You shot 12 hours of interview footage across three cameras. Now you need to organize it, sync it, and find the moments that matter. Selects handles that entire first phase.
Import your video and audio files
When you open Selects, you see the Home screen: a chat box at the top and your projects below it. To start a project, you can:
Drag and drop individual video files, a folder, or a mix of video and audio files anywhere in the window
Describe the video you want in the chat box and press Enter. To include files, click the + in the chat box and choose [Attach a file] first
Click the + card at the start of the [Projects] list to create an empty project, then add your files later
For project size limits and supported file formats, see Selects system requirements and supported video formats.
Each import creates one project and opens it straight on the timeline. Your files are imported, but nothing is synced, analyzed, or placed on a timeline yet.
Chat is ready as soon as the project opens. If you started with a message, chat picks it up once your files are in. Nothing is analyzed until you start it yourself, or until chat asks and you confirm the credits.
To start another project, go back to the Home screen and use any of the same three ways. The options under the chat box, like [my files] and [an idea], help you write that first message.
Tip: You do not have to import selectively. Everything lands in the [Project] panel and you pick which clips to analyze when you run it, so nothing costs credits just by being in the project.
Where your files land
Project panel
Everything you import lands in the [Project] panel, in the same folder structure it had on your computer. If you added several folders, the files stay grouped inside them, with a file count next to each folder name.
Double-click a file to preview it
Use the arrow keys to open and close folders and move the selection, like in Finder
Drag in more files or folders at any time
Note: Files keep the structure you imported them with. Any clip can work as A-roll or B-roll when you build your edit, so nothing is sorted by role at import.
Synced timelines
If you shot multicam or recorded audio separately, group those files into a synced timeline so the angles and audio line up. A project can hold as many as you need, and you can build one at any time, before or after analysis. Learn more in Sync your files.
Check what it will cost
Click [Analyze N clips] at the bottom of the [Project] panel, or hover any clip and click [Analyze]. Either way, [Analyze media for edit] opens before anything runs.
The dialog lists your clips. From [Analyze N clips], everything is checked. From a single clip's [Analyze], only that clip is checked and your other unanalyzed clips are listed unchecked. Uncheck anything you do not want analyzed, and the estimate updates as you go, shown against your current balance. Files you have already analyzed are excluded and are not charged again.
When the estimate looks right, click [Analyze]. See How AI analysis works in Selects.
FAQs
How much footage can it work on?
Selects applies one length limit, and it is per analysis, not per project.
Each thing you analyze must be under 10 hours. For a file that means the file's own duration. For a synced timeline it means the timeline's length.
There is no limit on total footage in a project. A project can hold far more than 10 hours across many files, as long as each one you analyze stays under it.
If a single file or synced timeline runs past 10 hours, split it before analyzing.
Can I add files after creating a project?
Yes, and you can analyze them too. Add media any time from the + button at the top of the [Project] panel, then [Media]. Each file you add gets its own [Analyze] button when you hover its row, so you choose what is worth the credits. Learn more in Add media to an existing project.