This is the first public release of FCPToAE and should be considered alpha quality. I'd expect there to be bugs and if you decide to download the application I'd appreciate bug reports. Please send the .jsx file, the Final Cut XML file, the error message from After Effects and any other useful information you can provide.

UPDATE 04.16.2007 OK, that didn't take too long to get first bug reports in, which included a bug in the demo UI above, but I want to keep a running list so it won't be necessary to double report.1. If you change the filename in the FCP bin and then import into After Effects the files are ignored.2. If you have duplicate filenames with different path resources, the files are imported initially at the 0 point of the AE comp, but then placed correctly in the layer order above the duplicate files3. The current beta of After Effects CS3 seems to treat single frame Quicktimes differently on import then After Effects 7All of these bugs have workarounds, and will hopefully be fixed in the next version. Thanks for the input.

UPDATE 04.17.2007 Fixed a showstopper bug with outpoints, you should download the new file to insure correct import.

UPDATE 04.18.2007 Discovered a bug with clips with cross-dissolves applied having innacurate start and end points. Since I am not accounting for transition items in this version the edit point will not be set correctly. The next version of the software should add support for transition items like cross-dissolves and I'll add correct start/end points to the next bug fix.

UPDATE 04.21.2007 I think this version fixes the start and end positions of clips with cross-dissolves. This version still ignores the transition items but places the item correctly.

UPDATE 04.23.2007 Spoke too soon. There were problems with the last fix for transitionitems and I've had to revert. Please download the latest version and I hope to have the transitionitem bug fixed soon. Sorry about that.

UPDATE 04.23.2007 I've uploaded a small fix, but this is definitely a problem area. More to come. Thanks for your patience.

UPDATE 07.04.2007 Small bug fixes and beta reset.

UPDATE 08.04.2007 I'm trying a different xpath query for items with transitions that should address some ongoing issues. If this breaks anything you're working on, I'd appreciate feedback. Thanks.

UPDATE 09.01.2007 Ok, this last version has been particularly flaky for a lot of folks. I seem to be chasing a bug with transition items and possibly HDV format sequences, producing random placement or empty sequences on AE import. If you're running into this problem, give me a shout at dale(at)creative-workflow-hacks(dot)com with details and any problem xml/jsx files. Once I get this bug squared away and can get clean cuts-only sequences, I can start adding requested features.

UPDATE 09.04.2007 I think this version gets us closer to usable again. The issue with the last version was when a footage item was either unimportable, an unsupported format, or would not place in the comp, all of the other layers were not working. This starts to address this problem, but unfortunately doesn't address why HDV footage seems to be so flaky in AE. Adam Conover also gave me a bunch of hints of issues that he had sleuthed out in his workflow, notably a big problem is trying to resolve the AE 31 character limit for named footage and layers when there are really long names in the FCP footage items and sequences. He's also provided me with a lot of good info on tweaks to make things more accurate. Thanks Adam, and thanks also to James Wilson, J.P. Chan, benolander, and erimotion for their help on this last version. For this kind of project, slow and steady wins the race, so I'll keep plugging away at it and with you guys help we'll have a useful tool.

UPDATE 09.04.2007 PM UPDATE It looks like another problem is cropping up with Subclips in sequences which aren't being handled correctly. A workaround is to duplicate the Sequence to export, Command-A to select all in the duplicated sequence, and then under the Modify menu select "Remove Subclip Limits", finally remove the subclip suffix in the browser. Unfortunately, that last step is necessary because I'm matching elements by name in After Effects and Final Cut has its own underlying naming scheme. So, basically the rule is, make sure the name in the Final Cut browser matches the name in After Effects and things should work. A lot of work, I know, but like I've said, Automatic Duck is ready to make your workflow seamless.

That said, I'm thinking about workarounds. The latest versions of the FCP-XML format support the uuid element which might make it easier to coerce elements by unique id instead of by name that is causing problems, but of course that makes things more complicated then the current versions. Lots of possibilities, but for now try the workarounds above.

UPDATE 09.13.2007 Lots of bug fixes. This version should better handle import and layer placement without generating javascript errors. It still does not address conflicting path and filenames longer then the 31 character AE limit that is causing a lot of the problems on import, that will be in the next version. Also, when reporting bugs, in addition to the AE JSX file and the FCP-XML file please refer to the version number available in the About FCPToAE window. Thanks in advance.

UPDATE 09.17.2007 This version should address fileID's longer then the 31 character limit. This is the first release to try and coerce the two files and should be considered experimental.