Skip to main content
K
katheriner90150677
Participant
July 30, 2020
Answered

Is there a way to take iMovie project into Premiere Pro on Windows

  • July 30, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 17296 views

Hi. So a singer has asked me if I can carry on editing their music video for them, lip-syncing, transitions, titles etc to give it a more professional look. They've done most of the work in iMovie on their Macbook. I use Premiere Pro on Windows. Is there anything that they can do at their end, convert it etc to keep all the editing layers in tact for me to open in Premiere Pro and start off where they left? Hope somebody can help me!!

    Correct answer Michael Grenadier

    It's not simple, but you may be able to make this work the way I did a few years ago but most of the process requires working on a mac.  You can bring an imovie project in to fcpX (I think there's a free trial). from there you can export an xml.   you can then import the xml into davinci resolve (there's a free version) and then you can export an xml from resolve that will import into premiere.   I had no luck bringing the xml from fpcx directly into premiere but import and export out of resolve did work.  Linking to the media may be a little tricky but should be doable... There's a program that will allow you to read a macosextended drive on a windows machine and a program from the same people that will allow a mac to read and right to a windows drive.  Not sure how that will work with the newer mac partition scheme...   This is the company that makes both of them. https://www.paragon-software.com/us/main-page/.  Might be simpler just to bring it into fcpX and figure out a way to generate a timecode window that reflects the source timecode and rebuild it in premiere...

    3 replies

    Warren Heaton
    Community Expert
    Warren HeatonCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 31, 2021

    Have the singer export a movie file from iMovie for reference.

     

    Then...

    Send projects to Final Cut Pro from iMovie on Mac

    https://support.apple.com/guide/imovie/send-projects-to-final-cut-pro-movcbf7e2a3f/mac

    This, of course, requires Final Cut Pro, but it's the part that should go smoothly.  The edit in Final Cut Pro should look identical to the edit in iMovie.

     

    And then...

    Easily migrate from Final Cut Pro

    https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro/how-to/migrate-from-final-cut-pro.html

    This is a must watch.  Christine Steele gets into just about everything you need to be aware of.

     

    As far as keeping all of the editing intact goes, it really depends on the complexity of the edit.  The video clips used along with order in which they were assembled should come across okay.  Everything else (Transitions, Effects, Graphics, Color Correction) probably will not. 

      J
      Jimena22460407mpso
      Participant
      December 31, 2021

      I've seen lots of comments elsewhere that reccomend importing an XML file. What I did, because I didn't want to download any other application, was I put a bunch of short black dividers (Titles with just a ".") in iMovie, and then I just looked for those on Premiere. But I had to split all the clips again. I'll never start another project on iMovie again. 

        Richard van den Boogaard
        Community Expert
        Richard van den BoogaardCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        December 31, 2021

        You could have used PPro built-in scene edit detection for that purpose.

          M
          Michael GrenadierCorrect answer
          Legend
          July 30, 2020

          It's not simple, but you may be able to make this work the way I did a few years ago but most of the process requires working on a mac.  You can bring an imovie project in to fcpX (I think there's a free trial). from there you can export an xml.   you can then import the xml into davinci resolve (there's a free version) and then you can export an xml from resolve that will import into premiere.   I had no luck bringing the xml from fpcx directly into premiere but import and export out of resolve did work.  Linking to the media may be a little tricky but should be doable... There's a program that will allow you to read a macosextended drive on a windows machine and a program from the same people that will allow a mac to read and right to a windows drive.  Not sure how that will work with the newer mac partition scheme...   This is the company that makes both of them. https://www.paragon-software.com/us/main-page/.  Might be simpler just to bring it into fcpX and figure out a way to generate a timecode window that reflects the source timecode and rebuild it in premiere...

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices