For the love of God please implement "flattened XML export"

[Robert Ruffo New]

As it is now, if we are grading on DaVinci, Mistika, etc. (in other words if we have a high-end workflow) we cannot use many essential features, like Merged Clips. This means that if we plan to color grade on an external app, we are in fact using a crippled version of Premiere to edit, because if we use any of a long list of essential features (I'm talking basic, cut-only editing features, not translating effects or scaling or anything fancy) the XML will simply not work (and I'd venture this has been an unpleasant surprise at the last minute for more than a few users).

Maybe I am missing something here, but it would seem that if the playhead can refer to the correct clips on the hard drives in real time, while playing, then it would not be crazy advanced technology leap to have the XML point to those same files correctly in the XML text file. For the purposes of grading, who cares whether a cut came from nested or merged or whatever, just write out the in and out points referring to the media all those tools refer to, just like the playhead does as it plays through the timeline, and all problems will be 100% solved once and for all.

The fact that XMLs now refers to Merged clips as their Merged new name rather than the media content the Merged clip refers to is simply idiotic. Who made this decision!? Who thought this was a good idea!?

Please, please fix this. It now wastes hours and hours on every edit we must create without Merged clips, without Nested sequences, without….

Speedgrade is great in many ways, but it doesn't replace DaVinci or Mistika or Baselight and it's not reasonable to expect us to abandon those other software and do everything in Speedgrade.

 

[Blair S. Paulsen]

I continue to be shocked at how poor XML is at the job it is ostensibly designed for.

We seem to be moving toward grading tools that reside within the NLE suites. Final Color in FCP Studio and Speedgrade in Adobe CC found some happy users, but neither is the whole answer. Baselight has a new tool for doing color inside popular NLEs that I hope to see demoed at NAB. The latest versions of FCPX and Resolve 10 have expanded XML and round trip support, I look forward to seeing how sophisticated and solid that has become.

Cheers - #19

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

I continue to be shocked at how poor XML is at the job it is ostensibly designed for.

We seem to be moving toward grading tools that reside within the NLE suites. Final Color in FCP Studio and Speedgrade in Adobe CC found some happy users, but neither is the whole answer. Baselight has a new tool for doing color inside popular NLEs that I hope to see demoed at NAB. The latest versions of FCPX and Resolve 10 have expanded XML and round trip support, I look forward to seeing how sophisticated and solid that has become.

Cheers - #19

Agreed, but XMl is 100% capable of transferring straight cuts and fades and that's all I am asking for - for the timeline - regardless of whether or not it uses Merge Clips, nested sequences or any other tools to get to those straight cuts - to properly record those straight cuts when I export to XML.

One-man-band single work station approach is not appropriate over a certain budget, and few people would seriously suggest FCPX for higher budget work. (And I personally hate it passionately as do the majority of editors with more than 2 months editing experience). The way it works on larger prods is one person edits, another grades, etc. For that you need solid XML, with just cuts (the editor should not be doing reframing or coloring AT ALL.) FC Pro 7 did very nice XML export, as does Avid (well, AFF - but same thing). You didn't have to limit yourself to a crippled version of the software, avoiding use of all sorts of basic tools.

Anyone who wants to write a plugin that does this, you have my $$$ - lots of it.

 

[Michael Romano]

Merged clips work with PP CS6 > FCP XML > Resolve 10.x

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Merged clips work with PP CS6 > FCP XML > Resolve 10.x

No, they don't (not in CC anyway). Try it. It even says they don't in the manual.

 

[Michael Romano]

No, they don't (not in CC anyway). Try it. It even says they don't in the manual.

I just did this yesterday myself...

Are you referring to merged video clips or audio clips?

I'm referring to merging audio/video into a single clip as one would do with sync sound. I haven't had any issues in this regard.

 

[Brad Allen]

Flattening nested sequences has been in Premiere since last years mid year release - at least for multicam sequences.

