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Exporting as Media Files
Export Media Files lets you export synced files that can be used in any editing application. This feature is especially useful if you use an editor that PluralEyes 3.5 does not directly support, such as Grass Valley EDIUS, Final Cut Express, iMovie, Platinum Studio and Pinnacle Studio. These editors cannot import the XML or AAF files that are exported by PluralEyes.
The Media Files option exports audio content that is synced with video content. It is available for most common video formats except for MXF, and .MP3, .WAV or .AIFF audio files. Note that when exporting MP3 audio, it will be exported as .WAV
To access this feature, click the Export Timeline button, then choose the Media Files tab.
How Media Files works
Export Media Files matches one camera track with one external audio track to generate new media files. However, this feature has some limitations.
- Must have 1-to-1 match of audio and camera. When using this feature, the PluralEyes timeline must have a 1-to-1 match of one audio track to one camera clip.
You can have overlapping camera footage, but there can only be one “good” audio-only track. If you have overlapping audio from multiple tracks, PluralEyes 3.5 will not be able to determine which audio track you want to replace the camera audio.
- Can’t sync from different cameras. Another limitation is that you can’t sync clips from one camera with clips from other cameras. This is because Export Media Files can’t handle overlapping files in the timeline, and goes back to our discussion of "standard" projects.
If you have footage from multiple cameras, you will need to use one of the Export Timeline output formats — which means you need to work with an editing application that is directly supported by PluralEyes: Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Media Composer or Vegas Pro.
- Does not work for MXF video. MXF media will need to be transcoded to a supported format such as MOV if you'd like to create new video clips with the good audio attached.
Using the Media Files tab
Here are the steps:
- (Optional) Saved your project with a meaningful name. This will make it easier to locate and manage your exported files later.
- Click the Export Timeline button in the toolbar, OR choose File> Export> Media Files.
- Go to the Media Files tab of the Export Timeline dialog.
- Choose from the options described below. You can choose to export a video file with audio, or audio-only file, or both types of media files. Then click Export.
- In the Export window, you will see a row titled "<project name> exported <date of export>". Right-click this row and choose Show in Finder.
- Import the files into the NLE of your choice.
Both Media File options can be turned on together. The combined export will give you (1) a video file with the “good” audio replacing the “bad,” and (2) an audio-only file of “good” audio that is synced and trimmed to the length of the video.
OPTION: Copy of video files
This option exports video files with “good” audio. The "bad" audio from the original camera file is replaced with the "good" audio from an external audio device. The original video content is left intact, and the audio content in video clips is replaced without any loss in video quality.
This option is useful if you don’t need the “bad” audio content that was recorded in your original video clips. You can archive your original video and audio files, and continue post-production work with only the new video files.
Things to know about this option:
- The number of clips that are created is equal to the number of original video clips, assuming that all video clips synced with at least one audio clip.
- If there are two or more audio-only tracks in your PluralEyes project, only the uppermost audio clip that overlaps with a video clip is included.
- If you have multiple video tracks, the audio is replaced in all video clips from all tracks.
- No clip is created for a video clip that failed to synchronize with at least one audio clip.
- This option greatly increases the export time. Large projects may take several hours to export.
OPTION: Copy of audio files
This option exports audio-only files of “good” quality that are synced to the length of the corresponding video files. The audio clips will be the same length as the video clips.
The audio file is trimmed so the start and end points line up in whatever NLE you want to use. In your editor, when you line up the start points of the new audio clips with the original video clips, the clips will be in sync. It will be obvious from the file names which audio clip goes with which video clip.
Things to know about this option:
- The number of audio clips created is generally equal to the number of original video clips.
- In comparison with “Copy of video files,” this option generates a smaller file and the export is faster.
- However, if you have a lot of video clips, it can be time-consuming to line up the audio clips with their matching video clips in your NLE.
- No clip is created for video clips that failed to sync with at least one audio clip.
- If some of your audio content has no matching video content, that audio content will not be present in the output files.