Export your list to your editing app

A shot list lets you decide which images make up your video before opening your editing app. Arranging clips in Merceq doesn’t physically cut or combine videos. When you export your plan to an editing app, it becomes a real timeline.

Clips in the list are exported

Clips in the shot list are exported even if you haven’t decided on them yet or have put them on hold. Choosing stay for In queue or On hold in the export summary doesn’t change this rule. You may see this note: They’ll stay in the library; {count} in the shot list will still be exported.

These clips in the list count toward To export: N.
If a clip isn’t in a folder, its exported file goes under In queue/ or On hold/.
Exception: rejected clips can’t be in a list. List clips that were already delivered and had their folder removed aren’t included in the export.

We’ll explain all export options in section 8.

Timeline in your editing app

When the Link plugin is on, you can choose Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, or Premiere Pro from Send to editing app during export. Merceq prepares each shot list as a separate timeline in slot order. If Link is off, this option isn’t shown; you can turn on the plugin in Plugins. You don’t need a separate license to create a shot list; exporting requires an active trial or license.

Open the Export screen and check which clips will be exported.
Set the destination and file layout; choose the editing app to export to.
Merceq prepares the project file by linking it to the exported media copies. Wait for the process to finish.
Open the project file in the editing app you chose. Check the timeline order and media links; continue editing there.

What happens in the prepared timeline?

A separate timeline named Shot list — {list name} is prepared for each shot list.
Clips are placed in the order you arranged the slots, not by shoot date.
If a clip in a slot has scenes you’ve marked, all marked scenes from that clip are exported in order. Each segment gets a marker at its start with the scene name and note. If there are no marked scenes, the whole clip is used.
You can’t select a separate scene for each slot. A slot holds the clip itself; scene selections are applied when exporting to the edit. The same clip can’t be placed in a second slot in the same list.
Empty slots and clips not included in this export are skipped without leaving gaps in the timeline. If none of a list’s clips are exported, no timeline is prepared for it.
If some lists are only partially exported, the note Some clips from {n} shot lists aren’t in this export; those timelines were written with missing slots. appears.

An FCPXML project file is prepared for Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve, and a Premiere XML project file for Premiere Pro. This project brings the selected takes and scene ranges into your edit; transitions, music, and audio level adjustments aren’t made automatically. You can’t play through your list in order or cut the video in Merceq; do that in your editing app.

We’ll explain how files are copied, folder layout, and other project options in the next section.