How to Export iMovie to QuickTime

You may need to share your creative movie on the web, or email to a friend, then you may want to save your iMovie project as a QuickTime movie. Ok, if you just finished editing using iMovie, below tutorial will guide you how to export iMovie to QuickTime on Mac OS including Snow Leopard and Lion.

Share and export using QuickTime

Once you choose to Share-->Export using QuickTime… to export in QuickTime, you have a number of choices to make about the intended destination for the file. These presets (such as Web, CD-ROM) are "easy", compatible compression schemes that will play back on a variety of QuickTime versions. They are "safe" bets, but if you have QuickTime 6 or 7, it is best to choose your compression settings from the "Expert" dialog box. Proceed to save under "expert," and in the Save as… dialog box, you can choose which settings to make for your saved masterpiece.

Expert Settings

The formats listed above for export to QuickTime each use audio and video compression formats, frame rates and viewing size which will create movies with a file size suited to the particular purpose. If you wish to create your QuickTime movie using a specific compression format, frame rate, or size you should choose Expert Settings from the Format menu and then click Export.

This will open a window prompting you for a filename and location for the QuickTime movie. The Use menu offers more built-in export formats.

This will open the Movie Settings window. The settings for the particular use you have chosen in the Use menu will be displayed. You can change any of these settings using the buttons in the Movie Settings window.

My Recommendation

I like high quality video. With Apple’s H.264, they will be able to bring high definition (HD) to the desktop with QuickTime 7. I’ll provide two examples: the first is "high quality, latest codec" version, and a smaller, "more compatible" version. Feel free to adjust these recipes for your own needs.

High Quality Export Recipe

Codec: MPEG-4

Framerate: 15 fps

Keyframes: 60

Size: 640x480

Quality: High

Audio: MPEG-4 Audio, 128kbit, mono

Smaller, More Compatible Recipe

Codec: Sorensen 3

Framerate: 10fps

Keyframes: 60, or automatic

Size: 240x180

Quality: High

Audio: QDesign Music, mono

Export iMovie as QuickTime Video

Click OK to begin creating your QuickTime movie. The length of time it takes to create your QuickTime movie will depend on the length of your movie, the format you choose, and the speed of the computer.

You can also export iMovie to WMV for Window Media, export iMovie to AVI, etc.