Paper edit template (free download)
By Greg Thompson, Founder, CutConvertPublished
Turn a paper edit into a sequence
PaperEdit transcribes the interviews on your computer, lets your producer pick the lines from a link, and downloads the sequence for Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut or Avid. Already have a paper edit? Paste it →
This free paper edit template is a spreadsheet laid out the way documentary paper edits are actually written: one row per interview line, with the speaker, the source file, the source in and out timecodes, the quote and a note for the editor, plus rows for section headings. Download it for Excel or Google Sheets, or as a Word document, fill it in, and paste the rows into PaperEdit to get a Premiere, Resolve, Final Cut or Avid sequence.
Download the template
- Paper edit template for Excel and Google Sheets (.xlsx)
- Paper edit template as a Word document (.docx)
- Paper edit template as CSV (.csv)
In Google Sheets, choose File > Import > Upload and pick the .xlsx. The example rows are from a short documentary about the last season of an island ferry; replace them with yours.
The columns
| Column | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| # | The line's number in the paper edit. |
| Section | Only on section rows: a heading in capitals, like COLD OPEN. Its note goes in the last column. |
| Speaker | Who's talking. |
| Source file | The interview's media file, like A001_RUTH_INT.mov, so the editor knows which camera roll. |
| Source in / Source out | The timecodes where the line starts and ends, from the transcript or the camera file. |
| Quote (as spoken) | The words exactly as they were said, trimmed to the part you want. |
| Notes for the editor | The shot to use, a breath to keep, what to lose if it runs long. |
The header row is frozen, quotes wrap, and section rows are highlighted so the structure reads at a glance. There are empty rows below the examples ready to fill.
How to fill it in
- Work from timecoded transcripts. If you don't have them, see how to do a paper edit for a documentary for where to get them.
- Add a section row for each beat of the film, in order.
- Under each, add the lines that tell that beat. Copy the quote from the transcript and trim it to the words you need.
- Fill in source in and out if your transcript has timecodes. If not, the quote alone is enough for PaperEdit to find the line.
- Number the lines at the end, once the order has settled.
New to paper edits? Start with what a paper edit is.
Turn it into a sequence
Select the filled-in rows (not the header), copy them, and paste them into PaperEdit's paper edit to Premiere page with the interview transcripts, or the interview videos, which it transcribes on your computer. It reads each row's source file and timecodes, finds every quote, and downloads a sequence for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro or Avid Media Composer with the section rows as markers. Rows copied from the Word version work the same way.
If the producer and editor are building it together, PaperEdit does the same job without the spreadsheet: the producer picks lines from the transcripts through a link and sends the editor the finished order.
FAQ
Is the paper edit template free? Yes. Download it in Excel, Word or CSV format and use it however you like. No account is needed.
Does it work in Google Sheets? Yes. Upload the .xlsx with File > Import in Google Sheets. The layout, frozen header and highlighted section rows come with it.
Do I need timecodes in every row? No. Timecodes make the editor's job faster, but PaperEdit can find a line from the quote alone, as long as the interview's transcript is added.
Can I turn the template into a Premiere sequence? Yes. Copy the rows into PaperEdit's paper edit to Premiere page with the interview transcripts, and download the XML for Premiere, or a timeline for Resolve, Final Cut Pro or Avid.
Why is there a Word version? Many producers write paper edits as documents rather than spreadsheets. The Word version has the same columns as a table, and its rows paste into PaperEdit the same way.
Greg Thompson · Founder, CutConvert
Greg builds CutConvert, the post-production file converter — including the first working decoder for Premiere Pro’s binary .prtranscript format. He writes these guides from the format specs and real editor workflows.