ClipStart with the folder you stopped opening
Years of unlogged footage can still hold the shot your next project needs. Open an old shoot in ClipLogger, turn on Drill-down to see its nested folders together, and let a local model take the first pass at describing it.
The footage can stay on your Mac, SSD or accessible mounted storage. Start with one shoot so you can judge the results before working through the rest of the archive.
Tell ClipLogger what would make it useful
Build a small logging palette. A restaurant archive might need menu item, shot size and action. A documentary might need speaker, location and topic. A sports archive might need athlete, play and reaction.
Name the people, items or places you already know, and add clear visual examples for subject matching. If the filenames already contain useful labels, Learn from these files… can turn them into an editable palette. Build your palette.
Leave a local batch running overnight
Choose a supported local model, try a few clips, then select a larger batch and run Prepare Suggestions. Keep ClipLogger open, the Mac awake and the media connected. How much finishes depends on the model, your hardware, the footage and the size of the batch.
Local processing has no per-clip service fee. If the editing Mac needs to stay free, you can point the local engine at a compatible model server on another machine, or use Rush for hosted processing. Choose an engine.
ClipLogger also uses idle time to prepare search and subject matches for available media in libraries you have already opened. Full logging suggestions start with the batch you choose; the app does not quietly search every unopened drive.
Studio currently pools Rush credits across a team. Automatic distribution of a local batch across several Macs is not available yet.
Come back to something you can search
Review the proposed fields and subject matches. You now have more ways into the footage: a name, a spoken phrase, a visual description or the values in the log.
Open the filter picker to see what has been indexed in that directory. Pick Shrimp scampi, add Close-up, then narrow to your highly rated clips. You can see the available subjects and values before choosing; no need to remember what was in a shoot from three years ago. Try structured search.
Search can surface forgotten footage. Your review turns it into a useful select: play the clip, mark the moment, and give it a rating or note for the next editor.
Keep what you discover
Enable sidecar writing to keep the fuller log with the footage. Use reviewed fields in filenames when helpful, and back up the project and catalog too. A paid processing plan ending does not remove your completed local work or stop you searching it in the free app.
The next time someone asks for a shot, start with the log you built. Back up your library.