Exporting to Protools from Merged clips - problem with exports/metadata

[Frédéric_U]

Hi,

I'm currently working on a feature film, with a rather simple workflow:

I'm importing my video ProRes proxy files and .Wav files from the set into Premiere, and using Merge clips to sync them together, in order to keep my video metadata for onlining purposes.

But when I'm trying to export either an .omf or .aaf to the sound engineers, they can't relink to the original .wav files from set, in order to aceess all of the tracks (differents microports and boom takes etc..).

I've tried different ways to export, even tried a workaround by exporting an XML to DaVinci Resolve and then exporting an .aaf to Protools from there, but there's gotta be a way to export them directly from Premiere right? Anyone has any experience with this that could help?

I'm used to doing this in Avid without any problems, and this is the first time I'm working on a project like that in Premiere, at the editor's request.

For precisions: we're working in Premiere Pro .22.6.2, the computers are iMac Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2020. Let me know if you need any additionnal information.

[Sergio Venturini · Accepted solution]

I think it's been already solved here.

[Frédéric_U]

Thanks a lot - I used this method but had to manually re-add the tape name to the audio files for the soundguy to be able to relink to the original files. But it worked in the end, and I'm sure I'll find a workaround for when I have to export bigger scenes or the whole movie, so I don't have to do that manually.

[R Neil Haugen]

Do NOT use "Merge Clips" for any heavy workflow, it's ONLY designed for quick & dirty timeline associations between files while moving things around. Doesn't include any metadata of the audio in the process. Just moves things together on a timeline, that is all it does.

Use the Multicam process and yea the naming is weird but the FUNCTION is correct. This is what is designed and intended for all workflows that need say sending out to sound people.

As explained at the beginning of this most excellent Premiere setup doc ... and Jarle's expansion of the details on his blog.

Neil

Adobe Long-form and Episodic Best Practices Guide 

Jarle’s blog expansion of the pdf Multicam section: Premiere Pro Multicam

[Sergio Venturini]

A simple little coding improvement would make Premiere eager to interpret merged clips while encoding AAFs and OMFs, tough 😉 

[R Neil Haugen]

I agree ... but until the engineers actually think it's worth their time, don't use merged clips if you need to make an XML/EDL/OMF ... it is what it is.

Neil

[Frédéric_U]

I mean maybe, but Sergio still got a point here, most of us need to export something out to Protools at some point, and Adobe would make a lot a lot of people happy / save a lot of headaches if they were to make sure that the metadata was kept all the way through.

[Frédéric_U]

Fair enough, I probably should have read more into it before starting and would have avoided that, but it's still a bit weird to me that they would offer both options (merge and multicam), but only one of them works on longformat.

Not really sure what's the point of merge clips then, since it's the same process in syncing as doing multicam clips.

Anyway, I've got my workaround and next time I'll make sure to stay clear off merge clips.

[R Neil Haugen]

As noted, for some reason, as designed by the engineers, Merge Clips was only meant as a tool to link a few tracks together to move them together while editing. I don't know if they already had the multicam process or if that was added to do the heavy-lifting after.

But Merge clips is just a quick & dirty process, as explained to me ... Multi is the big kahoona.

Which is just named so odd but ... ah well.

Neil

[LisaHammer]

I had to spend $70 on an un-merging software fix! And it didn't fix the audio metadata apparently!

[R Neil Haugen]

Again, use the tool designed for the task.

In Premiere, Merge Tools is not going to contain any audio metadata. Period, so do not use Merge Clips with audio if you need to keep audio data.

To join video and audio and keep all audio metadata! ... join video and audio with the Multicam process. It just works.