iMovie for iOS (iPhone, iPod touch): Transfer media to your iOS device

Transfer media to your iOS device

The Video browser shows only video clips shot in iMovie or from your photo library. The tasks below describe different ways to transfer media to your device’s photo library so that the media appears in the Video browser.

Use iCloud Photo Library

You can use iCloud Photo Library to transfer items between iOS devices. For example, if you take a picture on your iPhone, the photo automatically appears in your iCloud Photo Library and is available for you to use in your iMovie project on your iPad.

Important: iCloud Photo Library requires an iCloud account and iOS 8.3 or later. When iCloud Photo Library is turned on, you can’t transfer your photos or video clips using iTunes.

  1. On each device, go to Settings > iCloud to make sure you’re signed in with the same iCloud account.

  2. In iCloud Settings on each device, tap Photos, then tap to turn on iCloud Photo Library.

  3. Open iMovie for iOS, then open a project for editing.

Video clips or photos in your iCloud Photo Library but not on your device appear in the Video browser and media library with a cloud icon . Tapping the video clip or photo downloads it to the photo library on your device.

For more information, see Add video clips and photos from the photo library.

Transfer media from your Mac or Windows computer using iTunes

Important: If you use iCloud Photo Library, you can’t transfer your photos or video clips using iTunes.

  1. Connect your device to your computer, then open iTunes on your computer.

    After a moment, your device appears in iTunes in the Library window.

  2. Click the device’s button at the top of the iTunes window.

  3. Select Photos in the sidebar on the left.

  4. Select Sync Photos, then choose an album or a folder from the pop-up menu.

    • On a PC: You can also choose Photoshop Album or Photoshop Elements to export photos directly from those applications to your device.

    • On a Mac: To export photos from Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture to your device, choose Photos, iPhoto, or Aperture.

  5. Select one of the following to control which photos are transferred:

    • All photos and albums: Transfers all photos and albums to your device.

    • Selected albums: Transfers the albums, events, or folders that you select.

  6. If you chose “Selected albums,” select the items you want to transfer in the lists that appear.

  7. Do any of the following:

    • To include only photos and video clips you’ve marked as favorite: Select “Only favorites.”

    • To include video clips: Select “Include videos.”

    • To include recent photos and video clips: Select “Automatically include photos from,” and choose a time range from the pop-up menu.

  8. Click Apply.

When the transfer is complete, the video clips and photos are available from the Video browser and media library within iMovie.

Manage media copied from another device

You can edit media used in projects that have been shared between devices in the iMovie Media section of the media library. There you can download the media to your Photos library, or delete the media from the current device.

Note: Media from projects created in previous versions of iMovie can also be managed this way.

  1. Tap Projects to open the Project Viewer, select the project with the media you want to manage, and tap Edit.

  2. Tap the Add Media button , then tap Videos.

  3. Select iMovie Media.

    Any video clips that are not already saved in your Photos library appear.

  4. Tap Edit.

    Buttons appear at the right side of each clip.

  5. Tap the gray Download button to save the clip to your Photos library.

  6. Tap the red Delete button to remove the clip from your local device.

    Note: If the clip is currently used in a project, you must remove it from the Timeline before deleting it. For more, see Remove a video clip or photo from a project.

Last Modified: Jul 29, 2016
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