syncronisation problems with the AAF in PROTOOLS

Is your sound engineer applying sample rate conversion when she imports the aaf into Pro Tools (see attached screen grab)?

We have sometimes seen sync issues when this option is checked, and unchecking this option often solves the problem.

No ideas? I'm thinking of trying to export 4 different AAF's, one for each microphone / audio source. Do you reckon this would change something? Maybe identify if it's just one of the audio sources that is causing the problem?

I can't see that picture, can you please re-attach it.

I can't open the AAF myself since I haven't got Protools, I have to go through my sound engineer every time to check what is wrong. What I do know is that most of them are, if any of them will do, the ones that appear on the screen shot I attached in the first message are out of sync for sure, that is:
30 / 1 and 31 /3
As you can see in the pic, in comparison with the top track which is the reference .mov, the phrase of the 30 / 1 is almost in sync at the IN point, but it is stretched short before its OUT, and then the phrase of the 31 / 1 kicks in before it should -so wrong IN point-, and although it is complete , it's OUT point is wrong too because it slided back at the IN point.

If you need more than this I will go back to my sound engineer and ask her specifically for what you need, but I don't want to bother her much more unless it is really necessary.

Thanks for such a quick response!

Can you please attach your new fcpxml and tell me the name of a clip that has a sync issue and where it is in the project.

Can you please also clarify if the position of the clip in the timeline is wrong, or if the in-out point of the clip is wrong?

Hi again,
I have fixed the conforms, this time there was no report error, as you said.

However, I've just spoken to my sound engineer and the AAF is still completely out of sync, all throughout the project only one in every 5 phrases has the correct IN point and every single one of them is cut or stretched short before it should end, having the next phrase slide back, it's IN point and agin cut short.

Can you please give me some insight on what is happening? As I said, no errors in the report of the AAF this time, everything in the FCPX project is at 25p -clips and project-. All audio dialogue is in 48kHz, and the 3 music phrases are at 44,1kHz.

Is it that the lite version of the X2Pro is not capable at converting the project? It needs the Pro version to work?

Thanks again for you time, hope you'll reply before my sound engineer walks out!

protoplastos wrote: I also find it odd that this compound clip -which is almost at the end of the film- could cause sync problems all over the film, shouldn't everything before this clip stay in sync?

It shouldn't make everything else out of sync; it should only affect the clips that have been conformed.

If there are still sync issues after you have fixed the conforms, let us know and we'll take another look.

Thanks! I didn't know compound clips could be fixed at a different frame rate than all the clips it contains, nor am I conscious of having done anything to do so. I also find it odd that this compound clip -which is almost at the end of the film- could cause sync problems all over the film, shouldn't everything before this clip stay in sync?

Anyway, I am off to fix it, export a new AAF and come back to you with my Sound Engineer's feedback.

Thank you very much for your quick response, have a good day

When you mix similar frame rates in FCP X (e.g. putting 23.98 fps clips in a 25 fps project), FCP X will "conform" the clips to match the frame rate of the project. Conforming is a type of effect that FCP X applies automatically (with no indication to the user) and it means that the clip will be played at a speed where each frame is played on a frame in the project. In one second of a 25 fps project, 25 frames from a 23.98 fps clip will be played; the clip will be played at about 104% of it's original speed.

X2Pro doesn't translation of support retiming or conforming effects into the AAF, instead it puts the clips into the AAF at their original speed which results in the audio starting correct, but going out of sync over time.

In your 25 fps project you have a 23.98 fps compound clip (called "M7/2-30/2-M7/2- Reac W+P/C") that contains 25 fps clips. I'm not sure how or why you have this arrangement, but it is what is causing the warnings and sync issues; The 6 clips are being conformed twice by FCP X and this is what X2Pro is reporting.

If you can replace that 23.98 fps compound clip with a 25 fps compound clip then the warnings and sync issues should disappear.

Good morning,
I'm having a really tough time to export a valid AAF from FCPX for my sound engineer. When the AAF is generated I get the following report:

• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:57.70 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:44.48 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:33.82 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:59.83 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:50.46 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:12:02.12 has been ignored.
• Conform rates are not supported. The Conform rate at 00:11:33.80 has been ignored.

I've read every post on conform rates problems, and since apparently these were only affecting a single minute of the film, I handed the AAF over to my sound engineer who said she could fix those if they were only affecting one minute of the whole project.

However once she opens it everything is out of place. She sent me a screen shot I've attached to this message, as you can see, the start of the phrase in this block is almost sync (the track on top is the original sync film), but the end of this phrase is cut off and then the next phrase sort of slides back on top of the previous one, throwing everything out of sync. She says its like that all throughout the project, which would force her to cut and stretch every sentence to put them back into place.

I need urgent help since she was supposed to get a working file weeks ago and I've been reading forums and changing settings but I always get the same report errors and I don't really know if they are at the origin of this whole mess or if there is something else going on, I don't want to keep on sending here files that don't work!!

Hoping for a prompt response that will end this nightmare, I thank you for your time