diff --git a/src/components/JournalCard.tsx b/src/components/JournalCard.tsx
index 30daa10..8805210 100644
--- a/src/components/JournalCard.tsx
+++ b/src/components/JournalCard.tsx
@@ -41,12 +41,17 @@ export function JournalCard(
     navigate(dumpUrl(dump));
   }
 
-  const thumbnailUrl =
-    dump.kind === "file" && dump.fileMime?.startsWith("image/")
+  // Mirrors FilePreview (the hot/new feeds) so a video shows its generated
+  // still here too, rather than degrading to a text card with a 🎬.
+  const thumbnailUrl = dump.thumbnailMime
+    ? dumpThumbnailUrl(dump, token)
+    : dump.kind === "file"
+    ? (dump.fileMime?.startsWith("image/")
       ? dumpFileUrl(dump, token)
-      : dump.thumbnailMime
+      : dump.fileMime?.startsWith("video/")
       ? dumpThumbnailUrl(dump, token)
-      : (dump.richContent?.thumbnailUrl ?? null);
+      : null)
+    : (dump.richContent?.thumbnailUrl ?? null);
 
   // Content mode is independent of grid footprint: a thumbnailed dump reads as
   // an image card, a thumbnail-less dump with a note becomes a pull-quote, and
@@ -151,12 +156,16 @@ export function JournalCard(
         <div className="journal-card-image">
           <Thumbnail
             src={thumbnailUrl ?? undefined}
-            placeholder={{
-              url: dump.url,
-              accentColor: dump.richContent?.accentColor,
-              faviconUrl: dump.richContent?.faviconUrl,
-              siteName: dump.richContent?.siteName,
-            }}
+            placeholder={dump.kind === "file"
+              // No ffmpeg on the host means no still — the mime glyph says more
+              // about the dump than an initial taken from its filename.
+              ? { seed: dump.fileName ?? dump.id, glyph: fallbackIcon }
+              : {
+                url: dump.url,
+                accentColor: dump.richContent?.accentColor,
+                faviconUrl: dump.richContent?.faviconUrl,
+                siteName: dump.richContent?.siteName,
+              }}
           />
           {embedUrl && (
             <span className="rich-content-play-overlay" aria-hidden="true">
diff --git a/src/components/ThumbnailPlaceholder.tsx b/src/components/ThumbnailPlaceholder.tsx
index 3b0cc58..7b0c41b 100644
--- a/src/components/ThumbnailPlaceholder.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ThumbnailPlaceholder.tsx
@@ -5,12 +5,16 @@ import { initialsFor, tintFor } from "../utils/thumbnailTint.ts";
 interface ThumbnailPlaceholderProps {
   /** The dumped URL — seeds the fallback hue and the initial. */
   url?: string;
+  /** Explicit hue seed for dumps with no URL to hash (file dumps). */
+  seed?: string;
   /** The target page's declared brand color, if it had one. */
   accentColor?: string;
   /** The target page's icon, drawn contained over the tint. */
   faviconUrl?: string;
   /** Preferred source for the initial when there's no favicon. */
   siteName?: string;
+  /** Emoji shown instead of an initial — file dumps say more with 🎬 than "T". */
+  glyph?: string;
   className?: string;
 }
 
@@ -23,7 +27,7 @@ interface ThumbnailPlaceholderProps {
  * compact thumbnail, the 128×72 feed preview and a 2×2 mosaic tile.
  */
 export default function ThumbnailPlaceholder(
-  { url, accentColor, faviconUrl, siteName, className }:
+  { url, seed, accentColor, faviconUrl, siteName, glyph, className }:
     ThumbnailPlaceholderProps,
 ) {
   const [iconFailed, setIconFailed] = useState(false);
@@ -36,7 +40,7 @@ export default function ThumbnailPlaceholder(
     setIconFailed(false);
   }
 
-  const style = { "--thumb-tint": tintFor({ accentColor, url }) } as
+  const style = { "--thumb-tint": tintFor({ accentColor, url, seed }) } as
     React.CSSProperties;
 
   return (
@@ -58,7 +62,7 @@ export default function ThumbnailPlaceholder(
         )
         : (
           <span className="thumb-placeholder-initials">
-            {initialsFor(siteName, url)}
+            {glyph ?? initialsFor(siteName, url)}
           </span>
         )}
     </div>
diff --git a/src/utils/journalLayout.ts b/src/utils/journalLayout.ts
index 2fd239d..05a6914 100644
--- a/src/utils/journalLayout.ts
+++ b/src/utils/journalLayout.ts
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@ export interface JournalEntry {
 
 /** A dump that can carry a real preview image (file image or rich thumbnail). */
 export function hasThumbnail(dump: Dump): boolean {
-  if (dump.kind === "file" && dump.fileMime?.startsWith("image/")) return true;
+  if (dump.kind === "file") {
+    const mime = dump.fileMime ?? "";
+    // Videos count: GET /api/thumbnails/:dumpId grabs a still with ffmpeg on
+    // first request and caches it, so there's art to show without any upload.
+    if (mime.startsWith("image/") || mime.startsWith("video/")) return true;
+  }
   if (dump.thumbnailMime) return true;
   return !!dump.richContent?.thumbnailUrl;
 }
diff --git a/src/utils/thumbnailTint.ts b/src/utils/thumbnailTint.ts
index 70d5932..d82ac76 100644
--- a/src/utils/thumbnailTint.ts
+++ b/src/utils/thumbnailTint.ts
@@ -43,13 +43,18 @@ function hostnameOf(url: string | undefined): string | undefined {
 /**
  * The page's own brand color when it declared a usable one, otherwise a hue
  * derived from its hostname — so every card gets a tint, including rows saved
- * before accent extraction existed.
+ * before accent extraction existed. File dumps have no hostname to hash and
+ * pass `seed` (their filename) instead.
  */
 export function tintFor(
-  { accentColor, url }: { accentColor?: string; url?: string },
+  { accentColor, url, seed }: {
+    accentColor?: string;
+    url?: string;
+    seed?: string;
+  },
 ): string {
   if (isSafeHex(accentColor)) return accentColor;
-  return hueFromString(hostnameOf(url) ?? url ?? "");
+  return hueFromString(seed ?? hostnameOf(url) ?? url ?? "");
 }
 
 /** The letter drawn when there's no favicon to show. */