-
Wrong parts of clips conform in Resolve via FCPX XML (multicam)
I’ve spent the last two days troubleshooting this, speaking with Blackmagic and extensively searching the forums but can’t figure out what the problem is. I’ve tried to list all pertinent project details here, hoping someone can help….
I’m trying to bring a 9-camera multiclip edit from FCPX into resolve for grading but four of the shots import with incorrect in/out points. That is, they are the correct duration and the correct clips are linked but the wrong part of the clips are imported.
In the media pane, the clips play fine but once dragged into the project’s media pool, each clip’s video goes out of sync with its embedded audio. If I import the xml file, the xdcam, gopros and Blackmagic Camera’s ProRes HQ are all fine but clips from any of the four Atomos Ninjas recording Canon 5D Mark III DSLRs (in ProRes LT) play back the wrong part of their clips.
One thing I’ve noticed: I have tried renaming the reel numbers in FCPX, Resolve and other third-party software but the Reel No. column in the resolve media browser remains blank. If I tell Resolve to get the reel numbers from elsewhere, it says that the reel numbers don’t match for most of the clips.
My workflow:
In FCPX, I turn an edited multiclip into a compound clip and export xml.What I’ve discovered through troubleshooting:
- Clip timecode in/outs match between FCPX and Resolve in Media Browser, All clips have timecode
- Some clips show up as 29.97, others as 29.97df (drop frame)
- Some clips are 8-bit, Some are 10-bit
- Clip filenames have spaces and parentheses in them (problem?)
4 Codecs:
1x Sony EX3 – XDCam
4x 5DIII>Atomos Ninja – ProRes 422 (LT) – recording with free run timecode
3x GoPro
1x Blackmagic Camera @ ProRes 422 (HQ) -
19 Replies
-
It sounds like you really don’t understand how reel numbers are assigned in Resolve. First, you must select “assist using reel names from….” under Conform Options on the Master Project Settings page. Then, you select the choice that applies to the majority of clips. This is usually “Source Clip Filename,” but it could be information in the header if you have a lot of footage from the Arri Alexa AND the dailies were prepared that way. Once you do that, the reel names will appear. For the ones that require a different choice – say, they need to be manually renamed or the need part of the file name extracted from the full pathname – you can select those clips in the media pool and right click and select “Clip Attributes.” That will pop up a dialog that has a “Reel Name” section that contains exactly the same options as the Conform Options section. You can then change the criteria for those shots only.
All of this is in the manual…………
-
One more thing…. Resolve doesn’t like compound clips. You shoud break apart all items in the timeline (errr, sorry, “project”) you’re exporting from FCPX prior to making the XML. And regarding the reel names, Final Cut XML’s contain explicit path name references, so the reel names shouldn’t really be needed or used when conforming in Resolve from an FCPX XML file.
-
Thanks for you response, Mike. I have read the conform options section of the manual several times and have tried the “assist using reel names from….” options you suggested as well as all the other options and deselecting it entirely. Each setting either results in the problem described or with an error message stating that it can’t import clips because reel names don’t match.
I also tried renaming manually but I did so on the media pane, not by right-clicking. Perhaps, that is worth a try.
As far a compound clips, I have heard, as you say, that Resolve doesn’t like them, however, I am unsure of an alternative option as I know Resolve won’t import a project that includes a multiclip. As far as I know, there is no way of ‘flattening’ a multiclip in FCPX. Am I wrong?
We are attempting to re-render each angle of the multiclip as a single clip with matching timecode, all in ProRes. If this yields working results that will be another clue as to what the issue is. I would love to find a way of making this workflow function without having to re-render anything. Workaraounds are fine for a single project but we have over ten live music multicams that we want to push through the workflow.
-
In further investigating what I did to get a FCPX project to work, you should actually leave the “assist using reel names” unchecked. If Resolve does not find the clips, it will ask you to specify a folder to find them in. That works, because the path names are included in the XML file and are reinterpreted relative to the original. Compound clips should be broken apart, but I did find that it does not find any multicam clips, regardless of what others have said. It leaves those spaces empty in the Resolve timeline. So unless and until Apple and Blackmagic get this resolved (sic), my guess is there’s no good answer to using multicam clips in a project to be graded in Resolve. Perhaps Rohit or Peter have more information on this…
-
I have heard this is the way to go as well. By leaving it unchecked, Resolve uses the filenames to find clips. Unfortunately, it hasn’t proven successful on this multicam project.
This is what I was afraid of. It’s a real shame there isn’t a simple workaround like flattening the multiclip in FCP7. I could settle for not roundtripping and just finishing in resolve but to have no multiclip ability with FCPX and Resolve is a big setback for multi-camera workflows.
-
I get the impression from various places that multicam into Resolve was working in earlier versions of FCPX. The fact that it doesn’t seem to work now probably points to a change in FCPX 10.0.8 XML generation that will ultimately be fixed. So perhaps there is hope. That doesn’t help you this week, though….
Of course, it goes without saying that all this would be moot if FCPX could produce simple, standard EDL’s.
-
Hi Rob,
It sounds like only the 4 shots using the Mark III clips from Atomos Ninja are not conforming correctly.
Could you do a quick check to see what the starting time code of one of these clips shows up as in Resolve (Media Library) and in FCPX. If they do not match, would it be possible for you to upload a sample that we can take a look at?
Thanks,
Anish -
I’ve verified that all timecode matches, both in/out points of the clips in media pool and the timecode in the EDL list.
Strangest thing, as I noted in my original post, is that the audio and video are out of sync when playing back media from the project in the media pane. This is just previewing the clips without even adding them to the media pool. What I’ve since discovered is that this is the case with all media I play back in the media pane, not just clips from this project (this is a fresh install of Resolve on a brand new system I have never used before).
Clearly, this is not related to any multiclip issues.
On another note, another editor at our shop was able to collapse the multiclip in FCPX. That also did not fix the problem.
Anyway, thanks for everyone’s continued input. I just sent the project file to Blackmagic. Hopefully, they can figure something out. One more thing–I am a new member of Cow and they have to approve my posts before they show up. I apologize if my posts don’t take the most recent comments into account.
-
We’ve resorted to a workaround. We are exporting each angle of the multiclip and then using them to create a new multiclip. This way, each angle has just one clip and all are ProRes with matching timecode. Still working on a solution to to the problem.
-
Hi Rob,
I’m running into this same issue. Have a FCX project and none of the multi-cam clips are showing up in Resolve. They’re just black gaps. Can you specifically tell me what your workaround was for flattening the multi-cam clips?
Thank you.
—
Dennis Widmyer
http://www.parallacticpictures.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up