# Upload and publish a film

This guide is for creators taking a film from a file on disk to a public Watch page. It covers the upload, the details viewers see, the AI Origin disclosure, thumbnail and subtitles, and publishing. You end with a live film and a link to share.

## Before you start

- You need a creator account. Unverified creators can upload up to 3 drafts and fill in every detail, but only verified creators can publish.
- Export your film as MP4 or MOV, up to 4K, 10 GB max.

## Step 1 — Open the Upload page

In the Creator Hub, open **Content Library** and click **Upload video** at the top right. The **Upload & Publish** page opens. An empty library also offers **Upload your first**, and the Dashboard accepts a dropped file anywhere on the page.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/01-upload-page.png|The empty Content Library with the Upload video button highlighted at the top right.]]

## Step 2 — Choose the file

Drag your film onto the **Drag & drop your film here** zone, or click **Choose file**. The upload starts as soon as the file is selected; nothing else waits on it.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/02-choose-file.png|The Upload & Publish drop zone with the Choose file button highlighted.]]

## Step 3 — Watch the transfer

The progress panel shows the file name, the percentage and an **Uploading** badge. Uploads are resumable: **Pause** holds the transfer, **Cancel upload** drops it, and a dropped connection pauses it on its own with a **Resume** offer. If you close the tab, re-select the same file later and it continues from where it stopped. A sticky bar at the top of the Creator Hub follows the transfer.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/03-uploading.png|The upload progress panel with the Pause and Cancel upload buttons.]]

## Step 4 — Add a title and description

The **Details** panel unlocks as soon as the upload starts. Fill in the **Title** and, optionally, the **Description** (up to 5,000 characters). Every change autosaves to the draft and a **Saved** marker confirms it. When the transfer completes, the panel reads **Upload complete — processing**: renditions and thumbnail frames are being prepared in the background, and you can keep editing or leave the page.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/04-metadata-title-description.png|The Details panel with the Title filled in and the Description field highlighted while the draft autosaves.]]

## Step 5 — Set the category and genre

The **Add a few details to publish** card lists what publishing still needs: **Title**, **Category**, **Genre** and **Primary AI tool**. Set them on the upload page, or later from the Library via the row's **Item actions** menu (the three dots) and **Edit**.

1. Pick a **Category**, for example **Films**.
2. Pick a **Genre**.
3. Review the three switches: **Sponsored content** (a mandatory disclosure for branded work), **Allow tips on this video** (on by default; tips only reach you once you are verified) and **16+ mature content** (gates playback behind an age check).
4. Click **Save**.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/05-category-genre.png|The film editor with the Category set and the Genre dropdown highlighted above the disclosure switches.]]

## Step 6 — Declare the AI Origin

Scroll to **AI Origin**. This disclosure is shown to viewers on the Watch page and makes your film searchable by tool.

1. **Primary AI tool**: pick the main tool used to generate the film. Required before you can publish.
2. **Post-production tools**: any tools used for editing, upscaling or audio. Optional.
3. **Generation notes**: describe your process or prompts, up to 1,000 characters. Optional.
4. Click **Save AI Origin**.

If your tool is not listed, **Suggest a tool…** sends the name for review; it becomes selectable once an admin adds it.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/06-ai-origin.png|The AI Origin section with the Primary AI tool set and one post-production tool added.]]

## Step 7 — Set the thumbnail

The **Thumbnail** section accepts either an auto-generated frame or your own image. Click **Upload custom thumbnail** and pick a JPEG, PNG or WebP up to 5 MB. When processing has produced frames, a frame grid appears here as well and you can pick one instead. Until then the section reads **Frames available after processing.**

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/07-thumbnail-frames.png|The Thumbnail section with a custom thumbnail uploaded and shown as the current image.]]

## Step 8 — Add subtitles

In **Subtitles**, click **Upload subtitle file** and choose a .srt or .vtt file up to 2 MB. Once processing completes the caption track attaches and the badge reads **Captions live**; viewers turn captions on with the player's caption toggle. **Replace** swaps the file, **Remove** detaches it, and **Retry attach** recovers an **Attach failed** badge.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/08-subtitles.png|The Subtitles section with a subtitle file attached and the Captions live badge.]]

## Step 9 — Wait for processing to finish

Back in **Content Library**, the **Pipeline** column tracks the background work: **Processing** while renditions are prepared, **Complete** when the film is ready to publish, **Failed** if something went wrong (the row then offers **Retry**). A **Ready to publish** notification lands in the bell; you do not need to keep the page open.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/09-processing-ready.png|The Content Library row with the Pipeline column reading Complete.]]

## Step 10 — Publish now or schedule

Each row has a **Publish** button and an **Item actions** menu (the three dots) with **Edit**, **View analytics**, **Duplicate**, **Add to series**, **Schedule** and **Delete**.

- Click **Publish** to go live immediately.
- Choose **Schedule** to pick a future date and time. The film goes live automatically then and the row reads **Scheduled** until it does; **Reschedule** and **Cancel schedule** appear in the same menu.

If a required field is still missing, a dialog lists it and offers **Open the editor**.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/10-library-publish-menu.png|The Content Library row with the Publish button highlighted next to the Item actions menu.]]

## Step 11 — Confirm it is live

A toast reads **Published — it's live** and the **Status** column switches to **Published**. The row button turns into **Unpublish**, which moves the film back to **Draft**. A published film keeps its required details; unpublish first if you need to clear them.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/11-published-toast.png|The Published toast in the corner and the row's Status column reading Published.]]

## Step 12 — Share the Watch page

Every published film has a public Watch page. Open it from the editor's **Preview** button or your public profile and share the link. Viewers can play, like, watchlist, comment on the timeline, tip and follow from here. The **AI Origin** panel below the player shows the tools you declared.

[[img:upload-and-publish-a-film/12-watch-page-live.png|The public Watch page for the published film with the title and the AI Origin panel below the player.]]

## Good to know

- Processing runs in the background. Upload, details and publishing are separate steps; you can close the tab between them.
- Unverified creators are limited to 3 drafts and cannot publish. Verification removes both limits.
- Required to publish: **Title**, **Category**, **Genre** and **Primary AI tool**. Everything else is optional.
- **Duplicate** in the row menu creates a draft copy of a film with its details. **Delete** removes the film and its assets from every surface immediately, with no restore.
- **Tags** in the editor help viewers find your work in Browse; suggested tags go through moderation first.
- **Linked Extras** attaches a making-of or behind-the-scenes video of yours to the film. Extras cannot be episodes of a series.