Doza Assist vs Lumberjack System: are they the same kind of tool?
People ask me this one directly, usually Final Cut editors who have used Lumberjack for years. The honest answer is that we overlap on the input and the output and differ on what happens in between.
Lumberjack System is a logging and assembly suite: an iOS Logger for keywording footage as it is shot, and Builder NLE, a Mac app where you build a story by dragging transcript text ranges into a storyline and sending it to Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro as a project or sequence. Doza Assist is transcript-driven story selection: it transcribes on device, labels speakers by name, ranks the soundbites, drafts a rough cut you can trust, and places selects frame-exact back into the multicam or sync-clip timeline you started from.
01Side by side
| Doza Assist | Lumberjack System | |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Mac with Apple Silicon, 16 GB memory minimum | Builder NLE on macOS 10.14 or later; Logger on iOS; account and events in a browser |
| Where processing happens | On your Mac. Transcription, speaker labels and the language model all run locally. Nothing uploads by default | Built-in transcription runs on your Mac. Additional languages go through a third party at 25 cents a minute. Live logs from iOS Logger sync through Lumberjack's server |
| Pricing model | $199 once with 12 months of updates, then $49/yr if you want more updates. Studio $29/mo or $299/yr | Membership $15 a month on a 12-month commitment, $150 a year, or $25 for a single month. Builder NLE on its own is $199.99 on the Mac App Store |
| Works inside your FCP, Premiere or Resolve timeline | Reads your Final Cut Pro project (FCPXML 1.11+) and hands selects back into it. Sequences for Premiere Pro (xmeml) and DaVinci Resolve (EDL) | Reads Final Cut Pro Event XML or Premiere Bin XML (clips, not Projects or Sequences). Sends a story back as an FCP Project or a Premiere Sequence. Resolve appears in marketing copy only |
| Multicam and sync-clip round trip | Yes for Final Cut Pro. Multicam and sync clips come back as the same clip type with the original media references. Premiere and Resolve receive a flat sequence | Accepts FCP multicam and synchronized clips, using the active angle. Premiere multicam yes, synchronized clips no. Does not read an existing timeline |
| Speaker labels | Yes, on device, with real names | Manual. People are named in a People field and marked by paper color |
| Story selects and rough cuts | Ranked soundbites, Story Brief, Story Builder, and Chat that cannot invent a timecode | Keyword logging (concept and person), OR and AND filtering, and manual story assembly from text ranges. No AI selection stated |
| Learns your editing style | My Style (Editorial DNA) learns from cuts you have already finished | Not stated |
| Privacy of footage | Footage never uploads. The optional Claude or OpenAI key is off by default | Documents and media are local, never in the cloud |
| Free trial | Every feature on the first 2 minutes of any file. No account | First month of membership free, no credit card |
Last checked: September 2026. Lumberjack facts from lumberjacksystem.com and the Builder NLE Mac App Store listing.
02Where the two overlap
- Both read Final Cut Pro events by XML, including multicam and synchronized clips.
- Both transcribe on the Mac rather than in the cloud, and both keep media local.
- Both let you build a story from transcript text and send it to Final Cut Pro as a project.
- Both charge in a way that ends: Lumberjack has a one-time Builder NLE on the App Store, Doza Assist is $199 once.
03Where they differ
Logging versus selection. Lumberjack's core idea is keywords: you log concepts and people, on set with the iOS Logger or afterward in Builder, then filter and drag ranges into a storyline by hand. Doza Assist reads the whole transcript and does the first pass for you: ranked soundbites, a Story Brief that says what the interviews contain and what is missing, and a Story Builder whose every line points at a real transcript span.
Speaker labels. In Lumberjack you name people in a field and mark who is speaking by paper color. Doza Assist separates voices on device and labels them, so you rename a speaker once and every line carries it.
Where the story lands. Builder sends a new FCP Project or Premiere Sequence built from event clips. Doza Assist can also start from your existing timeline: drop in the FCPXML of the project you already cut, and selects come back into that structure, multicam angle and sync-clip roles intact, frame exact.
Learning your voice. Doza Assist's My Style learns how you build a story from finished cuts. I found no equivalent stated on Lumberjack's site.
04When an editor might use both
If you already log on set with Lumberjack's iOS Logger, keep doing it. The keyword ranges land in your Final Cut event through Lumberyard, and Doza Assist reads that event XML with the keywords still on the clips. Log live with Lumberjack, then let Doza Assist do the transcript-driven selection and the frame-exact placement once the footage is in the edit.
05When Lumberjack is the better fit
- You log keywords live on set with an iPad and want those ranges in Final Cut Pro before the edit starts.
- You prefer to assemble a story by hand from filtered text ranges and want a temp narration track generated from the system voice.
- You need unlimited team members on one membership for a logging crew.
- You are on an older Intel Mac; Builder NLE lists macOS 10.14 or later.
06When Doza Assist is the better fit
- You want the tool to find the soundbites and draft the rough cut, not just hold the text while you drag.
- You need speaker labels without marking every change by hand.
- Your project is already a multicam or sync-clip timeline and you want selects placed into it, frame exact, with nothing to relink.
- You want the suggestions to reflect how you cut, learned from your own finished work.
- You also cut in DaVinci Resolve and want a documented export path.
07Why not just use the transcription built into your editor?
Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve can all turn audio into text now, and for captions that is often enough. Doza Assist is for the step after the transcript, and it adds six things the built-in tools do not:
- Grounded selects. Every soundbite, Story Builder cut and Chat answer points at a real span of the transcript. The app cannot invent a timecode.
- Frame-exact multicam placement. Selects go back into your existing multicam or sync-clip timeline as the same kind of clip they came from, with the original media references intact.
- My Style. Editorial DNA learns how you build a story from cuts you have already finished, so the suggestions sound like you.
- Quote sheets. The transcript becomes a formatted pull-quote document as PDF or Word for producers, clients and comms.
- True on-device privacy. Transcription, speaker labels and the language model all run on your Mac. Nothing uploads by default.
- Pay once and own it. $199 with 12 months of updates, then an optional $49 a year. The app keeps working either way.
Read the full breakdown on Doza Assist vs the transcription built into Final Cut Pro, Premiere and Resolve.
08Frequently asked
Is Doza Assist a Lumberjack replacement?
For the story assembly part, it can be. For live logging on set, no. Lumberjack's iOS Logger is a different job, and its keyword ranges arrive in Final Cut Pro as metadata that Doza Assist happily reads along with the rest of the event.
Is Lumberjack still being updated?
I can only report what their site and App Store listing show as of September 2026: the newest post on the Lumberjack blog is dated June 2023, and the Builder NLE listing shows version 4.2.12 dated April 2025. Check their site for anything newer.
Does either tool upload my footage?
Lumberjack says its documents and media stay local and never go to the cloud, with optional paid transcription for extra languages through a third party. Doza Assist keeps footage, transcription, speaker labels and the language model on your Mac, and nothing uploads by default.
What does Doza Assist send to Final Cut Pro?
An FCPXML that Final Cut opens on its own. Selects come back as the same kind of clip they came from, multicam clips with their angle, sync clips with their audio roles, and the original resources spliced in unchanged. You can also choose markers on the original timeline instead.
No account, no card. Transcription, speaker labels, ranked soundbites, Story Builder, My Style and the NLE round trip all run on your Mac.
Promo code SEARCH15 at checkout.
30-day money-back guarantee · Requires a Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later) and 16 GB of memory