Storing movie projects (iMovie) on external drive

I recently upgraded to Lion and in the process decided to buy an external drive to hold all my movies. The problem is iMovie sees the projects but no longer play. Other than moving all the movies back into the original movies folder is there a way to have you projects on an external disc working through iMovie?

You need to move the Event files from within iMOvie. Put the movie files back where they were, open iMovie, and use its media browser to move the Event files. That way the Projects will update.
Projects are simply XML-type files containing references to the Event files and instructions on how to handle the clips. They aren't standalone movies - those get created when you Share or Export.
I seem to remember that for iMovie to see the external disks, they have to be formatted Mac OS Extended

Similar Messages

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    Hi I need to move my iMovie project to an external drive, to free some space, please help. if it's possible.....

    To make sure that all required media is in the library contain the project you need to "Consolidate media"  see:  http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov882dee351
    You can then copy the library to your laptop with the Finder and open it with the same version of iMovie.  The last phrase is important since Apple has made changes in the project format several times even between minor updates of iMovie 10.  Earlier versions may not be able to read the library and later versions (not possible in this case) may cause the project to be updated so that it is no longer readable by the desktop version.   iMovie on the laptop will not at first find the copied library - you will have either to double click on it or File - Open library - Other and navigate to its location.
    Geoff.

  • How do I move a project from an external drive back into Imovie

    I recently bought an Iomega external hard drive to store documentary movies so that I wouldn't jam up my Imac's free space. However, after I moved an imovie/idvd project to it, and wanted to make changes, I could not move the project back into the Imac's drive. (It also would not burn from the external, giving me a multiplex error) When I tried to move the movie back into Imovie on the Imac it said Quicktime couldn't parse it. I saw various posts about parsing, but not about specifically about moving a project from an external drive. Can anyone offer any suggestions? It seems to me that I should be able to move a project back and forth without that much trouble.

    Sounds like you have a DVD format (MPEG-2) and not an iMovie Project file.
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  • How can I export a project on an external drive in the latest version of iMovie?

    Before the latest release of iMovie I easily managed to export a project on an external usb drive and re-import such project on a different Mac... In the latest iMovie version, however, I cannot see my drive any more..
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    I'm not sure this is the best way, but you could create a new iMovie Library, move your project to that Library, then close the library. Then move the Library to your USB drive. Then, on the other Mac, in iMovie open the Library.

  • Moving iMovie Projects to an external drive

    I cannot move iMovie projects to an external drive. I have followed the instructions. Help!

    If it doesn't recognize the drag, then there is something else awry. You should be able to force a move instead of a copy by holding down the cmd key. Can you just plain copy?
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  • G'day.  I am using iMovie 11 and need to clear disk space.  How can I do that using an external drive, leaving me the option to go back and make changes or access old events or projects from that external drive?

    G'day.  I am using iMovie 11 and need to clear disk space.  How can I do that using an external drive, leaving me the option to go back and make changes or access old events or projects from that external drive?

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  • Imovie 10: how to move the (movie) library to an external drive

    Hi all,
    using imovie '11 it wasn't any problem to move the (movie) library to an external drive following these instrcutions: <http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2289?viewlocale=en_US>. After updating to mavericks and imovie 10 I can't find the hard drive icon to pull down the drive list any more.
    Maybe I missed something very obvious but would be very happy for any suggestion.
    Thanks in advance,
    best regards,
    Stephan

    Your events and projects now reside in an file or files  with extension .imovielibrary.    You can create a new library wherever you want from within iMovie and drag and drop events into it from an exisitng library.  If you want to move the complete library, select the library then go File - Consolidate Project Media.  This ensures the library is self-contained and doesn't have any links to external media which could break when it is moved.  You can then move the library to the external HD using the Finder.  When you restart iMovie you will have to select  File - Open Library - Other and navigate to its new location.
    There are a lot of changes in imovie 10 and its really necessary to study the help file (http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov3fa25bae7)
    Geoff.

