Library and uploads
On this page
The Library holds every file the studio has: one folder per production, a small Studio drive for brand assets, templates and music, and collections that gather files from anywhere. Every file is encrypted before it is stored, previews are made on the server, and uploads pick up where they left off.
How it is organized
- Productions. Each production gets six folders the first time an admin or editor opens its Media: Frames, Stills, Audio, Picture Reviews, Picture Finals and Paperwork. Add your own with “New folder”.
- Studio. Folders that are not tied to a production. Make them with “New folder” at the top level.
- Collections. A set of files from anywhere, with a cover and a description. They are made from a file’s menu under Add to collection, then “New collection…”.
A production’s Media tab is the same view, limited to that production.
Switch between grid and list, and sort by name, date added, size, type or status. In the grid, each tile takes the file’s own shape, from vertical to wide, so a phone clip looks like one. Click a file to select it, ⌘-click to add more, Shift-click for a range. Enter opens, F2 renames, ⌫ moves to the trash.
Uploading
- Open the folder and choose “Upload”, or drag files from the desktop onto the folder, the content area or a tile in the tree.
- Files upload in 64 MB pieces, two at a time, up to 150 GB each. The Uploads row in the sidebar and the tray show progress.
- If the connection drops, the upload retries on its own after 1, 5 and 15 minutes, and resumes from where it stopped. After that it waits for you: choose “Retry”. After a reload, choose the same file again and it carries on.
Files of 5 GB and over ask how to make the preview first: on the server, or upload the original only and make a preview later with “Regenerate preview”.
Versions
Drop a new file onto an existing card, or choose “Upload new version”, and it stacks as v2, v3 and so on. The card shows the version badge. Open comments from the previous version carry forward, marked “from v1”, and any approval resets so the new version is reviewed again. “Versions” in the menu or the inspector switches between them, and “Make current” picks which one is current.
Every file has a state
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Uploading N% | Still arriving. Resumable. |
| Waiting for preview, Processing preview N% | In the queue. Files in an active review link go first. |
| Ready, Needs review, Approved, Changes requested, Final | Playable. The review states come from the viewer. |
| Original only | Video or audio with no preview. It downloads but will not play in the browser. |
| No preview | The preview failed. The card says why and offers “Regenerate preview”. |
Previews are made on the server, one at a time. For video, the clip’s default size (1080p, or the largest size the clip fills) and its poster come first, and the clip plays as soon as they are out. The other H.264 sizes follow: 2160p (4K) when the source fills it, 720p and 540p, never larger than the source. Vertical footage gets upright sizes and wide footage full-width ones. If the other sizes fail, the clip still plays at its default size. Images get a still up to 1600 px; audio gets an AAC file and a waveform. Documents have no preview and open in a new tab. The player plays the default size unless you pick another, or the original, from the quality menu under it; the choice sticks on that device. The Details panel lists every preview size with its weight.
The file menu
Right-click a file, or choose “More” in the inspector:
- Open, Share, Download (Proxy or Original)
- Rename, Move, New folder with selection, Edit metadata (description, camera, reel, scene, take, tags, notes)
- Add to collection, Upload new version, Versions
- Set thumbnail (pick a frame or an image), Regenerate preview, Copy
- Move to trash
Folders have Open, Share, Rename, Move, New folder inside, Upload files here and Move to trash.
The inspector
The panel on the right shows what is selected: the preview, type, size, duration, resolution and codec, who uploaded it and when, the open comments, metadata and tags. Its Versions tab lists the stack, and Activity shows the last 40 things that happened to the file.
Trash
Moving to the trash is reversible. Trash in the tree lists everything with where it was and a “Restore” button. Only admins can “Delete forever”, one item at a time, and nothing is deleted on a schedule.
Processing health
Processing health, at the bottom of the tree, shows what is waiting, what is processing, what failed in the last seven days with the reason and a “Retry now” or “Regenerate” button, the queue in order, and the median time per hour of footage on the server.
Good to know
- Admins and editors change the Library. Viewers look. Crew see only the folders of their own productions, no Studio drive and no trash.
- “Download all” on a share page downloads every file the link allows, one after another.
- Share links are made from the file or folder menu, the inspector, or the Share button at the top. See Sharing links.
- Pictures Up Drive, the Mac app that mounts the Library in Finder and makes previews there, is mentioned in a few places but is not part of this build yet.