use one library imovie and FCP  ?
    share events  and projects
    so that i dont have to create whole new librray takes all my hd space?
    i was just wonderfing if its possible
    any idea?

    Yes it is possible.
    When you import iMovie Events into FCP, it uses HARD LINKS to the media clips. This means that you will have an iMovie Event clip that is hard linked to the actual clip on the drive. The FCP Event will have a separate hard link to the same physical clip. This means you can use the clip in both iMovie and in FCP without doubling up on disk space. It also means that if you delete an event from iMovie, you do not regain any disk space unless you also delete it from Final Cut Pro. Only when all hard links have been removed can you reclaim space.
    When you do this in iMovie 11 (Version 9) and FCP version 10.0.8, you can import the entire iMovie Event Library all at once. It does not take long because it is not copying, it is just creating the hard links.
    If you are using iMovie version 10 (the new one) and Final Cut Pro 10.1, Then it still uses hard links, but the procedure is different. iMovie version 10 and FCP 10.1 both use a new Library Structure. In this case you initiate the sharing of a project to FCP 10.1 from iMovie, rather than from within FCP.

  • A better test -- iMovie 09 verses FCP quality. Can you tell which is which?

    So many postings of poor quality from iMovie 09. There are claims of "pixelization," "noise" during motion, interlace artifacts, severe loss of detail, etc. But, are these reports really valid?
    And, how true are the assumption that FCE or FCP will not have any such problems. Always the belief that FCE/FCP movies will be really so much better.
    Simple test using more demanding video -- upload two exports that have similar contrast because the more contrast the sharper video looks. (The iMovie 09 version was processed as described in my eBook.)
    If you are sure FCP, FCE, and iMovie 06 movies look better -- then you should easily be able to tell which movie (Z1 or Z2) was edited by which application. And, even if you can see a difference, which you may, is it SO much better? And, do you see any of the commonly reported defects of iMovie video?
    Source clips are 1920x1080i60 MPEG-2. They were not converted to AIC so they are first generation.
    Imported by iMovie. An XML export was used to FCP. So the exact same source clips were used by both applications.
    Exports from both applications at 1080i60 were made using AIC. Then MPEGStreamclip deinterlaced both to 720p30 H.264 (x264 codec) at 6.4Mbps before uploading. These movies are third generation. (You can download these.) What you'll watch is fourth generation 720p30 Flash.
    What about movie Z3? A different process was used. Please leave a comment on how you think it looks compared to Z1 and Z2.
    Remember: Motion smoothness is dependent on your internet speed!
    Go to:
    http://exposureroom.com/
    Search for DVC.
    Please leave your guesses as Comments.

    I can't shoot HDV (unless with my current camera). If i buy another camera, it will be USB. I'm the macbook user. I knew exactly what i was buying also. Surprising how many users get the macbook home and try to plug firewire into the USB and wonder why it doesn't work. How does this happen? I paid more for the fully loaded macbook than a standard macbook pro. I wanted something very portable.
    I am concerned about the USB cameras though--many people have had troubles getting imovie to recognize it. oh the drama.

  • The "feel" of iMovie compared to FCP

    Apologies in advance if this seems like a dumb question...
    I am very comfortable with Final Cut Pro, and have it, but not a version that works with my current hardware...maybe later there will be money for upgrading.
    I'm in a situation of needing to cut up some video using iMovie, and my question concerns getting comfortable with the iMovie way of doing things...wondering if those who know both iMovie and Final Cut can lend some advice about how to get productive with iMovie...
    what's snarking me about iMovie are its tendancy, perhaps, to want to "help" me...I move the cursor over a clip and it plays and I find it disorienting. Maybe I need to look at that differently.
    I also find it tedious/difficult to select the bits of clip I want.
    Maybe hours in the chair will do it, but I'd appreciate any...not sure what to call it..frame of mind, or mental reference that you use to get familiar with iMovie's various ways.
    thanks for reading and for any help!
    ray

