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    Export AAF to Logic Pro?

    Hello Avid forum!

    Has anyone here gotten Avid Media Composer to output sound in AAF format to Logic Pro 9? I'm working on a film where I'm using Logic for post-production sound and the editor is using Avid.

    I've managed to get the sound files to actually import, but when Logic opens them up there are obvious sync issues. For one thing, Logic places the files at the fourth bar. I can drag all the clips back four bars to the starting point in the Logic timeline easily enough, but then even within the sequence some clips show up late. In a small Avid test sequence with four clips, a fade up at the beginning, a fade out at the end, and a dissolve/fade between the two middle clips, what ends up happening is that the third and fourth clips in the Avid timeline get their audio tracks bumped forward for some reason.

    Here are the AAF export settings we used from the Avid. The files were all imported natively to DNxHD, and we didn't use AMA:

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    Export as: AAF
    [ ] Use Marks
    [ ] Use Enabled Tracks
    [ ] AAF Edit Protocol

    [ ] Include all Video / Data Tracks in Sequence
    [ ] Include All Audio Tracks in Sequence

    Audio Details

    Export Method: Copy All Media

    [ ] Include Rendered Audio Effects
    [ ] Render All Audio Effects
    [ ] Remove Track Effects
    [ ] Add Audio Mixdown Track(s)
    [ ] Convert Audio Sample Rate to: Project
    [ ] Convert Audio Sample Bit Depth to: Project
    [x] Convert Audio File Format to: WAVE (OMF)

    Media Destinations:

    Data:

    Audio: Media Drive

    Drive: Avid Media

    ------------------------------------------------------------

    Any advice would be most welcome!

    #2
    OK, we figured this out. I will post it here for anyone else searching in the future. Your mileage may vary, this is what worked for us.

    ----------------------------------------
    AVID MEDIA COMPOSER AAF SOUND EXPORT
    ----------------------------------------

    Before the AAF export: remove all sound effects and transitions. You may have to do this one by one by going into Effects mode and clicking on Remove Effect for each one. There may be a faster way, but this is one way that works.

    Now select the sequence and go to File -> Export

    Export as: AAF

    [ ] Use Marks
    [ ] Use Enabled Tracks
    [ ] AAF Edit Protocol
    [ ] Include All Video / Data Tracks in Sequence
    [x] Include All Audio Tracks in Sequence

    Audio Details

    Export Method: Consolidate Media
    Handle Length: 1440 Frames

    [x] Include Rendered Audio Effects
    [ ] Render All Audio Effects
    [x] Remove Track Effects
    [ ] Split Tracks to Mono
    [ ] Add Audio Mixdown Track(s)
    [ ] Convert Audio Sample Rate to: Project
    [ ] Convert Audio Sample Bit Depth to: Project
    [x] Convert Audio File Format to: WAVE (OMF)

    Media Destinations:

    Data:

    Audio: Media Drive
    [ ] Use Media Creation Settings

    Drive: Avid Media

    ---

    Consolidate Media is important, because it's the only way to get Avid to convert the files from MXF to OMF and also provide handles. Using these settings, the Avid exports an AAF file that links to files in the "OMFI MediaFiles" directory on the selected Avid media drive. It's probably a good idea to use the Avid media management tools to remove any previous exports so that directory is empty and clean.

    After this, the editor needs to package up the AAF file and the OMFI MediaFiles directory (in a zip file, on a DVD, whatever) and give it to the sound editor.

    ----------------------------------------
    LOGIC 9 AAF IMPORT
    ----------------------------------------

    Create a new project in Logic 9. Set up the framerate and timecode settings in the normal way (under Preferences)

    Move the Cycle selector (the green bar at the top of the timeline) back to the absolute beginning of the timeline (bar 1 1 1 1) with a length of zero. If you don't do this, the AAF files will be imported after the cycle selector.

    Now import the AAF file. Logic will prompt you to find one of the WAV files that were included in the OMFI MediaFiles directory. Navigate to this directory and find the file it's asking for. The file names are very long and very similar to each other, so make sure you get the exact right file.

    Now Logic will import all of the sound files and you should be good to go.

    Finally, go to File -> Open Movie and select the matching work print video that was also exported from the Avid (much easier, left as an exercise for the reader).

    Comment


      #3
      No files in Logic

      Well, I am pretty sure I have followed your directions accurately, but when I import the AAF into Logic, all I get are empty(although they are named correctly) tracks, and no request to link to the wav files.

      Any help would be greatly appreciated!

      Thanks.
      Riceman
      www.kenaiproductions.com

      Comment


        #4
        I no longer have access to that exact configuration, so I can't do any direct tests.

        My advice would be to just try a bunch of stuff systematically until you get something that works, and then document it to death so you can have some hope of repeating it. It's definitely not very forgiving.

        Comment


          #5
          Ugh

          Thanks for the reply....

          This is a short piece and I may just mix it in MC, but will keep trying. If I find a working solution I will follow up here. Thanks!
          Riceman
          www.kenaiproductions.com

          Comment


            #6
            I had the same problem with every AAF export option I tried -- the audio in my Media Composer timeline, when sent to Logic Pro X as AAF, would show up with nearly all clips lined up against the leftmost edge of the timeline. Everything started right at the beginning of the sequence, which was obviously wrong.

            The move region to timecode feature didn't do anything.

            Strangely, the only clips that were not lined up against the left edge were clips that had come to us from the composer, who uses Logic Pro X. This might be a reason that Logic QA doesn't catch this AAF import bug -- as clips that are exported as wav from Logic imported into Media Composer seem to show up in the right places when exported from Media Composer as AAF and imported into Logic. But every other file we'd imported into Media Composer, or generated within it (test tone), ended up in the wrong place.

            I tried with clip conversion, with AAF edit protocol on and off, with consolidation, with copying. No export option made Logic's AAF import feature happy.

            Then I imported an AAF first into Premiere Pro, where it came across nearly exactly right (one clip had to be adjusted). Then I exported an OMF (with non-embedded media) from Premiere, and imported that into Logic Pro X. Success, pretty much. When I imported the related movie into Logic and played its audio along with the audio that came over from the AAF, things were off be a frame or two in places, but otherwise it was at least closer to a representative reconstruction of the audio in the Media Composer timeline.

            I know nothing (yet) about Logic, so am not sure how big a problem this is -- but Premiere applies gain to clips by turning them into 'gain nests'. So then when the clips show up in Logic each clip in the timeline is itself a sequence or some other interpretation of a nest.

            Comment

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