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Drama Doc with OMF via X27 finished :-)
Just thought I’d post a report on my experiences with getting an omf out of x in case it helps someone in a similar situation.
The project was a 25′ drama doc shot on 4k RED for delivery on digibeta.
I converted the RED footage to 2k with fcp 7 (slow process!)
Editing the 2k footage in FCP X was pretty much a dream… so fast, the director swore she’d never use a different edit package again…having got used to FCP X I have to say I feel the same.. it’s great for cutting.
Then the pain! All I need is OMF export and it would have been a wonderful experience.
Tried automatic duck and got lots of errors so gave up on that (didn’t really do proper tests)
Got Project X27 which is pretty good… converted timeline to FCP 7 XML and 90% good. Problems with all slow-mo clips (not just variable speed as listed), MP3 audio which plays in X clicks in 7 and this tranfers to the OMF… problems with Audio from GoPro MP4 files…. problems with seperately recorded post synced sound (came into 7 as 30fps in a 25fps timeline and drifts out of sync)… one interview (which I’d renamed in x) transferred with no audio so I had to match frame it in 7 (not a big deal)..
All of these issues caused me some stress (though now I know it will be easier next time)…
For picture I downconverted without titles in Aftereffects (roles handy here for exporting without titles).. not my ideal way of downconverting but my MXO hardware doesn’t work with 2k. Added titles in X in a SD anamorphic timeline and exported as uncompressed 10 bit.
Output with edit to tape in fcp7.
So I guess the lesson is when using X27 keep the formats simple and avoid slow mo (or replace audio by hand).
If FCP X had OMF out and print to tape it’d be a dream…a really high quality downconvert would seal the deal.
Hope this is of use to others.. anyone use automatic duck successfully with a complex project?
Johnny
Seanchas Productions, Galway, Ireland
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10 Replies
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Thanks for posting the update. Send Assisted Editing some feedback. They have addressed a number of issues I have had with quick fixes and frequent patches. So make sure you are on the most recent version.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
Will do, had two upgrades while using it and two the following week… love updates 🙂
j.Seanchas Productions, Galway, Ireland
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Thanks for posting Jonathan,
I’m pretty soon in a same situation to get a decent OMF out of FCP X. I’ve done some tests with both Duck and X27. My doc is over an hour long. Duck choked on it, but X27 did a pretty decent job after I split the project in two and broke up all the compound clips. Have to do some more digging and keep hoping that someone comes up with a proper OMF export tool.
Apple Certified Associate, FCP X
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Good luck, you should be ok with x27 as long as you watch out for slow motion and unusual audio/video formats ( problems for me with mp3 music (came in ok but clicks on export from fcp 7) and mp4 gopro video/audio), also some seperate non sync sound gave time base problems ( 30 fps in 25 fps timeline)… messing around added an extra day to my project, a straight omf export would be so nice 🙂
j.Seanchas Productions, Galway, Ireland
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Once you know what the problematic stuff is (sounds like any audio that has differents fps) simply attach a role to it, make a compoundclip. Solo-output this one compound.
Then disable the compound and export the rest to FCP7. Import the soloed problematic compound. It will be one long audio, so you need to break it apart again, but it will be faster than manually find them and sync them.I hope Duck would work, but apparently that´s the reason why it´s free…they gave up supporting it.
X27 is close, so let´s hope they or someone else gets it working, because OMF-export is indeed a needed pro-feature. -
Yes I did this for the mixer, giving him seperate stems for all the elements.. (obviously I couldn’t give him handles this way)… the problem with the FPS persisted though… luckily even though the audio drifted out of sync in the fcp7 timeline I had faith and when it was brought into protools all was in sync…. just an fcp7 limitation..
j.Seanchas Productions, Galway, Ireland
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I have a 90min project that I’m trying to export either AAF or OMF for my sound editor to use in Pro Tools.
Both Automatic Duck & FCP X27 had issues if I tried to to the whole 90min project. Including the project resulting in up to 99 audio tracks (I have, at best, 16 audio tracks in FCPx). I’ve since broken the film into 8 roughly 10 minute “reels” and have tried exporting each reel separately.
With Automatic Duck the export has resulted in some sync issues that were easily corrected but also, for some reason, certain audio clips are missing. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason why the clips shouldn’t be recognized as they are the same type of sound clip as the other ones that exported properly.
With FCP X27 it seems certain tracks within a clip would be missing – for instance: I’d have an audio track from one Lavalier mic repeated over and over and yet for the same shot the track for the boom mic or another lavalier would be missing.
Any ideas? I’ve been struggling with exporting AAF/OMF for over a month now. Although I had a fine time in FCPx – I’m regretting using it now.
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[Michael Judd] “I have a 90min project……..
…….Although I had a fine time in FCPx – I’m regretting using it now”Not to make light – as I feel your pain – but you’ve been burned by a piece of software that is completely unready for this type of real world situation. You are probably getting this many tracks, because FCP X doesn’t work in tracks and individual clips are being interpreted as tracks.
Have you tried breaking all the items apart (to separate audio and video) and then copy & pasting that into a fresh project? Then do an XML of that? This might work better. You only need a flattened reference of the video anyway. If that doesn’t work, you’re going to need to export it as roles, which means no handles, but that’s likely the best you’ll be able to do.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
I know how you feel, my edit went so well but getting an OMF out was such a nightmare… if they don’t have OMF out in the next major release I’ll have to switch and I love lots of things in FCP X….
Regarding the missing tracks, if you get the correct video in the FCP 7 timeline will matchframe get you your audio back? I had to do some of that.
j.Seanchas Productions, Galway, Ireland
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[Jonathan White] “I know how you feel, my edit went so well but getting an OMF out was such a nightmare… if they don’t have OMF out in the next major release I’ll have to switch and I love lots of things in FCP X….”
I complete agree – Apple should absolutely have built OMF into FCPX from day one and not left it to third parties. Automatic Duck did a pretty decent rush job but it’s a long way off being reliable (and now it’s a thing of the past anyway) and X27 is great but getting an OMF out with it requires adding an extra process which is always going to cause problems.
FCPX without rock-solid built-in OMF/AAF support is simply not a plausible option for projects requiring audio post, however good the onboard tools are. It’s Apple’s responsibility to make this work – and no-one else’s.
Simon Ubsdell
Director/Editor/Writer
http://www.tokyo-uk.com
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