All features

Before moving anything in Premiere, you can simulate. SAFE gives you a report of what Project Architect would do: folders created, clips routed, TO_CHECK cases… without changing the project.

• SAFE: simulation + report, bin untouched
• DIRECT: real run, fast, when the plan looks right
• Chain SAFE → read the report → DIRECT on the same scope
• Without premium options, simple sort still organises by media type only (see Simple sort)

You stay in control: understand first, then apply.

On a multi-cam or multi-day shoot, chaos starts at import. Project Architect files rushes by what you enable: brand, model, shoot date, or both.

• By camera / format: brand → model bins (Sony, DJI, Canon…)
• By shoot day: one bin per recording date, for video rushes only
• Combine both for multi-cam across several days
• Audio and images stay out of that date logic (often by format / type), so a 2016 track or a 2014 client logo will not invent fake shoot days

Example: Nikon ZR + RED Komodo-X on the same day → a readable tree before the first cut, without sorting clip by clip. Identical bodies of the same model on the same day are covered under Same day · identical bodies.

This is not NLE multicamera on a timeline (no A/B angles in Premiere or Resolve). It is project filing when several bodies of the same model record on the same shoot day.

• Requires camera grouping on, and a usable serial in the metadata
• At least two different serials for the same brand + model + day → folders like EOS C200_0131 and EOS C200_0276 (last 4 characters)
• Only one body in that group → a single model folder, no suffix (expected)

When the camera does not provide a serial, Project Architect cannot invent one. Clips stay under the model folder with no per-body split. That is a camera metadata limit, not a failed model recognition: the brand / model bin is still correct.

In Premiere Pro. MOGRT (Motion Graphics templates) go under 05 graphic elements (localized name, e.g. 05_GRAPHIC_ELEMENTS / 05_ELEMENTS_GRAPHIQUES), typically in the templates sub-bin (05_2_…).

• Not under camera masters
• Not in 99_OTHERS / 99_DIVERS

The text titles sub-bin (05_1_… / _TEXT_TITLES) is for titles already in the Project panel on older Premiere Pro versions.

Adjustment layers and similar Premiere items that sit in the Project panel go to 99_….

Project Architect separates two kinds of files and never invents a camera from the file name.

1. Real camera rush → brand / model tree (and day if the option is on)
This is the shoot master with Make and Model in the file metadata. Even if the file was opened or re-saved in Premiere or Resolve, Project Architect still treats it as an original when that identity is still present: it does not send it to _OTHER_VIDEOS for an NLE touch alone.

2. Export / delivered / no camera identity → _OTHER_VIDEOS
Timeline export, After Effects, Media Encoder, grading practice footage, download, or any video whose Make/Model was stripped by a transcoder: Project Architect does not guess Sony / Fujifilm / etc. from the title. It files it in _OTHER_VIDEOS.

_OTHER_VIDEOS is a flat bin: no day folders, so non-masters do not pollute the master shoot-day tree.

In one line. Metadata Make/Model → camera tree. No usable Make/Model → _OTHER_VIDEOS. The file name never invents a camera.

Example. A video file named Canon_EOS_C70_master.mov with no Make/Model in the tags → _OTHER_VIDEOS. A real C70 rush with Canon Make/Model → Canon tree.

Not the same as TO_CHECK. TO_CHECK = offline, orphans, technical anomalies (review zone). _OTHER_VIDEOS = honest home for non-masters and videos without camera tags.

Not everything can be classified with certainty. Instead of leaving a doubtful clip among the rushes, Project Architect isolates it in TO_CHECK. You decide on a short list, not by hunting through the mess.

• Offline or missing media
• Technical edge cases (e.g. orphan proxy, orphan AVCHD)
• Open the bin, then refile, reconnect, or ignore

Missing Make/Model is not TO_CHECK: that goes to _OTHER_VIDEOS. If a camera is truly missing from the database (tags present but unknown model), use Camera not recognized?.

AVCHD / .mts is a card folder structure, not a lone MP4.

• Import the full card tree when you can
• Orphan .mts files ripped out of context may go to TO_CHECK / orphans - expected, not a crash

If placement looks odd, check TO_CHECK and the structure first.

From the panel, under Group by Camera / Format, open Camera not recognized?.

• Send a very short original rush (about 2 to 3 seconds) straight from the unrecognized camera or card
• No transcode, export, or NLE render: MP4, MOV, MXF, or another native camera format the form accepts
• OK opens the secure page focol.io/contribute: legal notice, brand / model, file, send
• After Focol validation, the model may reach later runs via an OTA camera-database update when published, or in a tool update. Not guaranteed every time.

When possible, the camera recognition database may update remotely (OTA), without reinstalling. Not guaranteed on every machine or every release.

When OTA cannot cover it, you reinstall the Suite (or the Premiere-only ZXP from Adobe Exchange).

When Focol validates new models (or when you contribute via Camera not recognized? on focol.io/contribute), recognized cameras can reach later runs if an OTA is published for your build, or in a tool update.

A proxy lost at the bottom of the bin, or the same file sitting three times under different situations: that slows you down before the first cut. Project Architect handles both.

• Proxies: linked proxies are filed next to their master (dedicated branch), so they stay usable. A proxy with no master in the project goes to TO_CHECK (orphans)
• DNA-Check (duplicates): same file via DNA hash, even if renamed; extras isolated next to the kept master
• Multi-imports: same file, same name, imported several times; extras isolated next to the kept master
• The kept clip follows your sort (camera / day…); extras no longer clutter the main tree

Less manual chasing: you cut, you do not inventory copies.

