← Studio Help

Getting Started With Studio

Studio is a native Mac workspace for building creative projects with AI-generated images, video, and audio.

What Studio Is For

Studio gives you a single place to keep an entire AI media project together. Instead of spreading scripts, reference images, prompt notes, voice files, generated clips, and final picks across different apps and folders, everything lives inside one local project package on your Mac.

You can:

  • Import images, video, and audio you already have.
  • Generate new images, video, and audio using AI provider models.
  • Organize reusable production context — characters, locations, props, style notes.
  • Plan scenes with Scene Cards that remember what you want to create.
  • Review generated takes, pick the best one, and add it to a timeline.
  • Trim, split, arrange, and caption clips.
  • Export a finished MP4 video.

Studio is not a chat app, not a one-click generator, and not an online dashboard. It is a desktop workspace that keeps your files, decisions, and project memory on your Mac.

Create or Open a Project

Everything in Studio starts with a project. A project is a .studio package — a folder that looks like a single file in Finder and holds all your assets, generation records, timeline state, captions, and settings.

Create a New Project

  1. Choose File > New Project... from the menu bar.
  2. Name your project. Use something you will recognize later — "Client Campaign" or "Product Demo" works better than "Untitled."
  3. Pick where the .studio package should live. Desktop or a dedicated projects folder are good choices.
  4. Studio opens your new project immediately.

Studio saves your work into the package as you go. You do not need to remember to press save after every edit, but File > Save is always available if you want to check.

Open an Existing Project

Choose File > Open Project... and select the .studio package.

If you need to locate a project in Finder, choose Project > Reveal Project in Finder.

Understand the Workspace Layout

When you open a project, you see the workspace. It is divided into five main areas. Take a moment to find each one.

Center: The Viewer

The large dark area in the middle is the viewer. It shows:

  • A preview of the selected asset or generated take.
  • Timeline playback when you press play.
  • Text overlays, captions, and visual effects as they will appear in the export.

Below the viewer is the transport bar — play, pause, step forward, step back, and a volume control.

When a project is brand new and has no selected media yet, the viewer shows the Studio title lockup.

Bottom: The Asset Shelf

Below the viewer and timeline is the asset shelf. Every imported file and every generated take appears here. You can:

  • Single-click an asset to select it without disturbing the viewer.
  • Double-click an image, video, or audio asset to open a preview sheet.
  • Drag assets from the shelf into the timeline or reference wells.
  • Rename assets with names you will recognize later.

The shelf divider can be dragged up or down to give you more or less browsing space.

Below the Viewer: The Timeline

The timeline is where you assemble your final sequence. It sits between the viewer and the asset shelf. It has:

  • A ruler with time markings. Bright half-second tick marks help you align clips quickly.
  • Lanes for different types of content:
  • V1 — Video clips.
  • A1 and A2 — Audio clips.
  • C1 — Caption cues for spoken words.
  • T1 — Visual overlays like text titles, watermarks, and logo bugs.
  • A white playhead line that marks the current position.

The collapsible left sidebar holds:

  • Projects — switch between open projects.
  • Actions — create, open, validate, reveal, import, and export project materials.
  • Exports — MP4 export presets.
  • Saved — saved project records such as Scenes and Characters.
  • History — recent project and generation history.

The bottom Settings button opens the separate Settings window. Inside that window, Workspace includes Activity, Settings, and Defaults tabs.

Click the sidebar toggle button (or use the menu) to collapse it when you want more room for the viewer and timeline.

Right Rail

The right rail has three tabs that change what appears in the inspector panel:

  • Generate — Choose image, video, or audio mode. Pick a provider and model. Write prompts. Set references and advanced options. Start generation.
  • Effects — Add and edit text overlays, captions, image overlays, and clip visual effects.
  • Elements — Create and manage reusable production context: cast, locations, props, style, visual assets, and scene cards.

Click a tab to switch the inspector. The right rail can also be collapsed for a larger viewer.

Your First Workflow in Under 10 Minutes

Here is the shortest path from nothing to a timeline with a generated clip on it. Follow these steps to see how the main pieces connect.

Step 1: Create a Project

File > New Project, name it "First Try," save it to Desktop.

Step 2: Generate Something

Click the Generate tab in the right rail. Choose Image mode. Leave the default provider and model selected. Type a simple prompt:

A calm mountain landscape at sunrise, soft light, wide composition

Click Generate. Studio sends the request and shows progress in Activity or History surfaces. When it finishes, the new image appears in the asset shelf.

Step 3: Add It to the Timeline

Find your generated image in the asset shelf. Drag it to the V1 lane on the timeline. It becomes a clip. Click play on the transport bar — the viewer shows your image for the duration of the clip.

Step 4: Try a Different Mode

Click Video in the Generate tab. Write a short prompt. Generate a video take. When it finishes, drag it to the timeline next to your image clip.

Step 5: Export

Choose Project > Export Timeline.... Studio opens an Export MP4 save panel. Name your MP4 and click Export. Studio renders the timeline and writes the video file.

Tips

  • Start with image generation. It is faster than video and gives you immediate feedback on how prompts and models work.
  • Rename everything. "Generated Image 1" is hard to find later. Right-click an asset in the shelf and rename it to something descriptive.
  • Use Activity and History to see what generation jobs are running, what succeeded, and what failed.
  • Collapse sidebars when editing. A larger viewer and timeline make detailed work easier.

Watch Out For

  • Provider keys are not included. Studio uses your own API keys. You will need to add at least one provider key in Settings before you can generate anything. See Provider Credentials and Privacy.
  • The first generation may take a moment. Provider models can take several seconds to return a result, especially for video. The Activity panel shows progress.
  • Not every model supports every feature. If a control is grayed out or shows "unsupported," the selected model does not offer that capability. Try a different model.
  • Closing a project without exporting does not lose your work. Everything is saved in the .studio package. Your timeline, assets, and generation records stay intact.