Editing Edit decision list

{{Short description|Used in the process of film editing and video editing}}
{{multiple issues|
{{More citations needed|date=September 2016}}
{{Technical|date=March 2010}}
}}

An '''edit decision list''' or '''EDL''' is used in the [[post-production]] process of [[film editing]] and [[video editing]]. The list contains an ordered list of [[reel]] and [[timecode]] data representing where each video clip can be obtained in order to [[Conform (video production)|conform]] the final cut.

EDLs are created by [[offline editing]] systems, or can be paper documents constructed by hand such as [[shot logging]]. These days, [[linear video editing]] systems have been superseded by [[non-linear editing]] (NLE) systems which can output EDLs electronically to allow [[autoconform]] on an [[online editing]] system – the recreation of an edited programme from the original sources (usually [[video tap]]es) and the editing decisions in the EDL.

They are also often used in the [[Video editing|digital video editing]] world, so rather than referring to reels they can refer to sequences of images stored on disk.

Some formats, such as CMX3600, can represent simple editing decisions only. Final Cut Pro [[XML]], the [[Advanced Authoring Format]] (AAF), and [[AviSynth]] scripts are relatively advanced file formats that can contain sophisticated EDLs.
== Simple EDL Format ==
A [https://kodi.wiki/view/Edit_decision_list simple time EDL] format used by MCEBuddy, MPlayer, XBMC, Kodi and other linear time software looks like:
 [begin second] [end second] [action]
Where the seconds are floating-point numbers and the action is either <code>0</code> for cut, <code>1</code> for mute, <code>2</code> for scene marker and <code>3</code> for skip. 
For example, the following .edl file content will be cut from second 5.3 to second 7.1, mute at 15 seconds, unmute at 16.7 seconds, and commercial skip from 420 seconds to 822 seconds. There will be two scene markers. The first at 255.3 seconds and the next at 720.1 seconds.
 5.3   7.1    0
 15    16.7   1
 420   822    3
 1     255.3  2
 720.1        2


A [https://kodi.wiki/view/Edit_decision_list simple frame EDL] format looks like:
 #[begin frame] #[end frame] [action]
Where the frames are integer numbers and the action is either <code>0</code> for cut, <code>1</code> for mute, <code>2</code> for scene marker and <code>3</code> for skip. 

The following .edl file content will cut from frame 127 to frame 170, mute at frame 360, unmute at frame 400, and commercial skip from frame 10080 to frame 19728. There will be two scene markers. The first at frame 6127 and the next at frame 17282.
 #127   #170    0
 #360   #400    1
 #10080 #19728  3
 #1     #6127   2
 #17282         2

== B-Roll ==
Linear editing systems cannot dissolve between clips on the same [[video tape]]. Hence, one of these clips will need to be dubbed onto a new video tape. EDLs designate these occurrences by marking such dissolves' source reels as [[B-roll]] of "b-reels". For example, the EDL will change the 8th character of the reel name to the letter B.

However, sometimes editors will (confusingly) use the letter B to designate time code breaks on a video tape. If there is broken time code on a video tape, there will be two (or more) instances of a particular time code on the video tape. When re-capturing, it can be ambiguous as to which timecode is the right one. The letter B may indicate that the right time code is from the second set of timecode on the video tape.

==Incompatibilities and potential problems==
EDL formats such as CMX, GVG, Sony, Final Cut Pro, and Avid are similar but can differ in small (but important) ways.  Particular attention should be paid to reel naming convention. On the Avid, reel names can be up to 32 characters, but user should be aware that these EDLs don't adhere to online editing machine control specifications. These are used by systems that have modified the import/export code to handle file-based workflows as tape acquisition formats wane. On FCP, in CMX3600 format, only eight characters are allowed. Particular attention should be paid towards b-reels.  If the EDL handles dissolves to the same reel, reel names should be limited to 7 characters since the 8th character may be replaced.

