Add clips to the script

Two paths in: highlight in the Captions Editor and send, or add the whole asset and trim its words back

There are two ways to get material into a paper edit, and they suit different moods.

The fast path is to open the Captions Editor on a clip, read what was said, drag-select the segments or word range you want, and send the selection to a paper edit. Repeat across as many clips as you want and the script builds up line by line, drawn from one source or hopping across many. The Captions Editor article on Script mode covers the gesture; this article is about the other path.

The other path is to add the whole asset to the paper edit and trim its words back with the drag handles on the row. Add a clip, set its in and out, add the next clip. Same end result, slightly different gear. Pick whichever fits the moment.

This article walks the three ways to add a whole asset.

File picker

Click "Add Clip" in the toolbar above the script panel. The macOS file panel opens. Pick one or more .mp4 or .mov files.

A confirmation sheet appears with two buttons: Add and Add and Transcribe Now. Anything you picked that isn't already in your library gets flagged in the sheet so you know what's about to be imported.

Library pick

Click the chevron next to "Add Clip". A dropdown shows your top 40 most-recently-transcribed clips. Pick one and it lands in the script panel. This is the fastest path when you're working in the same project for a while: the clips you've been transcribing are right there.

Drag onto the sidebar

Drag files from the Library or from Finder onto the paper edit's row in the sidebar. Same confirmation sheet as the file picker, same two buttons.

What lands enabled, what lands disabled

Here's the part to know.

If the clip is already transcribed, it lands enabled. The starting in-point is the first word's start, the out-point is the last word's end. Ready to trim.

If the clip is not transcribed yet, it lands disabled. The in-point sits at zero, the out-point at the full duration, and the row sits dim. An orange "Needs transcription" banner shows across the top of the panel. Each untranscribed row gets a "Transcribe this clip" button.

Once it's transcribed, the row enables itself and the in/out snap to the first and last word. From there, trimming is the same as any other row.

We run transcription on your Mac, so a cold import waiting on a transcript is just the work the app would have done eventually. Doing it after you've stacked your shots is fine.