Recently, I learned about ReelNotes. This is a stand-alone app that “is a media logging and note-taking workspace for filmmakers, editors, researchers, journalists, students, podcasters, and anyone working closely with recorded material on Mac.”
After viewing their website, I contacted Hassan Amini, founder and developer of ReelNotes to learn more.
Larry: Hassan, what is ReelNotes?
Hassan: ReelNotes is a standalone media logging and note-taking app for people who work closely with recorded material.
It lets you watch video or listen to audio and attach notes to specific moments, then search, label, organize and export those notes. But the bigger idea is that ReelNotes gives you a place to do the thinking that happens before, during and around the edit.
When you are watching interviews, rushes, rough cuts, podcasts, tutorials or web video, you are constantly making connections and generating new ideas. ReelNotes catches those thoughts and pins them to the exact moment that triggered them.
There is a Mac version for deeper review, organization and export work, and a mobile version for iPhone and iPad, designed for capturing notes on the go.
The Canvas view in ReelNotes. Click to see larger image. All images courtesy of GetReelNotes.com.
Larry: Why did you create it?
Hassan: I’m not, by nature, the most organized person. I might spot a great line in an interview, a moment in a performance, or a possible cut, and then later find myself trying to remember where I saw it.
ReelNotes grew out of that character flaw. It is designed to make reviewing media feel less scattered and the good moments easier to find.
Larry: Who is it designed for?
Hassan: ReelNotes is designed for anyone whose work, study or creative process involves watching or listening to recorded material.
An editor might use it to review a cut. A director might use it to give clearer feedback. Cinematographers and production designers might use it to collect visual references. A documentary researcher might use it to work through archive. A student might use it to analyze scenes or learn from online tutorials like yours. A podcaster might use it to mark strong sections in a long recording.
The common thread is time. ReelNotes is for people whose notes need to stay connected to the moment.
The Timeline view in ReelNotes. Click to see larger image.
Larry: What would be a typical use of ReelNotes?
Hassan: A typical use could be reviewing a long interview.
You load the interview into ReelNotes, press Play, and start dropping notes as you go. You might mark strong answers, story points, emotional moments, technical issues, or sections you want to return to later. Each note is attached to the exact time in the media, so clicking it takes you straight back there.
You can also create Sequences, which are different from ordinary notes. A note marks a point. A Sequence marks a section. That means you can pull highlights from a long interview, build a mini-review reel from a cut, change the order, or even jumble sections for a fresh perspective.
Larry: How do you integrate ReelNotes with editing in an NLE, such as Premiere, Resolve or FCP?
Hassan: ReelNotes is designed to sit alongside the NLE, not replace it.
You can use ReelNotes for the logging, review and thinking stage, then export the results to the edit. The Mac app includes NLE export options for Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve and Avid.
The NLE is where you cut the material. ReelNotes is where you stay close to it: finding the moments, connections, structure and themes that help shape the work.
The Sequences view in ReelNotes. Click to see larger image.
Larry: Your website describes four different ways to use the app: Canvas, Timeline, Quick Log and Sequences. Why these four and what’s the purpose of each?
Hassan: Those four modes reflect four different ways people work with media.
Canvas is the main note-taking workspace, and it’s free. You can create time-coded notes, annotate them, search, label and export your material. It is designed as the simplest way into the app, and for many users it may be all they need.
Timeline gives you an overview of the material and its structure. A bird’s-eye view. Instead of seeing notes as a list, you can see how they sit across the full duration of the media: where sections begin and end, how ideas build, and where important moments fall.
Timeline is also where you create Sequences.
Sequences are sections rather than single moments. They let you mark spans of time, rename them, reorder them, hide or show them, and play them back as a kind of editorial playlist. That is useful for selects, scenes, beats, references, or any part of the material you want to isolate and return to.
Quick Log is for speed. Sometimes you don’t want to stop and organise while watching. You just want to capture thoughts quickly and stay in the flow. Quick Log is designed for that kind of focused logging session.
The reason for having all four is that media work changes as you go. Sometimes you are capturing thoughts, sometimes you are reading the structure, sometimes you are logging fast, and sometimes you are gathering the best sections. ReelNotes gives each of those jobs its own workspace.
The QuickLog view in ReelNotes. Click to see larger image.
Larry: What’s the purpose of the Binder?
Hassan: The Binder is a lightweight project shelf.
As you create more ReelNotes projects, you need a way to organize them without turning the app into a heavy database. The Binder lets you keep related ReelNotes projects and collections close at hand.
Its purpose is to help you move beyond a single file. For example, a documentary project might have several interviews. A producer might have notes on multiple cuts. A student might have a number of online tutorials and lectures to work through. The Binder gives those related projects a shared home.
Larry: Your website mentions collaboration. How does that work and how many users are supported?
Hassan: Collaboration in ReelNotes is built around contributors rather than paid seats or team accounts.
You can add contributors to a ReelNotes project so their notes are identified by name, initials and colour. It is designed to be hands-on and project-based: a way of gathering thoughts around the material, rather than a live cloud review system.
For example, a director, editor, producer or writer can each add notes to the same ReelNotes project, and it remains clear who said what. Contributor information can also be included in exports for easy reference.
Larry: ReelNotes seems to provide note-taking on clips, rather than edited sequences. If I have multiple clips in a project, how do I integrate my notes so I can search for the section of a specific clip that I need?
Hassan: ReelNotes is built around working with a specific piece of media. That might be an interview, a rough cut, an audio recording, a YouTube tutorial or a podcast.
If you are working with multiple clips, the cleanest approach is to create separate ReelNotes projects for those sources and group them together as a Collection in the Binder.
That way each set of notes remains connected to the correct media, while the Binder keeps the wider project organised.
Alternatively, you can export multiple clips as a single file from your NLE, and then open that in ReelNotes.
Larry: This is sold through the Mac App Store, but when it comes to pricing, all it says is that there are in-app purchases. What’s the price and what options are available?
Hassan: ReelNotes is free to download from the Mac App Store. The free Canvas workspace gives users a real way to work with the app, not just a limited demo. Apart from the app’s collaboration feature, most of the core note-taking workflow can be done here.
The Mac version has a one-time ReelNotes Pro unlock. The current price is £24.99. There is no subscription.
ReelNotes Pro unlocks the more advanced features, including Timeline, Quick Log, Sequences, deeper project settings, collaboration tools and professional export options.
There is also a stand-alone mobile version for iPhone and iPad. Again, it is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. The current price is £9.99.
Larry: In closing, write a paragraph that describes why someone should consider using ReelNotes.
Hassan: ReelNotes turns video and audio review into a clear workflow: time-coded notes for exact moments, Sequences for important sections, labels and search for organization, and exports for sharing or moving into the edit. Whether you are logging an interview, reviewing a cut, collecting references or studying a tutorial, ReelNotes helps turn watching into something structured, searchable and useful.
Hassan, thanks for taking sharing your time and thoughts. The ReelNotes website is: GetReelNotes.com.
