EDL file example: a sample CMX3600, explained line by line

Here is a real, working EDL file example you can download and open: [cutconvert-sample.edl](/samples/cutconvert-sample.edl) — a standard CMX3600 edit decision list describing a short documentary-style cut, with interviews, B-roll, a dissolve, a stock clip, and an audio track. Every NLE that reads EDLs (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Avid Media Composer) will import it, any text editor will open it, and the rest of this page walks through what each line means.

Want it as a spreadsheet instead? Drop the sample — or your own EDL — on the free EDL to CSV converter and every event becomes a row with reels, timecodes, clip names, and computed durations.

The sample, line by line

The file opens with a two-line header:

TITLE: EP12_LOCKED_CUT_V3
FCM: NON-DROP FRAME

TITLE is the sequence name from the exporting NLE. FCM (Frame Code Mode) declares non-drop or drop-frame timecode — get this wrong on import and every record time drifts.

Then come the events. A simple cut looks like this:

001  A001C003  V     C        00:04:12:08 00:04:18:20 01:00:00:00 01:00:06:12
* FROM CLIP NAME: A001_C003_INTERVIEW_WIDE.MOV

Reading left to right: event 001, from reel A001C003 (a camera-card reel ID, capped at eight characters), on the Video track, edit type Cut, taking source frames 00:04:12:08–00:04:18:20 and placing them on the record timeline at 01:00:00:00–01:00:06:12. The * FROM CLIP NAME: comment preserves the full clip name the reel field is too short to hold — colorists and VFX coordinators live off this line.

The sample also demonstrates the cases that trip people up:

• Event 004 is a dissolve — edit type D with 024 after it: a 24-frame cross dissolve into the drone shot, annotated with * EFFECT NAME: CROSS DISSOLVE.
• Events 005 and 008 use reel `AX` — the placeholder for file-based sources with no recorded reel ID (stock footage, archive material). The real identity lives in the clip-name comment.
• Event 007 is audio — track AA (a stereo pair), running the scratch VO under the whole cut. Event 008 is AA/V, cutting picture and sound together.
• Record times start at 01:00:00:00 — the broadcast convention of starting sequences at hour one, which is why converted subtitle or marker times sometimes appear an hour late in other tools.

How to open the EDL file

• Just look inside: any text editor — it's plain text.
• Rebuild the cut: import it into an NLE. DaVinci Resolve: File > Import > Timeline. Premiere Pro: File > Import. Media Composer: the List Tool. The events become a timeline again wherever the media is available to relink.
• Work with the data: convert it to a spreadsheet with the EDL to CSV converter and sort, filter, or total durations in Excel or Google Sheets.

For the full format specification — history, every field, transitions, the 999-event limit — see What is an EDL file?, and for when to send an EDL versus richer formats, EDL vs XML vs AAF. The format's lineage back to CMX Systems' edit controllers, and the broader edit decision list concept, are covered well on Wikipedia.

FAQ

Is this a real EDL file that will import into my NLE? Yes — it's a spec-standard CMX3600 list. Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Avid Media Composer all read it. The clips it references don't exist on your machine, so events will show as offline media, which is exactly what happens with any EDL until you relink to the source files.

What does AX mean in the reel column? It's the placeholder reel for file-based sources with no recorded reel ID — stock clips, archive footage, graphics. The clip's real identity is preserved in the * FROM CLIP NAME: comment directly below the event.

Why does the record timecode start at 01:00:00:00 instead of zero? Broadcast convention — sequences traditionally start at hour one so anything before the program (bars, slates) can live in hour zero. Subtract an hour if you need zero-based times.

What's the number after the D on the dissolve event? The transition duration in frames — D 024 is a 24-frame cross dissolve. Wipes work the same way with a W and a wipe-pattern number.

Can I edit the EDL by hand? Yes — it's plain text, and small fixes (a reel name, a typo in a clip-name comment) are routine. Keep the column spacing intact and don't renumber events unless you renumber all of them.

How do I turn this into a spreadsheet? Drop it on the EDL to CSV converter — each event becomes a row with reel, track, transition, source in/out, record in/out, clip name, and computed duration in both seconds and timecode.