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How to import FCPXML into DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut Pro

lazycut's browser version downloads one .fcpxml file. Here is the import command from each editor's own documentation, what is in the file, and what to check when clips come up missing.

Import the timeline into DaVinci Resolve

  1. Open a project in DaVinci Resolve.
  2. Choose File > Import > Timeline. On a Mac the shortcut is Shift-Command-I.
  3. Select your .fcpxml file and click Open.
  4. If Resolve shows a window of import settings, check them and click OK.
  5. If clips come up missing, relink them to your footage folder.

Source: Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve 18.5 New Features Guide (PDF, April 2023, page 10), read 2026-10-03. Blackmagic writes steps 2 to 4 there for OpenTimelineIO timeline files, and says to relink when the media is not in the same place as the original. For the relink commands, use the Reference Manual for your version, such as the DaVinci Resolve 20 Reference Manual (PDF, about 200 MB when checked 2026-10-03).

Open the FCPXML timeline in Final Cut Pro

  1. In Final Cut Pro, choose File > Import > XML.
  2. Go to your .fcpxml file, then click Import.

Apple's guide adds that you can double-click the file in the Finder instead. A lazycut file holds one event with one project, both named like the file.

If clips are missing, Apple's relink page describes them as red frames with yellow alert triangles. Select them, choose File > Relink Files > Original Media, click Locate All, go to your footage folder, click Choose, then click Relink Files.

Sources: Apple's Final Cut Pro User Guide, Use XML to transfer projects and Relink clips to media files, both read 2026-10-03.

The file

What a lazycut export contains

File
One .fcpxml file (FCPXML version 1.9), named after your footage folder with -cut on the end. No video is inside it. It points at your clips by file path.
Cutaways
B-roll only. Each cutaway is a muted, video-only clip on the track above the main one. The main track is left empty for your recording.
Markers
Each cutaway has a marker: the first words of the script line it covers, then lazycut's reason for the pick. Where nothing fit there is no clip, only a marker that starts with GAP.
Timing
Estimated from your script at 2.5 words a second, not from your take.
Frame
30 frames per second. The size follows the shape you chose: 1920×1080 for 16:9, 1080×1920 for 9:16, 1080×1080 for 1:1, 1080×1350 for 4:5.
Paths
The folder path you typed, then each clip's place inside that folder.

This is the browser version, which works from a pasted script. The Mac version, a command-line tool, cuts from a recording and puts the take in the timeline.

After import

Then do your 20%

  1. Add your recording on the main track, under the cutaways. The timeline is silent until you do.
  2. Slide each cutaway to the words it covers. Its marker gives the line and the reason.
  3. Remove the cutaways you would not have chosen. Lines with a GAP marker stay on you.

On my own 50-second talk, cut with the Mac version, lazycut proposed 5 cutaways and I kept 3. The lines are in B-roll ideas for coaches.

Missing clips

The folder path decides whether your clips link

After you choose a folder, lazycut asks where it is on your computer. What you type becomes the start of each clip's path in the file.

  • On a Mac

    Path field
    Type or paste the full path of the folder you chose, starting with /. It has to be that folder, not the one above it.
    To copy it
    In the Finder, choose View > Show Path Bar. Control-click the folder in the path bar, then choose the Copy as Pathname item. Source: Apple's Mac User Guide, Get file, folder, and disk information on Mac, read 2026-10-03.
    After import
    The file points at each clip inside that folder.

  • On Windows

    Path field
    Leave it blank. It only takes paths that start with /.
    After import
    The file carries a placeholder path, so the clips come up missing. Relink them in DaVinci Resolve.

Sending the file to an editor? They relink to their own copy of the footage. More in what to hand your editor.

Troubleshooting

If something looks wrong

  • Clips are missing or offline. The paths in the file do not match where the clips are: a blank or mistyped path field, a folder moved after the download, or a different computer. Relink in your editor. On a Mac, with lazycut still open, you can also fix the path and download again.
  • lazycut asks for the full folder path and will not download. The field only takes a path that starts with /. On a Mac, paste the path as copied above. On Windows, clear the field, download, then relink in Resolve.
  • No sound, gaps in the picture, cutaways early or late. All expected. The cutaways are muted, your recording is not in the file, lines with no match are left empty, and timing comes from the script's word count.
  • The frame rate is not the one you shot at. A lazycut file is 30 frames per second whatever your footage is, and it lists each clip at that rate. Apple's relink page says a relinked file must have the same frame rate, so if Final Cut will not relink a clip, compare the two.
  • The frame is the wrong shape. The size follows the shape selected in lazycut. Choose the right one, cut again, then download.

Still stuck? Reply to the email your invite code came in.

No timeline yet?

lazycut makes this file. Paste your script and point it at a folder of footage you filmed. It places one of your shots on each line it can, with a reason for each. Lines with no good match stay on you.

You or your editor finish it in DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut. Not Premiere yet. Free, invite-only beta, no card.

See how lazycut works

Questions

How do I import an FCPXML file into DaVinci Resolve?

Blackmagic's documentation writes the timeline import command as File > Import > Timeline (Shift-Command-I on a Mac). Select the .fcpxml file and click Open, then relink any missing clips to your footage folder. Source: DaVinci Resolve 18.5 New Features Guide, read 2026-10-03.

How do I open an FCPXML timeline in Final Cut Pro?

Apple's user guide says to choose File > Import > XML, go to the file and click Import. You can also double-click the file in the Finder. Source: Final Cut Pro User Guide, read 2026-10-03.

Why are my clips missing after I import a lazycut timeline?

The file holds no video. It points at each clip by file path. If a clip is not at that path on this computer, the editor cannot find it until you relink.

Does a lazycut timeline open in Premiere?

Not yet. The browser version exports FCPXML, for DaVinci Resolve or Final Cut.

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