Adobe 65008009 - After Effects CS4 Using Manual page 103

Last updated 12/21/2009
• To import a group of spanned clips for a shot that were recorded onto the same P2 card, select only one of the MXF
files in the group from the VIDEO folder. The group is imported as a single footage item with a duration equal to
the total duration of all the spanned clips it includes. If you select more than one of these spanned clips, you import
duplicates of the whole group of spanned clips, as duplicate footage items in the Project panel.
You cannot import spanned clips from a shot that spans two different cards as a single footage item. Rather, you must
select a single MXF file belonging to the shot from each card to create a separate footage item for the part of the shot
recorded on each card. For example, if a group of spanned clips for a single shot itself spans two cards, you must select
a spanned clip from the group on card 1 and another from the group on card 2. This imports the contents of the shot
into two footage items in the Project panel.
The Date column in the Project panel shows when each source clip was acquired. After you import spanned clips, you
can use the Date value to determine their correct chronological order within the shot.
For additional information on the Panasonic P2 format and workflows with Adobe digital video software, see the
Adobe website:
• P2 workflow guide for Adobe digital video products
•
Dave Helmly's video introduction to the P2 workflow in After Effects
Importing AAF and OMF files (Windows only)
AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) is a multimedia file interchange format that contains all of the editing decisions
of a project from a non-linear editor (NLE). Using AAF, you can exchange NLE projects between platforms, systems,
and applications. AAF files do not contain media, such as video and audio; rather, they contain editing decisions and
links to media.
OMF (Open Media Framework) is an extensible, object-oriented format that provides a means of tracking production
and post-production information. Unlike AAF files, OMF files can contain media as well as project information. An
AAF file may link to an associated OMF file as a media source. When you import an AAF file that references an OMF
file, the OMF footage is also imported. After Effects imports only raw (essence) OMF files, which are OMF files that
have embedded media and no project information. After Effects doesn't import OMF project files.
You can use an application such as Automatic Duck to import OMF project files on Windows or Mac OS.
Note: You can also output to OMF. See
The following OMF codecs are supported for importing and outputting to OMF: Uncompressed, Avid AVR, Avid
JPEG, JFIF, and DV.
The OMF file format supports video only. Avid editing systems store audio files as separate .wav files, which you can
import into After Effects if desired. Depending on the resolution and codec, each frame may be composed of a full
noninterlaced frame, two interlaced fields, or a single line-doubled field (for single-field media). The codec used to
encode the media is displayed in the footage information area in the Project panel.
To ensure that the project to import conforms to general AAF specifications and is compatible with After Effects,
consider the following:
Platform-specific footage references
AAF file.
Separate video and audio tracks
imported into After Effects, each clip is converted into a layer. For an audio clip, only the audio switch is enabled for
the layer. For a video clip, only the video switch is enabled for the layer.
Clips that appear on the same track in Avid appear as separate layers in After Effects.
Clips on the same track
"Render and export a composition to OMF (Windows
Footage references are saved with platform-specific paths and filenames in the
An AAF file can have separate clips for audio and video. When the AAF file is
USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Importing and managing footage items
only)" on page 718.
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