GJ FILE MANAGER · FIELD NOTES
Reviewing Shoot-Day Audio on Mac and Choosing the Right Export for the GJ Team
A practical Mac workflow for previewing shoot-day audio clips, keeping originals separate from exports, and selecting the export format the GJ team actually accepts, using GJ File Manager features described in the product guides.
Why a thumbnail is not enough for shoot-day audio
On a shoot day, it is easy to end up with several similar clips that a thumbnail or filename alone may not distinguish. Before adding any footage to a project, check its content, location and size. For audio, preview the clip itself rather than trusting the name. GJ File Manager's organize-videos guide describes opening Videos, choosing a local source or authorizing a custom media folder, letting the list load, and locating candidates by name or modification date. Preview a clip and inspect its file information, then copy it into the project and check that the destination file plays. Note that file management is not professional video editing, and protected content or unsupported codecs may not preview.
Finder and GJ File Manager are not the same place
Finder is where your original shoot-day audio physically lives. GJ File Manager is where you browse, preview and copy indexed material for a project. The organize-videos guide states that indexed source views are read-only: use them to inspect and copy, not to modify the source folder. That distinction matters for keeping originals safe. Do your reviewing, previewing and selecting inside GJ File Manager, and treat the original source folder as the untouched master. Do not delete or reorganize originals from an indexed source view.
Match the export format to its purpose
The choose-audio-export-format guide makes the point that sending a listening sample and keeping a recording for editing have different needs, and the smallest output is not always suitable for later work. GJ File Manager's audio conversion includes M4A/AAC, ALAC, MP3, FLAC, WAV and AIFF choices. Establish what the receiving software accepts, then test a sample. Decide whether the output is for listening, editing or retaining material. Add the original audio and choose a compatible output. Keep the source sample rate and channels unless the task calls for a change, and choose a bitrate when using lossy encoding. Export separately, listen and check duration, channels and size before processing the remaining files. Converting MP3 or AAC to a lossless or uncompressed format cannot restore lost detail, and a larger file does not prove better sound. There is no single answer to whether everyone should use the same format: compatibility, further editing and transfer size differ, so verify the actual receiving workflow.
Keep originals and exports in separate folders
The originals-and-exports guide warns that mixing outputs with originals makes it easy to feed a previously compressed result into the next task. Use distinct Originals and Exports folders, and explicitly choose the output location in GJ File Manager. Store original material separately and record its source in names or project notes. Check the conversion queue's input paths so you are not using an earlier export. Choose a separate project Exports folder, with purpose-specific subfolders when useful. Open completed outputs to inspect them, and return to the original input when making another version. Remember that separate folders are not a backup; repeated lossy encoding can lose more detail, and renaming an output Original does not restore its quality. You do not have to duplicate the original for every export, but retain a reliable original and arrange an independent backup rather than relying solely on folder separation.
A concrete delivery check for the GJ team
Put the workflow together for one delivery: browse the shoot-day audio in GJ File Manager, preview the candidate clips and inspect their file information, and copy the chosen files into a delivery directory. Confirm what the GJ team's receiving software accepts before choosing an output format from the available options, and test a sample export. Export to a separate project Exports folder, then open the completed output and check its duration, channels and size. If the GJ team needs a different version later, go back to the original input rather than re-exporting a previous output. This keeps Finder originals untouched, keeps compressed results out of the next task, and ensures the file you deliver matches the format the receiving workflow expects.
Related product guides
Written by the GJ File Manager team. Mac workflows; controls may differ on iPad.
Explore GJ File Manager →