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Journalism - Information Gathering Resources

Importing footage off of your camera with IMovie

iMovie importing

If your video camera is turned on and hooked up to your laptop with the USB cable, open IMovie .
  • Click on "file" 
  • Import from camera (if you only get a capture screen you will need to turn the camera on and then back off again. 
  • If this doesn't work come to the J-library, check out a portable hard drive and use one of our desktop computers. Someone at the front desk should be able to help you.
  • Using the portable hard drive:
    • Open IMovie on one of our computers or your laptop.
    • Make sure the camera is on and plugged into the USB port in our computer
    • Click on "file" in iMovie then "Import from Camera"  (If it just pops up with your face and wants to capture then click the button on the bottom left of the camera.)

See the Bottom left button with camera picture and arrows.

Press All for PC only for the memory card.

  •  iMovie will generate thumbnails.
  • Make sure that the switch is turned to automatic instead of manual. 
  • Check the boxes of the files to import then click on import selected. 
  • Once it's imported, highlight all the clips in the bottom
  • Grab the footage in the bottom of imovie and then drag it up to the boxes in the imovie project space.  
  • Click inside one of the boxes in the project part to drag it in.
  • Once all of the footage in the bottom is up in the project space, click on "share on top" and then "export movie."
  • Choose "large" or "original" since HD will take forever.  
  • Choose the J-Lib Hard drive to save it to.  
  • When saved, eject the portable hard drive and then plug it into the laptop.  
  • Open iMovie on the laptop and click on 1) Import then 2) Movies.
  •  When asked, find the file on the portable hard drive then import it.