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Importing Information to Aid in Capturing
There are three ways in which you can import organizational information into Final Cut Pro
that will help you prepare for ingest. The method that best fits your particular workflow
depends on the type of media you’re ingesting and how much preparation you want to
do in advance.
Import batch capture lists
A batch capture list is a tab-delimited text file that specifies which clips you want to capture
from a particular videotape using timecode. Each clip is defined, at a minimum, by a
name, a reel number, and timecode In and Out points. Batch capture lists are useful
because anyone can review video dailies on tape, on DVD, or in QuickTime Player and,
using timecode as a reference, assemble a list of which clips to ingest without having to
know how to use Final Cut Pro.
You can create a batch capture list using any spreadsheet, text editor, or database
application as long as you can export a tab-delimited plain text file when you’re finished.
This file can then be imported into Final Cut Pro, which turns each entry in the list into
an offline clip in the Browser, ready for capture.
For more information, search for “batch list” in Final Cut Pro Help.
Import XML-based batch capture lists from Cinema Tools
Another option is to export an XML-based batch capture list from Cinema Tools and then
import it into Final Cut Pro. This option is appropriate for any workflow in which you want
to maintain the correspondence between the original film negative and the video that
was transferred from it. This method is ideal when, at the end of the post-production
process, you want to conform the original negative or retransfer new, high-quality media
from the source negative for finishing.
This workflow assumes that you’re starting out with a Cinema Tools database created
from an imported ATN, FLEx, FTL, or ALE telecine log file provided by the facility that did
the film-to-video transfer. FLEx and ALE files contain a wealth of information about the
keycode that identifies the frames of film negative that were transferred, the corresponding
video timecode, and other logging information such as film type, camera roll, telecine
speed, and sometimes even notes from the shoot. You import this log into Final Cut Pro
by choosing Import > Cinema Tools Telecine Log, which creates a Cinema Tools database
of events that establishes the correspondence between the edge code that identifies
each frame of negative and the timecode that identifies each frame of transferred video.
This process also automatically creates offline clips in the Browser, which contain all of
this information.
You can also import compatible telecine log files directly into Final Cut Pro by choosing
File > Import > Cinema Tools Telecine Log, which automatically creates a Cinema Tools
database.
29Chapter 2 Ingesting and Organizing Your Media