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What this script does.
How to install fcp2ale.
How to use fcp2ale.
The settings.
Limitations and things to watch out for.
History
Credits.
The script changes the formatting of the log and changes a few field names.
The following fields are read and converted if present:
| FCP Batch List | ALE log | field is |
| Name | Name | required |
| Media Start | Start | required |
| Media End | End | required |
| Tracks | Tracks | required |
| Reel | Tape | required |
| In | Mark IN | optional |
| Out | Mark OUT | optional |
| Shot/take | Take | optional |
| Scene | Scene | optional |
| Description | Descript | optional |
| Label | Label | optional |
| Label 2 | Label 2 | optional |
| Comment 1 | Comments | optional |
| Comment 2 | Comment 2 | optional |
| Comment 3 | Comment 3 | optional |
| Comment 4 | Comment 4 | optional |
| Aux TC 1 | Auxiliary TC1 | optional |
| Aux TC 2 | Auxiliary TC2 | optional |
Important!
In addition to the fields marked "required", fcp2ale requires the fields
Type
and Audio to be present in the FCP Batch Lists. The
Type
field is used to determine which entries in the Batch List are Clips and
SubClips. The Audio field is used to determine which audio channels
should be added to the final log.
Scripting Additions are AppleScript extensions that provide extra functions
to AppleScript. If you want more information about Akua Sweets or Dialog
Director then look here:
http://www.akua.com/Software/AkuaSweets/index.html
http://www.hylight.demon.co.uk/DialogDirector.html
Step 1
Export the bins or the whole project you want to convert as batch lists.
Either open each individual bin, make sure the required Columns are visible.
Select menu File ->Export->Batch List (tabbed), or, if you want to export
all the bins in a project, make sure the required Columns in the browser
window are visible and select menu File ->Export->Batch List (tabbed).
The required Columns are: Name, Media Start, Media
End, Tracks,
Audio,
Reel and Type.
If any of these columns are missing (not visible in the browser/bin
window when you do the export) the script can not produce a proper ALE
log.
Step 2
Drop the FCP Batch List file(s) on the fcp2ale icon, check the settings
and hit "Convert".
When the script run for the first time it will load the default settings
that will be fine in most cases. It will ask for a place to store the ALE
files.
Step 3
Import the ALE logs into Avid and that's it!
Open Settings Window at startup
If turned on, this will open the Settings Window when you drop FCP
Batch Lists on fcp2ale. Turned off, it will use the settings from
last conversion.
Convert:
Choose to convert either all Clips, all Clips and SubClips or SubClips
only present in the FCP Batch List.
Map Audio Ch. 1 (2) to:
Usually clips in FCP Batch Lists have only 2 channels of Audio. With
this option you can map audio channel 1 and 2 in the FCP Batch Lists to
channel 3 and 4 in the ALE log using different combinations. Useful if
you want to load audio channel 3 & 4 from Betacam SP into Avid, or
just all 4 channels from Digi-Beta.
Audio Rate:
Select Audio Sample Rate for the ALE log.
Resolution:
Select Video Resolution for the ALE log.
Video System:
Select PAL or NTSC TV standard for the ALE log.
ALE Batch List Destination
You can choose to:
1. fcp2ale will ask for a filename and a folder to save the ALE log
in for each bin converted.
2. fcp2ale will ask for a folder where the ALE logs will be saved.
fcp2ale will use the bin-names as filenames.
3. Use a default folder to store the ALE logs. fcp2ale will use the
bin-names as file names.
The button "Choose" will let you choose a default folder to store the
ALE logs.
The button "Reveal" will open the default folder in the Finder.
fcp2ale uses memory!
If fcp2ale starts to slow down during a conversion, assign more memory
to the script.
Custom columns in ALE log.
fcp2ale creates custom columns in the ALE log for the following Fields:
Label, Label 2, Comments 2, Comments 3 and Comments 4.
These are not part of the standard (logistics) Avid Bin Columns, but
are visible in the bin window when you import the ALE log.
Clips not located inside bins in FCP Browser window.
Clips which are not located inside bins in FCP when you do a export
of all clips and bins in a project will, when they are converted in fcp2ale,
sometimes end up in the wrong bin. This is because of the way FCP writes
the Batch List. Clips and bins are exported in the order they appear in
the FCP Browser window. When a group of clips (or just a single clip) are
listed above the first bin in the Browser window, these clips will be saved
in one bin by fcp2ale. However, the next clips not located inside a bin
will be appended to the bin listed above them.
To avoid this make sure all clips are located inside a bin.
fcp2ale Version 2.1 (01.04.01)
Update for FCP 2.0
Batch Lists generated on FCP 1.2.5 can't be converted by this version
of fcp2ale.
New columns in FCP 2.0 Batch List are converted: Media Start, Media
End, Label 2, Description. Furthermore the columns Comments 2 - 4 are converted
to Custom Columns in ALE logs. The In and Out columns are converted to
Mark IN and Mark OUT in the ALE log.
Cleanup of the code! Managed to squeeze the script down from 1085 to
just 908 lines!!
fcp2ale Version 2.0.2 (25.03.01)
Bug fixes only.
If a single bin was exported and converted, the ALE log would get a
wrong filename if autonaming was used. If it was the first time the script
was used an error would pop up: "The variable logtitle is not defined",
and the script would exit - Fixed.
Errors if the Name Field was not the first column in the FCP Batch
List - Fixed.
Minor cosmetic changes.
fcp2ale Version 2.0.1 (06.03.01)
Bug fixes only.
Under certain circumstances the script could not handle clips or bins
with names shorter than 5 Characters. - Fixed
Video-only clips could not be converted - Fixed
fcp2ale Version 2.0
A complete rewrite. The script can distinguish between Clips and SubClips,
more fields are converted, new interface, etc.
Information about Akua Sweets can be found here:
http://www.akua.com/Software/AkuaSweets/index.html
Information about Dialog Director can be found here:
http://www.hylight.demon.co.uk/DialogDirector/DialogDirector.html
Any comments, especially from NTSC users, are welcome. Please send mail
to: peter@dharmafilm.com
07.12.2001
Peter Enggaard Reventlow
Love all, Serve all
Baba