How to save a movie in .mov format in iMovie 10.0.6?

January 12, 2015 9:45 AM

How do I export a movie in .mov format in iMovie 10.0.6? Just upgraded to Yosemite and all my prior iMovie knowledge is suddenly obsolete. I'm paying someone to analyze something on video and she wants it in .mov. Step-by-step would be great as I'm totally lost in this version. Thanks!
posted by HotToddy to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Doesn't look like it's possible..

...the correct answer is that this functionality has been removed from iMovie.

In the previous versions of iMovie, you could Export using QuickTime, and use whatever QuickTime settings you wanted... altering the resolution, bit rate, codec, etc...

Now with iMovie 10, you can't do this, you can only "Share as a File" and take whatever iMovie 10 decides to give you, which will be an .mp4. For example, in my workflow that used iMovie 9, I had source material that was 480x270 and I'd output a 480x270 mp4 with H.264 that had a data rate of 767kbps and was playable on any device. iMove 10, forces it up to 1280x720 1.77mbps and isn't playable on most iOS devices. To get the file I'd want, I'd need to transcode the video with an old version of the QuickTime Player or other software (lowering the quality in the process).

I think the correct answer to the Original Poster is to continue using a previous version of iMove (it should still be saved in your Applications folder). If this isn't possible then submit feedback and hope for the best.

posted by royalsong at 10:19 AM on January 12, 2015

What's the file format you are importing to iMovie in the first place? You could just drop that into a converter and give her a .mov file from there and bypass iMovie entirely. Honestly though, anyone who deals with video should be able to deal with most any format.
posted by cjorgensen at 12:07 PM on January 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you're stuck using the latest version of iMovie you could take the exported mp4 and convert it using ffmpeg. Once installed, this Terminal command ought to do it:

ffmpeg -i /path/to/originalfilename.mp4 -o /path/to/newfilename.mov

posted by usonian at 12:17 PM on January 12, 2015 [1 favorite]

After you create your iMovie project, you'll see two icons in the Movies folder in your Home directory. Right click on the iMovie Library icon and select "Show Package Contents." Depending on what you called your project, open the corresponding folder. Inside that folder should be a folder called "Original Media."

When I look in that folder on my Mac, I see .mov files. Is that what you're looking for?
posted by emelenjr at 9:14 PM on January 12, 2015