Just select all the clips you want to flatten, right click> Multi-Camera> Flatten

If your nested sequence is not a multicamera sequence, you may be able to get away with treating it as one and then still flatten it. Just right click on the nested sequence in your timeline > Multicamera > Enable. Then follow the steps above. Note this will only work properly if your nested sequence contains one video track - if it has multiple, then premiere treating it like a multicam sequence will by default only show Track 1 (Camera 1) and all your other tracks won't come up (unless of course you manually go back through and cut between each track/camera at the appropriate time as you would do for a real multicamera sequence)

Word of warning, you cannot go back from your flattened sequence to a nested sequence (apart from Ctrl-Z of course). Because Premiere is essentially burying down and pulling out the actual clips used in the nested sequence, they just appear like any other clip on your timeline (ie, premiere doesn't know that they came from a nested sequence). Because of this I typically create a copy of my main sequence for the color conform which I can feel free to flatten sequences and clean up the timeline before it's bounced across to Resolve etc.

Just thinking some more, if you have a nested sequence which has multiple tracks inside of it and the work around of enabling multicam and then flattening it does not work you could try this as another approach. Ensure that you have the "Insert and overwrite sequences as nests or individual clips" deselected. It is found in the timeline panel just below and to the left of the timecode/playhead position counter. Drag your nested sequence into the timeline from the Project Panel and you should find that it separates all your clips into the underlying structure that they are found in the nested sequence. I realise this will get messy very quickly but it will at least allow you to get all of the underlying clips of that nested sequence into the timeline and in the right structure and can be a bit nicer than a straight copy/paste operation. I agree that this is not ideal. What we really need is the "Flatten" command that works for standard sequences in addition to multicam ones. Might put a feature request in for that now that I think about it....

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

Flattening nested sequences has been in Premiere since last years mid year release - at least for multicam sequences.

Just select all the clips you want to flatten, right click> Multi-Camera> Flatten

If your nested sequence is not a multicamera sequence, you may be able to get away with treating it as one and then still flatten it. Just right click on the nested sequence in your timeline > Multicamera > Enable. Then follow the steps above. Note this will only work properly if your nested sequence contains one video track - if it has multiple, then premiere treating it like a multicam sequence will by default only show Track 1 (Camera 1) and all your other tracks won't come up (unless of course you manually go back through and cut between each track/camera at the appropriate time as you would do for a real multicamera sequence)

Word of warning, you cannot go back from your flattened sequence to a nested sequence (apart from Ctrl-Z of course). Because Premiere is essentially burying down and pulling out the actual clips used in the nested sequence, they just appear like any other clip on your timeline (ie, premiere doesn't know that they came from a nested sequence). Because of this I typically create a copy of my main sequence for the color conform which I can feel free to flatten sequences and clean up the timeline before it's bounced across to Resolve etc.

Just thinking some more, if you have a nested sequence which has multiple tracks inside of it and the work around of enabling multicam and then flattening it does not work you could try this as another approach. Ensure that you have the "Insert and overwrite sequences as nests or individual clips" deselected. It is found in the timeline panel just below and to the left of the timecode/playhead position counter. Drag your nested sequence into the timeline from the Project Panel and you should find that it separates all your clips into the underlying structure that they are found in the nested sequence. I realise this will get messy very quickly but it will at least allow you to get all of the underlying clips of that nested sequence into the timeline and in the right structure and can be a bit nicer than a straight copy/paste operation. I agree that this is not ideal. What we really need is the "Flatten" command that works for standard sequences in addition to multicam ones. Might put a feature request in for that now that I think about it....

Oh my God this is an awesome trick I was not aware of! Thank you!

 

[Robert Ruffo New]

I just did this yesterday myself...

Are you referring to merged video clips or audio clips?

I'm referring to merging audio/video into a single clip as one would do with sync sound. I haven't had any issues in this regard.

I had only tried re-importing into Premiere, which gave me an error - it does indeed work now when re-imported into Resolve. AWESOME. They should change the page in the manual...