You have indexed footage across external drives and need an old shot while its drive is on the shelf. Find the likely source and the volume that holds it before you reconnect anything.
How Stringout solves this
01
Which drive has the shot I remember?
Search by a remembered line or describe the image. Stringout can find matches in completed transcripts and visual analysis after the source drive is disconnected, so filenames and drive labels are not your only clues.
The drive must have been connected long enough for that analysis to finish. Footage that was never indexed cannot be analyzed while its drive is away.
02
What can I check before I reconnect the drive?
Read the surrounding transcript when it is available. If a preview is still cached, hover the result’s thumbnail to skim its frames and decide whether this is the source to fetch.
These are clues from completed analysis, not a playable copy of the original. Cached previews can be removed to make room for new media, so a missing preview does not mean the source is gone.
Screen capture sequence
Check cached clues before fetching the source
Record an actual Stringout search result whose completed transcript and contact sheet are available locally. Show the passage in context and the result thumbnail’s cached frames, with the original drive disconnected and no full-video playback implied.
- Search for a remembered passage in indexed footage.
- Open a matching file and read the surrounding transcript.
- Return to the result and hover its thumbnail to check cached frames.
- Show the source file’s drive and folder path.
03
Which original should I reconnect to continue the edit?
Open the file page for its drive and folder path. Reconnect that original volume to play the source on the indexing Mac. Add the recording to a project, then use Auto-assemble or a connected assistant to propose source ranges for the cut.
An NLE project export links to the originals; the media travels separately. Pro teammates can use analysis that has finished sharing and play team viewing copies once they are ready. Finishing still needs the original.
The result
Fetch the right original and continue the edit
Stringout connects the remembered shot to its source file and volume. Reconnect that drive for full playback, then use the original in a source-linked cut and NLE handoff.
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