Import Your Media

Import media

Open Sequence and choose the import action from the empty state, use ⌘I, the plus icon in the library pane, or import from the File menu.

Sequence adds a media item to the library and creates its first variant. The library item holds the source media; the variant tab is the version you edit. Transcript edits, markers, framing, audio choices, and export choices belong to that editing version, not to the source container.

Additional variants reuse the media and shared source transcript without duplicating the original file. See Projects, Catalogs, and Variants for the difference between source media and an editable version.

What Sequence checks during import

Sequence checks the duration, frame rate, audio tracks, source timecode, codec details, and macOS playback compatibility. You can inspect this information later in the metadata pane.

If the file is already usable, Sequence loads it directly. If playback or processing needs a more compatible file, the project shows Media Compatibility so you can remux or convert it. The original is retained unless you explicitly enable the destructive preference to delete originals after successful remuxing or conversion.

Sequence also recognizes recording files with multiple audio, video, subtitle, or data streams. The Metadata inspector lists the detected streams. Playback, transcription, and export can use different audio selections, so check the appropriate selection rather than assuming that the audio you hear is always the transcription source. Use Metadata and recording setup to confirm tracks, assign roles, mix audio, or combine embedded screen and camera video. Embedded artwork can provide the project cover.

Import several files

Drop multiple supported files onto Sequence, the Dock icon, or the library to queue them together. Sequence validates each item independently, skips unsupported or duplicate selections, and reports any file that needs attention without discarding the rest of the batch.

You can also select or drop a folder or drive to scan its supported media recursively. Hidden files, system folders, and package contents are skipped during that scan. Import progress appears in Action Center; cancellation stops the batch without removing projects already imported. A folder import discovers media files, it does not reproduce the Finder folder tree as Sequence project folders.

Each accepted recording becomes its own library media item with a first variant. Use a Catalog or project folder to keep a batch together. For recordings of the same event from several cameras or microphones, see Multi-Cam Editing.

Audio-only projects

You can import audio as well as video. Audio-only projects still support transcription, text-based editing, cleanup, and the relevant export options. The viewer adapts to the media type, while the project behaves like any other item in the library.

Missing media and relinking

If a file is moved later, don’t re-import and start again. Use the missing-media relink flow instead. Sequence can relink the primary media, remuxed or converted media, normalized audio, and external audio separately, preserving the existing transcript and edits.

Relinking is especially useful when you move media between drives or archive a job. Sequence distinguishes a missing file from a file it no longer has permission to access. If Refresh requests access, choose the file in the Re-link panel; repeatedly refreshing cannot restore macOS permission.

Missing-media warnings appear in the library. If a project is inside a collapsed folder, the folder also shows that one of its projects needs attention. Open the project or its context menu to start relinking.

After import

Once the media is loaded, download the transcription model if required and transcribe the active variant. You can also prepare the audio, add markers, create variants, or organize the media into a Catalog and project folder.

To reuse images, music, or edited sequences inside another edit, use Layers and Reusable Assets. To move an editable project between machines, use a Sequence Package rather than importing its media again.