---
name: step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript
description: "Put your source video in a safe shared folder. Set up a work copy so the editor can start."
category: Content Factory — Process
stage: Process
definitive_article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
status: complete
---

# Step 1: Upload video to Google Drive and Descript

Your best video is hard to use if no one can find it. This guide puts the source and work copy where your team needs them. Start with the right file and the folder for this job.

**The path:** Source file → Safe archive → Descript work copy → Two checked links.

**Use this when:** A specific raw recording is ready for Process and a tracker row identifies the project.

## Inputs
- The original file, source date, real speaker names, permission to use it, and any access limits.
- The existing Content Library intake folder and tracker. Run [Set up the Content Library](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=set-up-content-library#task-set-up-content-library) if they do not yet exist.
- Write access to the exact Drive folder and Descript project/drive; enough permitted media minutes for this import. Check the actual account rather than requiring Enterprise by default.
- The agreed naming rule, priority, assigned editor, and intended next action.

## First-run prompt

> Use this source file and exact intake row. Check for an existing import, save the original in the approved archive, and prepare the matching Descript work project. Keep previews silent. Return both checked links, duration, access state and any remaining source review; do not mark an unfinished upload done.

## Steps
1. Read the queue and claim one unprocessed row. Follow any real priority; oldest first is a fallback queue rule. Check that another worker has not already imported it.
2. Inspect the source name, format, duration and completeness. Review accessible frames/captions with silent controls. If intelligible speech has not been checked by an authorized reviewer or non-speaker audio analysis, record that pending check; metadata cannot prove it.
3. Keep the original file intact. Use the existing naming convention, such as YYYY-MM-DD-topic-person, on the working copy or archive entry. Record the original filename so the source can still be traced.
4. Check whether the exact file is already in the brand’s 01-Raw folder. If not, upload through Drive’s New/File upload or the supported project route and wait until complete. Compare duration/size and open the stored item.
5. Check archive ownership and access. In My Drive, placing a file in someone else’s folder does not transfer ownership; a shared drive belongs to the organization. Use the project’s actual approved arrangement without broadening sharing.
6. In the correct Descript drive, create or reuse the matching project and import this same source. Wait for the Activity panel to finish. Add the media to the script when transcription/editing is needed; a file merely listed in the project is not a finished composition.
7. Check the composition contains the expected complete duration and visible frames. Keep a source version before later cuts. Verify that the intended next editor can access both the archive and work project.
8. Save both exact links, file identity, import state and any unresolved speech check in the tracker. Mark this intake as picked up once, then hand the record to transcription.

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

- [ ] The complete source is in the intended archive with actual ownership/access known.
- [ ] The matching Descript work project contains the intended media and has finished importing.
- [ ] Both links, original identity, duration and next editor are recorded once.
- [ ] Playback or speech checks are evidenced or explicitly pending; no silent test is called an audio pass.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example — no file was uploaded.** Maple Cycle has a six-minute clip named `phone_042.mp4`. Its intake row calls it “What to bring for a repair quote.” The editor keeps that original and names the archive entry `2026-09-01-repair-quote-alex`.

The row records a six-minute Drive file and a six-minute Descript composition. The file sits in the shop’s shared drive, so the ownership note says “organization shared drive,” not “folder owner owns every uploaded file.” If Descript still shows an import in progress, the row says “archive ready; import pending.” The transcription handoff begins only with the actual completed project.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

The assigned transcript editor receives the archive, composition and pending checks for [Step 2: make and verify the transcript](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-2-transcribe-video-using-descript#task-step-2-transcribe-video-using-descript).

Produce supplies the real source. **Process**, this stage of the [Content Factory](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/), turns it into useful finished assets. Post saves or publishes them on the agreed channels. Promote tests and distributes suitable work within its own scope. The handoff above names this task’s actual next step; catalog neighbors alone are not prerequisites.

## When this runs

Once for each new source or a specifically requested replacement. Use the existing queue trigger only if configured; no automatic upload sweep is installed by this guide.

## First-run setup and continuity

Open the supplied task file and its linked source. Verify the project’s real inputs, account, access and output folder before work. This Markdown file is a guide; it does not install an app, connect an account, supply a subscription or create a schedule. Carry out work already authorized; do not ask for the same approval again. Keep any unsupplied destination or new action outside that scope clearly pending.

Save source IDs, versions, decisions, checked outputs and next owner in the project tracker. Before a retry, check the saved state and other workers’ changes. A model name does not guarantee memory or a running timer. Repeated work needs an actual configured trigger and durable state; one-off work can be started by the prompt above.

Keep agent media muted with volume zero before playback. If mute cannot be verified, use captions, metadata or still frames. State the limit: silent visual checks do not prove spoken-word accuracy or audio quality. Do not start sound through the user’s speakers unless explicitly asked.

## Write up the real run

For every actual attempt, [write its meta article](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with this recipe and revision, trigger, steps performed, output evidence, measured result, gaps and next owner. Failed, blocked and partial attempts also get a written record. A draft can satisfy writing; publishing it follows the existing job scope.

Keep one stable execution ID across retries and edits. A separately scoped child task may have its own ID linked to its parent. Writing the parent’s meta record is part of that run, not an endless new chain. The [recipe and meta-article guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/) explains this distinction. Teaching examples are not real executions and must not enter the run count.


<!-- factory-layer:start -->

## Factory chain (do not treat this as isolated)

- **Phase:** Process
- **Importance:** 5/5 `●●●●●` — frequency 5, revenue 3, gating 5 (runs every factory cycle or weekly; unblocks a chain (access/plumbing))
- **Suggested previous station:** `create-a-3x3-video-grid`
- **Suggested next station:** `step-2-transcribe-video-using-descript`
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Process-stage artifact examples include `transcript.md`, `gct.md`, `article.html` (or a staged draft), `clips/`, or `04-Promote-Creatives/`. These are examples, not requirements for every task. Follow this task's actual Inputs and Handoff sections for the required output, evidence, and next owner. Pass the files or records, not one vendor's memory.

## Model routing (same factory, any engine)

- **This task's lane:** `computer` — Logged-in UI (Meta Ads Manager, Descript, GSC, wp-admin when REST is blocked). Requires a supported browser tool and the right account access.
- **Single-engine path:** Use the capable AI app you already have. Check its required tools and access before starting. Pass the actual result and proof to the next task.
- **Optional multi-engine:** A tested local model may draft; a stronger model may review facts and voice. Use supported tools for approved actions. Pick models from observed quality and cost; a model name does not prove it can run this task.
- **Never** store the working state in one vendor's memory. Files in the Content Library are the bridge.

<!-- factory-layer:end -->
## Definitive article & links

- Canonical article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
- Exact task: [Step 1: Upload video to Google Drive and Descript](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript#task-step-1-upload-video-to-google-drive-and-descript)
- Writing standard: [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Google Drive upload steps](https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424368?hl=en)
- [Google shared-drive ownership](https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/7212025?hl=en)
- [Descript import and upload](https://help.descript.com/hc/en-us/articles/10119645307789-Import-and-upload-files-into-Descript)
- [Descript media minutes and AI credits](https://help.descript.com/hc/en-us/articles/27841674958221-Track-and-understand-your-Media-minutes-and-AI-Credits)

## Review and evidence still needed

The source contributor status is preserved. It is not certification of this draft or proof of account access, completed work or a live outcome. The worked example teaches the method and is explicitly fictional.
- Actual files, account roles, available usage and speech-review evidence come from the real project.