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Add metadata to a video
Video metadata holds what is true of the whole project: the client, the job number, the production status, whether the release is signed. You type it once per video instead of once per shot, and then it is searchable and filterable like anything else.
Shot metadata describes moments. Video metadata describes the job.
Custom fields — shot or video — are included on every plan. See Compare plans.
Decide whether a field belongs to the video or the shot
| The fact | Put it on | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Client, job number, production status, rights | The video | It is true of everything in the project |
| Shot size, action, usable, rating, location | The shot | It changes from shot to shot |
The test is whether the value could ever differ between two shots in the same project. If it could, it is a shot field.
The exception is compilations. A reel cut from four shoots may carry four clients and six locations, and a single video-level Client is then a lie. Put those on the shots and keep the video fields for what genuinely applies to the whole file.
Create a video metadata field
- Open Preferences (Cmd+P on Mac, Ctrl+P on Windows).
- Go to Notes & Metadata → Video Metadata.
- Add a field and name it.
- Choose a field type.
- Add options for a dropdown or tag field, and a one-line description of what the field is for.
Video fields are a single flat list. There are no categories to arrange, because the values sit on the video itself rather than being grouped along a timeline.
Fill in video metadata
Your video fields appear in the inspector when a video is selected — in the library, and in the editor's Video section alongside the title and notes.
Enter or choose a value and it saves as you leave the field. There is no separate save step.
Video metadata edits are recorded in version history as video metadata edit, so a mistake is recoverable.
Search and filter by video metadata
- Type into library search and it reads your video Text, Dropdown, Tag and Number values, alongside shot fields and transcripts. Typing a client name finds the projects filed against it.
- Filter with chips for closed, numeric or checkbox fields — Status is Delivered, Release complete is ticked, Job number is not empty.
- Save a combination you keep re-running as a quick filter.
Because a video field applies to the whole project, a match on one is a match on that project — a good reason to keep project-wide facts here rather than duplicated across every shot.
Field types and what to use them for
| Type | Good for |
|---|---|
| Text | Job number, producer, agency, brief reference |
| Dropdown | Production status — a fixed list you can filter cleanly |
| Tag | Locations, campaigns, deliverable types |
| Checkbox | Release complete, archived, invoice sent |
| Rating / Number | Only where it means something at whole-video level — a budget code, a client score |
Prefer a Dropdown over Text wherever the answers are a known set. A typed status is four spellings of in progress by the end of the year; a dropdown is one.
Full definitions are in Field types.
AI Autofill does not fill video fields
AI Autofill is a shot metadata feature. It reads one frame per shot, and a video has no frame of its own — so the Video Metadata pane carries no Autofill switch at all.
That is the right split rather than a missing feature. A client name, a job number and a rights status are not in the picture; they are known by the person who booked the job. Type them once here.
Edit, archive or delete a field
Renaming a field, or adding options to it, keeps the values already recorded against it.
Archive field — in the field's kebab menu — takes a field out of the inspector without destroying anything. Archived fields live in the archive drawer on Preferences → Notes & Metadata → Shot Metadata, which is the one place in the app that holds archived fields from either scope.
Deleting a field permanently deletes its values
From the archive drawer, Delete permanently removes the field and the values recorded against it, across every project. The confirmation names how much it would touch — 41 shots across 3 projects — so read that count before confirming. Restoring from the archive is the reversible option; this one is not.
Filters and quick filters that referenced a deleted field no longer have anything to ask about. Archive first, live with it for a week, delete later.
Related pages
- Organize your StoryFolder library
- Search your library · Quick filters
- Custom fields · Field types
- AI Autofill