    I can see how it would be useful....maybe I just need to get used to it.  but as I move over the clips, there it is, ready to skim for me. maybe it's just a change in user behavior that I need to adopt.
    the other thing is selecting clips from the "main" clip to put into my little bin. in FCP, I'm used to making a cut here, a cut there, then plucking out what I want, deleting what I don't want.
    that yellow selection frame while mostly good, needs to either stay put, or I need a better idea of how to use it?
    ray

  • IPhoto slideshow has wrong aspect ratio for iMovie and/or FCP

    When I output a slideshow at 720x480 from iPhoto then import it into iMovie or FCP, the images are stretched vertically. I can adjust the ratio in FCP (-10 seems to be a good number), but there is no fix for iMovie. I like the iPhoto slideshow capability and prefer using it for my slideshows. What do I do to get an unstretched QT for import into iMovie or FCP?
    AGP Powermac G4   Mac OS X (10.4.4)  

    You're encountering a difference between rectangular DV pixels and square "computer screen image" pixels.
    When working with DV timelines, the best way to get good frame grabs would be to export your 720 x 480 still, then re-size it to 640 x 480 using Photoshop. (BTW, you can use a Photoshop batch function to re-size multiple images automatically.)
    If you're starting with a timeline that only contains square-pixel (not DV video) images, try this:
    Sequence > Settings > General Tab
    Pixel Aspect Ratio: Square
    Now:
    Open a clip in the Viewer window, and look under
    Motion Tab > Distort Pane
    Aspect Ratio should = 0
    [Under certain conditions, FCP makes educated guesses as to the pixel aspect ratios of imported images, and uses this setting to automatically apply corrective distortion when it believes it is necessary. Usually it is correct, but under unusual circumstances like your project, you may have to correct FCP's correction.]
    The fastest way to confirm this would be to
    Select All
    Ctrl-Click
    Remove Attributes
    Check "Distortion"
    [If it is greyed out it means that none of your clips have any distortion applied so you are good to go.]
    Now you can export un-distorted frames from a square-pixel timeline, and shouldn't experience any pixel-aspect ratio confusion.
    Good luck,
    Zap

  • IMovie 11 to FCP Pro X: cure for single-field?

    I've got a lengthy home movie (sourced from a DV tape) that I've edited in iMovie 11. Unfortunately, I've been stuck with the single-field processing issue where the output is effectively at half resolution. Now that I can import this movie into FCP Pro X, I'm wondering whether that will cure this single-field problem, if I then continue editing in FCP and output it from there? Or will I need to scrap the project, start from scratch, and re-import from the camcorder into FCP directly?

    "Some of the procedures I've seen before changed all of the dates to the day of conversion and I need to save the original info."
    Very good question.
    I've been testing with tapes that have analog video copied to them so the DV time/date is meaningless. They only show the date I copied them from VHS to DV. When I'm sorting to clips to folders I have to remember is this Japan 1989 or 1991? Then name the TO folder based upon my memory. And of course I don't need the DV timecode in iMovie when I edit.
    You need the Time and Date information from the camera to be used to date the folder when the video is imported into iMovie. Correct?
    I will test with some video shot with the DV camera.
    PS: Here is a description of how CatDV figures out how to divide a long movie into "clips."
    CatDV uses two methods to detect scene changes.
    It detects the start and end of each scene or shot in a DV movie using the digital date and time information recorded to tape by DV and Digital8 camcorders. As a result it is normally 100% frame accurate in the scenes it identifies in captured footage. On rendered footage and analog material, on the other hand, this extra information is missing and so CatDV won't be able to detect any scene changes using the DV method.
    CatDV also has the ability to compare the actual visual content of successive frames to detect scene changes. This allows you to import and log footage captured from an analog capture card for example. By its nature this method is not foolproof, however, and is liable to detect false changes when there is rapid movement within a scene, and to miss changes, for example if the camera is held on a tripod between shots and there is very little change between them, or if you have applied a fade or dissolve between two clips. It is also slow and computationally intensive, and so whenever you have the choice you should prefer to use the DV-based detection on original footage.
    You can control which detection algorithm(s) are used when importing movies in the Preferences dialog.

