Video: Importing and Exporting OMF, AAF files from Logic Pro March 14, 2008
Posted by ConnorSmith in : Digital Audio Workstations, Logic Studio 8, Videos , trackbackThis video will show you how to export an OMF interchange (and an AAF) in Logic Pro. Before I get to OMF/AAF, I show you how to export all tracks as audio files. This is a great function to use if you need to transfer from Logic to Pro Tools (since you can’t import an OMF with Pro Tools until you buy the DV Toolkit). Finally, I show you how to import an OMF in Logic (which is basically the same process as importing an AAF).
Transcript:
In this video from The Studio Files .com, I am going to talk about exporting and importing different file formats in Logic Pro. We are going to show you how to export an OMF and an AAF, but first, let’s talk about exporting each track as an audio file. This is for all you Pro Tools users who haven’t bought the expensive DV Toolkit yet. Go to File>Export>All Tracks as Audio Files. Logic will ask you where to put these files. I will put them on the Desktop (creating a new folder called “Audio Export”). Now, for the save format, keep it in whatever the project was originally recorded. Also leave the export in the original bit depth (in this case, 24 bit). And hit Save. You’ll notice Logic is going to scroll through our file here and look for any audio regions. Its almost like a bounce, although sometimes it can take a little longer than a bounce, and it definitely takes longer than an OMF or AAF export, but for DAWs like Pro Tools that cannot open an OMF or AAF file, this is an awesome feature. Once its done, I will hit F11 to zoom out of Logic. On my desktop, I made the Audio Export folder, and if you open that up, you will see all of our wave files here nice and neat. In Pro Tools, just go to Import Audio, and import the files in this folder. It will place each wave file on it own track if you want. Now onto exporting OMF files. Same menu: File>Export>Project as an OMF file. There are two different versions of OMF files, Version 1 and Version 2. Stick with Version 2. Version 1 is an old format, it doesn’t have as many functions (or the same compatibility). Include the audio. For “Convert Interleaved to Split Stereo”, I would leave it checked. Some DAWs only like split stereo, and you can always re-interleave the files later. Don’t convert from 24 bit to 16 bit, because you will have to apply dither. Again, Logic will ask us where we want to save it. I’ll put it on the desktop again, we will call it video OMF. And save it. This is really quick. Hit F11, and there is the OMF file. Let’s go back into Logic for one final export. Let’s make an AAF file. Go to File>Export>Project as AAF File. This is very similar to an OMF, except now you have an AAF file and an audio files folder to keep track of. Let’s put it on the desktop again. We’ll change the bit depth back to 24 bit, as its the original project bit depth. Let’s call it VIDEO AAF and hit save. Very similar to the OMF, it will copy the audio files here. Hit F11 to see the desktop. Here they are, you have an AAF and the audio files folder. Keep track of those when you are transferring from computer to computer or DAW to DAW, because you will need both of those to import the AAF. Let’s talk about importing. Let’s close this project so we can import one. The AAF and the OMF import almost the exact same way, so we will just do one. Close this project, now in order to import this, you actually have to have a new project open. We’ll create an empty project. Now go to File>Import and choose our OMF file that saved. It will ask us where we want to import the audio data. Since we didn’t save this yet (and there is no Audio Files folder) I am just going to make a folder. If you did save the project, definitely choose the Audio Files folder. Now it will import the audio, and it will look just like the audio in our original file. And now you know how to export and import OMF, AAF, and individual tracks in Logic Pro.
C
The Studio Files
Comments»
Amazing site. I needed an easy and clear explanation for my uni work. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback^^
Let us know if you need help with anything else (we are always looking for ideas for new videos and articles).
Be sure to tell your friends :O
A bit of an “old school” question, but is this possible for Logic 5.5 as well.
Actually, I haven’t used that version of Logic, but I would be surprised if it didn’t.
It may be under a different menu or heading, but the function should be in the program.
Curious if you could cover the specifics for successfully importing OMFs and AAFs into Logic Studio 8?
I can’t get any consistent results searching the web, but for instance I’ve noticed that if an OMF is exported from Final Cut Pro, it has to have crossfades/fades disabled on export or else it will crash logic upon import.
Also, is there a size limit for OMFs that can be imported into Logic Studio 8? I have noticed that any OMF file seemingly under 800mb will import (with the crossfades/fades disabled on export), but anything larger seems to crash logic similarly as well.
Any thoughts on this? It seems your tutorial is helpful for the most basic of concepts (importing/exporting), but perhaps you could get a little more specific?
@Nathan
Damon (or Kenny) may be able to shine some light on this better than I can. I’m really strictly an audio guy (aka not video), so things that venture into the film realm are usually beyond my scope. I would check the Logic manual for info on OMF/AAF restrictions.
Unless its clearly stated in the manual, I would assume that the fade problem is a bug.
Hey Connor,
Do you know if there is a way to export an OMF file with timecode out of Logic? Our files export as OMFs easily enough, but haven’t yet found a way to export the timecode aswell. Our sound guy is working in ProTools and could use the timecode.
If you have already answered this, then my bad. If not, thanks!
– Vinnie
Is there any way in which you can export multiple tracks to an OMF file, but not the entire project. Say I would just want 20 minutes of my project, not the full hour. What would be the best way to do it?