ShotNotes adds a dedicated notes-and-tasks panel to Adobe Premiere. It targets the everyday problem that never makes it into a spec sheet: remembering what to fix, what to check, and what to deliver while the timeline keeps changing.

The core idea is sequence-based notes: You add an entry, and it belongs to the sequence you are working on. Notes can be colour-coded, and the panel can filter what you see by colour, so you can separate client feedback from internal reminders or mark items by priority.

A note can include an optional timecode pulled from the current playhead position. When an entry includes timecode, ShotNotes automatically places a marker on the timeline so the entry stays linked to that frame. The panel treats timecode as more than a label: it turns timecode into a navigation control.

Clickable timecode that behaves like a jump button

ShotNotes can insert clickable timecode into a note so you can jump straight to the referenced point in the timeline. The note becomes a shortcut, not just a comment.

The panel supports copying timecode from one sequence and pasting it into a note for another sequence. That makes it possible to reference a moment in a different sequence and still navigate there quickly from the note.

Notes can also reference other sequences directly. The result is a lightweight way to connect the dots across a project: a note in one sequence can point to a specific moment in another sequence and take you there with a click.

If your usual approach is to build a marker forest, ShotNotes can still feed that workflow by creating markers for each note so the timeline can carry the breadcrumbs the panel shows, without forcing you to rely on markers alone as the only place your thinking lives.

Links and reference material that stay one click away

Notes support hyperlinks. If you type a URL into a note, ShotNotes turns it into a clickable link and opens it in a web browser. That is handy for reference docs, client frames, internal shot tracking pages, relevant memes, or just the one weird spec sheet everyone forgets until export day. The point is not that links are rare, but that links usually end up in a separate app, which becomes another place to lose context.

Search and filters for the whole project brain

ShotNotes can search notes across the entire project. When you need to find that one line about audio cleanup, the one producer note that actually made sense, a missing lower third, or the exact frame that needs stabilization, the panel can locate it without you hunting sequence by sequence.

The interface also includes filtering, including options to filter based on whether entries have timecode. Combined with sequence-based organisation, this lets you narrow the panel down to the entry you need right now. Notes and tasks can expand and collapse in the panel, so you can keep long entries around without turning the panel into a wall of text.

Marker sync, because timelines move

ShotNotes links entries to timeline markers when you include timecode. When edits move markers later in the project, ShotNotes provides Sync and Sync All buttons to sync entries to the marker’s new position, because a note is only useful if it still points at the right moment after the cut changes. (*looks emberassed at the heap of PostIts building a ramp below the screen*)

There is an important limitation: depending on how you edit, Premiere Pro may not move the markers. If that happens, you may need to manually update the timecode in the affected notes when frame accuracy matters.

A built in time tracker for tasks and receipts

ShotNotes includes tasks with timers. You can start and stop a timer for a task, log multiple timer entries, and then review those entries in the task log. If you forget to stop a timer, the panel includes an edit option that lets you adjust the end time so the entry reflects when you actually finished. If a timer entry is junk, you can delete it so it does not appear in exports.

The time tracker also logs certain events to provide more detail about what happened while a timer ran, including switching sequences or selecting a clip in the timeline. That makes the report more descriptive than a single number on an invoice.

This is also where reality bites a little. Premiere Pro limits what events can be captured, so the activity log does not represent every editing action. Some actions can appear as delete and add events because Premiere Pro treats certain edits that way internally.

Export and backup that fits the handoff phase

ShotNotes can export notes and other data in a variety of formats for printing out or viewing.

For backup and transfer, ShotNotes includes exporting to JSON as its native format. That JSON export can be imported on another computer, copied to another sequence, or used as a backup. For time tracking, ShotNotes can generate a report that saves timer entries for a sequence to a CSV file that can be viewed in a spreadsheet.

Exportable notes and exportable time data matter for finishing and delivery, because that is where you often need to share information outside the NLE. Like, what to bill the client for his latest “Just one more change”. ShotNotes gives you a structured way to pull that information out without rewriting it.

Licensing, trial, and getting it into the workspace

ShotNotes includes a free seven-day trial, which is fully functional. Licensing can be done with a serial number or by logging in to a Digital Anarchy Cloud account. The cloud account method is described as the easiest way to license if you want to install on a different machine without juggling serials. If you cannot license online, support provides an offline activation file option.

Compatibility notes, including one awkward bug

ShotNotes only supports Premiere Pro 2023 and newer versions. A known issue exists in Premiere Pro 2025 and 2026 that can occasionally cause the recorded timecode of newly created entries to be slightly inaccurate. The amount of offset can depend on how zoomed out the timeline is when the entry is created; zooming in typically reduces the offset. If needed, you can manually adjust the timecode for the entry.

