ClipLogger base app$0to browse, log, search and keep your work.
Use your Mac and existing storage. Local AI has no per-clip service fee. Rush and Your API are optional.
Start a free logging sessionper seat / year ($29.75 × 12)
$420 per seat for 12 months at the $35 monthly rate.
500 GB active storage per seat is included. More storage can add cost; this is a workspace price, not a logging-only price.
Check Shade pricingWhat ClipLogger adds
ClipLogger is a companion to Shade and the rest of your archive. Open footage your Mac can access, build a log with your own fields and known subjects, then search those records inside ClipLogger. Your storage can stay where it works for you.
Your log is searchable inside ClipLogger, and useful outside it.
Find a named athlete, a particular menu item or a useful moment with ClipLogger’s native search and filters. Use semantic or visual discovery when you are exploring, then narrow by the fields you have reviewed. Write the log beside the media and use it in supported editor exports, so the same work helps you in the app and at handoff.
Shrimp scampi + close-up + 4 stars
Menu_Shrimp-Scampi_Close-up_004.movMenu_Shrimp-Scampi_Close-up_004.mov.logger.jsonCompare the capabilities
✓ Supported · ✕ Not offered · ◐ Different scope · ? Not documented. Unknown does not mean absent.
| What you can do | ClipLogger | Shade |
|---|---|---|
| Search, browse and log without a paid subscription | YesFree base app, including native log search. | NoPaid workspace after trial. |
| Work with footage on existing drives | YesUse readable folders on your Mac, attached media or mounted storage. | Partial / different scopeMounted Shade drives and proxy workflows; cloud workspace. |
| Copy and verify camera media | YesIngest with verification and a result you can inspect. | Not documentedEquivalent verified camera-card offload is not established. |
| Scan clips as filmstrips and a continuous reel | YesSee how a clip develops, then move through the shoot. | Not documentedComparable filmstrip and continuous-reel views are not established. |
| See footage across nested folders | YesDrill-down brings the directory into one view. | Not documentedRecursive footage browsing is not established by the reviewed documentation. |
| Learn a logging palette from existing filenames | YesInfer editable fields and options from an already named directory. | Not documentedAutomatic palette-building from existing filenames is not documented. |
| Define typed fields and reusable logging controls | YesSingle / multi-select, subjects, flags, ratings, text and more. | YesCustom metadata and views. |
| Use a roster and code replacement for known names | YesMap your codes to subjects and field values. | Not documentedRoster code replacement not documented in the reviewed pages. |
| Recognize people, items and places from examples | YesName a subject, provide face or appearance examples, and review suggested matches. | Partial / different scopeFacial recognition; the same face + appearance + roster workflow is not established. |
| Suggest values using your own logging vocabulary | YesLocal, Your API or Rush; review the proposed log. | YesAutomated metadata attributes. |
| Discover footage by meaning or visual similarity | YesSearch by meaning, use a prepared text-to-image model, or Find Similar. | YesSemantic AI search. |
| Combine metadata filters to narrow a shoot | YesPick from the indexed names and values in your directory, then combine conditions. | YesMetadata and custom views. |
| Turn suggested ranges into virtual clips | YesInspect suggested spans; keep the useful range without duplicating the original. | Not documentedPromotion of AI-suggested spans into virtual clips not established. |
| Carry useful ranges and markers into an editor | YesSupported NLE exports; check the fields and timing each format carries. | Partial / different scopeCSV/ALE view export; source marker/range parity not established. |
| Write separate subclip files when you need them | YesStream-copy or frame-accurate re-encode; keep the source original. | Not documentedLocal stream-copy or frame-accurate subclip export not established. |
| Turn your reviewed log into actual filenames | YesPreview field-based names, then rename files on disk. | Not documentedReviewed field-to-disk naming workflow not established. |
| Keep readable metadata beside the media | YesEnable .logger.json output; retain written sidecars with the originals. | Partial / different scopeExport views; automatic per-file sidecar workflow not established. |
| Run vision-based logging on your own editing Mac | YesUse a supported model that fits your Mac; no per-clip local service fee. | NoHosted workspace AI, not a model running on your editing Mac. |
| Share browser review links and collect team approvals | NoNo hosted video review or approval portal. | YesBrowser review, comments and annotations. |
From the folder to the edit
Browse nested folders together. Reuse supported XMP values or learn a palette from existing filenames. Name people, items and places, review AI suggestions, then search the log by words, meaning or the values in your directory.
Filmstrips, Reel, markers and virtual clips help you collect useful moments. Write reviewed fields into filenames and sidecars, then export supported selects to your NLE. See the workflow.
What you keep after cancelling
Shade documents CSV/ALE view exports and an API route to CSV. Keep those exports: they can contain useful metadata. They do not establish a portable copy of Shade’s semantic search index, embeddings or inference system that you can run after cancelling. In ClipLogger, saved filenames and written sidecars remain files you control, and you can continue using the free base app. An export preserves the values it contains; it does not preserve every behavior of the service that created them.
What the full workflow costs
For five paid Growth seats, the listed annual rate totals $1,785 a year, including 2.5 TB of active storage. Five people can use ClipLogger’s free base on their own supported Macs for $0 in base-app fees. That does not buy them Shade’s shared cloud storage or review portal. Compare the part you need: a logging workflow, a shared workspace, or both.
ClipLogger’s base app stays free. Local models use your Mac’s memory and time; start a batch overnight to work through an old shoot. Pro is $20/month with 150 Rush credits ($240 over 12 months); one eligible clip uses one credit. Your API requires eligible paid access plus your provider’s usage bill. Plans and submission limits.
Choosing the right combination
You need a shared cloud drive, browser access, facial recognition and timecoded team feedback in one service. Those are real capabilities you are paying for.
ClipLogger fits when: You want a searchable metadata layer across accessible footage, including material outside your Shade workspace, with your own vocabulary and durable outputs.
ClipLogger currently requires an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 or later. It has no hosted video-review portal, and native RED R3D playback is not supported. Format and setup details.
If you use both
Mount the Shade media your Mac can access, or work with accessible originals and the proxy setup you already use. ClipLogger adds roster or item lookup, reviewed fields, ranges and metadata-based naming. Keep Shade for the shared workspace and review tools you use. This is a folder-based workflow, not an automatic import of Shade’s catalog.
Try the work on one shoot
Can you find the same useful shot in ClipLogger and keep its log with the archive?
Use one shoot and a known subject: a player, product or dish. Review suggestions, combine subject and shot-size filters, then save a useful range. Write the sidecar and open a supported export in the editor. Check both the search in ClipLogger and what the handoff carries.
Bring your current workflow into ClipLogger. Shade view exports are useful records, but ClipLogger does not currently import a complete Shade workspace or its AI search index.
Sources & scope
Checked September 14, 2026. Comparisons use vendor documentation; we have not benchmarked the products against each other.
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