Moving Avid Xpress Pro HD Project over to FCP 5.1.1

Help needed on moving a project from Avid to FCP. This is my first time to do this so looking for advice from someone who has been through it as it all feels a bit scary. I am moving a 13 part reality tv series from Avid to FCP. Can anyone tell me the details of preparing the edls. I have about 7 video tracks and 10 audio tracks. Would it be best to do an OMF export of the audio and separate edls of the video layers or one edl with all the video layers. Its been quite a while since I have done an EDL in Avid. Are the selections straight forward? Most of the footage has been color graded already in Avid, will I lose all that grading information or can it be preserved somehow? Also a lot of Saffire transitional plugins have been used, I presume I will lose all those effects too. I need to try and preserve as much of the edit as poissible as it has pretty much been onlined already in Avid, what should my epectations be in this regard? There ara a lot of wipes and graphics in the show too - I presume I can just back all these up on a hard Drive in Quicktime format preserving alpha channels. Any help would be appreciated.

Why are you doing this? if the show is nearly on-lined and effected you are going to lose a lot of that work.
There are methods for getting from AVID to FCP. Where you counting on recapturing everything or hoping to avoid that? Do you have to move all 13 episodes? Or just one?
Does AVID Xpress Pro HD give yo the same AVID EDL tool as their Media Composer product. It can be a very powerful EDL creation tool.
You'll definitely want to consider this
[www.automaticduck.com]
if you can afford it.
More info please.

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

Thanks Andrew.

The reason this needs to be done is that the current version of the show is almost completed for its first airing on the channel which commissioned it. Now another channel has bought the show and wants to cut it down in duration before it broadcasts it. The production company who made it are moving away from their place of post production (which uses Avid) and want me to cut it down in duration at my post facility and I have Final Cut Pro systems. I do have to move all epsodes but was planning to export an edl from the consolidadted timeline in Avid and therefore re-capture just that edl in fcp with handles and not all of the original media. Can't answer your question on the Xpress Pro EDL tool as I am working in Final Cut Pro today. The projects will have to be moved next week. So I am just trying to get advice in advance.

Alan.

Don't fool around, get the Duck, it's built for this workflow.

If you were doing one lousy show, I'd say look at the free and somewhat impressive Sebsky Tools or EDL each track, tweak, rebuild, but not a season!! Invest in the Duck. There'll always be some effects that need tweaking, but it's a superior transfer solution.

Read this article for a look at an *older* version-- keeps getting more powerful.

- Loren
Today's FCP 4 / 5 keytip:
Fast scan your clips or timeline with Control-F12 !
Go slower with lower F keys.
Go reverse with F6 down to F2

The FCP KeyGuide?: your power placemat.
Now available at KeyGuide Central.
www.neotrondesign.com

Alan

It really depends on what you need to achieve and how much work needs to be done. Is this a simple cutdown or a recut? Are you mixing the final audio or will it go to a mixer?

If you are only doing a simple cutdown of the original show for duration purposes, then forget about getting separate tracks (for video at least). Get a playout/export without graphics and bring that into FCP. Automatic Duck would give you OMF import for the audio to keep everything separate, or you could export separate AIFF or wave files for each Avid track and sync up in FCP.

If it's a major recut with additional material to go in which has to match the original (Fx/cc), then you're in for a LOT more work. AFAIK Automatic Duck doesn't translate CC or Sapphire fx so these will need to be rebuilt from scratch.

For your sake I hope it's a simple cutdown :-)

Martin Baker
[www.digital-heaven.co.uk]
Unique plug-ins and tools for Apple Pro Apps

Thanks Martin,

The show is a cutdown I am told and I should not need extra footage to cut in. My biggest concern is losing all the grading as the show has been fairly heavily corrected in Avid. With that in mind I think your suggestion of a digital playout of the video clean and separate audio waves or AIFFs as opposed to going the Automatic Duck route which would be great for a drama or a project in its mid or early stages without CC or lots of graphics. Its either that or I could look at actually getting the Avid software and see what the cost implication would be over the two months of the job.

Thanks everyone for the informed help. Isn't the WWW a great place.