Content

• Steps
• Advice

You can export high-quality (HD) iMovie videos to a file on your device or a service like YouTube. With just one high-quality video, you can output to one of three standard HD resolutions so your movie looks as clear as you want it to be.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: On macOS

1. 

   Open iMovie. This method is suitable if you want to export HD video to a folder on Mac computer. After the video is exported, you can watch and share as you like.

2. 

   
   
   Click the movie you want to export in the “Libraries” box.

3. 

   Click on the menu File (File) at the top of the screen.

4. 

   
   
   Click Share (Share).

5. 

   Choose File… in the Share menu.
   • If you want to share the video directly to a website, click on the name of the website (Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).

6. 

   
   
   Enter a name for the movie in the text box.
   • If you share the video on the website, this text will become the title of the movie.

7. 

   
   
   Enter some tags in the “Tags” box. This is useful if you are sharing to YouTube or Vimeo and want it to be easier for people to find your video.

8. 

   Click the “Resolution” menu to choose the resolution. You can choose from 720p, 1080p or 4k resolution for the HD standard. However, not all options are available for your movie as we cannot turn a low quality video into HD.
   • 720p is HD standard with 1280 x 720 resolution. With this option, high quality files upload quickly and do not take up much hard drive space.
   • 1080p is HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution - 5 times the quality of 720p. You will have a larger file and upload more time than 720p.
   • 4k is the Ultra High Definition (UHD) standard - ultra-high definition with 4096 x 2160 resolution. This option is 4 times the quality of 1080p, so the file will be much larger and upload for quite some time.

9. 

   
   
   Set other settings if you are sharing videos on the website. If you are exporting to a file skip this step.
   • Click the “Categories” menu to select a YouTube category.
   • Click the "Viewable to" or "Privacy" menu to set the privacy.

10. 

    
    
    Click the menu “Quality” to set the video quality. You won't see this option if you're sharing to a website. If you want to know more about how each setting affects the file size, you can click an option to see the file size below the preview.
    • The "High" option will give best results with files that are not too large.
    • The "Best" option will use ProRes - professional quality. The file size will be very large.

11. 

    Click the "Compress" menu to choose your compression ratio. This option is only available when you export to a file.
    • Choose "Faster" if you are worried about the file size. The quality won't be too stellar, but still nicer than SD (standard).
    • Choose “Better Quality” if you want the clearest picture and sound possible and don't care about the file size.

12. 

    Click next (Next).
    • If you are sharing on a website, you will be asked to enter your account information to log into that site. Follow the instructions to login and complete the upload. Once done, you will see a “Share Successful” message.

13. 

    Enter a name for the video in the “Save As” field.

14. 

    Navigate to the folder where you want to save the file. Save the file to a folder you can remember, like Documents or Desktop, so you can easily access it when you need to upload a video to YouTube, burn it to DVD, and more.

15. 

    Click Save (Save). Soon after, you will be able to find the HD version of the movie in the selected folder.
    • So the video has been saved as a standard HD file on your computer, you can upload it to Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Drive, Dropbox or any other high-quality video-enabled site.
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Method 2 of 2: On iOS

1. 

   Open the iMovie app on your iPhone or iPad.
   • If you are editing a project, press the Done button in the upper left corner, then continue to step 4.

2. 

   Click Videos at the top of the screen.

3. 

   Tap the video you want to share.

4. 

   Click the Share icon inside the square with an up arrow at the bottom of the screen.

5. 

   Click on how to share. You can choose which application to share to or the location where you want to save the video.
   • For example, if you want to share a video to Facebook, click the Facebook icon.
   • If you want to save the video as a file to your iPhone or iPad (then share it anytime), select "Save Video."

6. 

   Follow the instructions to login. If you choose to share to an app like Facebook or YouTube, you'll need to enter your login information according to the instructions on the screen.

7. 

   Choose the HD resolution you want. We have 4k (Ultra HD), 1080p (HD) and 720p (HD). Note that not all apps or services support large HD files, so you may not see all three of these options.
   • 720p is 1280 x 720 resolution. The file size is small but the video is still HD quality.
   • 1080p is HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution - 5 times the quality of 720p. You will have a larger file and upload more time than 720p.
   • 4k is 4096 x 2160 resolution This option is 4 times the quality of 1080p. The file will get much larger and upload quite a while.

8. 

   Follow the instructions to export the video.
   • With YouTube or Facebook, you may need to use an app or website to add tags and descriptions to the video.
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Advice

• If you have a spare free drive, save the video in the highest possible mode, and then export the lower version as needed.