You can import the following video, still image, and audio formats:
Apple Animation codec
Apple Intermediate codec
Apple ProRes (all versions)
AVCHD (including AVCCAM, AVCHD Lite, and NXCAM)
AVC-ULTRA (including AVC-LongG, AVC-Intra Class 50/100/200/4:4:4, and AVC-Intra LT)
DV (including DVCAM, DVCPRO, and DVCPRO50)
DVCPRO HD
H.264 (AVC)
H.265 (HEVC)
HDV
iFrame
Motion JPEG
MPEG IMX (30 Mbps, 40 Mbps, 50 Mbps)
QuickTime formats
Uncompressed 8- and 10-bit 4:2:2
XDCAM HD/EX/HD422
XF-AVC
3GP
AVI
MOV (QuickTime)
MP4
MTS/M2TS
MXF
BMP
GIF
HEIF
JPEG
PNG
PSD (merged and layered)
SGI
TIFF
TGA
OpenEXR
PDF files
AAC (listed in the Finder with the .m4p filename extension)
AIFF
CAF
MP3
MP4
WAV
Important: You cannot import rights-managed AAC files, such as non-iTunes Plus tracks purchased from the iTunes Store.
You can combine clips that are compressed with different codecs in the same project. You can also combine clips that have different frame sizes, pixel aspect ratios, and interlacing.
Although you can import movies in nearly any codec, avoid using highly compressed clips in projects. Excessively compressed clips can display undesirable visual artifacts. Fortunately, many formats are ideal for moving uncompressed or minimally compressed video files between applications, including Apple ProRes, Uncompressed 8- and 10-bit 4:2:2, DVCPRO50, and so on.
Some codecs support alpha channels, which define areas of transparency in the clip. If an imported clip has an alpha channel, Motion uses the alpha channel in your project.