The .framejob package
A Frame Job project is one .framejob package: a folder the Finder shows as one file. It holds your edit, its caches and, if you ask for them, copies of your footage.
- Menu
- File ▸ SaveFile ▸ Consolidate Media…
- Keys
- ⌘S
- Agent tools
save_projectconsolidate_media
What a package is
Section titled “What a package is”| Inside | What it is | Can Frame Job rebuild it? |
|---|---|---|
project.json |
The edit itself | No. A package needs it to open. |
cache/ |
Thumbnails, waveforms, analyses and renders | Yes, though cloud transcripts cost money. |
media/ |
Copies of your footage, only after Consolidate Media… | No. It may be the only copy. |
graphics/ |
Graphic modules, fonts, images and kept versions, only once you add a graphic, font or image | No. |
To look inside, Control-click the package in the Finder and choose Show Package Contents.
A project only ever saves as a .framejob package. A movie or a still is a separate step: see Export and Save Frame.
A save writes the new package beside the old one and swaps it in, so a crash part-way through can’t leave half a package.
project.json
Section titled “project.json”This is the edit itself: the canvas, media list, tracks, clips and markers. It’s the only thing a package needs in order to open.
A project from any earlier version of Frame Job opens, and the next save writes it in the current format. A project from a newer build won’t open, and the message asks you to update Frame Job. See Open a project from another version.
If project.json is missing, is a folder or a broken link, or can’t be read as text, the message says “name does not contain a readable project.json.” See When a project won’t open.
cache/
Section titled “cache/”Everything here is something Frame Job can rebuild, so a package with a missing or damaged cache/ still opens and redraws.
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
thumbs/ |
Filmstrip thumbnails |
peaks/ |
Waveforms |
loudness/ |
Loudness measurements |
speech/ |
Voice detection |
sync/ |
The analysis for Synchronize Audio |
transcripts/ |
Transcripts from AssemblyAI |
device-transcripts/ |
Words recognised on this Mac |
analysis/ |
On-device analysis: shot changes, faces, people and salient regions, sound events, and the masks for Remove Background and Text Behind Subject |
reversed/ |
Reversed clips |
ramp-audio/ |
Sound for speed ramps |
isolated/ |
Voice Isolation renders |
voiced/ |
Voice effect renders |
The per-file caches build in the background after an open, an import or a relink, and the timeline fills in as they finish. At most two files’ sound caches build at a time. A cache that already matches its file is never rebuilt. Analyses and renders are made when something asks for them.
Masks can make a package much larger, because they’re kept for every frame: a minute of 1080p video’s masks take about 62 MB.
Transcripts are worth keeping
Section titled “Transcripts are worth keeping”A transcript from AssemblyAI costs money to make again, so treat cache/transcripts/ as worth keeping. Everything else in cache/ rebuilds for nothing but time.
media/
Section titled “media/”This folder exists only after Consolidate Media…, and it holds copies of your footage. Unlike cache/, it may be the only copy, so don’t delete it.
By default a project doesn’t copy your footage. It remembers each file’s path and a Finder bookmark, and reads the file from there. The package stays small but depends on the footage staying put. Consolidate Media is how a package comes to hold everything it needs.
graphics/
Section titled “graphics/”This folder exists once you add a graphic, or a font or image for one. It holds the graphic modules, the small programs that draw each graphic, and these folders:
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
fonts/ |
Fonts the graphics use |
assets/ |
Images the graphics use |
history/ |
The last 10 kept versions of each module, one folder per module |
How a package travels
Section titled “How a package travels”Moving, copying or consolidating a package keeps its caches. Until an untitled project is first saved, its caches live in a temporary folder, and the first save copies them in.
When you open a package, any media missing from its stored path is looked for in the package’s own media/ folder under the same name. That’s what lets you move a consolidated package. A working link is never replaced this way.
A referenced file that has moved is often found again through its bookmark. If it isn’t, see Relink missing media.
To take a project to another Mac, run Consolidate Media first, so the footage goes with it.