Media management

Composer keeps a clear separation between the project (a .prj file plus optional script and metadata) and the media the project references (video clips, audio clips, still images). Understanding how the two interact is essential before you move a project between machines.

How Composer locates media

When you import a media file, Composer records its source path verbatim. If you import D:\StudioFootage\opening.mp4, that's the path stored in the project. The original file stays where it is.

This works on a single workstation, but breaks the moment the project moves to another host where D:\StudioFootage doesn't exist. Two features close that gap:

• Consolidate Media — copies every referenced media file into a Media/ folder next to the project, then rewrites the project's references as relative paths (e.g. Images/logo.png, Videos/intro.mp4). After consolidating, the project plus its Media/ folder is portable: copy them together to any host with the same Composer version and the project will open with all media resolved.
• Backup Media — copies the project plus all referenced media into a hostname-stamped folder under your configured backup directory. Use this for snapshots before edits, or to package a project for support.

The Media/ folder is conventionally split into Images/ and Videos/ subfolders — Composer creates the structure for you when you consolidate. Files are referenced relative to the project root (e.g. Images/car.jpg), which is the same shape .prj files have always used internally.

Missing-file handling

When Composer opens a project and can't find a referenced file, it runs an automatic search of the project's Media/ folder and the directory tree around it. If a file with the same name turns up, Composer uses it and offers to update the project's recorded path. This recovers from accidentally moving media folders around without breaking the project.

For projects that hop between Windows authoring and Linux runtime hosts, consolidate before each handoff — relative paths inside Media/ are the only path form guaranteed to resolve identically on both platforms.