Specifications

Chapter 17: Importing and Exporting Session Data 387
Time stamps can be stored in three different
places within a media file:
• In a clip definition
• In the file format metadata (for example, .WAV
file wrappers)
• In the AAF or OMF wrapper
Exporting a Clip
If you are exporting a clip, the time stamp will be
the start point of the clip, relative to the point
where the file originally started to record. For ex-
ample, if you record a file from 1:00 to 1:30, then
trim it to start at 1:15, the time stamp for the ex-
ported clip would be 1:15. This is true even if the
clip is slipped elsewhere in the Timeline.
Exporting a Clip as Part of a Sequence
When you export a clip as part of a sequence, the
clip’s original time stamp reflects the clip’s posi-
tion in the Timeline of the sequence.
Exporting a File
Recorded in Pro Tools If the file was recorded in
Pro Tools, the time stamp is the location in the
Timeline at which the recording began. For in-
stance, if you record the file from 1:00 to 2:00, the
time stamp would be 1:00.
AudioSuite If the file was created by AudioSuite,
the time stamp depends on the rendering mode
used when the file was rendered. If
Create Individ-
ual Files
mode is selected, the time stamp of the
new file matches the original time stamp of the
source file. If
Create Continuous File is selected,
the time stamp of the new file matches the position
of source file on the timeline.
Existing Time Stamp If a file is imported with an
existing time stamp, it will remain the time stamp
for the exported file as well. If the original file con-
tained a time stamp in the format wrapper, it will
be copied to the OMF wrapper when exported.
Exporting a File With No Time Stamp
If you import a file that does not contain a time
stamp (such as a sound effect from a CD), the time
stamp will be 0 when it is exported.
Importing Files from an Avid AAF or
OMF Sequence
If you import a file from an Avid AAF or OMF se-
quence, the media file's source tape time stamp be-
comes the original time stamp of the new
Pro Tools file. The User Timestamp maintains the
original time stamp.
Export Selected Tracks as
New Session
Pro Tools lets you export any selected tracks in a
session as a new session. This command replaces
the Export Session Data command in lower ver-
sions of Pro Tools. This feature is especially useful
in collaborative situations.
For example, you might be working on a large
post-production session and you want your collab-
orator to work on only some dialog in the session
while you continue working on other parts of the
session. You can now select the dialog tracks and
export them as a new session. Your collaborator
can then open the new session and edit the dialog.
When your collaborator is done, you can import
the session data from the dialog session to update
the dialog tracks in your big session.
DigiBase provides columns for specific
Avid OMF metadata, including Clip Name,
Tape, FPS, Original Timestamp, and User
Timestamp.