Move a cut between Premiere, Resolve and Final Cut Pro

Moving a cut between Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Pro works best when you treat the exchange file as a list of decisions, not a copy of the project. Clips, in and out points, track layout and basic transitions travel well. Effects, speed ramps, styled titles, plug-in chains and multicam structure usually do not, or arrive changed.

So the practical answer is: pick the right interchange format for the destination, simplify the timeline before you export, and conform on the other side against a reference render. The rest of this article explains each format, what survives it, and a checklist you can use whatever software sits on either end.

The five formats, in plain terms

Every interchange format is a compromise between what the sending app knows and what the receiving app can read.

• FCPXML is Final Cut Pro's native exchange format. It describes clips, roles, compound clips, connected clips and many attributes in detail. Resolve reads and writes it well, and it is often the cleanest route between Final Cut and Resolve.
• XML (Premiere XML / FCP7 XML) is the older Final Cut Pro 7 format that Premiere still uses for exchange. It is broadly supported and predictable, which is why it remains the default handoff from Premiere to Resolve.
• EDL (edit decision list, usually CMX3600) is the oldest and most limited. It carries one video track per list, reel names, source and record timecode, and simple dissolves. It survives almost anything because it says so little. Colourists and online editors still ask for it as a cross-check.
• AAF is the language of Avid and Pro Tools. For sound turnovers it is the expected format. It can carry linked media references, clip names, levels and, depending on the sending app, fades.
• OTIO (OpenTimelineIO) is an open, documented timeline format from the film and animation world. It is gaining support across tools and is useful when you want a readable, scriptable description of a cut.

If you are going from Premiere to Resolve, XML is the usual choice. Final Cut to Resolve, FCPXML. Anything to Pro Tools, AAF. Anything to a colourist who wants a safety net, add an EDL per video track.

What survives and what does not

Editors report the same losses across every pairing, regardless of brand. Plan for them.

Usually survives: clip references, source in and out points, timeline position, track order, clip names, basic cross dissolves, audio levels, simple opacity, markers in most formats.

Often changes: constant speed changes (usually fine), freeze frames (sometimes become stills of a different length), scale and position (can shift when the receiving app handles different-resolution media differently), nested sequences and compound clips (may flatten or import as separate timelines).

Usually lost or rebuilt: speed ramps and time remapping curves, third-party effects and plug-in chains, colour corrections, styled titles and motion graphics templates, multicam angle structure, audio plug-ins and bus routing.

A recurring complaint is that a cut looks right until someone notices a speed ramp has become a constant 50%, or a title has turned into a placeholder. That is not a bug in any single app. These things are stored differently in each tool and there is no shared vocabulary for them in the exchange formats.

Prepare the timeline before you export

Ten minutes of preparation saves hours of conform.

1. Duplicate the sequence. Work on a copy named for the handoff, so your creative version stays intact.
2. Collapse what you can. Flatten nested sequences or compound clips you do not need to keep live. Fewer layers mean fewer surprises.
3. Render speed ramps and complex effects to new media if the destination does not need to adjust them. A rendered clip is just a clip.
4. Remove or isolate titles. Put graphics on their own track so they are easy to rebuild or replace.
5. Check reel names and timecode. EDL and AAF conform depend on them. Media without consistent reel names is the most common cause of a failed relink.
6. Export a reference render of the whole sequence with burnt-in timecode. This is your ground truth.
7. Collect media in one place, or at least make sure every path is reachable from the receiving machine.

A conform checklist for the receiving side

Once the timeline is in, verify it rather than trusting it.

1. Stack the reference render on the top track and set it to difference blend, or toggle between them. Any frame that is not black has drifted.
2. Check sequence frame rate, resolution and start timecode match the original.
3. Walk every speed change and freeze frame.
4. Check scale and position on any clip whose source resolution differs from the timeline.
5. Look for offline or misnamed clips and relink them.
6. Rebuild titles and effects from your notes.
7. Spot-check audio sync on long takes, especially after any speed change.
8. Save a version before you start the creative work on the new side.

If you are moving work around because your current editor is unstable, our guide to Premiere Pro crashing on a Mac covers the troubleshooting first. And if the real problem is that your post chain has too many tools, read post-production handoffs.

Doing it in cinemaOS

cinemaOS is a Mac editor and finishing app that reads and writes these formats. It is built on the same honest assumption as the checklist above: interchange is conform-grade, not a perfect copy.

Importing. Press ⌘⇧H for HOME and pick the Import a cut tile, or use File ▸ Import ▸ Timeline (FCPXML, XML, EDL, OTIO, AAF, Premiere, Resolve). The picker accepts FCPXML, XML, EDL, OTIO, AAF, .fcpbundle, .prproj and .drp. Reading .prproj directly is experimental, so an XML export from Premiere is still the safer route.

The conform report. After import, cinemaOS lists every side-step it took: effects it could not translate, titles it replaced, multicam cuts it flattened, OTIO nested stacks it skipped. You start with a written list of what to check, instead of discovering losses on playback.

The Resolve bridge. If you import directly from a running copy of DaVinci Resolve, Resolve needs external scripting enabled in its preferences. The free version of Resolve may block this, in which case export an FCPXML or XML from Resolve and import that instead.

Exporting back. From File ▸ Export ▸ Timeline Interchange you can write Export FCPXML…, Export Premiere XML…, Export EDL…, Export OpenTimelineIO…, Export Avid Log Exchange… (ALE) and AAF / Professional Handoff…. There is also Export All Sequences (FCPXML + EDL). AAF is linked-media only: fades, pan and effects are reported in the handoff but not authored into the file, so give your sound editor notes alongside it.

You can also ask J.A.R.E.D., the on-device assistant (⌘J), to "Deliver a master, an EDL and an FCPXML for this sequence". It confirms every path before writing, puts everything in a new folder beside the project, and you can follow progress in Task Center (⌥⌘0).

FAQ

Is FCPXML better than XML for going to Resolve?

From Final Cut Pro, yes. FCPXML is Final Cut's own format and carries more detail. From Premiere, use Premiere's XML export, since that is what Premiere writes natively.

Why does my EDL only show one video track?

That is how the CMX3600 format works. Export one EDL per video track, and keep the reel names consistent so the receiving app can relink.

Will my colour grade come across?

Generally no. Grades are stored differently in every app. Move the cut first, then regrade, or bake a look into a LUT and reapply it on the other side.

Try it on your next handoff

If you want an editor that tells you plainly what did not survive an import, try bringing your current cut into cinemaOS and reading the conform report. The 60-day free trial needs no card, so you can test the round trip on a real project before deciding anything.