# Media library

> Import media, inspect files, and generate proxies, transcripts, captions, and AI scene data.

Formats Studio docs · Core editing · https://formats.app/docs/media · Updated 2026-09-27

## Import media

- Open the **Media** tab and use **Import** to pick files, or drag files straight into the library.
- Formats Studio handles video, audio, images, GIFs, SVGs, Lottie animations (`.json` and `.lottie`), and generated assets. GIFs import as image items.
- Use **Import Media From URL** for a direct link to a media file — the URL must point at the file itself, not a page that embeds it.

> **Note:** Apple ProRes footage imports, previews, and generates thumbnails like any other clip — including footage many apps cannot decode on their own. When you export, ProRes clips are re-encoded to your chosen output codec; there is no ProRes output format.

> **Note:** To bring in a whole folder, drop its files into the library, or ask your agent to import the folder. If a file will not import, try a different format or transcode it first.

> **Tip:** Log footage (S-Log3 and similar) looks flat and washed out by design — that is how it is captured. Add a LUT or color grade to bring it back; nothing is wrong with the file.

## Inspect a clip

- Open **Media info** to see codec, dimensions, duration, frame rate, file size, type, and transcript status.
- Double-click a media card, or use **Open In Source Monitor**, to preview a source before editing it in.
- Media cards expose menus for File, Proxy, Transcript, Embedded captions, and AI actions.
- Sort, filter, and group assets by type when the library grows large.

## Generate support data

| Action | What it gives you |
| --- | --- |
| Generate Proxy | A lighter version of a heavy video for smoother editing; export still uses the original. |
| Generate Transcript | Editable speech text you can search and turn into captions. |
| Extract Embedded Subtitles | Subtitle tracks pulled from the file, ready to insert into the timeline. |
| Analyze with AI | Local scene detection and captioning so clips become searchable in the Scene Browser. |

## Compound clips

- Group a section of the timeline into a **compound clip** that behaves like a single reusable media item.
- Compound clips appear in the media library and can be placed again like any other asset.
- Right-click a compound clip and choose **Open as tab** to edit it as a standalone **sequence**.

> **Note:** Compound clips can be nested — one can contain another — as long as the chain never loops back on itself.

## Lottie animations

Import Lottie files — raw `.json` or packaged `.lottie` archives — as timeline items that render frame-accurately in preview and export. Select a Lottie clip to reveal its editing controls in the properties panel **Lottie** section.

- Control **Speed**, **Reverse**, **Loop**, and **Ping-pong** playback.
- Set a **Start frame** / **End frame** segment to play only part of the animation, or pick a named **Marker** to jump the segment to it.
- Recolor the animation — author-named **Colors** are surfaced first, with the remaining shapes tucked under a disclosure; a shared color edits every shape that used it, and **Reset all** restores the originals.
- Edit template **Text** layers in place, and adjust exposed scalar and vector value slots under **Properties**.
- For `.lottie` archives that bundle more than one animation, switch between them with the **Animation** picker; swap palettes with the **Theme** picker when the file ships themes.

> **Tip:** Color, text, slot, and segment edits preview live on the canvas as you drag or type, and commit as a single undo step. Animation, theme, marker, segment, and template editing apply to one selected Lottie clip at a time.

## Fix missing media

> **Warning:** Missing Media appears when a linked file moved, was renamed, was deleted or sits on a drive that is not connected. Use **Locate**, **Locate Folder**, or **Browse Another Folder** to restore the link. Use **Work Offline** only when you intend to relink later.

## Related

- [Source monitor](https://formats.app/docs/source-monitor): Preview a source, mark an in/out range, and insert or overwrite it onto the timeline.
- [Timeline basics](https://formats.app/docs/timeline): Tracks, adding clips, selection, split and join, deleting, snapping, ranges, sequences, and zoom.
- [Scene browser and search](https://formats.app/docs/scene-browser): Analyze media locally to caption scenes, then search by keyword, meaning, or color.
- [Export](https://formats.app/docs/export): Render video or audio on your Mac, choose the format and sequence, and clear any blocking checks.