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Importing AAF project files from Avid Media Composer

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Learn how to import AAF files from Avid Media Composer into Premiere Pro.

Migrating from Avid Media Composer

Adobe Premiere Pro cannot read native Avid Media Composer (.avf) project files directly, so you need to export an AAF file from Avid Media Composer, and then import the AAF file into Premiere Pro.

Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) is a file interchange format designed for video post-production and authoring environments. It is used for exchanging project information across applications that don’t ordinarily read one another’s native project formats — such as .prproj for Premiere Pro and .avp for Avid Media Composer. 

Before you start

Before you export an AAF file from Avid Media Composer and bring into Premiere Pro, you need to do some clean-up within Avid. Clean up Sequence tracks prior to exporting an AAF file. Give each asset type a unique track.

It's also a good idea to export a Reference Movie to later use for identification and recreation of effects that do not migrate.

Exporting from Avid Media Composer to Premiere Pro

To export an AAF file from Avid Media Composer:

  1. Open the project in Avid Media Composer.

  2. Select the sequence you want to export in the project bin.

  3. Choose File > Export.

  4. In the Export Settings dialog box select AAF Edit Protocol, Include All Video / Data Tracks in Sequence, and Include All Audio Tracks in Sequence.

  5. If you want to limit your export to the section between In/Out points, select Use Marks.

  6. Click the Video / Data Details tab and select Link to (Don’t Export) Media.

  7. Click the Audio Details tab and select Link to (Don’t Export) Media. Optionally, select Include Rendered Audio Effects as well.

  8. Save the AAF file.

Importing AAF files into Premiere Pro

After exporting the AAF file from Avid Media Composer, you can import it into Premiere Pro.

  1. Open a project in Premiere Pro or create a new one.

  2. Select the Project panel and choose File > Import.

  3. Locate the AAF file you exported earlier and click Import.

    Note:

    Premiere Pro creates a new sequence in the Project panel with the name of the AAF file and a bin containing the media used in the sequence.

    If there are any translations issues, an FCP Translation Results file is added to the main bin.

  4. Double-click the sequence and scrub through it to make sure everything is working as expected.

  5. To read the report, double-click FCP Translation Results in the bin. 

    The file is opened in TextEdit on Mac or Notepad on Windows. It lists how Premiere Pro dealt with any effects, titles, or transitions that did not translate.

Translated and untranslated elements

  • Custom information entered in Avid Metadata columns, such as the Comments field, will migrate.
  • Markers will be placed in the Sequence to identify unsupported effects.
  • Effects such as dissolves and speed variations will migrate from Avid.
  • Audio Levels and Keyframes will migrate from Avid.
  • Some Motion parameter settings migrate, but complex animation might not.
  • LUT information baked into master clips will migrate, along with LUT information in Metadata Display columns.
  • LUT Filter Effects and Color Filters applied to clips in Avid Sequence do not migrate.
  • Matte Keys can lose Alpha Channel after migration.
  • Multi-Cam Clips will be broken into discreet camera angles and only the Active Camera Angle from an Avid Sequence will be placed in the Sequence.
  • All Camera angles will be available if Avid Clip Bins are Exported as ALE Files and Imported as Bins into Premiere Pro.
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