How to export selects to Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut

The short answer

Write your selects out as a timeline interchange file, either an EDL or FCPXML, and import it into your editor. The file lists which source clips to use and where each one starts and stops, so the editor rebuilds the sequence for you, linked to your original media.

EDL vs FCPXML

Both describe a sequence of clips with in and out points, but they carry different amounts of information:

• EDL (edit decision list) is an old, plain-text format that almost every editor can read. It's dependable but minimal: think one video track, clip names and timecodes, with little room for extra metadata.
• FCPXML is Final Cut Pro's native XML interchange format. It carries more structure, and DaVinci Resolve can import it as well.
• If one format gives you trouble in a particular editor or version, try the other. Both point back to your original files.

Doing it by hand

Without a tool, the usual workflow is to scrub footage, note in and out timecodes in a spreadsheet, then either set markers and subclips in the editor or type up an EDL. It works, but it's tedious and error-prone, and the hardest part is still finding the moments in the first place.

Two things trip people up: timecode that doesn't match the source (for example a clip whose embedded start timecode isn't zero), and mixed frame rates, where a cut that's frame-accurate in one clip lands between frames in another. Good tools snap in and out points to each file's own frame rate.

How to do it in MediaFind

MediaFind finds the moments and writes the timeline. Exporting to FCPXML or EDL is a Pro feature.

1. Add the folder with your footage and let MediaFind index it on your computer.
2. Search for the moments you want: by what was said, by what's on screen (close-up of hands on a keyboard), by on-screen text, or by speaker.
3. Select the results you want to keep. You can also arrange them on the Create timeline first, trimming and reordering as you go.
4. Export the selection or the Create timeline as FCPXML or EDL. In and out points are frame-accurate, snapped to each file's frame rate.
5. Import the file into Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro. For Final Cut, use FCPXML. The clips link back to the originals on your disk.

Tips

Keep your media where it was when you indexed it, so the editor can relink without hunting. If you do move a folder, MediaFind can relink it on its side too.

Treat the exported timeline as a first assembly rather than a finished cut. Grade, mix and polish in your editor as usual. If you'd rather start from a script, Compose storyboard (Pro) fills each beat of a narration with matching footage, and Auto-Reel (Pro) ranks the best short moments in a long recording. The NLE export write-up goes into the details.

Frequently asked questions

Which format should I use for Final Cut Pro?

FCPXML. It is Final Cut Pro's native interchange format.

Can DaVinci Resolve import both EDL and FCPXML?

Yes. Resolve can import timelines from both formats and relink them to your source media.

Does the export copy or re-encode my footage?

No. An EDL or FCPXML file only describes the cuts. Your editor links the timeline to the original media files on your disk.

Is FCPXML and EDL export free in MediaFind?

No, it is part of Pro. The free plan includes the Create timeline editor and rendering to MP4 or ProRes.