Series, templates, and production assets

Templates eliminate repetitive setup; shared assets prevent repetitive copies. Keep those two roles distinct and the production folder remains portable.

Series and Singles

A series is one logical container with shared identity and two independent production profiles: Long form · 16:9 and Shorts · 9:16. A Single is a standalone episode that uses the channel-wide Singles template. Both can have physical copy-template folders beneath Primary storage.

Each series appears once in the list. Its card shows episode count, next number, shared assets, and a compact health summary for both profiles, including template version, copy-folder and named-file state, declared folders, and checklist count. Treat a missing or empty template state as real—text entered into a path field is not proof the file exists.

Build a series template

The editor separates what belongs to the series from what belongs to each production profile. Use General for shared settings, Long form · 16:9 for the horizontal workflow, and Shorts · 9:16 for the vertical workflow.

Add shared identity. In General, choose a name, short label, colour, and write the creative brief shared by every episode. Attach reusable branding assets here too.
Choose the New Episode default. General can prefer Long form or Short when the series is first selected. This is only a starting choice; both profiles remain available in New Episode.
Configure Long form. Its profile uses 16:9 artwork, the scripted workflow, and year-grouped episode folders. Choose its template version, default description, checklist, and one relative episode-folder path per line. Use / for nesting; for example, put Footage/Camera A and Footage/Camera B on separate lines. The Add Camera A + B button inserts both paths without duplicating an existing entry. Do not use absolute or traversal paths.
Configure Shorts independently. Its profile uses 9:16 artwork, skips the Script production stage, and starts with smaller folder and checklist presets for Shorts, Reels, and TikTok. Changes here do not overwrite the Long form values.
Prepare both copy folders. From each profile tab, choose Open Template Folder and put the files to copy into that profile. New templates use Templates/Series/<Series>/Long Form and Templates/Series/<Series>/Shorts. Only the profile selected for a new episode is copied.
Set profile-specific file references. Intro, Outro, Thumbnail, and Resolve references belong to the open profile, alongside its default description and checklist. A relative path describes a real file inside that profile’s copy folder; it does not prove that the file exists.

One series, both formats

The format tabs edit two settings profiles inside the same series, and both tabs are always available. New Episode chooses which profile to use and stores that choice on the episode. Its defaults and files are copied at creation, so later template edits affect future episodes only; they do not change an existing episode’s format or move its files.

Copy template versus shared asset

Copy-template contents become independent files inside every new episode. Shared assets stay in the channel Assets folder and remain linked; they are not duplicated into every episode.

Direct multi-camera targets

After creating an episode, point each Viewfinder phone at its own nested folder. While After2AM Studio is open, it scans the complete episode Footage tree and catalogues a recording in place after the file stops changing. Direct video receives a Media Library thumbnail and total duration, but no second media copy is created. Use portable recording names before linking clips in an editor: a catalogued file that contains extra punctuation can be physically renamed on the next app launch. See Record directly from multiple phones for the filename warning and an example.

Template safety checks

Before showing a template as ready or copying it, the app rejects unsafe paths, symbolic links, unreadable content, reserved manifest names, duplicate folder paths, offline storage, and a mounted volume that does not match the configured identity.

Opening a template folder prepares the canonical Templates/Series/<Series>/Long Form, Templates/Series/<Series>/Shorts, or Templates/Singles hierarchy without replacing existing content. A migrated series may safely keep its former active profile in the legacy series root; the app does not move or delete populated template files. Finder’s .DS_Store is ignored.

Remove and restore a series

Removing a series that existing episodes still reference hides it from future episode creation but preserves history. An unused series can be removed from the catalogue. In both cases, template folders and files remain on disk. A removed template can be restored from the management sheet.

Manage global production assets

Assets catalogues channel-wide Branding, Audio, Resolve, Typography, Motion graphics, and Other resources. Search covers name, tags, notes, and licence text.

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Add Assets

Copy several files into a category with unique names and SHA-256 verification.

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Scan Folder

Recursively catalogue regular, visible, uncatalogued files already in Assets.

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Replace or Relink

Verify a replacement while preserving the asset identity and series links.

Record rights

Store version, tags, notes, attribution, restrictions, and optional expiry.

Editing an asset’s category changes catalogue metadata; it does not move the file. Licence expiry is recorded but does not create an automatic alert. Folder Scan records existing regular files but does not remove stale catalogue entries.

Replace and delete deliberately

Replace or Relink verifies the new managed copy before switching the asset record, so every series reference follows the same identity. The old managed file moves to Trash only when it is not shared.

Asset deletion can unlink every referencing series. Shared files remain, a missing file removes metadata only, and an unshared managed file plus its preview moves to Trash.