Premiere Pro Import: File contains a complex edit list

[emilyy9561681]

I just got my first Mac and am using Premiere Pro. I'm trying to import some screen recordings from my desktop, and only one will upload. The rest receive an error message that says "File contains a complex edit list", then a window pops up with those three clips' file names and says "We were unable to open the file on disk."

I moved them from the desktop into a folder and have the same problem. Any suggestions? Using Premiere CC 2018.

[Kulpreet]

Did you use any particular screen recording application? Post a screenshot of the MediaInfo (tree view) of your files.

-K

[emilyy9561681]

I used the built-in screen recording capability on Mac.

[Trent Happel · Accepted solution]

Premiere Pro does not currently have full support for clips with complex edit lists. The error message is letting you know the reason why the clip could not be imported.

Until full support is added, a possible workaround it to encode the clips in another application. This should then allow Premiere to import the encoded clip.

I also encourage you to add your request to User Voice (to support clips with complex edit lists). Premiere Pro: Hot (3536 ideas) – Adobe video & audio apps

Hope this helps.

[ericbnpusa]

Why would you do this?  It's been supporting this all along?  WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU CHANGE THIS SHIT?  It doesn't make sense? 

[denise_sherman]

I used to be able to use footage with complex lists right inside media encoder. since the last update suddenly it no longer works? I did it with the exact same kind of footage (also a screen recorder) less than a month ago.

Now I can open the footage in a whole host of other programs, just not any adobe programs. Is this something that will be fixed?

[Vincent.]

This error still stands a year later. How is this not fixed? 

[Hexsus]

I don't understand though, how is it possible that I take two screen recordings (with the built-in MacOS screen capture feature) and one of them works and the other doesnt. The size of the screen I capture is the same, the length is roughly the same, everything seems very constant, yet some videos work fine and others (most of them) simply don't work at all. -> however I can open them easily in any media viewer.

Also to the support staff above ^ Would be nice to spend at least 2 minutes putting together a guide on how to 'encode the clips in another application' -> since we're now 1 year later and this issue still persists.

This is really frustrating.

[Owen5FBD]

To save you from scrolling, the right answer (for me) is from somone below named adamchap:

"I changed the .mov extension to .mp4 and it imports just fine."

No encoding, nothing fancy. Just renaming the file to have a different ending. Insane that this is still an issue.

[Make27140954gwgm]

This worked for me!! Super easy solution thank you so much! Replying to hopefully flag this in the thread 🙂

[Jim_Simon]

Step 2B below will solve this.

Unofficial Premiere Pro Troubleshooting Guide

[Marcus.Jonsson]

Hey Emilyy9561681,

I got the same problem today. Weird that it's still not fixed in Adobe since it's the built in screen recorder for Mac. I found that the Stream / Convert function (Shift + Cmd + S) in the VLC player did the trick. I converted my files to "Video H.264 + MP3" No errors when importing to Premiere (Pro CC 2019).

[SquidTeeth]

I too am in the same boat.  Simple OS X 10.14 screen capture utility, but the video contains a complex edit list.  I have tried "Save As..." in quicktime, but still the same.  other than 60fps, i see nothing odd. I can re-encode with VLC, but more curious why.

Any thoughts ?

Media Info to follow

General

Complete name                            : /Users/zesty/Desktop/FB Notifications 1.mov

Format                                   : MPEG-4

Format profile                           : QuickTime

Codec ID                                 : qt   0000.00 (qt  )

File size                                : 16.6 MiB

Duration                                 : 1mn 26s

Overall bit rate mode                    : Variable

Overall bit rate                         : 1 609 Kbps

Encoded date                             : UTC 2019-02-26 00:25:53

Tagged date                              : UTC 2019-02-26 00:25:55

Writing library                          : Apple QuickTime

com.apple.quicktime.make                 : Apple

com.apple.quicktime.model                : MacBookPro11,2

com.apple.quicktime.software             : Mac OS X 10.14.3 (18D109)

com.apple.quicktime.creationdate         : 2019-02-25T16:21:09-0800

Video

ID                                       : 1

Format                                   : AVC

Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec

Format profile                           : Main@L4

Format settings                          : CABAC / 2 Ref Frames

Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes

Format settings, ReFrames                : 2 frames

Format settings, GOP                     : M=2, N=60

Codec ID                                 : avc1

Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding

Duration                                 : 1mn 26s

Source duration                          : 1mn 26s

Bit rate mode                            : Variable

Bit rate                                 : 1 603 Kbps

Maximum bit rate                         : 768 Kbps

Width                                    : 1 081 pixels

Original width                           : 1 080 pixels

Height                                   : 837 pixels

Original height                          : 836 pixels

Display aspect ratio                     : 1.292

Frame rate mode                          : Variable

Frame rate                               : 60.000 fps

Minimum frame rate                       : 30.000 fps

Maximum frame rate                       : 60.000 fps

Color space                              : YUV

Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0

Bit depth                                : 8 bits

Scan type                                : Progressive

Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.030

Stream size                              : 16.5 MiB (100%)

Source stream size                       : 16.5 MiB (100%)

Title                                    : Core Media Video

Encoded date                             : UTC 2019-02-26 00:25:53

Tagged date                              : UTC 2019-02-26 00:25:55

Color range                              : Limited

Color primaries                          : BT.709

Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709

Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709

Codec configuration box                  : avcC

[alexv79269683]

SquidTeeth  wrote

I too am in the same boat.  Simple OS X 10.14 screen capture utility, but the video contains a complex edit list.  I have tried "Save As..." in quicktime, but still the same.  other than 60fps, i see nothing odd. I can re-encode with VLC, but more curious why.

Any thoughts ?

What worked for me, is opening the file in QuickTime and choosing the 'Export' feature.

This seems to have removed the 'complex edit list' and Premier is now happy to consume those files.

[crystlike1]

I had the complex edit issue and this quicktime resolution worked!! Thank you. Whew!

[rebeccahl10136116]

Worked for me too! Thanks for focusing on soulutions instead of getting preachy about "what a professional should know"

[inkspecialist1]

THANK YOU! This worked for me, too. It really shouldn't be this difficult.

[justinf89490095]

Easy Answer!

open in quick time

- Go to "FILE"

- Select "Export As:

- Export in whatever resolution you'd like

- Save to whatever location you'd like

You should be able to import the newly exported video into premiere with no problems

Hopefully, this helps!

[hugokeijzer007]

Alright, found a quick solution that doesn't involve encoding. Download MPEG Streamclip and create a batch list (if you have this issue with multiple files) and select option to save as mp4 -- it's lightning speed and you can import them in Premiere without an issue.

[denise_sherman]

thanks for the workaround, but that's a bit counter-productive. the whole point of using Premiere over Final Cut for example, when so many peopl eswitched a few years back, is that you would not have to transcode first.

[denise_sherman]

Also having this problem, only since the last update.

both in AME and in premier, complex edit list footage not supported. this is really silly. I switched to Adobe from Final Cut years ago because of the ease of handling different types of footage, but now it seems that advantage is being thrown away and nobody at adobe is responding.

[danielsssssss]

Here's a python script to quickly fix multiple screen recordings: https://github.com/lys0l/movBaker

[pooyana29800382]

You are a true hero!

[Jessfeb]

This happened to me just now. I changed the .mov extension to .mp4 and it imports just fine.

[pbloem]

This worked for me as well (astonishingly). I had the problem with a QT screen record and Premiere 2020.