EDL File Format

[peez]

I need to read an EDL and process it by a piece of software. Anyone an idea where I can find a specification of an EDL?

[guns1inger]

Have you tried opening one in notepad ?

Or perhaps tried google ?

A quick google for "edit decision list format" came up with these, amongst many others

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edit_decision_list

http://www.edlmax.com/index.htm

http://broadcastengineering.com/newsrooms/broadcasting_aaf_superedl/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_video_editing_software#Output_options

Vegas can save either an EDL as a plain text file, or an AAF format, which is not plain text readable. I have attached samples of both from the same edit.

The bigger question is how portable these EDLs are between editors, which will tell you a lot about how standardised the EDL format is.

[peez]

Yes I opened one and it doesn't look very complicated. Nevertheless I have to know which field represents what information.

The links provided by google don't provide any usable infos.

[guns1inger]

The sample EDL in .txt format that I uploaded has a header row so you can see what Vegas is saving/reading. Again, I cannot vouch for what other editors may expect. If you import the attached (previous) post sample into Excel you will see what columns are what.

[peez]

Oh.. Was this upload here before my reply? Didn't see it

Well that brings me to the next problem. The Sample EDL I was provided looks completely different (see attachment).

I was thinking that the .eld file format was standardized...

[guns1inger]

The original EDL was for analogue systems - film and tape - and even when it was originally computerised, it was still only a record of the edits, not an automated process. Digital EDLs for NLEs seem to be program specific, and even though they follow a similar basic pattern - clip names, start frames, durations etc. - there appears not to be a standard that all follow. I suspect that there will be a key set of fields that are common, be each adds whatever else they want to for their own functionality, thereby extending it. Perhaps you could ask for samples from several different NLEs, look at the formats for each, and create import filters for each one that reads the EDL and strips out the basic core information. I don't know what your assignment is specifically, or how this fits into it.

The AAF format is an attempt to standardise EDLs for digital editing, and I suspect that most of the major NLEs will read and write the format. If you look at the member organisations for the association behind the format, you will find most of the major players (although not Apple, unsurprisingly). Given it's proprietary nature, you probably have to license the format for use, and membership is the simple way doing this.