Markers Cross NLE Generator

Marker Edits

Turn markers into a live to-do list for your edit: for you, your team, your client and your AI.

Markers as instructions

1. Pointers to work: mark any moment or range for an edit, addition, fix, comment or new material. The marker's name is the action (CUT, TRIM, ZOOM, SWAP, TITLE, COLOUR…) and its note is the detail.
2. Editing Notes on the marker: a third field for the reasoning. It's stored on the marker, so it survives moving the marker and renaming or duplicating the timeline, and it's saved with the project.
3. A live table: every marker in one list that updates by itself. The row under the playhead is highlighted, and clicking a row jumps to it.
4. Search and filter: by name, note, Editing notes, timecode or colour.
5. Colour as meaning: colour markers for "client", "music", "grade", "VFX" and so on, for you, your team and other tools. The same 16 colours are used in Resolve, Marker Edits and the Cross NLE Generator.

Working through the edit

1. Edited ticks: turn the table into a checklist.
2. Hide markers without losing them: they're saved to disk first, so a crash can't lose them.
3. Place markers in runs: every N frames or seconds, or evenly between two markers, named automatically, for beats and timed reviews. The last run can be removed in one go.
4. Time between markers: select two to see the gap in timecode and frames, or Fill between to place markers evenly across it.
5. General comments: notes for the whole timeline.
6. Small and out of the way: Shrink to a small window, or Minify to a bar. On Windows it stays above Resolve and minimises with it.

Scripts and planning

1. Script sheet: the script beside the timeline, saved as you type.
2. Opens almost anything: Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs tables, Excel and CSV, A/V text scripts, and screenplays (.txt, .fountain).
3. Plan before you cut: place markers from script rows, even on an empty timeline, or at a row's start time. Drag the marker and the row follows.
4. Fit the script to the audio: move a marker away from a row's time and Marker Edits offers to update the times in the sheet.
5. Export as CSV, or save a copy to share.

Share with other editing apps

1. Resolve to Resolve: Save to Disk writes every marker, note and Editing note, General comments and the script sheet to one file. Open from Disk puts them back on any timeline, by frame or by timecode.
2. Resolve to other editing apps: Marker Edits' free companion, the Markers Cross NLE Generator, is a web page that converts markers and notes between Marker Edits (JSON), Marker EDL and CSV. Its Export can also match Avid, Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and any CSV with a header row, from a sample export.
   1. Out: Save to Disk from Marker Edits, drop the file on the Generator, click Export, drop a sample from the other editor's app, and save your markers in that format.
   2. In: drop their Marker EDL or CSV on the Generator, add or check notes, then Create JSON and open it in Marker Edits.
   3. Check before importing: share the Generator link so collaborators can see positions, colours and notes before anything touches a timeline.
3. For companion tools: colours, notes and Editing notes are stored on the markers, where other dailyRushes tools and AI assistants connected to Resolve can read them.

Client review, from any editing app

1. Send sections or whole videos to clients: Send to Client uses your In and Out points, makes the review file or a ready-to-zip review folder, and checks your video link (your website or Dropbox) before you send.
2. Not using Resolve? The Cross NLE Generator builds the same client review package: client, production, In/Out, frame rate and your notes. Editors on other apps can send cuts for review too.
3. Comments on the exact frame: clients pause, press C and type. Timecode matches your timeline at true frame rates, including 23.976 and drop-frame. No account needed.
4. A frozen review timeline: when you render for a client, Marker Edits offers to duplicate the timeline and render from the copy, with a render preset such as YouTube - 1080p, so comments still land correctly while you keep editing.
5. Comments come back as markers:
   1. In Resolve: Import Client Comments shows anything the client was warned about, puts every comment on the review timeline and starts you on the first one.
   2. In other apps: drop the client's comments file on the Generator, click Export, and save the comments in your app's format.

AI-assisted editing

1. Instructions an AI can follow: name, note and Editing notes form a clear brief for AI assistants connected to Resolve, with a warning when a rule is hidden where some assistants won't see it.
2. AI tab: the AI Link conversation inside Marker Edits. Questions, suggestions, progress and Stop, in Ask first, Ask when unsure or Just do it.
3. AI reports on each marker, with Isolate to jump to exactly what changed.
4. Safety first: a backup before every AI job.
5. Image prompts: six ready-made styles sized to your timeline, for storyboards and illustrations.

