Share iMovie for iPadOS projects to your Mac
You can create projects in iMovie on your iPhone or iPad and then transfer them to your computer and edit them in iMovie for macOS or Final Cut Pro. To transfer projects to iMovie for macOS, you must be using iMovie 10.1.11 or later for macOS. To transfer projects to Final Cut Pro, you must be using Final Cut Pro 10.4.6 or later.
When you export a project from iMovie on your iPhone or iPad, the project and the media used by the project are saved as a single file you can easily copy, transfer, or archive.
Note: If you’re using iMovie on an iPad set up as a Shared iPad, you can’t share projects to iMovie for macOS.
In the iMovie app
on your iPad, tap a project in the Projects browser.In the project details screen, tap the Share button
, tap Options, tap Project, tap Done, then tap one of the following options:AirDrop: Share wirelessly to a nearby Mac using AirDrop.
Save to Files: Save the project to your iPhone, iPad, or iCloud Drive, and retrieve it with your Mac.
For more information about each of these methods, see Share to other devices in iMovie on iPad.
When the project file has finished copying, locate it on your Mac.
By default, AirDrop transfers appear in your Downloads folder. Projects saved to an iPhone or iPad must be imported. Projects sent to iCloud Drive appear in the iMovie folder in iCloud Drive.
Do one of the following:
Open the project in iMovie for macOS: On your Mac, double-click the project file you transferred from your iPhone or iPad.
Important: This step requires iMovie 10.1 or later for macOS.
Whenever possible, your editing decisions, retiming changes, effects, filters, titles, and theme music choices are retained in the project that opens in iMovie for macOS.
Open the project in Final Cut Pro: Open Final Cut Pro and choose File > Import > iMovie iOS Projects. In the window that appears, navigate to the location where you stored the project file you transferred from your iPhone or iPad, select the file, and click Import.
Note: Storyboard projects are automatically converted to movie projects for use in Final Cut Pro. If there are empty placeholders in a storyboard project, those scenes are replaced by placeholder clips.
If your version of iMovie for iOS or iPadOS is more recent than your version of iMovie for macOS, you may not be able to import the project into iMovie on your Mac. For more information about using iMovie for macOS, see the iMovie User Guide for Mac.
For more information about using Final Cut Pro, see the Final Cut Pro User Guide.