  • Transfer project from iMovie 11 to FCP X

    Boy, do I feel silly. Just created a starter for my movie using parts of an imovie trailer and now want to import it to FCP X to develop the rest of the movie.
    I know I can export a .mov in its entirety and just tack it on to my FCP X project, however, is there anyway to bring the whole thing over to FCP X so that I can manipulate it?  I thought about XML but that says no music, ken burns etc. will be saved. And my version of FCP X (most current) does not recognize the XML file.
    Thanks
    Sandra

    Yes. Open FCPX and choose FILE/IMPORT/iMovie Project.
    Or if you want to import all events and projects, choose FILE/Import/iMovie Events.
    This works well, but I am not sure if the trailers will be editable in FCPX.
    See FCPX Help here for more details.
    http://help.apple.com/finalcutpro/mac/10.0.6/#ver41812c7c

  • Using iMovie footage in FCP: 32-bit floating point audio?

    I'd like to use iMovie 7 to capture my DV footage because I like its cataloging and skimming features, and the way it splits up clips based on DV stops. I want to do my editing in Final Cut Pro 5. Unfortunately, I've found that the audio depth in the clips I've captured with iMovie is 32-bit floating point, rather than 16-bit integer, and FCP has to render the audio before it can play back. Strange, since the FCP browser says that the sequence I dropped the iMovie footage into IS 32-bit. Any ideas on how to get FCP to playback this bit depth without rendering, and without having to convert my footage?

    Do a search here and you will find all kinds of post on this very subject.
    The main problems with using iMove to capture for FCP are
    1. iMovie and FCP capture in very different ways. iMovie captures footage as a DV stream, problematic for editing in FCP
    2. iMovie captures will not give you the timecode from your tape... may or may not be important to you unless you ever need to recapture and reconnect the footage.
    In short, if you are editing in FCP... capture with FCP. If you want to split the footage based on tape start/stop, use the Start Stop detect function after you have captured.
    rh

  • Quicktime Movie created in iMovie plays in FCP timeline but NO AUDIO

    I don't get any sound out of the Quicktime movie I made in iMovie when I drag it into Final Cut Pro. I get the red line indicating that it needs to be rendered, but even after I render, there is no sound.
    Can this be remedied?
    Rx

    I got the movie into FCP a couple of different ways, hearing no audio the first way then trying to bring it in another way to see if it gave me audio. First I imported the QT movie that resulted from my iMovie project. I found it in my external drive where I had it stored, and I imported it.
    When I detected a problem, I undid that and opened Finder, selected the external drive, found my movie and dragged the icon into my bin.
    In either case, when I opened it in the canvas, it played -- video only. When I dragged it into the timeline, it separated the media into one channel of video and two channels of audio. It would play -- video only. There was a red render bar that I eliminated by rendering all, to no effect for recovering audio, and then by rendering 'audio only,' which also didn't work.
    I then tried dragging in a second iMovie QT project to see if the same problem existed. It did. With that project, however, responding to the red render bar by hitting 'render all' gave me a window saying it would take two hours. Why that wasn't the case for the other movie, I don't know. Perhaps it's the only one that might have worked, should I have had two hours to wait. It freaked me out a little 'cuz it didn't even appear to start working on the render after several moments of watching my cursor turn into a rainbow on and off. So I just closed it out and posted my question.
    Rx

  • Digital Camera Movie Clips in iMovie, FCE or FCP?

    I was wondering if anyone has come across a digital camera that takes movie clips in a format that can either be edited straight in iMovie, FCE, FCP or one that takes the clips in a format that can be easily converted over to something that one of those three programs use. Thanks.

    Virtually any of the Sony digital stills cameras will shoot 30fps as long as you use a Memory Stick (..or smaller Memory Stick Duo..) Pro as the memory chip. The faster access speed of the Pro chips lets you shoot at 30fps.
    Similarly with other, such as Fuji, cameras: as long as there's a high-speed chip in there, such as a high-speed Compact Flash card, you'll probably be able to get 30fps (frames per second). Check the instructions on the camera box, or camera manual.
    However, some jerkiness may be apparent when using iMovie HD, as that tends to offer 'DV 29.97' as the frame rate for 30fps movies, whereas, I think, things were smoother in previous versions of iMovie, in which the 'NTSC' choice (29.97 or 30fps) really did seem to use 30fps instead of 29.97.
    That's been my experience, anyway.
    [..See a quick'n'dirty comparison here for QuickTime 7 users, or (a rather more jerky version) here for QuickTime 6 users..]

  • Capturing: iMovie vs. FCP

    After a vacation, I find the easiest way to capture my HDV footage (Panasonic HDC HS200) is to plug it into iMovie and just do an auto capture. Supposedly iMovie captures at the original size/rez.
    The resulting QTs are 1440x1080, 1080i/60.
    Would capturing with FCP buy me any more resolution? I've tried it and it seems more complicated with the logging, etc.

    Well then I'm even more confused !! Panasonic to my memory didn't get into the whole HDV era and moved straight onto AVCHD. I might be wrong but I thought HDV in consumer cameras was just Sony, Canon and JVC??? As I said, I could easily be wrong.
    Either way, there is .......
    DV. Standard definition recorded onto tape.
    HDV. Hi Def in a few different flavours recorded onto standard MiniDV Tapes.
    AVCHD, MPEG-2 and a few other formats recorded onto SD Cards and internal Hard Disks.
    If your camcorder is tape based it is clearly one of the first two and is most likely to be interlaced footage either standard or High Definition. With either of these I would use Final Cut Express or Pro to import as they will import at the highest possible quality. iMovie 8, 9 & 11 will definitely reduce the quality of your imported footage so not good for archival purposes.
    If you have a copy (or can get hold of iMovie 06 HD then even better. It will import DV and HDV at full quality, but like Final Cut, the file sizes for HDV will be pretty huge - About 30-40GB per hour.

  • Import prores into iMovie '11 without FCP installed

    Hello,
    I'm about to have some old 8mm film stock transferred to digital, so that I can edit in IMovie '11.  I don't have any other film editor installed simply because I can't afford it at the moment.
    I have been offered the choice of editable digital files as follows:
    ProRes 422 (Proxy)
    38 Mb/s
    17 Gb
    ProRes 422 (LT)
    85 Mb/s
    38 Gb
    ProRes 422
    122 Mb/s
    55 Gb
    ProRes 422 (HQ)
    184 Mb/s
    83 Gb
    ProRes 4444
    275 Mb/s
    124 Gb
    I understand that with FCP installed on my Harddrive I would have the necessary codec for the job, but as I don't, which file format should I go for and is there some way of converting it so that it can be imported into iMovie '!!?
    Thanks for any advice...BC

    Bill Carter wrote:
    Thanks for that. 
    Bill,
    Sure. Happy to help.
    As you're finding out, working with video files (espeically ProRes) can take up a lot of disk space. If you do a lot with video, it's worth investing in one or more external hard drives.
    If fact, with Final Cut Pro X (an pro editing app, really)  it is absoulutely best pracitce to keep your Events and Projets on an external or internal drive other than your boot drive. Even more critical working with large files.
    You're wise to do small tests before jumping in head first.
    I wish you the best with your project. It sounds like fun.
    Matt

  • IMovie effects in FCP

    I recently purchased iLife 08 and wanted to use some of the effects (transitions) in FCP. Is this possible?

    No, they aren't compatible.
    But what are looking for?
    Maybe something else is available that is.

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