How to Save an iMovie Project on Mac

Don't lose all your editing progress! Learn how to save an iMovie project on your Mac so you can rest assured that your work is safe.

iMovie, a native program that comes with all Mac computers, is an easy-to-use and surprisingly powerful movie editing program. You can use it to create everything from gorgeous time-lapses to movie trailers, to stop-motion clips, to slideshows of your favorite iPhone memories.

In this article, we'll cover how to start and then save a movie project in iMovie on Mac, as well as a bunch of different ways you can export your edited movies.

How to Save an iMovie Project as a Project File

You can get going by creating a new project by clicking the plus (+) button and selecting a template or starting a movie from scratch with the other option. Once you've made some edits, or just want to save what you've already done, you can simply head up to File in the menu bar, then click Share > File. This will save an iMovie file in the destination of your choice on your Mac.

Newer versions of iMovie will automatically save your progress in the project you're currently working on. Generally, you'll be asked to name your new project once you click out of it, but otherwise, you will not be prompted to do this.

Related: The Best Free Video Editors for Mac

If the project you want to save is already complete, you can go to the Share button at the top and choose a variety of different export options, like sending it directly to Facebook or saving it as a new movie file. There are instructions below about how to do this properly.

How to Change File Locations or Create New Save Libraries

From the File menu, select Open Library > New. Under Save As, give your new iMovie project library a name, and then click on the drop-down button so you can place the library in the destination of your choice. Click Save to lock this in.

You should now have a second library in the left sidebar where you can save different projects to different libraries, or you can click Move to Library from the projects window of iMovie for projects you've already created.

This method can be a really good way to get organized within iMovie, or if you need to move all your projects to an external location, such as a hard drive or company cloud folder.

How to Export iMovie on Your Mac

When you've refined your edited movie to perfection and it's ready for its final export, you'll again need to head to the Share button in the toolbar, then click on File. Once you're in this window, you'll be prompted to put in a variety of different types of information.

This information includes:

• The title of the shared movie, done by clicking the name at the top and typing a new name.
• The description, done by clicking this field and typing a new description (within character limits).
• The tags for the shared movie, done by clicking and typing out tag names, separated by commas.
• The output format, done by clicking the Format popup menu. You can choose between audio and video, or just audio.
• The resolution, this has been simplified from earlier versions of iMovie, where you just need to select your required resolution. To manually set the output quality, however, click the Quality popup, choose Custom, and drag the slider to set your desired bit rate.
• The compression setting.

Related: The Best Video Editing Apps and Software for YouTube

After this, all you need to do is click next, type a name into the save field, and then choose your destination. The progress of your export will be shown on the side of the toolbar. Click on it to check in on exactly how much your export has progressed.

Simple as that!

iMovie Is a Fantastic Movie Editing Program

As a native Mac program, iMovie is an amazing free solution for all your movie editing needs. It's versatile, easy to use, and its final product is extremely polished. Hopefully, this guide has enabled you to figure out how to save an iMovie project on your Mac, export it, and show your new movie to the world!

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