-
Convert CMX 3600 EDL to Spreadsheet?
I’m trying to get a CMX 3600 EDL into spreadsheet format.
I’ve got the EDL of a finished programme which reads OK in TextEdit or Apple Pages, but what I need is to have much less info in table or preferably spreadsheet form.
I want to create a Log of the content of the finished programme with Shot Details, In and Out Timecode, Duration, and Source Tape fields (preferably with timecode info too). I’ll need to expand or modify the Shot Details cells and add extra spreadsheet columns for additional notes.
Just being able to get the EDL field info into column format in Numbers or some other spreadsheet would be a great start. Then I could delete, modify, or add to the info as necessary.
Is there a utility to achieve this? I’ve searched the web but can’t find a solution. I have Final Studio 2 (although the EDL comes from an Avid) on my Mac but I don’t think I can use FCP to achieve this.
Thanks.
-
16 Replies
-
Yes.
Open the file in Microsoft EXCEL.
David
Peace and Love 🙂
Read my Blog
https://blogs.creativecow.net/DavidBattistella -
Thanks David.
I don’t have Excel I’m afraid. However I have tried the EDL file in two equivalents – Apple Numbers, and the Spreadsheet component of NeoOffice for OS X – and neither opened the file in a useful way, or in anything approaching separate columns for the EDL components.
I’ll ask a friend with Excel to try it for me and let you know how I get on.
Thanks.
Robert.
-
Robert
Good Name!
Does the edl have “notes” ie comments or text under or over each edit?
If so, excel wont work for you because the notes dont break the same as the edits, so you get peices of each note across several columns. The way
an EDL is written it uses tabs for the column breaks on each edit THEN a carriage return for the note, and I do not know of any spreadsheet programs that can deal with that.All IS Not Lost, However:
One thing you can try is to import the EDL into FCP
Open a New Project. Settings dont matter, Import the EDL into that project. it should import as a Sequence and a bin full of clips. Now you can do a Batch List export of the bin, which WILL give you a file that has everything in columns.
Heck, why not do this logging in FCP one you import the edl?
hope this helps
“I like video because its so fast!”
Bob Flood
Greer & Associates, Inc. -
Just to confirm Bob’s reply – import the EDLinto Final Cut Pro and then export either the clips from the ‘sequence’ or he new ‘EDL BIN‘ as ‘Batch List’ and you’ll get everything you can get out of an EDL for working with a spreadsheet.
Taking Bob: “I like moving pictures, because I can control the speed” 🙂
Andreas
Spherico
https://www.spherico.com/filmtools -
Thanks very much Bob.
Yes, you’re right, I’m afraid, about the Notes in the EDL. But your suggestion about FCP sounds good. I’ll give it a try and see how I get on.
Regards,
Robert.
-
Thanks for that confirmation Andreas.
That’s really encouraging. I’m going to try it later today, so fingers crossed.
Regards,
Robert.
-
I use Excel to import EDLs when I have to do a Cmode list (sorted by source reel and timecode, not sequence inpoint) and I use the File>Import feature rather than just the File>Open feature. Import allows you to select your line breaks based on the information in the source file (your EDL) but I guess it still may not work with the Notes due to issues noted in previous posts.
There are some really great deals on Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac right now. I just bought three licenses for $79 each at Tekserve – this is the full suite of Office apps at a massive discount from normal price. Although you can use the free Open Office for a lot of the same tasks, if you want to interface with the rest of the world you really need a copy of Office, even you snag the previous version off Ebay. Here’s the link to the sale at Tekserve:
https://www.tekserve.com/products/643/Black_Friday_Sale/-467
Joe Murray
Edit at Joe’s
Charlotte, NC -
Thanks to all who offered help – I’ve got some good news and some bad news.
I’ve tried the FCP EDL import and Batch List export. I renamed that output file with the .txt suffix and it opened fine in Apple’s Numbers spreadsheet with apparently all of the FCP column headings and data replicated.
However in the process there were two problems –
1) I lost my timecode information for the finished programme. It’s in the EDL text file but not in FCP’s Master Clips Folder list after the Import, so missing from the Batch List export too. I have Name, Duration, In, Out, Media Start, Media End, and lots of other columns I’m not that interested in. But no sign of the Programme Timecodes that were in the EDL.
I do have In and Out columns after the Duration Column but they are full of ‘Not Set’ information for all of the shots except for some Rostrum Graphics. I’m guessing that this is where the Programme In/Out timecodes should be, but for some reason they have not made the journey across from the EDL to FCP.
2) The resulting spreadsheet is ordered alphabetically by the Source Clip name given by the programme editor. That could prove useful when I need to see the total durations from e.g. archive sources, but I would also need to have the content in programme timecode sequence. Even if there is a way to get that programme timecode from the EDL via FCP to the Batch List export, I’m not sure if Numbers, or Excel, or whatever application I use for the spreadsheet, will be capable of ordering the sequences by programme timecode.
I’m hoping someone can suggest a method of getting the programme timecode into FCP and then ordering the resultant spreadsheet by that timecode.
Thanks again for all the help – as you will have gathered by now, I’m new to all this and was really struggling until I got the above suggestions.
And thanks Joe for that tip on the Microsoft Office for Mac deal. I’ll check it out.
Robert
-
In case it helps explain my earlier post better I’m uploading screen images showing:
1. My EDL text file
2. After Import to FCP
3. The spreadsheet resulting from Batch List export from FCP
Thanks,
Robert. -
Hello,
Have I reached a dead end with this problem?
Or can anyone see where I’m going wrong from the screenshots?
Thanks,
Robert.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up