Ask ChatGPT to find the shot.

What ChatGPT can do.

• See the library: every synced folder and Frame.io project with ids, the people you’ve named, and any clip’s facts (frame rate, resolution, start timecode, speech, people).
• Find: search Visual (what’s on screen), Spoken (what was said) or by person, inside chosen folders, with filters for length, 4K or HD, frame rate, vertical, shot date, real footage only, and shots already in Selects. Every answer says what couldn’t be searched (a drive that isn’t connected, footage not ready yet). Find shots that look like any clip.
• Check: look at the exact frame at any second, a contact sheet of a clip, and Sift’s shot check: how a stretch moves (locked off, smooth, handheld, shaky), where focus lands, exposure, and sound problems like wind or clipping.
• Organize: work in Selects like an editor (add, remove, trim, reorder, rename, notes), name people, and follow your house rules. Every change is listed in Sift and can be undone.
• Your timeline (with the Sift panel open in Premiere or Resolve): read the open sequence, find alternatives for the shot under the playhead, fill a gap, and place b-roll over an interview or sermon on a new timeline. Your sequence is never changed.
• Deliver: send to Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut, export, gather files, and share by link. Each asks you first, on a card in Sift.

Things to ask: “Find where the pastor talks about forgiveness in the Sermons folder”, “Show me wide drone shots over water”, “Which interviews mention the budget? Give me timecodes”, “What’s in my Selects for the harbor scene?”, “Put the three best drone shots in a Selects group called Opening”. Click Open in Sift on any result and Sift jumps to that moment, ready to play or send to Premiere or Resolve.

Where it works.

Sift connects to the ChatGPT desktop app on Mac and Windows, in its local work threads (where ChatGPT can use tools on your computer). Your own library isn’t available in ordinary chats or on chatgpt.com, because those can’t reach apps on your computer. On a Mac, Sift installs itself as a ChatGPT plugin with its own logo, so you can type @Sift in a local thread. Footage someone shared with you by link is different: if they allow assistants, the Sift Clips connector searches it from ChatGPT on the web or the desktop app. See Sift for AI assistants.

What stays on your computer.

Sift runs the search on your computer and the connection is local only: the assistant app starts Sift’s connector on the same computer. Original video files are never sent, and absolute file paths and face data are never returned. Sending, exporting and sharing ask you first in Sift; everything else an assistant changes in Sift can be undone. What the assistant asks for does leave your computer: the search results, transcripts, clip details, thumbnails and frames it asks for are processed by the OpenAI under its terms. Don’t connect an assistant if your agreement forbids that. The privacy page has the full list.

Honest limits.

ChatGPT only sees what Sift’s search returns, so check results before you rely on them. Sift must be running. ChatGPT’s local threads don’t display thumbnails; use the Open in Sift links to see the moment. ChatGPT is a trademark of OpenAI; Sift Clips is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by OpenAI.