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Apple Pro Apps Item of Interest

From Final Cut Pro X to Final Cut Pro 7

Project X27 i snow live for your Final Cut Pro 7 XML workflows, from Final Cut Pro X

From Final Cut Pro X to Final Cut Pro 7 XML, then to Color, Soundtrack Pro, OMF, Premiere Pro (After Effects) http://t.co/pDvID7jR >br>

Export Final Cut Pro X Project XML to a Final Cut Pro 7 Sequence XML.  Because the two apps are so different, a perfect translation is not possible.

What works?

Here’s a list of what happens during translation.

  • Video clips and stills in the Primary Storyline become clips in track V1
  • Audio clips in the Primary Storyline become clips in tracks A1 etc.
  • Connected clips are added to higher numbered video and audio tracks
  • Split edits (J/L cuts) are preserved
  • Synchronized clips are supported
  • Auditions are automatically “finalized”
  • If optimized media (ProRes 422) has been created in Final Cut Pro X, Final Cut Pro 7 will reconnect to that instead the original media
  • Constant speed changes are preserved
  • The active/inactive state of each clip is maintained
  • Blue markers become blue markers in Final Cut Pro 7; unfinished to-do markers become red markers; and completed to-do markers become green markers
  • Roles are added to the clip’s Description field and Notes to the Log Note field
  • Cross Dissolve, Zoom, Flash, Lens Flare, Black Hole, Flip, Page Curl, Ripple, Swing, Cube, Doorway, Squares, Star, Band, Center, Checker, Clock, Gradient, Inset, Letter X and Wipe transitions are substituted with equivalents; other transitions become Cross Dissolve; audio transitions become Cross Fades
  • Titles become Outline Text titles containing the original text
  • Generators become Slugs named after the Final Cut Pro X generator
  • The starting timecode is maintained

What doesn’t work?

The translation from Final Cut Pro X project to Final Cut Pro 7 sequence isn’t perfect. Here’s a list of what gets “lost in translation.”

  • Compound clips
  • Multiple speed changes in a clip and keyframed speed changes
  • Effects
  • For titles, font, size and color information does not transfer*. Some titles with complex builds may have the text out of order in Final Cut Pro 7.
  • Transition settings*
  • Color, Transform, Crop and Distort adjustments*
  • Audio levels and audio enhancements*
  • 4K media files (Final Cut Pro 7 supports formats up to 4000 pixels wide)

* we expect to support these features with a future version of Final Cut Pro X

Please use Provide Feedback… under the application menu for bug reports, feature requests or support.

 Known Issues

Compound Clips need to be broken apart into their original items. The easiest way to locate your Compound Clips is using the Timeline Index. Select each Compound Clip and choose Clip > Break Apart Clip Items before exporting the project XML from Final Cut Pro X.

In some cases clips may import offline. In Final Cut Pro 7 select the offline clips and choose File > Reconnect Media…

In cases where there is not enough media to cover a centered transition, the transition will be shorter than it was in Final Cut Pro X.

http://assistedediting.intelligentassistance.com/ProjectXto7/

As for why we didn’t do FCP 7 to FCP X, I refer you to the end of my last post on the subject.

31 replies on “From Final Cut Pro X to Final Cut Pro 7”

Well, Automatic Duck’s FCP X to OMF/AAF was $495, so if we look at it that way….

It was also an incredibly large amount of work for a very uncertain market.

We may do a simple cuts only conversion if something doesn’t surface soon.

By Post Author

For an uncertain market? You said that going the OTHER way was what people want. That excuse as to why you don’t go FCP 7 to FCP X seems like a real cop out, like maybe Apple told you not to do it. I guess you don’t want to lose your Apple blessing. Otherwise you’d probably make the tool that you know people really want

I for one, think what you’ve done is excellent. Well done Phil – keep up the good work.

You’ll have to forgive HC, some people can only be jealous and mean spirited. He’s probably happy Steve Jobs passed away…

And if anybody wants to go the other way (7 to X) then they can always use CatDV at £250, which is cheaper than Automatic Ducks offering; if its still available that is!

Apple wont do nothing more in Pro Segments. Thei abandon the pro world. If you saw at the Pro divison site ( http://www.apple.com/pro/ ) you will se that is the same since 2009. Pro apps divison will be sold of closed .Even new OS Lyon was really finished of properly, and majority of bugs was fixed. The best things to count that Apple will take care of us , the pros. Here im my firm , we are going to 9 new machines running Windows7 with Avid NLEs

I do not believe that the Pro Apps division has ever been for sale, nor will it ever be for sale.

