finalcut plus protools on pc

M

mumin

Well-known member
Hey guys I started editing my project on final cut pro but i also want use pro tools which i have on my pc. How should i save my project so then i could import on protools in my pc. Or should i just import sound from particular takes and start fixing it in protools. Then adjusting it on final cut pro. How do i start with post??
 
OMF from final cut - you need digitranslater on your pro tools rig (if it's LE then you need DV toolkit).

OMF has a file size limit of (i think) 2 gigs so if the project is bigger than that then you need to break it into smaller parts and create multiple OMF's.
 
You may also want to look at the Automatic Duck plug in:

http://www.automaticduck.com/products/pifcp/

It enables much better translation of OMF into and out of FCP. It's unfortunately quite expenseive though - about $800 for the full round-trip version, and still requires Digitranslator to work. With that running around $430 street, you're looking at a pretty stiff price tag for full Pro Tools interoperability.
 
Last edited:
what about if i would edit in adobe or avid would i need all that stuff again??? Can't i just lock the picture in fcp and then export sound from it as and then image as quicklime player file and upload both to pro tools??
 
If you put a 2pop at the begining at end of picture, use a TC burn-in on the video, and get the TC option on Protools you can do it that way.

Always make sure you have full picture lock before moving over to Protools. Adjusting the sync afterwards is a messy very time consuming option.

Good luck
 
If your picture is locked then the round trip isn't too bad.

First you didn't mention whether you had Le or HD on the PT side. Life is easier with HD but Le will work also.

The simplest and cheapest rout is to completely lock picture in FCP them create a Quicktime file (with a codec your PC can read - DV NTSC is probably a safe bet). The video should start where your clips start. It's very important that you can snap your finished mix back to a known place in FCP.
DON'T put any of the FCP generators on the export. Count in leader pops etc. I very much approve of pops and count in leader but they MUST be added in the time line not in the export. IF you have them in the time line great leave them there but don't check off any of those boxes to add them on export. OK I repeated that a bunch but it's very important.

Next If you have Digi Translator (~$500) (works in Le or HD - so you don't actually need DV tool kit) then out put an OMF, or if your version of FCP has the option an AAF (essentially a better version of OMF), and import that in to PT and add the video and you off.

If you don't have Digi Translator and don't want to spend the money. Your first option is to get the 14 day trial. It's free and that's plenty of time to suck in your audio. If you already did that trick (only works once) then your next option is to output each track of sound from FCP as a file. Each needs to start where the video started from and last as long as there is audio in the track. In this case you are going to import those long sound files in to PT and snap them to the head of the video.
after they are in sync you can use strip silence to break them back up into regions.

Edit away. Your locked to the video in the track so you don't need time code so Le is fine.
Once your happy with your mix bounce the audio out as a 48k 16 bit AIFF file. That file needs to be exactly as long as the video you are using.
Take that bounced AIFF and bring it back into FCP. Drop it in the time line and snap it to the start of the film. Mute all the old audio tracks and you should be golden.
 
Also for what you are doing you don't need a TC burn in. If you are working with other editors it gets more complicated, though if they all do the same steps it should be fine. This is the big plus of digital picture in DAWs. With tape work flows you need TC big time.
 
Noiz2 said:
If you don't have Digi Translator and don't want to spend the money. Your first option is to get the 14 day trial. It's free and that's plenty of time to suck in your audio. If you already did that trick (only works once) then your next option is to output each track of sound from FCP as a file. Each needs to start where the video started from and last as long as there is audio in the track. In this case you are going to import those long sound files in to PT and snap them to the head of the video.
after they are in sync you can use strip silence to break them back up into regions.
Click to expand...

I dont have DigiTranslator, and I don't want to spend the money.

Is there no way to do it cheap, and with handles on the sound files? I guess if you wanted the handles to edit anything with this method you'd have to import each take and sound file and try and lipsync it on each shot of the locked picture?!

On LE on the import session data bit, OMF is one of the options... does that mean that without spending money I can import an omf and just export a stereo mix?
 
ScoobySounds said:
Is there no way to do it cheap, and with handles on the sound files?
Click to expand...
Yes. Import it as an OMF. When you take into account the labour saved by using a program such as digitranslator, it really is a cost-effective solution.

Another alternative is to use DVtoolkit on a PT LE system. It is, however, a bit more expensive.

A third option is to send the OMF to someone who is already using DVtoolkit or Digitranslater, and have them send back a PT session. The entire proccess doesn't take very long, so it shouldn't set you back very much.

If you have access to an FTP site, perhaps I can help you out.
 
I want a Fararri I can afford also, but they just don't make a cheap one. Maybe a bit extreme but scooby your sort of saying "I want it all and I don't want to pay for it". You want a professional work flow you either use professional tools or use work arounds. So since you don't have the tools there are a few work arounds. One go into FCP and checker board your audio and give yourself some handles. Unlink the audio and video so you don't change your edit. Then bounce as above. If I remember correctly your on an educational version of PT and that may have OMF support built in. I don't think you would see the option if it were not installed. But that's a RTFM situation.
Or if you output a non embedded OMF, then the OMF with out the media is tiny and you could email it to me or SMuir or whoever and we could translate it to a PT session and email it back. Both will be under a meg. Or you could dump PT and go to Nuendo, it has OMF built in - but it's the most expensive option so far. And lastly you could sent directly to Sound Track Pro. I don't like it that much for post work but it's in the FCS so it's free and you can send to it directly from FCP, so... If your not going crazy with sound and your not going to a mix stage and your used to the way FCP does things (they are much closer than FCP and PT) it might fit the bill.
 
The educational version of Pro Tools does have Digi translator so you're good to go.

Just do it - it's the only way to learn.
 
Noiz2 said:
I want a Fararri I can afford also, but they just don't make a cheap one. Maybe a bit extreme but scooby your sort of saying "I want it all and I don't want to pay for it". You want a professional work flow you either use professional tools or use work arounds. So since you don't have the tools there are a few work arounds. One go into FCP and checker board your audio and give yourself some handles. Unlink the audio and video so you don't change your edit. Then bounce as above. If I remember correctly your on an educational version of PT and that may have OMF support built in. I don't think you would see the option if it were not installed. But that's a RTFM situation.
Or if you output a non embedded OMF, then the OMF with out the media is tiny and you could email it to me or SMuir or whoever and we could translate it to a PT session and email it back. Both will be under a meg. Or you could dump PT and go to Nuendo, it has OMF built in - but it's the most expensive option so far. And lastly you could sent directly to Sound Track Pro. I don't like it that much for post work but it's in the FCS so it's free and you can send to it directly from FCP, so... If your not going crazy with sound and your not going to a mix stage and your used to the way FCP does things (they are much closer than FCP and PT) it might fit the bill.
Click to expand...

sorry dude, you're right, I hate it when people roll in with questions like that about location equipment!

I'm a loacation guy whos just been offered to do some post on a lowish budget short, so I thought i would like to try it (i've already done a micro budget feature but that was work-around hell). So they wouldn't have been able to afford the 'professional work flow'. I would hate to take it on and find myself stuck because I didn't have the equipment to complete it. They would end up going to the guy who gets all the work in scotland and my name would be post-sound-dirt. I'd rather just not take things on till I could afford the kit.

whats the 'educational' version? is LE educational?

I installed the DVToolkit2 that came with it, but now it just asks me to authorise everything (including digitranslator) with the iLok. I used to have an iLok when I used M-Powered but this new PT doesn't use an iLok anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top