Marker Madness

What it does

You dropped a hundred markers across a timeline. Some are on clips, some are on the ruler, some are named, some aren't. You need to find the red ones, rename them all, nudge them two frames earlier, export a CSV with thumbnail frames, and do it before lunch.

Marker Madness puts every marker in your timeline — clip markers and timeline markers alike — into a single, searchable, sortable table you can actually work with. Filter by color or keyword, batch rename with find/replace, nudge by frames, copy markers across timelines — or even across projects — and paste onto the exact track you choose. Export to CSV or HTML. Grab still frames. Generate VFX shot change reports between editorial versions. It's everything Resolve should have built into the markers panel.

Version 1.3 added full bidirectional Marker Exchange with Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer. Export your Resolve markers as a Premiere-readable CSV or an Avid locator file, then import them back with a single click — colors mapped automatically, markers landing on the timeline ruler ready to place.

Version 1.4.1 adds the Quick Edit Bar — a floating strip above the table for one-click color filter and marker recoloring without opening a panel — plus a configurable thumbnail grab delay for batch exports on high-resolution timelines, and selection retention so your picks stay highlighted when you tab back from Resolve.

Features

Browse all markers — timeline and clip — with color, timecode, name, note, and duration
Inline editing — click any name or note cell to edit directly in the table
Filter by color, keyword, or clip name — filters combine live as you type
Batch rename with find/replace, prefix/suffix, case conversion, trim, and counter
Right-click the Color column to recolor any selection at once
Nudge selected markers forward or backward by any number of frames
Promote clip markers to the timeline ruler — or demote timeline markers to a clip
Copy markers across timelines — even between projects — and paste at playhead: choose Timeline Ruler or any specific track
Jump to any marker, or toggle auto-jump to follow selection with the playhead
Grab a live thumbnail for any marker and export it as a PNG
Batch export still frames for every marker — or just the selected ones — in one shot
Export to CSV with optional thumbnails and an auto-generated HTML report
Import a CSV to recreate markers from a spreadsheet
Shot Change Report — diff two CSV exports to see which VFX shots changed, dropped, or are new
Marker Exchange — export to Adobe Premiere Pro (CSV) or Avid Media Composer (locator file) and import back in one step
Color mapping on import — Avid locator colors translate to the nearest Resolve marker color automatically
Drag column headings to reorder — order saves between sessions and carries to CSV exports
Float on Top keeps the window visible above Resolve
Undo stack — most operations are reversible in one click
Auto-refreshes when you click back in from Resolve — selections stay highlighted
Quick Edit Bar — floating color filter and recolor strip above the table, always visible
Configurable grab delay — tune the thumbnail capture pause for high-res timelines
Works with DaVinci Resolve 18+ — free version and Studio both fully supported

Pro Tips

Step counter — the middle number trick

Counter starts at Start × Step. Set Start:1, Step:10, Digits:3 → 010, 020, 030. Perfect for VFX shot numbering.

After Counter position

Choose "After counter" in the Add field to place your text after the number: ShotName_010_VFX in one pass.

Marker Renamer auto-refreshes

Select different markers, click back into the Renamer panel — the preview updates automatically to reflect your new selection.

Shot Change Report — VFX change notices in seconds

Export a CSV before the editor makes cuts, then another after. Load both into Shot Change Report for an instant diff. Export as a printable HTML report for production meetings.

Paste onto a specific clip track

When pasting markers, a dialog lets you choose: Timeline Ruler, or any video/audio track that has a clip at the paste position. Clip markers go exactly where you need them.

The undo stack clears on Refresh

Batch operations push onto the undo stack, but hitting Refresh resets it. Commit to a refresh only when you're happy with what's on the timeline.

Quick Edit Bar — recolor without opening a panel

The strip just above the marker table lets you filter by color and recolor any selection in one click. No dialog, no right-click menu — just select markers, pick a color, done.

Grab delay — fix duplicate thumbnail frames

If batch-exported thumbnails repeat the same frame, go to Settings and increase the Grab delay (ms). 150ms works for most timelines; 300ms is reliable on high-res footage. Resolve needs a moment to cache the frame after the playhead moves.

Marker Exchange — round-tripping with Premiere Pro

Export your Resolve markers, open the file in Premiere's Markers panel (☰ → Import Markers), make notes or changes, then export from Premiere and import back. Use the TC Offset field if your timelines have different start timecodes.

Marker Exchange — round-tripping with Avid

The Avid locator file uses tab-delimited .txt format. Import in Avid via Clip menu → Import Locators. Avid colors (Blue, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Red, White) map directly to the matching Resolve marker color on import.

Get Marker Madness v1.4.2

A single .py file. Drop it in your Resolve scripts folder and it appears under Workspace → Scripts → Utility.

Works with DaVinci Resolve 18+ — free version and Studio both fully supported.

↓ Download Marker Madness v1.4.2 User Guide Download the full suite