Final Cut Server isn’t built for working with iMovie and iMovie isn’t built for working with Final Cut Server. Therefore, when you’re using the two of them together it is important to keep a few things in mind.
Using Final Cut Server Assets with iMovie
First, when importing media into iMovie from Final Cut Server then it will need to be in either dv, mpeg-2 or mpeg-4 formats. Next, if you’re importing 1080i media then by default it will be converted into 960×540, a significant change from working with uncompressed media. Additionally, when you import media into iMovie, the default setting is to copy the media into the iMovie library. Finally, if you are going to be dragging media from the Final Cut Server window straight into iMovie, this is supported but you will first need to cache the media to your hard drive. To do so, you can just drag the media into an existing Event in iMovie and then when you’re prompted (as seen below) select Add to Cache.
Another way to cache the media is to Control-Click on the asset and select Add to Cache, as seen below.
While the primary representation of the asset is being cached to your computer you will see the following in your Final Cut Server window:
If you are unsure as to what format the media you are using is being kept in then you can click on the asset and then in the left side of your Final Cut Server screen you will see something similar to the following, which will list the format (this file is in dv format):
Importing Media into Final Cut Server from iMovie
In addition to bringing media into iMovie from Final Cut Server you can also take your media from iMovie and make them into Final Cut Server assets. This is because Final Cut Server has built-in support for dv, mpeg-2 and mpeg-4 files. To migrate data from events in iMovie to Final Cut Server just drag the media files (dv by default) into Final Cut Server from the Finder. These files are automatically stored in the ~/Movies/iMovie Events/EVENT NAME (where EVENT NAME is the name of the event shown within iMovie). If the files are not shown in this folder then you can Control-Click on an item in the event browser and then select Reveal in Finder as seen below:
Once you have located the media from iMovie then you can drag it into Final Cut Server. Then follow the steps you would normally follow to complete the upload and transcoding of your assets. Alternatively you can use the Import feature of Final Cut Server to import the media.
Additionally you may choose to import your projects into Final Cut Server. When working with Projects, Final Cut Server is not going to have as seamless an integration as you are used to with your Final Cut Studio or Final Cut Pro project files. When you import a Final Cut Pro project, all of your linked assets will be imported into Final Cut Server. However, when you are working with iMovie projects you will be accessing a bundle, which does not have all of the original elements of your media attached to it, nor the appropriate metadata. Instead, your projects will be seen as a bundle. To import the bundle, click on the Project from within iMovie and then drag it over to your Final Cut Server library (or Control-Click on it and then select Reveal in Finder and then drag it into your Final Cut Server library.
You will then be asked whether to Create a Bundle Asset or Create Individual Assets. Click on Create Bundle Asset and the data will be imported into Final Cut Server.