Fix Eye Contact in Final Cut Pro and iMovie Footage on a Mac

iMovie has no relink command, so the easiest order is to correct the take first and build the movie with the corrected clip. If the video is in Photos, export it with File > Export > Export Unmodified Original, upload that file to StoryCut, and import the corrected MP4 into iMovie.

Already edited? Import the corrected clip, select it in the browser (hold R and drag to select just the part you need), drag it onto the old clip in the timeline and choose Replace from Start. iMovie keeps the old clip’s length and starts from the beginning of your selection.

Recent iPhones record HDR video by default. The corrected file is SDR (Rec. 709), so use it in a Final Cut project set to Standard color space, or turn off HDR Video in the iPhone’s camera settings before your next take, so the corrected clip matches the rest of your footage. Phones and screen recorders often record at a variable frame rate; the corrected file has a constant one, which editors handle more predictably.

Upload the original MOV or MP4 rather than a ProRes export: ProRes files are large, and uploads are capped at 2 GB per file on the Free and Starter plans (pack videos included), 5 GB on Pro and 10 GB on Business. The corrected MP4 keeps the resolution, up to 4K, and the first audio track as it is; uncompressed PCM audio comes back as 320 kbps AAC.