Workflow guide for Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 and iMovie


This article displays the best workflow guide for importing Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 footage to iMovie for further editing. If it is what you are looking for, feel free to read it through.

lumix-gh4The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 4K Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera is the first DSLM with 4K cinematic recording capability in the world, which is designed for both professional photo and video use. The GH4 records video files in various formats, from efficient AVCHD and AVCHD Progressive, to 200 Mbps All-Intra and 100 Mbps IPB MOV and MP4 formats. As a global camera, the G4 is able to capture movies at a variety of frame rates, including 23.98p, 25p, 29.97p, 50p, and 59.94p. Users can choose the video format and switch the system frequency between 59.94 Hz (23.98 Hz) and 50 Hz that is right for each project.

The GH4 delivers video quality surpassing lots of professional video cameras, but for some reason, the HD or super HD 4K experience also brings import issues while ingesting Lumix DMC-GH4 files to iMovie for basic editing. How can we make iMovie recognize Lumix GH4 videos smoothly? In this case, we would recommend that you use HD Video Converter for Mac to convert Lumix GH4 AVCHD/MP4/MOV footage to Apple’s InterMediate Codec – iMovie’s native editing codec, which iMovie can open and handle well.

Download a free trial of HD Video Converter for Mac
try gh4 video converter for mac

Panasonic GH4 and iMovie workflow – transcode Lumix GH4 AVCHD/MP4/MOV footage to AIC for iMovie editing

To process format conversion using HD Video Converter for Mac, follow these steps:
1. Install and run HD Video Converter for Mac as a Panasonic Lumix GH4 Video Converter for Mac. The main interface appears as below:
gh4 and imovie

2. Click on ‘Add File’ to add your Lumix GH4 AVCHD/MP4/MOV footage to the program.

3. Select output format for iMovie
To create editable files for iMovie, from the Format Profile bar, choose ‘Apple InterMediateCodec (AIC) (*.mov) as output format from ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column. Note that the AIC codec is also accepted by Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro (HD 4.5 through 5), but rarely used in Final Cut Pro as of Version 6 since it now uses the ProRes codecs instead of the Apple Intermediate Codec.
gh4 video to aic mov
Important: If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.

4. Click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profile Settings’ window to custom video and audio settings. (for advanced users)

5. When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start transcoding Lumix GH4 AVCHD/MP4/MOV footage to AIC – the best suited editing format for using within Apple iMovie’11, iMovie’9 and iMovie’8.

6. When the conversion process is done, click on ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated AIC QuickTime files and open them in iMovie for post-production.

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