  • If I back up iMovie projects to an external drive does it take the media with it? I want to free up space and remove pictures that were in iPhoto...that were used as media by iMovie when project was under way. In short I want archive iMovie stuff

    If I back up iMovie projects to an external drive does imovie  take the media with it? I want to free up space and remove pictures that were in iPhoto...that were used as media by iMovie when project was under way. In short I want archive iMovie stuff. If I pull pics out of iPhoto, and later want to drag an archived projet bac into iMovie and the pics are no longer in iPhoto, will I be able to keep working in the project in iMovie?

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  • How do I Retrieve imovie projects from and external drive back into my mac internal drive

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    Thank You

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  • I was copying a movie project to my hard drive from and external and I received a notice that it wasunable to do so due to my time machine being too full. Now when going to time machine, I am only able to go back in time 3 days?? Why? JMB

    Not sure where my old backs up went, in time machine. I am only now able to see 3 days ago? Did it delete any old stuff after it gave me a message when I was attempting to download a movie project to my hard drive, and it told me that I was out of space? Is there any way now to go back in time? JMB

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  • Want to store movies in IMovies to External HD

    I just purchased a WD Passport 1 TB to empty out my MacBook Pro. I have 12 GBs memory left and wanted to free up some space (since 2007).
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    Click VIEW/EVENTS BY VOLUME in iMovie 08. Then you can drag the Events to the new drive in the Event Library list.
    If you go to iMovie 09 or 11, it is a little different. Click VIEW/EVENTS BY DISK. Also, hold down the command key while dragging to MOVE. If you just drag in iMovie 09 or 11, it will copy not move.
    USB will work fine for your drive as long as you are not importing from a tape based camera (like a miniDV camera). For that you need Firewire.

  • I can not store all my Music on my internal Macbook pro hard drive so I am storing it on a large external drive connected to my airport extrem.  How do I get Itunes to search for the music here with out trying to copy it to my laptops hard drive??

    I can not store all my Music on my internal Macbook pro hard drive so I am storing it on a large external drive connected to my airport extreme (2 TB drive plugged into the USB port).  I see the drive on my laptop and I can add and delete files no problem.  How do I get Itunes to search for the music here with out trying to copy it to my laptop's hard drive?  I don't have enough space to do that.

    How did you move the music to the external drive?  What exactly is on the drive?  The entire iTunes folder or only music?  If it is the entire iTunes folder you can do the option+start suggestion earlier.  If you copied only music and did so by dragging it there then you need to delete it again and consolidate/organize it there instead so iTunes tracks the move.  iTunes 12 for Mac: Change where your iTunes files are stored - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH19507

  • Updated to 10.1, now can't find projects/events on external drives

    Yesterday, I blithely updated my Final Cut Pro X to version 10.1. Now I am totally lost...
    I have gradually got used to the way FCP operates and now, all my Events and Projects are on an external drive, organised in a series of folders; current, finished etc.
    When I started FCP yesterday, instead of finding any of my events and projects, FCP created a new Library on my HD.
    I use a Macbook Air and do not use my small HD for FCP... how do I tell FCP where all my files are?
    I can create a new library on my HD but if I try to move it to the external drive, it is copied and if I delete the original, FCP creates another one on the HD...
    Getting lost and confused as there appears to have been a wholesale change of the basic way in which FCP functions.
    I don't want to use my HD library as a 'working' library, not least because I don't know how to then find the files, to transfer them to the external drive to back them up.
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    How do I go about persuading FCP to set up and then use libraries on my external drives?

    tootallTV wrote:
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    I have gradually got used to the way FCP operates and now, all my Events and Projects are on an external drive, organised in a series of folders; current, finished etc.
    How do I go about persuading FCP to set up and then use libraries on my external drives?
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    You should heed Philip Hoggetts' advice about using Event Manager X (now free) to help with managing the transition. You probably don't want to gobble up all your previous projects and events in one mega-library, but give it some form of organization. See here: http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials/1304-upgrade-your-events-and-projects- to-fcpx-10-1-libraries-the-smart-way

  • Can Aperture store projects on an external drive?

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