Once rushes are filed, you can string them out right away. In Premiere Pro for now, the option creates sequences that place a bin's clips end to end, so you start review or a first cut without manual drag-and-drop. Run it alone, or combine it with camera / day sort in the same run.

• Optional: alone, or together with camera / day sort
• One sequence per leaf bin processed (e.g. one day, one camera)
• Clips end to end, in Project panel order
• Sequences land in 03_SEQUENCES (customizable name)
• Not smart multicam sync: a string-out to get to first viewing / cut faster

After a run, empty bins often linger where clips just left. Delete empty folders cleans them so the project stays readable. Never forced: you tick it only if you want. In SAFE you simulate; empty-bin cleanup is for a real run.

• Optional: alone, or combined with camera / brand / day sort
• Runs after organizing, on bins that became empty
• Outside SAFE: useful in DIRECT, when moves actually happen
• A cleaner bin, without empty shells to ignore

The organization problem is the same in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Berlin, Seoul, Dubai, Madrid, Rome, or Moscow. The interface is fully translated into 12 languages, and reports / logs follow the same language.

• English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Arabic
• Same workflow, local language
• Simple report, detailed report, and session log in the language you choose
• Useful for mixed crews: everyone reads Project Architect and the run trace in their language

Need 01_RUSHS instead of 01_VIDEOS? 02_MUSIC rather than 02_AUDIOS? Or audio before videos? Project Architect adapts to editors' habits and workflows, not the other way around.

• Custom names across the whole tree (video, audio, images, sequences, graphics, misc, quarantine…)
• Examples: 01_RUSHS, 02_MUSIC, 03_TIMELINES, 04_STILLS…
• Drag a family to change the order: audio before videos, sequences first… Prefixes 01_, 02_ update on their own; children stay with the family
• 00_TO_CHECK and 99_OTHERS stay put: they bracket the tree. You only reorder what sits between them
• Presets save names and order, reusable from one project to the next. Restore defaults in one click
• Project Architect keeps routing correctly: only the labels and the root-bin order change, not the logic

You keep your team's naming and order; Project Architect aligns with it.

After every run, Project Architect leaves a clear trail. The simple report summarizes what matters for you, your team, your client, or an internal audit. The detailed report goes further. The session log completes the record.

What the simple report documents in particular:

• Project Architect version, date / time, mode (SAFE or DIRECT), run ID
• Environment: OS, Premiere Pro version
• Project, user, run duration, scanned volume, average speed
• Active options (scope, camera, day, DNA, empty folders, sequences…)
• Inventory (video, proxies, audio, images, TO_CHECK, DNA…)
• Structure: folders created / cleaned

Output folder configurable in settings. Traceability for pro pipelines and multi-editor shops: fewer “who touched the project?” moments, more facts.

When sharing externally, redact paths and usernames (the report itself reminds you).

Project Architect keeps two local memories on your machine. Not the cloud. Neither moves or renames rushes on disk, and neither changes your Premiere Pro or DaVinci Resolve project.

1. Metadata cache
Camera / metadata lookups already analyzed. Run 1: discovery and memorization. Re-run: known files come from the cache; only new ones (or files that truly changed) are recalculated. That is why speed holds when you add a batch. Size: 100 MB, 250 MB, 500 MB, or unlimited. Purge: the next scan starts heavier again.

2. Sort memory
Bin structure for turbo runs (what goes where). It speeds up the next sort. Clear sort memory: the next sort rebuilds that structure.

Both live under Settings → Metadata cache.

You can try everything. On first use, a 7-calendar-day Pro trial typically starts and unlocks premium options (camera / day, DNA-Check, assembly sequences, empty bins, and more).

• Same Pro feature set during the trial
• Open LICENSE / INFO anytime to see status or activate a key
• Internet may be needed for trial verification

When the trial ends without a key, you keep SAFE and DIRECT on simple sort only - see the Simple sort section.

Activate a key in the panel when you have one (beta: trial first).

• Activation: LICENSE / INFO, paste the key, activate (Internet required)
• After success, the badge shows PRO PLAN (or the equivalent in your UI language)
• 1 seat: same editor, 1 active machine at a time (desktop + laptop). Activating elsewhere transfers the seat - that is not a ban
• Active Pro needs periodic network validation (about 30 days offline, plus a short grace)
• Quota: 2 different machines / 24 h (round trips between those two are free)
• Open beta: not for sale yet. Seat management: license portal. Studios (2+ seats) coming later

The license portal is built for studios that need autonomy without opening a ticket every time someone leaves or a key is compromised.

• 1 key = 1 seat: desk and laptop of the same editor, yes. Never both Pro at the same time: you activate on one, the other goes Free. Quota: 2 machines / 24 h, as many round trips as you need between those two.
• Rename a seat (first name, room, project): it is a label so you can tell them apart, the key does not change
• Sign in with license email + one-time code (OTP) - no password to share
• Release a seat in one click - the previous machine goes Free in seconds
• Regenerate a compromised key - the old key dies forever, new key by email
• Activity per seat: traceability (regenerated, released, activated, renamed) + CSV export

Simple sort is a panel option: media by type only (01_VIDEOS, 02_AUDIOS, sequences, images, misc…) - no brand, model, day, or format split. Camera and day options stay greyed while it is on.

• Use it for a flat first pass, or when you do not need camera / day trees
• After the trial without a key, SAFE and DIRECT stay available but are limited to simple sort
• Premium options unlock again with Pro (trial or paid license)