By Post Author

Make a note, or save this link for future reference . The pro apps divison represents , mere 4,5% of Apple. Creative Suite with premiere CS5.5 represents more than 50% of Adobe Revenues, and AVID MC represents more than 30% of Avid revenues. We saw Apple making toys and essentialy useless other products. Apple AppStore and this toys are the real business. So who will be grown in the really professional market ? Even Sony Vegas 11, is more complete and flexible than FCPx. FCPx was removed from pro level and trandformed in an enhanced Imovie, co compete with Movie maker and Vegas market ( Consummer/prosumer)
I Know what i´m talking about. More than a year researching.

And like Apple abandon the pros, i want tio said that we do not expect that Apple will move in our benefit . FCP id dead. Color is Dead too…
Wew sold our Apple machines, and bougth 9 news, with dual opterons, win7 64 anbd AVID NLEs, that is the newest gear om masket today .

Apple has provided a new type of tool that suits a wider group of professionals than did the old tools. For those who want older paradigms there is Media Composer and Premeire Pro, both excellent tools.

By Post Author

We disagree. I see Final Cut Pro X as being a very powerful professional tool, well suited to what I plan to use it for, including a six month reality TV shoot next year under very challenging conditions.

I’m sorry it doesn’t suit your needs, but as you’ve found Media Composer is an excellent alternative.

Just lose the hate and your comments will remain welcome, otherwise…

By Post Author

sorry if i do not express myself accordingly . I´m brazilian and brazilians talk in a harder way than americans . Is this our way to express. Sorry again. I do not hate Apple . I only was a power user, that saw that Apple do not fit our needs. Sorry again

Great Work Philip

I really don’t understand some of the comments above.
The Price is perfect- and going from X to 7 is very useful indeed.

My current projects are a good example – a 10 day shoot, 20hrs of DVCProHD footage, several thousand individual clips & some GoPro HD Footage which will make up 9 different programmes.

Our Programmes use Motion Graphics, Cuts & Dissolves, Green Screen Presenter, Music and some spot sound effects.

I’m using FCP X for log and transfer, organise, sort and keyword all my footage – much faster and powerful than FCP7. I can edit in X much faster with all the searching / organising features of X.

And now with your app send the final edit back to FCP 7 for Keying, Color correction and export.
i.e i can use a proper grading monitor and export selections of the time line – (which is essential to my particular workflow.)

My Projects will ‘potentially’ be future proof- i.e i will have a copy in both 7 & X, with ability to take them to Avid et al. if needed via XML or Automatic Duck.

On the Assumption that X will get better – i.e. the missing features we need will come in the next year or so- i will have a good library of my footage- (more useful than Final Cut Server’s database) and a copy of the final edit- minus the Color Grading & Keying.

If things don’t develop with FCP X and everything goes sour (unlikely) then I’ve lost little and have a copy of my project for FCP 7 and other NLE’s.

Of course FCP 7 projects exporting to FCP X projects is the ‘Holy Grail’ of the moment. but i’m in no hurry to spend time updating our back catalogue of 10+ years of FCP projects into the fledgling NLE that is FCP X.

I say again – great work Philip – we can now use the best of FCP X and Let FCP 7 pick up where X is lacking and have a copy of the project in both project formats- all for $49! (£30 in the UK where i am) thats cheaper than a thunderbolt cable! – for my workflow i think it will pay for it’s self in a few hours of work.

Cheers Philip

Graeme, you are lost time and effort. FCP is a 32 bits app. Limited to 4 gigs of ram, and 4 processors, and never was introduced to cuda.
we bougth out 9 new workhorses, with 24 processors (2x 12 cores Opteron) machine, with 192 Gig of memory, 1024 CUDAS and 3 GIG of ram on video board and 9TB-RAID 0 SSD discs.
We edit in 4k directely ON AVID and Premiere that uses CUDA, a technology not availabe to MAC. No conversions whith poor prores or uses offline files anymore.
I want to say, that some time you and many people will have to have a powerful machine like that capable to render a 52 minutes TV episode in HD with many many effects, dissolvers , color corrections and many others things inm time line, in 9 minutes !
Some day actual Apple hardware that are alrerady obsolete ( the late models, all Apple computers today, was lauched obsolete), some day we need up-to-date machines, for us this day has arrived, and Apple do not accompaning the hardware evolution. MAC OS Lion X DO NOT support late models of XEON proceccors. Intel is stil producing older XEONS. But they will vanishing in near future.
then, as we were tired of waiting for Apple to wake up from her nap, we spent two months converting all we had in FCP, 20 hours a day,(12 years of hard work), to Premiere and Avid, and throw everything else out, better speaking, sold all that junk from Apple( the oldest MacPro was only 3 years).
Today, after five months, we see that we did the right thing. We are more productive, have more time to ourselves and our families, and more important, our work gained quality.

We might end up going the Avid route – in the future- depends hope things turn out. It will be very interesting to see what the next 12 months brings for avid. at present Avid looks like most sensible upgrade route for FCS users.

