Editing GoPro footage in iMovie

Just wondering what steps others take to edit their gopro footage in Imovie. I’m still fairly noob at video editing. I know you can upload the video files straight into Imovie (not sure if this was always the case), but wondering if other ways are better for the following reasons:

* It would often be good to cut the files into smaller sections (let’s face it there is often so much useless footage) before bringing it into Imovie, not only is there less footage to trawl through in Imovie when editing, but you could save only the cropped videos separately and delete the huge original file, saving a tonne of hard drive space. I noticed Gopro Studio can be used to crop the source file, and there appear to be heaps of free software that can do the same. As far as i know Imovie doesn’t do that per se.
* When putting the video straight into Imovie is it automatically compressing/ converting the file and therefore losing quality? Is it better to convert it in a controlled way such as through the Gopro Studio Cineform file format and then bringing it into Imovie. Compressing video files and losing quality is frustrating and confusing. I guess the biggest loss of quality is when you upload to Vimeo/Youtube.

What do the other gopro/Imovie users do as a workflow when editing? Any tips? The information on the internet is kind of all over the place, I think largely because editing software is always changing and updating and new better solutions are created (and I’m still learning this stuff so maybe it doesn’t entirely make sense).
@Mizu Kuma

A really good (and free program) to cut your files into smaller clips is MPEG Streamclip. It lets you cut videos easily and you can export the files in any format/quality etc. I use it all the time.

Download: http://www.squared5.com/

@Dan83, I’m moving this thread to “Photography, Videography, and Design.” ?

A bit more high-end but FCP is the “full” version of iMove, much like Logic ProX is the “full” version of GarageBand, really awesome editing software and not that expensive…

rider26 - 15 April 2016 05:42 AM

A really good (and free program) to cut your files into smaller clips is MPEG Streamclip. It lets you cut videos easily and you can export the files in any format/quality etc. I use it all the time.

Download: http://www.squared5.com/

Thanks @rider26 .

I’ll check that one out. Once you’ve cut up a video file to either save back on your HD or edit in software what format do you export it as? Any loss of quality in the export process that you are aware of?

For still photographs I love Lightroom because you import RAW files, process the RAW file, and then export to whatever quality / format you choose as a last step, so there is no compression / loss of quality from changing formats a couple times through the process. Maybe it’s similar for video and no big deal, but it seems there are many opportunities for video files to be reduced in quality through the editing process, hence wanting to figure out a good workflow while I’m learning

Hughman666 - 15 April 2016 03:10 PM

A bit more high-end but FCP is the “full” version of iMove, much like Logic ProX is the “full” version of GarageBand, really awesome editing software and not that expensive…

Cheers @Hughman666 .

Whoa, Final Cut Pro is $499! Pretty dear, but I guess it must be some serious editing software. I’m pretty happy with iMovie, maybe I’ll venture beyond it once I need something more powerful. What are some features of FCP that you particularly like?

Edit: duplicate message.

So firstly, apologies for the assumption that the FCP cost is cheap - obviously that’s relative to your requirements, usage etc.

Dan, to answer your question, the thing I like about FCP (being a vid whore from way back) is the editing ease, universal plugin support and virtually endless export options. It really is iMovie on steroids.

All this adds up to a super-quick editing experience and you can pair it with Logic Pro for soundtracking to get some nice pro-results.

I’m not saying iMovie sucks, just that FCP & Logic will give you a good pro result.

Having said that, this is all very subjective. I guess there’s a reason Apple force ppl towards FCP and Logic….they work!

I’m just going with what I know….interested to hear your feedback?

Bottom line = the more edits, the better!!

Dan83 - 15 April 2016 06:09 PM

I’ll check that one out. Once you’ve cut up a video file to either save back on your HD or edit in software what format do you export it as? Any loss of quality in the export process that you are aware of?

@Dan83, you can export at full quality and in any format. It really depends on how much HD space you have and how big you want the files (they can get massive!). In general, exporting at about 65% in .mov or .mp4 seems to do the trick quite well (still appears in great quality for web without making monster files). It also depends on a number of other settings like scaling etc. As an example, I just exported a 15-second clip unscaled in .mp4 format at 100% to see how big the file would be… 41mb. Have a play with it and let me know how you go.

Also look into Final Cut Express. It’s not as expensive as Final Cut Pro, but still a powerful program for the average editor.

Dan, when did you go to Mac?

rider26 - 16 April 2016 05:20 AM

Also look into Final Cut Express. It’s not as expensive as Final Cut Pro, but still a powerful program for the average editor.

Dan, when did you go to Mac?

Unfortunately it’s been discontinued See previous comment about Apple railroading us down the full products path. Having said that, it’s still “available”...