Aperture - help exporting videos

[conamor]

Good day,

I might have made a mistake when importing SD cards to my aperture lib. It imported the video files also. I should have transferred them directly to imovie but anyway.

Here is my issue. I am trying to export those videos from Aperture to my iMovie library. I export the videos to the desktop but it loses the metadata (so the creation date is gone after the export) I need to keep it in order to have my videos in the good order...

Let me know if you would have any tricks to this,

Thanks!!

 

[conamor]

I think I am understanding something here. Pictures do have exif data but not video files. How can the video retain the creation date when exporting from Aperture to the desktop?

 

[MCH-1138]

When you export an image or video, Aperture creates a new file (even if you select export original). I think you are correct that the video files don't contain EXIF data, so the exported file's creation date is the date it was exported, rather than the date the video was created. So what you want is the original video files.

NOTE 1: Before proceeding (1) MAKE A BACKUP; and (2) I would try this with one file or a small batch of files before doing it with all of them.

In Aperture, select the video files you want to move and then select "Relocate Originals" in the File menu. Stick them in a temporary directory on the Desktop for the moment. You should have the option (through the Subfolder Format drop-down) to put them all in a single directory ("None"), maintain your project hierarchy ("Project Name"), etc.). For "Name Format," I would go with "Original File Name." Aperture will then relocate all of the original files to the new destination. In the Finder, duplicate this folder (see Note 2, below) and name the new version something like "To Import". You should be able to import the video files into iMovie from the new location ("To Import"), just as if you were importing from your SD card or whatever source you normally use. Once you've confirmed the videos have been imported into iMovie with the appropriate creation dates, you can delete the videos from Aperture. Remember to empty your Aperture trash (after verifying everything in iMovie) in order to free up the disk space.

NOTE 2: I recommend duplicating this folder because you are going to eventually delete the files out of Aperture. Duplicating creates a new set of originals for iMovie to work with. When you delete the Aperture files, you can can delete the versions and originals (because iMovie is working with the new set of originals).

 

[Hughmac]

You may also wish to try MetaZ https://griff.github.io/metaz/ with which you can edit a video file's metadata, including creation dates.

Cheers

Hugh

 

[conamor]

Thanks everyone! I will definately try this when I get back home tonight!

 

[conamor]

When you export an image or video, Aperture creates a new file (even if you select export original). I think you are correct that the video files don't contain EXIF data, so the exported file's creation date is the date it was exported, rather than the date the video was created. So what you want is the original video files.

NOTE 1: Before proceeding (1) MAKE A BACKUP; and (2) I would try this with one file or a small batch of files before doing it with all of them.

In Aperture, select the video files you want to move and then select "Relocate Originals" in the File menu. Stick them in a temporary directory on the Desktop for the moment. You should have the option (through the Subfolder Format drop-down) to put them all in a single directory ("None"), maintain your project hierarchy ("Project Name"), etc.). For "Name Format," I would go with "Original File Name." Aperture will then relocate all of the original files to the new destination. In the Finder, duplicate this folder (see Note 2, below) and name the new version something like "To Import". You should be able to import the video files into iMovie from the new location ("To Import"), just as if you were importing from your SD card or whatever source you normally use. Once you've confirmed the videos have been imported into iMovie with the appropriate creation dates, you can delete the videos from Aperture. Remember to empty your Aperture trash (after verifying everything in iMovie) in order to free up the disk space.

NOTE 2: I recommend duplicating this folder because you are going to eventually delete the files out of Aperture. Duplicating creates a new set of originals for iMovie to work with. When you delete the Aperture files, you can can delete the versions and originals (because iMovie is working with the new set of originals).

Thanks very much, part of this is working. I think it depends with with device I recorded the clip. It exports with the date properly when I used a Nikon D3200, but for the videos recorded with my canon HFR42, it doesn't work... My be the way I imported them. But what's weird is that in Aperture I see the good date, as soon I as "move" it to the desktop by using move original - its puts a weird date (I think the date that I imported the files)...

My only way out would be to export them using the naming convention date hours.mov

 

[MCH-1138]

If pulling the originals out doesn't work, I'm afraid I'm out of ideas...

 

[conamor]

No worries Thanks for helping. I might try to break the date with a software that could edit the date after the export (since the real date is still in Aperture, if I don't delete the Aperture link)