Turn your Bridge folders into a useful video log

What you gain

Keep the ratings and keywords you already created, then add subjects, typed fields and useful ranges for the next edit.

You can start with the free base app and your existing storage. Use the first shoot to build a palette, identify known subjects and hand useful ranges to the editor. Standard metadata and arbitrary custom XMP are different cases. A custom Bridge namespace does not automatically become a ClipLogger palette field.

1. Bring the files and keep the old log

Keep the media with its embedded metadata and XMP sidecars. Save the keyword hierarchy and record the ratings, labels and custom fields that matter. Open a copy of one shoot in ClipLogger and check which existing values appear before rebuilding anything.

Use a copy of one shoot for the first rename or metadata-writing attempt. Include repeated camera filenames from different cards, and retain the full source paths so you can tell them apart.

2. Reuse the work you already did

Download the mapping worksheet. It is a checklist for your records, not a file to import into the app.

If your existing filenames already describe the shoot, open that directory and choose Learn from these files… from the palette picker. With at least three visible files, ClipLogger can infer a palette you can edit. Supported XMP fields can also be read from media; that does not convert every vendor’s custom field or AI index.

3. Give the next editor a better log

Import a roster, menu or code-replacement table for the names and terms you know. Set fields such as action, shot size and rating, then choose a small batch for suggestions. Use a supported local model for no per-clip service fee, or choose Rush for hosted processing. Review the suggested values against the footage.

Use Drill-down to see nested camera folders together. Search by meaning, transcript or the reviewed fields, then narrow the results with the values available in the directory. Mark the useful ranges and promote the ones you want to log separately into virtual clips. Search and filter guide.

4. Write something you can keep

Enable .logger.json output and confirm the sidecars have been written beside your pilot media. Preview a filename built from your reviewed fields, then apply it to the copy. Keep names stable once the editor links the footage, or plan to relink after a rename.

Open a supported export in a test NLE project. Check the actual names, metadata and source timing there. If you need a separate media file, choose subclip export; a virtual clip by itself still depends on the original. Naming · Sidecars · NLE handoff.

5. Decide what you still need to pay for

Keep Bridge where you need its photo and Adobe workflows. Open supported footage in ClipLogger, index the directory, and build the video palette around your editor’s requests. Preserve existing XMP; verify which fields ClipLogger reads and use “Learn from these files…” to build a palette from an established naming convention.

Bridge already supports portable XMP metadata, so ownership is shared ground. ClipLogger adds its fuller written JSON record for the video log, with optional handoff formats for other tools. Keep both the media and the metadata you wrote; a receiving editor still needs a supported format.

Keep a way back

Retain the original media and XMP before applying rename or metadata changes. You can continue the photo workflow in Bridge while the video log grows in ClipLogger.

Retain the original media and old exports until an editor has used the new handoff. Back up the ClipLogger project/catalog as well as sidecars, especially when some work has not been written beside the files.

Return to the Adobe Bridge comparison for capability and cost details.