Use case
Social video teams: find the clip, fast.
A week of shoots turns into dozens of cuts. Spend the time on the edit, not on hunting for the clip.
In short: Social media video teams can search their shared footage folders in Sift by description, by person and by quote, save moments to Selects per campaign, and bring them into Premiere or Resolve as bins.
No editor needed. Sift works on its own as a desktop app on Mac and Windows: search, preview, build Selects and share footage by link without opening an editor. The editor panels are optional.
The problem.
Social teams cut many short pieces from the same footage. The shot for tomorrow’s post may be in last month’s shoot, and the quote the client loved is somewhere in a long take.
When you don’t need it.
If your library is small and you cut in one project, the editor’s search is enough. Sift pays off as the library grows past what a project holds.
A workflow that fits.
- Index the shoot folders
Add the folders where each shoot lands.
- Search by line or shot
Spoken for the quote; Visual for the visual.
- Select per campaign
Save finds to a group per campaign or series.
- Cut in your editor
Send groups to Premiere or Resolve as bins.
What helps most.
Pull the sound bite without scrubbing.
Last quarter’s B-roll is as findable as today’s.
Send a Selects group as a link for a quick look.
Same library works from Premiere and Resolve panels.
Questions
Does it export in vertical sizes?
No. Sift finds and delivers footage; it isn’t an editor or an exporter.
Does it find trending formats or music?
No. It searches your own footage by picture and speech, not sound effects or music.
What does it cost?
$99 a year for one computer. Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card.
Updated 2026-10-22
Keep reading.
Try it on your own footage.
Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. Everything in Sift, including the optional editor panels and one free link to share footage.