What is an edit decision list (EDL)?

What does an edit decision list contain?

One line for every event in the edit, and the same few facts on each line:

• The event number, in the order the edits play.
• The source, called the reel: the clip the picture or sound comes from.
• The track: V for video, A for audio.
• The transition: C for a cut, D for a dissolve, W for a wipe, with a length in frames for the last two.
• Source in and source out: where the piece starts and ends inside its clip.
• Record in and record out: where it starts and ends in the finished video.

Every time is a timecode, written as hours, minutes, seconds and frames: 00:00:04:12 is four seconds and twelve frames in.

How do you read an EDL?

Here is a short one in the CMX 3600 format, the one almost every editor reads. It is an illustration: an interview cut from two parts of the same take, followed by a shot of B-roll, at 24 frames a second.

TITLE: STUDIO INTERVIEW
FCM: NON-DROP FRAME

001  TAKE03   V     C        00:00:04:12 00:00:09:00 00:00:00:00 00:00:04:12
002  TAKE03   V     C        00:00:12:06 00:00:18:18 00:00:04:12 00:00:11:00
003  BROLL01  V     C        00:01:02:00 00:01:05:00 00:00:11:00 00:00:14:00

Read event 002 from left to right: it is the second edit, it comes from the reel TAKE03, it is video, and it joins with a cut. The piece starts 12 seconds and 6 frames into TAKE03 and ends at 18 seconds and 18 frames, and it plays in the finished video from 4 seconds 12 frames to 11 seconds exactly. The 3 seconds and 6 frames skipped between events 001 and 002 are the part of the take that was cut.

The two lines at the top are a header: the title of the edit, and FCM, the frame code mode, which says whether the timecode skips frame numbers to keep pace with the clock. Non-drop frame means it does not.

Why do editors still use EDLs?

Because a few kilobytes of text describe a whole edit, and nearly every editing system can read them.

• Conforming. An edit made on lightweight proxy files is rebuilt from the full-quality originals for colour and finishing.
• Moving between systems. Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Avid Media Composer all import CMX 3600 lists.
• Archiving. A list survives long after the project file that made it stops opening.
• Reviewing. An edit read as a list shows every decision at once, in order, with exact times.

What are the limits of an EDL?

The CMX 3600 format is old and spare. A list holds one video track, only a few audio tracks and short reel names, and nothing beyond simple transitions: no effects, titles, colour or audio mix. Richer formats carry the rest:

What makes Sharpy's edit decision list different?

It records decisions, not just edits. A traditional EDL lists what was kept and where it went; it never says why. Sharpy's list gives every event a reason, and it records the decisions that change nothing on the timeline too: a breath it chose to keep, the point where an idea ends.

The reasons are what make an edit you did not make by hand worth trusting: you can check every decision in a minute and overrule the ones you disagree with. How Sharpy decides where to cut goes through this take, decision by decision.

When you want to finish an edit elsewhere, Sharpy hands it on in the standard formats: a CMX 3600 EDL, FCPXML or OpenTimelineIO.