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How to move a video project without breaking media links

Collect the project and the media it uses into one folder with your editing app, copy that folder to the other computer without changing anything inside it, then relink once if any clips show offline. Moving the project file on its own is what leaves every clip red.

Why this is harder than it should be

  • Projects remember exact paths. Editing apps store where each clip was, down to the drive and folder. Change either and the link breaks.
  • Paths differ between computers. Different user names, drive names and, between Mac and Windows, drive letters instead of volumes. The same footage lives at a different path on every machine.
  • Media is scattered. Footage, audio, graphics, music and proxies often sit in different folders and drives, and it’s easy to leave one behind.
  • Projects are huge. Hundreds of gigabytes of footage, plus caches and render files that can be nearly as big.
  • And full of small files. Proxies, thumbnails, waveforms and camera metadata add thousands of small files, which network file sharing copies slowly.
  • Connecting the computers is its own job. Built-in file sharing needs settings, an account, an address and a sign-in on each side, and it drops when a computer sleeps.
  • Relinking is fiddly. If names or folder structure changed, you match clips one batch at a time.

1. Collect the project first

Each app can copy a project and only the media it uses into one place:

  • Premiere Pro: choose File > Project Manager, select the sequences to include, choose Collect Files and Copy to New Location, and pick an empty destination folder. Select Exclude Unused Clips to leave out media no sequence uses.
  • Final Cut Pro: select the library in the sidebar and choose File > Consolidate Library Media. This copies media stored outside the library into it, or into one folder you choose. Then move the library.
  • DaVinci Resolve: in the Project Manager, right-click the project and choose Export Project Archive. Include the media. On the other computer, right-click in the Project Manager and choose Restore Project Archive.

Collecting also leaves out unused takes, which can make the transfer much smaller. Check the collected folder’s size before you copy it, so you know the other computer has room.

2. Keep the same structure

  • Move the collected folder as one piece, without renaming anything inside it.
  • If you work from an external media drive, give the drive the same name on both computers.
  • Leave render and cache files behind; the app rebuilds them. In Final Cut Pro, choose File > Delete Generated Library Files before copying to make the library smaller.
  • Keep the original until the project opens on the other computer with every clip online.

3. Move it the fastest way you have

A direct Thunderbolt or USB4 cable is the quickest path between two computers in the same room, then wired Ethernet, then a fast SSD. Avoid Wi-Fi and cloud sync for projects this size. A cable needs Thunderbolt 3 or newer, or USB4, on both computers; check yours with how to tell if your laptop has Thunderbolt or USB4.

With built-in file sharing, the cable is a private network between the two computers. The steps below share a folder from one Mac and open it on another. For a Windows PC, see transferring files between Windows and Mac.

On the Mac that has the project

  1. Connect the two Macs with a Thunderbolt cable. Each Mac adds a Thunderbolt Bridge connection in System Settings > Network.
  2. In System Settings, choose General > Sharing, and turn on File Sharing.
  3. Click the info button next to File Sharing. Under Shared Folders, click + and add the collected project folder or the media drive.
  4. Find the cable’s address: in System Settings > Network, choose Thunderbolt Bridge, click Details…, then TCP/IP. With no router on the cable, the address starts with 169.254.

On the Mac you’re moving it to

  1. In Finder, choose Go > Connect to Server.
  2. Type smb:// followed by the first Mac’s cable address, for example smb://169.254.10.20, and click Connect.
  3. Choose Registered User and sign in with the first Mac’s account name and password.
  4. Choose the shared folder. It opens in Finder.
  5. Drag the collected folder to a local drive. Open the project from there, not from the shared folder.

Problems you may run into

  • The copy goes over Wi-Fi. If you connect using the Mac’s name or the Network sidebar, the copy can travel over Wi-Fi instead of the cable. Use the 169.254 address.
  • The share disappears. When either Mac sleeps, restarts or the cable comes out, Finder drops the shared folder and an unfinished copy stops. Connect again from Go > Connect to Server, and check which files arrived. See why a network share disconnects after sleep.
  • Small files slow it down. File sharing makes several round trips for every file, so proxies, thumbnails and library folders take far longer than their size suggests.
  • The copy runs below the cable’s speed. See why file sharing over Thunderbolt runs below the cable’s speed.

For other ways to move large media, see moving footage from a laptop to a desktop and the fastest way to transfer large files.

4. If clips still show offline

Relink once, from the top folder of the collected media. Most apps then find the rest by name:

  • Premiere Pro: when the Link Media dialog opens, click Locate and choose the first missing file. Premiere looks for the others in the same place.
  • Final Cut Pro: select the library or the missing clips, choose File > Relink Files > Original Media, then click Locate All and choose the folder.
  • DaVinci Resolve: in the Media Pool, select the offline clips, right-click and choose Relink Selected Clips, then choose the folder.