Reliability

1. Frame-accurate markers, including Resolve's one-frame offset fix, even on empty timelines.
2. Diagnostics, and a one-click fix if anything looks out.
3. Clear and reset tools that say exactly what goes and what stays.

Adding your own image prompts with AI

You describe the style and an AI writes the prompt in the right format. You then paste the result into AI Link's prompts file.

1. Open the prompts file

Windows: press Windows + R, paste the line below and press Enter:

%APPDATA%\dailyRushes\Catalogue\tools\ai-link

Right-click prompts.json and open it with Notepad.

Mac: in Finder, choose Go > Go to Folder… (Shift+Cmd+G), paste the line below and press Return:

~/Library/Application Support/dailyRushes/Catalogue/tools/ai-link

Right-click prompts.json and open it with TextEdit.

Save a copy of the file somewhere safe, such as Documents, before changing anything.

2. Ask an AI to make your prompt

Copy everything in prompts.json, or attach the file, and paste it into Claude or any AI chat with something like:

"Use the attached as a template. I want to create a new prompt in this JSON. The style is: soft watercolour illustrations with loose washes, visible paper texture and a muted palette. Give me back the complete file."

Describe your style in your own words. The AI copies the pattern of the prompts already in the file.

3. Save the new file

Select everything in prompts.json (Ctrl+A, or Cmd+A on Mac), paste the AI's reply over it, and save.

4. Try it

In AI Link, or the AI tab in Marker Edits, click Prompts…. Your new style appears in the list.

Troubleshooting

If it says "prompts.json could not be read": ask the AI to "check this is valid JSON", then paste its reply in again, or put your backup back.

Mac users: TextEdit can turn straight quotes ( " ) into curly ones ( “ ” ), which breaks the file. Before pasting, untick Edit > Substitutions > Smart Quotes.

After updating AI Link: the update replaces prompts.json, so keep your version and paste it back in.

Install Storyboard

dailyRushes Storyboard turns your markers into animated storyboard clips. Follow these steps to set it up.

1. Install Node.js (once)

Node.js is the free engine that runs the storyboard tool.

1. Go to nodejs.org.
2. Download the LTS version (the one marked "Recommended for most users").
3. Run the installer and accept the default options.

   Windows: leave "Add to PATH" ticked. You can skip "Tools for Native Modules".

   Mac: open the .pkg file and click through.

4. Restart your computer.

Check it worked. Windows: open PowerShell from the Start menu. Mac: open Terminal (Applications > Utilities). Type:

node -v

You should see a version number such as v24.x.x.

2. Windows only: allow npm to run (once)

In PowerShell, run:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -Scope CurrentUser -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Type Y to confirm. Without this, Windows blocks the npm command.

3. Download the storyboard folder

Download the storyboard folder (.zip)

Unzip it into your Documents folder, so you have:

Windows: C:\Users\<your name>\Documents\storyboard

Mac: /Users/<your name>/Documents/storyboard

4. Install Remotion (once, inside the folder)

Windows (PowerShell):

cd $HOME\Documents\storyboard
npm install

Mac (Terminal):

cd ~/Documents/storyboard
npm install

This takes a minute or two and only needs doing once. Yellow warnings are normal. Only red ERR! lines mean something went wrong.

5. Open the storyboard preview

In the same window:

npm run dev

Your browser opens Remotion Studio at http://localhost:3000. Choose a storyboard from the list on the left to preview it.

Keep the PowerShell or Terminal window open while you work. Closing it closes Studio.

6. Make a video file

In Studio, open a storyboard, click Render, choose MP4 (for sharing) or ProRes (for editing in Resolve), then click Render video. The file is saved in the out folder inside storyboard. Drag it onto your Resolve timeline.

cd Documents/storyboard
npm run dev

If something goes wrong

dailyRushes Storyboard is built on Remotion. Remotion is free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people. Larger companies need a Remotion company licence: remotion.dev/license