Use case
Wedding video: find the moment.
Two cameras, three cards, eight hours. Find the vows, the toast, the grandmother laughing, without scrubbing it all again.
In short: Wedding editors can add each card or drive to Sift, name the couple and key family once in People, and then search by description (“first dance, wide shot”) or by name. Spoken search finds the vows and toasts by the words said.
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.
A wedding is a lot of footage from several cameras, and the people you need most (the couple, the parents, the officiant) are in all of it. Sorting by camera and timecode gets you to the right hour, not the right second.
When you don’t need it.
If you shoot one camera and deliver within a week, folders named by chapter and your editor’s own search may be enough. Sift pays off when you have several weddings, several cameras, or you’re asked for “every shot of Aunt Maria” months later. Try it on one real project. Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card.
A workflow that fits.
- Add every card
Copy cards to your drive as usual, then add the folder to Sift. New files are noticed as they arrive.
- Name the key people
In People, name the couple and the families once.
- Search the moments
“Ring exchange”, “bouquet toss”, or a name plus a description. Spoken search finds toasts by their words.
- Build selects, then edit
Save moments to Selects by chapter (getting ready, ceremony, toasts) and send them to Premiere or Resolve as bins.
What helps most.
Name them once and find them across all cameras.
Search a name or a phrase someone said.
Share a Selects group as a link they can watch on a phone.
Past years’ drives remain searchable, even unplugged.
Questions
Does it work across multiple cameras?
Yes. Search covers every folder you add, so all cameras appear in one search. Sift doesn’t sync or multicam-group clips.
Are guests’ faces uploaded?
No. Face grouping runs on your computer.
Will it find people in dark reception footage?
Not always. Low light and distance can hide faces. Check results before relying on them.
What does it cost?
$99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. 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.