Exporting Video In iMovie 09

[JOhnneedshelp]

I have a HD video camera and have been importing using the HD Quality. However, I am running out of room and I would like to know if I should compress the video to either a Quicktime video ( settings would be helpful) or just as a movie file (m4v).

 

[spinnerlys]

That depends on what you are going to do with those video files.

If your goal is further editing, any compression is futile, as iMovie needs HD video to use the .mov container with the Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC - KB by Apple on storage consumption to make editing possible.

If you just want to archive the video, it is best to use the original files from your camcorder, as those files have already been transcoded during the import into iMovie. Another transcoding process (compressing it) will only loose you image quality (visible and other information).

If you just want to save the finished sequence (the movie you made with iMovie), then you have to decide, which format and resolution to use.

.mov and .mp4 files are only containers for a variety of codecs, the most prominent being the H264 codec, which is a popular and quite excellent variant of the MPEG-4 codec.


So in order for us to determine, what might be the best option for you, you need to give us further information.

What exactly and to what purpose to you want to compress, and what specific camera model are you using?

 

[spice weasel]

If you are sure you're not going to want to use this footage again or edit it in any way, then sure, go ahead and export it as a full-quality mp4 file.

However, before you do that, you might be able to clear up some space by deleting the clips or portions of clips you don't want. In iMovie 09, when you reject a clip it still stays in your library. To delete them, launch iMovie and look at the bottom of the screen. You'll see a "Show:" button with a pulldown menu. Select "Rejected Only." Then you'll be given the option to delete rejected clips. If you are sure you want to delete them, go ahead. Then, empty the trash in the Finder. That might clear up enough space for you.

I'll just ask, are you using an external drive? If not, you should consider one, since it will make iMovie editing faster and will save wear and tear on your main drive. Then you won't have to worry as much about space issues.