But in saying that i’m enjoying FCP X – and Ive used FCP since ver 1.2.

We are DVCProHD P2 based so have no need for ProRes conversions or Proxy files (apart from some GoProHD footage). I’m a shooter editor so spend a lot of time on the road- have a couple of MacPros back at base & Raids Etc. but i’m finding my Simple Macbook Air and a Thunderbolt Raid plus FCP X and Final Cut Studio 3 more than meets my needs on the road and it all fits in a small bag.

I’m very open to change be that Avid or FCP X or even Premier – but things are so much in flux at the moment in the Production and Post Production world and will be for the next 12 months whilst we wait for all the NLE Manufactures to put their 64bit versions out with maturity – i’m keeping to my current set up for the time being.

I’ve been very surprised by how people have made such snap decisions about a version 1 piece of software that has already made great strides after only 3 months, with another upgrade promised some time early next year.

Since nothing changed in FCP 7 in June, and it will run on Lion into the future, then I just don’t understand the rush to change, especially if things are working.

After all Media Composer has been running rings around FCP 7 since version 4 in many ways (mixed timeline, AMA), and Premiere Pro’s performance has been stunning since CS 5 nearly two years ago.

Almost like no-one was looking at PPro or Media Composer while comfortable! 🙂

By Post Author

well said!

BTW enjoyed your ‘Conquering Metadata In FCPX’ book.

Most of the people i know who have actually used FCP X and taken a bit of time to explore it and maybe do some structured training on it – e.g the videos training courses on Ripple and Lynda plus the articles over on Ken’s site and your book.

and then looked at ways of adapting their own workflow to FCPX- have mostly good things to say about it – we can all see the possibilities too.

Hey People though i was crazy when i brought FCP 1.2 into the edit suite when the pal version came out 😉

I was fortunate enough to beta test FCP 1.0. I actually had an ad on air in Newcastle, Australia (PAL country) the week that FCP 1 was launched at NAB 1999 and did not officially support PAL. (It could be tweaked obviously.)

So, maybe that’s why I’m more inclined to give FCP X a “fair go”. But my life does’t rely on delivering a TV show every 7-12 days. I doubt I’d recommend FCP X for that right now. And hey, one of my clients isn’t inclined to go to FCP X and still needs a more modern app to deal with mixed formats, so I’ve guided him to PPro CS 5.5. It’s all about fitness for a job. Not absolute one thing or the other.

By Post Author

Philip,

I enjoyed your book “Conquering the metadata foundations of Final Cut Pro X” I was wondering? What do you think of the possibilities of creating a video using user added metadata to create a searchable video?

Is this possible or do we have to wait for technology to catch up?

Completely doable right now, it’s part of Adobe’s “Script to Screen” process where they embed a searchable text track in Flash video; in addition people like 3PlayMedia.com can create text searchable video. Our Serendipity technology (used in First Cuts and Finisher) can also be used to not only create searchable video, but to create entire edits based on metadata.

By Post Author

In Time ! We maintained the 27, and 30inch Cinema Displays from apple ! The only piece of their hardware that is really good ( if you open these monitors you saw that is Philips, samsung and LG parts inside !! )

Enough Leon. You’re done on this thread. No more commenting from you will be approved (and you will be blocked in the future)

You ate NOT contributing to the discussion, you’re ranting against Apple and, as this is my personal blog, I don’t have to put up with you. just as I would have walked away from any conversation with you in person if you went into rant mode, I’m walking away from it now and telling you to let it go and stop posting on this thread.

By Post Author

Dear Philip,

I’m in a pretty specific bind and wonder if perhaps Project X27 could help me out!

I’ve been doing some FCPX editing over the last couple of weeks, but lately the program has gotten incredibly slow and beachball-y. I’ve tried every solution proposed to me, but nothing seems to get it back up to speed.

So, time to jump ship, I thought. I fired up Adobe Premiere and imported the source media files, located in the FCPX event folder. Apparantly, FCPX was not amused, and now refuses to acknowledge the existence of the source media files. Again, I’ve tried every solution proposed to me, but nothing works.

So my question is this: Despite the fact that FCPX no longer acknowledges the source media files, could I still use Project X27 to export an .xml file from FCPX which Adobe Premiere will recognize? I mean, the .xml is essentially just timecodes, correct? And will work regardless of whether FCPX recognizes the source files or not? Or am I mistaken about that…?

I believe it would work to export an FCPX XML and use Project X27 to convert it to FCP 7 XML that PPro will import. We fixed a bug Wednesday that prevented some project from importing to PPro.

By Post Author

Philip, since we have the late breaking news today that Automatic Duck has given most of their products FCP X support, is out of the business now, and has not created an FCP 7 to FCP X translator, would y’all be thinking about taking up that project now? Please?

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