Transfer media to iMovie on iPhone

You can use iCloud Photos to make your photos and video clips available on all your devices. For example, if you take a picture on your iPhone, the photo automatically appears on all your other devices that have iCloud Photos turned on.

1. On each device, go to Settings > [account name] > iCloud, and make sure you’re signed in with the same Apple ID.

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

3. Open iMovie on your iPhone or iPad, then open a project for editing.

Some media may be stored in iCloud but not on your device. If a Download button appears when you tap a photo or video clip in the media browser, you can tap the button to download the media to the photo library on your device.

For more information, see Add video clips and photos in iMovie on iPhone.

If your Mac has macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier installed, see Transfer media from your Mac or Windows computer using iTunes, below.

1. Connect your device to your Mac, then open a Finder window on your Mac (click the desktop, then choose File > New Finder Window).

   After a moment, your device appears in the sidebar of the Finder window.

2. Click the device’s name in the sidebar, then click Files in the bar below the device name.

3. Drag the file or files you want to add to the iMovie icon in the device’s Finder window.

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

4. Open iMovie on your device.

5. Open a project, then tap the Add Media button .

6. Tap Browse, navigate to the location of the item you want to add, then tap it.

If your Mac has macOS Catalina 10.15 or later installed, see Transfer media from your Mac using the Finder, above.

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:

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

   • Include video clips: Select “Include videos.”

   • 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 media browser within iMovie.

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

1. In the Projects browser, tap a project, then tap Edit.

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

3. Tap 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. Do any of the following:

   • Save a clip to your Photos library: Tap its gray Download button .

   • Remove a clip from your device: Tap its red Delete button .

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