EDLs can use either [[Drop-frame time code|drop-frame]] (DF) or non drop-frame timecode (NDF), running at 24fps (non drop-frame only), 25fps (non drop-frame only), and 30fps (drop-frame and non drop-frame).

Overall, EDLs are still commonly used as some systems do not support other more robust formats such as [[Advanced Authoring Format|AAF]] and XML.

== Systems known to support EDL to some extent ==
Almost [[Comparison of video editing software#Output options|any professional editing system and many others]] support some form of XML/EDL saving/processing.

Some that make the list:
* [[Adobe Premiere Pro]]
* Avid [[Media Composer]]
* [[Blender (software)|Blender]] supports EDL in versions [http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?t=147999 2.4x] and [http://wiki.blender.org/index.php/Dev:Ref/Release_Notes/2.66/Addons versions from 2.66]
* [[Cinelerra]] 
* [[DaVinci Resolve]]
* Digital Vision Nucoda and Phoenix
* [[Final Cut Pro]]
* [[Lightworks]]
* [https://www.mcebuddy2x.com MCEBuddy]
* [[MediaCoder]]
* [[Shotcut]]
* The Foundry HIERO
* Thydrjs Dream II and Xynergi systems
* [[Vegas Pro]]

== Systems supporting EDL playback, not just EDL cutting ==
Probably most of the above, plus any professional editing system, plus

* [[Avidemux]] project files.
* [[Bs.player]] [http://forum.bsplayer.com/feature-requests-feedback-suggestions/7157-chapter-playlist-scene-cut-3.html]
* [[MPlayer]] (EDL specifies what to skip or mute; only one source file per EDL; see also http://linuxgazette.net/178/brownss.html)
* MPlayer2 (EDL specifies what to show from which file)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://devel.mplayer2.org/changeset/968154ba77f8e8974d6dd36d1109a473b3ff5b6c/|title=EDL: add support for new EDL file format|work=MPlayer2|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110425211510/http://devel.mplayer2.org/changeset/968154ba77f8e8974d6dd36d1109a473b3ff5b6c|archivedate=25 April 2011}} [http://pastebin.com/ZYPSqjSW Alt URL]</ref>
* [[mpv (media player)|mpv]] (EDL specifies what to show from which file; different from MPlayer and MPlayer2)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://github.com/mpv-player/mpv/blob/master/DOCS/edl-mpv.rst|title=EDL files|work=mpv|date=25 Oct 2014|accessdate=21 Jul 2015}}</ref>
* [[MythTV]] cut list
* [[SageTV]]
* [[SMPlayer]] automatically loads and applies a matching EDL file to the current movie being played
* [[VLC media player]] with xspf files that specify start and end times, or with [http://code.google.com/p/movie-content-editor/ movie content editor]
* Kodi/[[XBMC]]
* [[Zoom Player Max]]
* [[mrViewer]] with reels files, which are plain ASCII files.

==See also==
*[[AES31]]
*[[Keykode]] (Film editing)
*[[Commercial skipping]] sometimes uses EDLs to track commercial blocks.
*[[Magisto]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://xmil.biz/EDL-X/CMX3600.pdf] The CMX 3600 EDL specification
* [http://edlmax.com/MAXGUIDE.HTML Guide to EDL Management] – Brooks Harris
* [http://opentimeline.io OpenTimelineIO] – an open-source data model, file format, and API implementing reading and writing of many EDLs types.
* [https://github.com/rdp/sensible-cinema Sensible cinema] A "universal" EDL player.
* [https://github.com/sbidoul/edledit edledit] A Python-based GUI program to create MPlayer EDL v1 files.
* [https://clipclearance.com/edlease EDL Ease] A program that parses EDL files, converts to Excel and CSV formats and summarizes durations of all sources and filenames used in a project sequence.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edit Decision List}}
[[Category:Film and video technology]]
[[Category:Film editing]]
[[Category:Film post-production]]
[[Category:Television terminology]]
[[Category:Film and video terminology]]