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iMovie (MacOS) Save trimmed clip to library

Reopening question How to save trim selection in iMovie? - Apple Community


If I have, say, a 60-minute video in my library, and there is a 3-second shot in that long video that I want to be able to re-use repeatedly, is there a way, after trimming the clip and inserting it in my project once, that I can save it—as trimmed and adjusted—to the library for re-use? Or do I have to export that 3 seconds as a project, and then re-import it? If it's within the same project, I can copy/paste from the timeline, but what if I want to save my edits and use them across projects without creating a new video file?

Posted on Mar 12, 2024 10:51 AM

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3 replies

Mar 12, 2024 1:30 PM in response to Moose702

In any project you can do a select, Edit/Copy, of a clip or group of clips, or a title, and then Edit/Paste it into the timeline of a newly created project. The edits will carry over. Then, in the new project, you can select and Edit/Copy, Edit/Paste, the clips into any other project that you wish, with the edits carrying over.


The new project will act as a library where you can store your edited clips for use in other projects. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, the iMovie library itself, or events, will not preserve the edits. You must paste edited material into an iMovie project to preserve the edits.


However, as you point out, you can export your edited media out into a movie file and then re-import the same into an iMovie project, or store the media in an event. In either case the edits will be preserved. You will not be able to edit the edits as you could if you pasted the edited media from one project to another.


-- Rich


-- Rich

Mar 12, 2024 4:15 PM in response to Rich839

Thank you Rich839, that is the answer I feared. Other editors have a command called "save to media bin" or similar. It seems silly to me to say "You have a library, but once you start creating stock elements for reuse you will have to create a PROJECT and use THAT as an additional library"...


In any case, I created a project called _WIDGETS_ and placed a dummy clip in it, in order to attach the title that I will be reusing. We'll see what happens when I try to paste it into a project with a different resolution.


Thanks again!

iMovie (MacOS) Save trimmed clip to library

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