PDF (adobe.com)

Export AAF files



Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) is a multimedia file format that allows you to exchange digital media and metadata between platforms, systems, and applications. Authoring applications that support AAF, such as the Avid Xpress family of editing products (generally referred to as “Avid Xpress”), read and write the data in AAF files to the extent that they support the format. AAF is a widely recognized file‑exchange standard for video editing.

Adobe Premiere Pro includes an AAF export command that allows you to export to AAF project files that contain clip, sequence, and editing data.

To ensure that the project you want to export conforms to general AAF specifications and is compatible with an Avid Xpress product, consider each of the following:

  • The AAF files exported by Adobe Premiere Pro are compatible with the Avid Xpress family of editing products (Avid Xpress DV, Avid Xpress Pro, and Avid Xpress Pro HD) and have not been tested with other AAF importers.

  • Transitions should appear only between two clips, not adjacent to the beginning or end of a clip. Each clip must be at least the same length as the transition.

  • If a clip has a transition at both its In and Out points, the clip should be at least the same length as both transitions combined.

  • When naming clips and sequences in Adobe Premiere Pro, avoid using special characters, accented characters, or characters that affect the parsing of an XML file. Some characters to avoid include /, >, <, ®, and ü.

  • AAF files exported from Adobe Premiere Pro and imported into Avid Xpress do not automatically relink to the source footage. To relink the footage, use the Offline Only batch import option in Avid Xpress.

Export a file as AAF

  1. Choose Project > Export Project As AAF.
  2. If prompted to save your project, click Continue to save it and proceed with the export.
  3. Specify a name and location for the saved file, and click Save.
  4. In the AAF Export Settings dialog box, check any option that might be desired, and click OK.

    (Optional) Check the Legacy Mode option when exporting to current and past Avid systems. The default Edit Protocol is not fully supported by Avid.

About the AAF plug‑in

The AAF Export plug‑in converts Adobe Premiere Pro projects as follows:

Cuts‑only mono/stereo audio and video
The plug‑in fully supports these elements of a project. The plug‑in does not convert audio pan, gain, and level changes, and 5.1 audio. Stereo audio channels are separated into two tracks in the Avid Xpress sequence.

Clip speed
The plug‑in converts video clip speed changes (slow, fast, reverse playback) to Avid Xpress’ Motion Effect, which is the only supported effect. Clip speed applied to nested sequences is also converted. Avid Xpress does not have an equivalent to Motion Effect for audio. If the speed change makes the audio clip longer than the source media, the plug‑in stretches the audio clip to the same length as the rest of the source media, beginning at the StartTime, and places filler in the gap. You can fix these portions of the sequence manually in the Avid editing system.

Batch captured or redigitized files
The plug‑in retains the tape name specified in the AAF file. Use the Batch Record capability in Avid Xpress to recapture the media from tape.

Footage of varying dimensions
The plug‑in exports the project at its full resolution. However, importing scales all footage according to the resolution specified in the AVID project.

Nested sequences
The plug‑in builds the master composition from the nested sequences recursively (because Avid Xpress does not support linking to the nested sequences). Therefore, in the AAF file, there’s no linking between the master composition and the nested sequences.

Titles
The plug‑in converts titles to offline media in Avid Xpress.

Bin hierarchy
Avid Xpress places all items into a single bin. Projects with multiple bins convert into one bin.

Graphic files
The plug‑in saves a reference to all original files, but compatibility in Avid Xpress is limited to the formats that it supports. (See the Avid Xpress documentation for information on supported graphic file formats.)

Project elements
The plug‑in converts synthetic clips, such as Bars and Tone, Black Video, Color Matte, and Universal Counting Leader to offline media in XDV.

Sequence and clip markers
The plug‑in converts all sequence markers, except the sequence In and Out markers, to locators on the timecode (TC1) track in Avid Xpress. The Chapter, URL, and Frame Target fields are not converted because there are no equivalents in Avid Xpress. The plug‑in converts clip markers to segment markers in Avid Xpress.
Note: The AAF Export plug‑in ignores markers located beyond the end of the sequence.

Current‑time indicator position
In the exported file, the current‑time indicator retains its original position if it is within the duration of the sequence. Otherwise, the plug‑in places the current‑time indicator at the end of the Avid Xpress sequence.

Grouped clips
Upon import, all grouped clips are ungrouped and treated separately.

Transitions and effects
Transitions and effects exported from Adobe Premiere Pro to the AAF format are identified uniquely in Avid Xpress. For a table of supported transitions and effects, see the Adobe website.