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Cask Manual

Make your first video

This takes you from an empty project browser to a video file on disk. No AI generation, so it costs no credits.

You need:

  • Cask Film installed and signed in.
  • One video or image file on your Mac.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”
  1. In the project browser, press ⌘N or click New Project.
  2. Type a name in Project Name.
  3. Choose an ASPECT RATIO and a RESOLUTION. 16:9 and 1080p are a safe first choice. If a PROJECT TYPE selector appears, leave it on Film.
  4. Click Create. A save panel asks where to keep the project. Pick a folder and click through. The project is saved as a .caskproj package, which holds the project file and copies of everything you import.
  5. Press ⌘I, select your video or image file, and confirm. Cask Film copies the file into the project.
  6. At the top of the editor, switch from Storyboard to Montage. Storyboard is the canvas you plan on. Montage is the timeline that exports.
  7. Drag your file from the media browser on the left onto a timeline track. An empty track says Drag media here to start.
  8. Press Space to play. Press it again to stop. ← and → step one frame.
  9. Click Export in the editor toolbar, the share icon near the top right.
  10. Under Preset, choose Match Project to export at the project’s own resolution and aspect ratio, or pick a delivery preset such as YouTube or TikTok.
  11. Click Export… at the bottom of the dialog, or press ⌘Return.
  12. In the save panel, choose where the file goes and click Export.

Your work is saved as you go. A save runs about a second and a half after you stop making changes. ⌘S saves immediately.

Result

Section titled “Result”

A progress card appears reading Exporting video with a percentage. When it finishes it reads Export complete with the filename and a Show in Finder button. Click that and the finished file is selected in the Finder.

If it doesn’t work

Section titled “If it doesn’t work”
Symptom Cause Fix
Create does nothing The name field is empty. The dialog shows Project name required. Type a project name
No Storyboard / Montage switch at the top The project is a Motion project, which has one workspace Create a new project and choose Film as the project type
The file will not drop onto a track The track holds a different kind of media, for example an audio track and a video file Drop it on a track of the matching kind
Playback shows black The playhead is past the end of your clip, or before its start Press Home to jump to the start
Export… produces a file that is longer than your clip RANGE is set to Entire Project, which covers the whole timeline Set RANGE to Current Selection or Custom Range
Export fails with Export failed The destination is not writable, or the source media moved Click Choose Again and pick a folder in your home directory