The OTIO standard can allow importing of a video editor’s timeline into a different video editor

The image shows two screen captures of video editing software. In the foreground, there are various tools and options for video editing, including color balance, equalizer, and effects. The background displays a preview of a video clip showing a vintage-style streetcar traveling along a desert-like landscape. The streetcar appears to be well-preserved, suggesting a historical or restored vehicle. The video editing software is shown here is Kdenlive, a professional-grade video editor. The screenshot displays multiple tracks and clips organized on a timeline, showing it is an advanced use-case scenario. The small details in the timeline include timestamps that correlate with the video footage, suggesting careful consideration and attention to detail by the editor. This implies the editor has advanced skills in editing, as the software displays a multitude of features including an audio mixer, video effects, and transitions.

This means a timeline that contains various media with multiple tracks and clips with cuts, can be exported, for example, from Kdenlive and imported into DaVinci Resolve. This is useful where often one editor can do things that another editor cannot do.

You can read more about the OpenTimelineIO, or OTIO, standard at https://opentimelineio.readthedocs.io/en/latest/index.html. Their site does state: OTIO supports clips, timing, tracks, transitions, markers, metadata, etc. but not embedded video or audio. Video and audio media are referenced externally.

I picked up on this from Kdenlive’s post on Mastodon, about how they have achieved exporting a timeline from Kdenlive and importing it into DaVinci Resolve. The attached image shows this announcement, which can also be seen at https://mastodon.social/deck/@[email protected]/113622947347734481.

Despite this though there may still be some challenges, for example with DaVinci Resolve on Linux not supporting AAC audio, so no audio editing will be possible then on the DaVinci side (without conversion). Although I’d expect the audio could be left intact as AAC if it is just re-imported back to Kdenlive.

On DaVinci Resolve’s side, I see they announced support for OTIO was added already from their version 18.5.

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