Price, promo window, and the practical take

ShotNotes is available immediately at $129 USD, with a $99 price offered until May 15. As with any new workflow tool, test it before you rely on it for a deadline-sensitive job.

https://digitalanarchy.com/shot-notes/

The post Digital Anarchy releases ShotNotes panel for Premiere. first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

For those who don’t know the tool: PureRef is a standalone reference board application used across concept art VFX animation and games to organise images and notes alongside any DCC. It runs independently and politely ignores your pipeline.

What shipped in 2.1

PureRef version 2.1.0 was released – the feature list is long and unusually detailed, suggesting a development cycle focused on incremental workflow friction rather than headline features. The most visible addition is a togglable background grid with snapping support, enabled with the “G”-shortcut. This directly addresses a long standing complaint that precise alignment in large reference boards required manual nudging. Snapping applies during transform operations and works alongside existing arrange tools. Recent files thumbnails are now displayed on a new empty canvas. This is a small change, but one that shifts the startup experience from a blank void to a visual index of recent work. There is no indication of how many thumbnails are shown or whether this behaviour can be disabled.

Image management grows up

A new Image management tool has been added, supporting updates to downscaling, image formats, and image locations. The release do not say whether this is a modal tool or a background process. It does confirm that the existing Auto downscale large images setting has been replaced with Auto optimise imported images, suggesting broader control over import behaviour.

There is also a new setting for Clipboard copy image max size, and another for Generate scene thumbnails, which allows thumbnail generation on save to be disabled. The notes explicitly state this may speed up saving depending on scene size and performance mode. This is one of the few places where performance impact is directly acknowledged rather than implied. Support for new versions of JPEG XL is listed under fixes, confirming continued investment in modern image formats. No other new formats are mentioned, but, honestly, when did you see a new image format the last time?

Drawing and notes get serious

PureRef 2.1 adds straight lines and shapes to the drawing tools, moving them beyond freehand markup. Drawings and notes now have adjustable opacity, and the crop gizmo gains an aspect lock function. Rich text editing support has been added to the Comment dialog, and notes receive a large number of behavioural tweaks and bug fixes. These include improved copy and paste handling, better list formatting, correct colour handling for bullets, and reduced memory usage in notes, particularly when using the No cache performance mode. This mode trades speed for lower memory use.

Word wrap is now enabled automatically when pasting long text lines, links can be inserted without selecting text, and quoted paths pasted into the link editor have their quotes removed. These are small changes, but together they point to sustained use of notes as more than disposable annotations.

Shortcuts control and hierarchy

Several new commands have been added with default shortcuts, including Duplicate on Ctrl + D, Open scene location on Ctrl + Alt + L, Arrange randomly on Ctrl + Alt + R, and Parent items on P. Edit item is now bound to Return. The default shortcut for Draw has changed to Ctrl + Shift + D to make room for Duplicate. This is explicitly described as conforming with standards, a rare but welcome admission.

Hierarchy behaviour has been tightened. Edit actions are now blocked when the scene is locked, navigating by typing has been fixed, and crashes related to duplicating notes in the hierarchy have been addressed. Item tooltips in the hierarchy now show comments, adding context without opening dialogs.

Groups transforms and layout

Groups receive multiple quality of life updates. Items can now be added to existing groups by selecting the group before using the Group action. The last used group background colour is remembered between restarts. Moving items from different groups at the same time should no longer merge them into one group.

When exporting or copying groups, all children are now included if no child is explicitly selected. This clarifies previously ambiguous behaviour. Toolbars are hidden while transforming an item, and the transform gizmo and toolbars are hidden during transform operations. Yes, both are listed. This suggests overlapping changes that were implemented in stages. The aspect ratio of the window is now used for all arrange methods. New images are placed in a grid during loading to reduce flickering.

Application behaviour and settings

A large number of new settings have been added. These include CPU core allocation to tweak resource usage, Drag and drop items into groups, Double click title bar to maximise, Continuous deselect, and Use screen colour profile, which is explicitly marked experimental.

There is now an option to hold Ctrl during startup to temporarily disable Auto open last scene. This is a practical escape hatch for corrupted or heavy scenes. An Open scene location command has been added, along with Replace image and Normalize area commands. The exact behaviour of Normalize area is not explained.

Platform specific fixes

Windows receives transparency tweaks to the glass preset and a workaround for a crash caused by IBM Aspera Connect when opening file dialogs. macOS sees a long list of fixes, including freezes when disconnecting monitors, crashes when opening .pur files during load, incorrect maximise behaviour on double click, and issues with Stage Manager and always on top. Logitech MX mice are no longer detected as trackpads. Linux fixes include restored use of the native file dialog and missing system fonts.

Price

PureRef 2.1 is free for single users, a one-time payment of 49$ gives you three seats, and there are subscriptions available for businesses from 8$ per User per month. See the options HERE. As always, new tools and updates should be tested before use in production environments.

// PureRef 2.1.0 release notes

The post PureRef 2.1 adds grids lines notes and control first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.