If you ever need to convert between FCP and After Effects, then you owe it yourself to check into Automatic Duck’s Pro Import AE 4.0. While it was originally designed to allow finishing to be done in AE after editing had been done in FCP or Avid, it now allows cross-platforming to be much easier than it has been in the past. So long as you keep track of your files, you can export an XML from your Mac-based FCP machine and then open up the lion-share of your editing in your PC-based After Effects machine. From here, you can incorporate it into the plethora of tools available from Adobe’s Production Premium packages, if you are so inclined.
Ease of Use
The actual export from things like Avid, Motion, and FCP (utilizing Automatic Duck’s free exporter) is quite simple, as is the import of the XML file generated into After Effects.
However, for cross platformers, there are some roadblocks to ease of use if you don’t take the proper steps before you export from Mac to PC. Right now, the free XML exporter that Automatic Duck provides simply exports an XML file version of your FCP EDL, which is very simple to use. However, for maximum simplicity, I would love to see a future version of the FCP free exporter that could handle exporting both an XML file and all the pertinent video labeled in a windows recognizable format to one discreet folder. This would make it much easier to track down any media that you’ve used and make sure it gets transferred from your FCP system to your AEsystem. However, for right now, FCP and motion users will have to do all the media exporting yourself. (There is a special media exporter for Avid which costs $65, but it doesn’t work with FCP or Motion XML files.)
I’m going to give you a suggested way of utilizing this software for FCP, with the understanding that those who are using Motion can adapt as need be:
First off, before you export anything, make sure that you have minimized any unnecessary splits in your tracks (as each split is transformed into a separate layer in After Effects) and that you have fully rendered the timeline you wish to export (as unrendered media seems to have issues in the XML transfer process).
Secondly, before using Automatic Ducks XML exporter, use your media manager in FCP to export the timeline you wish to use to a new folder along with both the clips that are referenced as well as the rendered media.
If you are not using a software program like MacDrive on the PC you will be transferring to, then you must go into the folder of the new FCP timeline and rename your quicktime files so that they have the “.mov” extension. Windows recognizes the .aiff files that Macs generate, but not the native FCP QT file, which is why you have to add the “.mov” extension. (For those of you unfamiliar with MacDrive, it is a great little program that will automatically recognize Mac hard drives, discs, and video files on a PC. Obviously, if you have this program on your destination PC, this step is unnecessary and you can skip to #5.) [Editor's Note: Automatic Duck's owner, Wes Plate, assures me that the Windows version of After Effects can in fact open FCP Quicktime files that do not have the .mov extensions without MacDrive. However, we could not get this functionality to work in our tests with After Effects CS3 on a Windows XP Pro PC unless we used MacDrive.]
Now that you’ve renamed the files, reconnect any video clips that FCP may have lost track of.
From here, simply export using the Automatic Duck exporter, saving the XML file to the same location as the new FCP EDL that was created with your Media Manager export.
Drag the folder including all your files and your XML file onto a DVD or, if you have the aforementioned MacDrive software, a Mac-formatted portable HD.
Take your files to your AE computer, then open upAfter Effects and choose the Automatic Duck Pro Import AE option from your Import menu. (For maximum simplicity, I would recommend choosing to precomp grouped layers, as this will look more like what your timeline looked like in FCP. Failing to do so will yield far more layers than you likely remembered. Additionally, you can precomp audio tracks, which also cuts down on clutter without detracting from you ability to edit the audio inAE.)
Depth of Options
Obviously, the main purpose of this software is to enable you to import as much information from an FCP timeline as possible into an AE timeline. If you’re interested in seeing all the things that can import correctly, feel free to check out the list at: http://www.automaticduck.com/products/piAE/.
