Re-link FCP clips based on "com.red.clip.originalSourcePath"

[Jeremy Morrison]

I've run into a bit of a workflow conundrum and I'm hoping someone can offer a suggestion. Here's the skinny:

• Using Log and Transfer, a director I am working with ingested and transcoded to ProRes all of the clips for a feature recently shot on RED (1,343 shots). To complicate matters, he renamed each clip as he ingested.

• On my end, using Log and Transfer I have ingested to native RED Quicktime wrapper files, keeping the original file names.

When the director sends me rough-cuts as a Final Cut project file, I'm unable to re-link the clips in FCP. I know there is metadata for each clip (red.clip.originalSourcePath") that contains the original name of the file, but I'm not sure how to access it within FCP.

Can anyone think of a method to re-link the clips in FCP to the native RED Quicktime files I have created on my end? I know each clip has an original Clip ID (UUID), but I am at a loss as to how to tell FCP to use this ID number instead of the names the director created when ingesting on his end.

 

[Hans-Georg Daun]

You can try the following:
- let the director export the rough cut as XML
- get the latest version of clipfinder from http://www.daun.ch/software/Clipfinder2.1.9.beta.zip
- select "run conform on FCP XML file" from the Edit menu
- set "XML input file" to the XML file created by the director
- set "Clip directory" to the directory that contains the wrapped R3D quicktimes.
- set "XML output file" to some suitable name
- leave "replace clips with ... proxies " unchecked
- press "Run Conform"
- the "Results" box will tell you if Clipfinder has been able to find any matches.
- if matches were found, you can import the resulting XML file into FCP

Let me know if this helps.
If it doesn't work, send me the XML and I can probably write some code that will solve this problem.

Cheers,
Hans

 

[Jeremy Morrison]

Hans, thanks so much for the reply. I did as you suggested and unfortunately for each of the clips, ClipFinder reported as "not found. Used original clip file in new XML file."

I have sent you a private message with a link to an XML file I created using the Final Cut project file I received from the director. If there's anything you can suggest after checking it out, or any code you might be able to write to solve this problem, I would be forever grateful!

Thanks again.

 

[John Portnoy]

Final Cut Pro has a command called Rename. If you highlight the clips in the sequence and control-click, you can rename the clips to the file names (or vice versa).

 

[Hans-Georg Daun]

Jeremy,

I have sent you a PM.
I hope this works.

Cheers,
Hans

 

[Jeremy Morrison]

Final Cut Pro has a command called Rename. If you highlight the clips in the sequence and control-click, you can rename the clips to the file names (or vice versa).

I'm familiar with the Rename clip -> File and File -> clip function introduced in FCP 6 but unfortunately it's not applicable in this situation since new files were created during the log and transfer ingest process which use different names.

Hans, thanks for the PM. I will give it a shot when I get back to my studio today and let you know how it goes.

 

[Ziggy Uszkurat]

Hi there,

I have written a program, for inhouse use, to recreate an online xml from an offline log. If you are still stuck, let me know, and I'll see if I can process the file for you.

Ziggx

 

[Jeremy Morrison]

Hi there,

I have written a program, for inhouse use, to recreate an online xml from an offline log. If you are still stuck, let me know, and I'll see if I can process the file for you.

Ziggx

Ziggy, I appreciate the offer but luckily a build of Hans' ClipFinder was able to solve the problem. Phew, that just saved me days of work. Thanks again, Hans. You rock.