Adobe 65008009 - After Effects CS4 Using Manual page 633

Last updated 12/21/2009
The After Effects scripting interface provides additional tools for using and interacting with XMP metadata.
Importing files with XMP metadata into After Effects
After Effects can import XMP metadata from many formats, including the following:
• camera formats: AVCHD, HDV, P2, XDCAM, XDCAM EX
• image formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PostScript, TIFF
• common multimedia container formats: FLV, F4V, QuickTime (MOV), Video for Windows (AVI), Windows
Media (ASF, WAV),
• authoring formats: InDesign documents, Photoshop documents (PSD), other native document formats for Adobe
applications
• MPEG formats (MP3, MPEG-2, MPEG-4)
• SWF
When you import a file that contains XMP metadata, After Effects shows a "Reading XMP metadata from footage"
status message while it reads the metadata from the source file.
One especially useful piece of metadata about each asset is its unique ID number, a value that distinguishes the asset
from all others at all stages of the workflow. The unique ID value enables the application to recognize a file as being
the same file as one encountered before, even if the filename has changed. One advantage of these unique ID values is
that each application can use this information to manage cached previews and conformed audio files, preventing
additional rendering and conforming.
The ID values used by XMP are Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs), 16-byte random numbers that are commonly
used to ensure uniqueness of values.
XMP ID values are written to source files when they are imported into After Effects if the Write XMP IDs To Files On
Import preference is selected in the Media & Cache preferences category. This preference setting affects other Adobe
applications, too; see the helpful text in the Preferences dialog box for details. If a file already has an XMP ID, then
After Effects doesn't write a new one, and no change is made. Files created by recent versions of Adobe applications
will, in general, already have an XMP ID.
The Write XMP IDs To Files On Import preference is on by default.
Important: The Write XMP IDs To Files On Import preference only controls whether unique ID values are automatically
written to files when they are imported. This preference does not control whether XMP metadata is written to a file under
other circumstances, such as when you edit metadata in the Metadata panel.
Note: Because writing the ID to a file is considered a modification, the modification date of a source file may be updated
the first time the file is imported.
Working with XMP metadata in After Effects
The Metadata panel
In After Effects, the Metadata panel (Window > Metadata) shows static metadata only. Project metadata is shown at
the top of the panel, and Files metadata is shown at the bottom. Temporal metadata is visible in After Effects only as
layer markers.
Project metadata is shown in the Metadata panel as soon as you open the panel. You can add and change information
in any of the metadata categories. This information shows up in Bridge when the project file is selected and is also
embedded in files rendered and exported using the render queue when the Include Source XMP Metadata output
module option is selected.
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USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Markers and metadata